Poison Study

The main character is a girl, Yelena, about to be executed for murder, but is given the option to be the Commander's food taster. However, his right-hand man, Valek the chief of security, poisons Yelena and only a daily antidote will keep her alive, so she can't escape. There is intrigue about possible magics used in Ixia - where it is forbidden after a takeover by the military over a corrupt monarchy who imposes very totalitarian and sparse dictatorship - and attempts on the Commander's life/mind.

I found the aspects of the military dictatorship interesting, as there are rules where everybody has a job and in order to transfer to another town, there has to be proof from your employer and proof there is a job waiting in the new town. Papers, as it is. There are also soldiers in each town who recognize their regular citizens and can arrest strangers or loiterers. Also, nobody is taught anybody beyond what their job entails, so learning for the sake of learning is frowned upon - viewed with suspicion - and libraries are in disuse. Religion is banned, and music is scarcely allowed. However, after the corrupt monarchy and nobility allowed their men to go and kill unjustly and used magicians to torture “lesser” citizens on the whims of nobility, I suppose the rules - “the Code of Behavior” - is favored by a lot of their citizens. I wish there was more expanded on this from the public's general feeling, but I do know this book was meant to introduce Yelena to us. Perhaps the third book will delve more into this when Yelena returns to Ixia.