Maria V. Snyder

Magic Study

Monicap

So far, I've managed to survive. You would think after being kidnapped as a child, imprisoned in my teens and released to become a poison taster, I would have endured enough. But no. The discovery of my magical abilities—powers forbidden in Ixia—has resulted in an execution order. My only chance is to flee to Sitia, my long-lost birthplace. But Sitia is unfamiliar. I'm treated like an enemy—even by my own brother. Plus I can't control my powers. I want to learn about my magic, but there isn't time. A rogue magician has emerged and I'm targeted as his next victim. Will my magical abilities save me…or be my downfall?

Nena Wyers 

You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster. With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways, and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better.

Nessa Luna

Read this review and more on my blog October Tune!

Last year I bought a book called Poison Study, because it sounded interesting and I really liked the cover. I ended up LOVING the book to bits and added the sequel, Magic Study, to my to-read list right away. But then I found out the cover I wanted wasn't available anywhere. Not on the websites I usually buy my books, not in the stores, nowhere. I got really sad because I really wanted that cover (to match with my first book) and after a while I just gave up, even though I really wanted to finish the series. Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to check out Amazon.de. I'd recently gotten a new credit card and I decided to look for Magic Study. And on the German Amazon marketplace, there was a Magic Study book with the cover that I wanted. I ordered it immediately and cheered when it turned out to actually be that cover! (And now that I'm checking my usual websites, they seem to have the book in stock again... Grrrrr!!)

Magic Study continues the story of Yelena Zaltana, who has been banished from Ixia for performing magic. Should she ever return there, she shall be executed without a thought. So Yelena and Irys travel to Sitia, the land they both actually come from, to find Yelena's family - the Zaltana's. Then, she is brought to the Citadel, where she is to start her magical training. But there is a murderer on the loose, and Yelena is determined to catch him.

In this book we are introduced to so many new characters; including Yelena's family, the four magicians and some of the students at the Keep. I really liked her family almost immediately (with one exception, which is probably pretty obvious if you've read the book), and the two students (Dax and Gelsi) were great as well, Dax immediately felt like he was going to be a good friend to Yelena and I think she needed a friend like that (since Ari and Janco weren't there). We also see some old characters return, which I will not really be going into much detail about because of spoilers. But of course there is still Irys who becomes Yelena's mentor and a sort of second mother in this book. I really liked that, because I like Irys as a character!

I also liked the fact that we get more magic in this book, mostly of course because the story happens in Sitia where magic is allowed and even encouraged. I loved how Yelena developed her powers and learned more and more about her abilities; The map at the beginning of the book was amazing as well, and I really enjoyed learning more about Sitia in this book - even though we didn't learn much about the majority of the clans, we did learn about the Zaltana's, the Sandseed clan and of course the people in the Citadel. I do wish the map had been bigger, because I found it hard to read some of the small letters.

The writing was just as good as the previous book, and honestly I hadn't expected anything else from Maria V. Snyder; I will definitely be picking up the third book - Fire Study - and then the Glass series (which I believe is a sort of spin-off) and the new book in this series, Shadow Study! If you like Throne of Glass, I definitely recommend the Study series to you. It's similar but also very different from ToG but they are both amazing book series, and I personally love them both to bits!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

dija

This was much better than the first book!! 
VALEK!! I LOVE YOU 
And i want to get an Ari and a Janco of my own, where do i sign up??

Jacalyn Boggs

Yelena knows how to get herself into trouble. Born under an unlucky star, read her latest romp as she travels to her homeland and tries to learn how to control her magical abilities. Along the way she finds new friends, new enemies, and loads of new adventures!

Ofelia

** spoiler alert **
           Mi aspettavo qualcosa di molto meglio da questo libro, lo ammetto. 
Il primo libro di questa saga mi era piaciuto molto, sapevo che non avrei potuto trovare la stessa atmosfera trovata lì e che i personaggi sarebbero cambiati o comunque sarebbero stati stravolti ma non mi aspettavo questo.

Il ruolo di Valek in questo libro è solo quello di dire"Yelena, amore mio!" ogni volta che lei pensa lui. Va bene Valek non mi aveva convinto alla fine del primo libro, ma comunque era meglio di questa piattola zerbino che è passato dal riservato che aveva appena confessato il suo amore a Yelena al pazzo innamorato che non fa altro che inviarti sms con frasi d'amore. La protagonista viene talmente sminuita e vista solo in relazione alla sua storia d'amore con Valek che viene chiamata più volte "l'amica del cuore di Valek". La.. cosa?! Sembra di essere alle elementari.
Yelena mi ricorda tantissimo la protagonista dei libri della Canavan, al punto che probabilmente una delle due ha plagiato l'altra oppure l'idea non è troppo originale di per sè. Entra in una scuola per Maghi, troppo grande per partecipare alle lezioni in realtà, venendo presa sotto l'ala di uno dei maghi "importanti" e per questo odiata ed invidiata da metà degli altri studenti, ed oltretutto sembra più forte di tutti gli altri allievi e probabilmente anche dei maestri se la storia va avanti di questo passo.
Oltretutto in questa scuola sembra che non riesca a suscitare sentimenti normali nelle persone, difatti nessuno è indifferente davanti a lei! tutti o la odiano per motivi non ben chiari (generalmente per nessun motivo) o la amano sempre per nessun motivo.
Si perché un sacco di gente ama Yelena e le è fedelissimo, ma vai tu a capirne il motivo. Lei non fa niente per accaparrarsi né l'odio né l'amore di nessuno, difatti a parte venire pestata a sangue per metà del libro non è che faccia poi molto ma il solo vederla suscita in tutti reazioni contrastanti. Insomma, Yelena è una di quelle cose che o si amano o si odiano e più andiamo avanti con la lettura di questa trilogia più io mi sposto verso l'odio.
Si perché uno dei punti di forza del vecchio libro era che finalmente non c'era nessun triangolo amoroso, e invece avevo fatto troppo presto a cantar vittoria. Si perché l'erede al trono di Ixia incontra Yelena, e dopo un paio di giorni che cosa fa? se ne innamora pazzamente ovviamente fregandosene del fatto che non la conosce affatto, che è una maga e sopratutto che fino a pochi giorni prima la credeva una spia nemica (cosa che poteva anche essere ancora visto che non erano stati in grado di sondarle la mente al 100% ma nessuno se ne cura). Il fratello di Yelena, parlando dell'odio irrazionale e poco realistico di qualche personaggio, passa quasi vent'anni a cercare la sorella sentendosi in colpa per la sua sparizione ma quando la sorella torna la odia. La fa rapire perché è geloso della sorellina perfetta, cioè Yelena era perfetta anche da bambina? Ma se il suo massimo era ciondolare dagli alberi XD per favore!
I cattivi della storia non esistono, o meglio per tutto il libro Yelena non fa altro che farsi nuovi amici non si sa come dato che fa sempre e solo i fatti suoi. Oppure infrange regole dell'Accademia dei Maghi, non che a nessuno importi ovviamente dato che la sua stessa tutrice arriva a dire che non possono applicare tutte le regole alle grande Yelena. Difatti lei di regole non ne rispetta neanche mezza, e viene espulsa e ripresa nella scuola a velocità disarmante. 
Si perché Yelena non segue le normali leggi della fisica ma Valek ne segue anche meno. Va contro un intero esercito e vince, e riesce pure a fuggire! Altra cosa senza senso, ma chi cavolo comanda Ixia ora che tutti sono venuti a Sitia? si perché il Comandante, che ha sempre odiato essere una donna e ha passato la vita a fingersi uomo, improvvisamente si veste da donna pur di andare a Sitia, ma chi glielo fa fare? Allora almeno Valek sarà rimasto a comandare, a che altro serve un vice altrimenti se non a comandare quando il capo non c'è? E invece no! Yelena deve rivedere tutti i suoi amici, altrimenti che gusto c'è! Quindi nessuno governa ad Ixia, a chi importa infondo?
Insomma a parte per qualche siparietto divertente che non dipende mai da Yelena io sconsiglio vivamente questo libro, e dire che volevo finire la trilogia ora non sono sicura di voler prendere in mano l'ultimo libro e rimanere di nuovo delusa. 

<< Dunque dove sei diretta adesso? Vai ad ammazzare un drago? Posso aggregarmi come tuo umile scudiero? Luciderò il tuo bastone del potere ogni sera con la mia camicia. Prometto! >>

With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be united with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But although she has gained her freedom, she once again finds herself alone - separated from her lover Valek and suspected as a spy for her reluctance to conform to Sitian ways. Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training - especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes embroiled in a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince - and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians. If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies...

Livia

3.5

Ah it really is conflicting. The first bit of the book is boring, then it gets interesting, then it gets confusing, and the end was just meh for me. I really, really like the mystery and the struggle our main character had to get through, but I just don't understand Cahil. His actions and behaviour is changing all the time and it's so confusing. I really, really like Yelena's growth, but the second Valek's in the picture again, all she is is a horny teenager that could think of nothing but being in his arms and flirting 24/7.

That aside, I love the friendship and familial aspect. I love how Ari and Janco are so loyal and protective toward Yelena and vice versa. And I love how Yelena keeps making more friends along the way. I love how the familial relationship is handled and how it turns out at the end.

Marissa Luzio 

After reading about less then half of this book, I was a little disappointed in it. Coming from  LOVING  the first, Poison Study, when it had Valek, the Commander and even Janco and Ari (who made it funny as hell) basically all that amazing stuff, was what I loved about it. But this book just didn't have them or at least hardly at all. Now, in the whole entire book I really liked one part. When SURPRISE, SURPRISE, Ixia 'representative' came to visit for some kind of meeting of sorts. I'll admit, there were some nice scenes between Yelena and Valek but I found (like some other people did as well) that Valek changed.. but anyways, not to ruin it for people who were thinking of reading it, from there on, I enjoyed it :) The book wasn't BAD, don't get me wrong. It just wasn't as great as the first one.

Meg Cornhill

Jaclyn

*4.5*

  "Living is a risk," I snapped at him. "Every decision, every interaction, every step, every time you get out of bed in the morning, you take a risk. To survive is to know you're taking that risk and to not get out of bed clutching illusions of safety."   

I LOVED THIS ONE!! This picks up directly after Poison Study with Yelena going off to meet her family and getting to know her magical abilities. There's a lot of mystery, magic, awesome new characters, some romance, family, kickass battle scenes and of course amazing character development. I am loving how far Yelena has come! She has become so badass, smart, confident, and strong. I love her! She's so much fun to read about! 

  Pushing magic toward the candle, I willed it to light. Nothing happened. 
Irys made a strangled sound and the candle burned. "Are you directing your magic to the candle?"
"Yes why?"
"You just ordered me to light the candle for you," Irys said in exasperation. "And I did it." 
  

It was really cool watching Yelena grow to be more powerful and experiment with how far she could take her magic and we got to see this whole other world called the Citadel and the Keep. The world is definitely expanded in the book and we got to meet different groups, and see different lands. I was very impressed with the way the author was able to capture it so beautifully and show it to us. We got to meet new characters in this one such as Leif, Dax, all the four magicians, Kiki, and all the new villains who I don't want to say because spoilers! It's more fun to read it! 

  I'll have you know that the most delicate flowers often produce the strongest scent when crushed.   

We got to really know Irys in this one and she is wonderful. She's so powerful and cares so much for Yelena. I really enjoyed watching that friendship develop. And Leif, who I love to hate. It's a very very complicated relationship. Yelena's family is great but her brother Lief is angered at Yelenas return but eventually towards the very very end he came around! 

  "In the end only Leif believed that you were still alive. He thought you might be hiding somewhere, playing a game. As the rest of us grieved, Leif searched the jungle for you day after day."
"When did he finally stop?" I asked.
"Yesterday."
  

Another aspect I enjoyed in this was Yelenas horse Kiki! I love how they communicate it was so fun and gave the book a lighter tone. 

  "Trust," Kiki said. "Trust is peppermints."  

And then Cahil. Do not worry THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE OR ANYTHING. And I can't stand him. That's all I'm going to say on him. Just read to find out more. And now Valek. I would have enjoyed this book ALOT less if I knew he was barely going to be in it. Thankfully I read reviews and so many people kept mentioning how he wasn't in it and how disappointed they were. Since I knew that going in I feel like I got to really settle into getting to know Yelena without him and appreciate her magical journey. Just because he's not in it as much doesn't mean his presences isn't felt frequently. He is mentioned many many times and then when he finally does come in at the very end, the happiness in that moment is so worth it. 

  He made a weak attempt to look innocent, but I knew better. "Should I guess how many concealed weapons you have or should I strip search you?" 
"A strip search is the only way to be absolutely certain," Valeks deep blue eyes danced with delight.   

*swoon* MY SHIP!! 

Anyways, this was an addicting, enticing sequel to the wonderfully enchanting Poison Study! I can't wait to see how it all wraps in Fire Study!!! 

  "When I carved this, my thoughts were on you, love. Your life is like this snakes coils. No matter how many turns it makes, you'll end up back where you belong. With me."   

  Oh Valek. *fans self.*

Sabina Brandiu

I almost rated it 3 stars because it was so boring and uselessly long at some point.
1.THE ACTION
Yelena is back home, she is actually a witch but that is her last problem. alot of people despite her, and she she feels empty and lost without her soulmate, Valek (I love this name). She is trying to help everyone and she does not pass up the chance to save her friends, which is remarcable. I liked the fact that she was somehow communicating with Valek, telepatic, and with others thanks to her new powers. 
I do not know what to feel about her brother. My standards slipped when I found out he did not do anything when she was kidnapped, but I realised he was only a little boy back then. Anyways, the plot was ok, not perfect, and I think I rate it 4 stars instead of 3 just for the end.
2 .THE CHARACTERS
Fictional man are just something else... Valek was using the word LOVE to adress Yelena and I LOVED IT. He was that type of mysterious man, ALWAYS WITH A SMART SOLUTION. The way the author described him... INCREDIBLY HOT. 
Yelena was breaking a lot of rules and I got a tiny bit annoyed by that but she was doing everything to save everyone, better said.
3. THE END
Just like I said previously, the end saved the book. Maybe the incomparable presence of Valek😼 or the ANNOYINGLY TRUE FACT THAT CAHIL IS AN ASS#OLE. Not going to lie, I liked him at the beginning but he is an impostor and actually annoying so yea. I am actually excited for volume 3. I do not have it but I really want to get is as soon as possible. Also I was so irritated when I realised they catched Ferde so that he could escape again. Anyways, good book overall.

With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. As she struggles to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in battle of good against evil. It will be her magical abilities that will either save her life - or be her downfall.

Flavia Louise

4.25 stars
I really, really enjoyed reading this book and am excited to read the next book in the series.

Alexa Jade

Madelynn snobl

SO SO SO GOOD. the story and the plot made me crave this book more.

Laura Kehoe

Actual rating is closer to 3.5. I enjoyed this book. It seemed to flow much better than the first one and I felt the characters were relatable and engaging. The writing still wasn't the best, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless. I'm glad I decided to give the second book a chance and I'm looking forward to reading book three.

Eleanor Luhar

This is the sequel to Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study, a Chronicles of Ixia novel. It follows Yelena after she has discovered her magical abilities, and features familiar characters such as Irys, Valek, Ari and Janco.

The book begins with Yelena's return to the Zaltanas, her family clan, fourteen years after being kidnapped from the forest. Her brother, Leif, is clearly not as happy to see her as her parents. The siblings travel to the Keep together, where Yelena is to begin her magic training. But while on their journey to the Citadel, they are ambushed by strange men. Yelena discovers that it was set up by her brother, who believes her to be a spy from Ixia. They intend to take her to the Keep where a Master Magician will search her mind for the proof they require.

Of course, Yelena is found innocent and is allowed to start her training. Cahil, the leader of the ambushers and the supposed heir to the Ixian throne, has trouble coming to terms with his mistake.

Several victims of a mysterious murderer have been found, one of which has managed to survive the attack. But can Yelena rescue her, even after her soul has retreated into hiding?

The man - Ferde - is attempting to harbour souls from innocent girls. Yelena is determined to stop him, even if it means risking her own life.

While hunting for Ferde, Yelena must deal with Leif, the vengeful Goel, Cahil and a visiting party of Ixians. Who would've thought that she would look back and find her poison-tasting days peaceful?

There is action, magic, love, confusion and more in this book, yet I struggle to feel any emotion from this series. I don't feel Yelena's pain, or her fear or excitement. I don't feel anything from these books. I don't understand why; these are perfectly good stories, well written. But I just don't enjoy them.

I am still going to read the next novel, and I am curious as to what will develop in Yelena's life. And although there are typos and punctuation placed where I find a little strange, I do acknowledge that these are decent books. The plot's good, and there's a nice mix of action and magic. Yelena is older than most YA protagonists - at around twenty - which is refreshing, but still not quite right to me. I will be generous and give this novel about 2-3 stars, though, as there are no real faults to be found with the writing itself.

Becky

I am completely binge reading this series but I am in love with the character of Yelena to stop reading is not an option. this series is so well written and the world building so intricate who am I to stop reading?

Sahi K

After learning all about poisons and then realizing that she has magical abilities, Yelena now has an execution order in Ixia against her. So, she runs off with Irys to Sitia to finally find the truth about her childhood and her family. Even though her parents are ecstatic, it’s her brother Leif whose hatred she can’t understand. Just like Yelena is accustomed to, she is kidnapped again by Prince Cahil to determine if she is a northern spy. When her loyalty is discerned, she become Irys’s apprentice and finally gets a chance to learn more about her abilities. Ixia is trying to establish trade with Sitia, Cahil is planning his occupation of Ixia and there is a new monster magician hell bent on imbibing souls to become the all powerful ruler of the two lands. And Yelena is a Soulfinder – only one in the last hundred and fifty years and trying to figure out what it means. Will she be able to entangle all these webs? How will she remain in Sitia while remaining loyal to her friends and heartmate from Ixia?

This book was again just as fun as Poison Study. Watching Yelena kick ass with both her physical skills and magical abilities is superbly entertaining to read about. She seems quite aloof in the beginning, trying to get her bearings in Sitia but as always, she is extremely confident and compassionate even in the most trying times and manages to make friends with the most unlikely people. However great the story was going, I squealed with delight when the Ixian delegation arrived bringing all my favorite characters along. This book would not have been the same without the brotherly banter of Ari and Janco or the silent love of Valek. I really enjoyed watching Yelena make important decisions and getting close to finding her place between the two lands. Although, I would like it better if she stopped getting kidnapped so much.

Special mention has to go to Yelena’s super awesome horse Kiki. Their conversations are pure fun and the names Kiki gives everyone are hilarious.

Анастасия Розова

4.25/5

“I’ll have you know that the most delicate flowers often produce the strongest scent when crushed.”

MIGHT CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS
I loved this book almost as much as I loved the first one. Honestly, for some reason I cannot believe it was written more than ten years ago. This book has a great female character who's definitely a feminist without trying to be? This is how it's supposed to be. A society where you're not judged based on your gender.
There's also some diversity in this book, which I forgot to mention in my last review. We have a character who was born a female but identifies with male and possibly, just my assumption for now, but possibly asexual. It is not common knowledge, but still. Those issues were not labeled in this book and I feel like were written really well. Plus, thinking ten years back, they weren't such big issues and yet they're included here without being in you face. Also, some PTSD rep here and in the first one. Mmmm. I could crown this book if only for that.
BUT! This is not the only good thing about these books.

I stand by everything I've said about the characters. They're still interesting, strong and lovable (or hatable. I know, it's not a word. Shush). We've been introduced to a lot of new characters in this installment and, honestly, they're amazing. They feel different from one another and so real, I don't know who Maria V. Snyder manages to handle when all. I'll briefly mention the new ones, cause all the old ones WERE JUST AS AMAZING LOVE FOREVER YES PLEASE.
Irys. I know we've seen her in the first book, but here we've SEEN her. She's sort of like a motherly figure to Yelena, but also a great friend and a teacher. I love how she's very wise and trustworthy. I'd love to have a mentor like that.
Bain. I know we didn't see a lot of him, but I enjoyed his obsession over his subject. He reminded me of some professors at uni that are so in love with what they're teaching it's actually interesting to listen to them! I think with him history would not be boring.
Leif. What a complex character. Usually in books everything is more or less black and white, but this series is an exception. He made me feel sorry for him, hate him, warm up to him and hope for him. Not a lot of characters could cause me such a specter of emotions.
Perl and Esau. WEEEEEEEE, so adorable. I loved those guys. Don't wanna say to much to avoid spoilers, but I think they were great. Like I'd actually like a novella or a short story about them. They make me feel warm inside.
The "evil" in this book was also sick, but interesting! And didn't feel like a repetition of the previous one, you know. Well, actually, we had quite a range of villains in this book and they were all so different! Very much appreciated.

We've also seen some new cultures and clans and worlds, basically! I wish we saw a little bit more, but what did get to see and how different it was - wonderful. Honestly, such a rich world, I love it. We didn't really expand on the history of Ixia in this book, but maybe we will in the next one? Although I'll still be happy even if we don't. It's just my desire to learn more, like in some RPG where you collect pages with history of the world and flora, fauna, culture and so much information!

I'm amazed how much I love this books and how fast I fly through them. Definitely going to continue, hell yeah!

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

The second novel in The Poison Study series by Maria V. Snyder, Magic Study picks up where Poison Study left off, with Yelena going back to her home country of Sitia to learn how to control her magic. Along the way, she meets her family, finds a brother who doesn’t want her, meets her spirit guide, and, of course, there are people trying to kill each other and take over this country.

Snyder is a fantastic writer whose prose carry you along and make it very hard to put her books down. Not only that, but Yelena, Valek, Janco and Ari are just such compelling characters, along with the new characters. The pacing is well done considering EVERYTHING that happens in this novel.


 
Really, this is just a fantastic adventure novel, with magic and a bit of romance. I adore Valek, and I really enjoy that Snyder doesn’t have perfect characters. They have done various levels of bad things in their pasts, and many of them have very complicated pasts to boot, but they are people who do have redeeming qualities to them.

If you are looking for a true romance novel, this isn’t the best choice. But, other than that, this series (so far) is a hands down recommendation. Strong, compelling characters, and interesting plot line, and so well written.

Alyssia

Again, just so amazing and fun and enjoyable. I really really loved this. I do think it's very different from Poison Study in terms of atmosphere but it suited the story. Immediately picking up Fire Study!

Giulia 

One of my resolution for 2016, is to al least try to write something in English on my reviews here on Goodreads! It will not be perfectly written, but I will try my best :D
So, speaking of Magic study, it was a good sequel. I enjoyed Yelena's journey and all the thinks we learn about Sitia and magic. On the other hand, the begining was a little bit too slow for me, and the new characters... Argh, so annoying! Especially Cahil, I hated him with all my heart. 

Magic study è il secondo libro nella serie Study. In questo libro seguiamo le vicende di Yelena nel sud. Tutto sommato non è stato male, tutte le nuove piccole cose che vengono introdotte, le leggende, la magia, la politica, per noi era un mondo totalmente nuovo e mi piace come l'autrice sia riuscita a spiegare tutto in varie fasi nei momenti opportuni. L'unica pecca direi che è stato l'inizio che era un po' lento rispetto al primo romanzo, e vabbe io odio Cahil quindi aggiungo anche lui ma non è propriamente un difetto xD

Lisa Beasley

Still adore this series and Yelena and the gang. Fisk and Kiki steal the show with their appearances ❤

Kate

4.25* This is such an underrated series. I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed Magic Study just as much as Poison Study, if not slightly more. The characters in this series are wonderful. I've become really fond of a lot of them and how complex they are. I love how Maria V. Snyder portrays different relationships and how she uses them to grow her characters. Such a great continuation of Magic Study. The plot was fast paced and brilliantly gripping. I could hardly put it down. I've ordered the third book in the series already and I cannot wait to read it!!

Magic Study

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