Dead Reign [Mass Market Paperback]

T.A. Pratt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2008

Death has come calling, and one woman
has what he wants most of all...

As chief sorcerer of Felport, Marla Mason thought she’d faced every kind of evil the magical world had to offer. But she’s never faced a killer like this. He’s dark, glib, handsome as the devil—and exactly who he says he is. Death—in the flesh. He’s arrived in Felport with a posse composed of a half-insane necromancer and the reanimated corpse of John Wilkes Booth, and he isn’t leaving until he gets what he came for. Only Marla is crazy enough to tell Death to go back to Hell.

With the Founders’ Ball just around the bend, drawing together the brightest, meanest, and most dangerous of Felport’s magical elite, the last thing Marla needs is all-out war with the King of the Underworld, but that’s exactly what she’s got. As the battle lines are drawn, she can count on her hedonistic, body-hopping partner Rondeau…but how many of her old allies will stand by her side when facing the ultimate adversary? To save her city, Marla will have to find a way to cheat Death…literally.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The complex, funny and powerful third entry in Pratt's urban fantasy series (after 2008's Poison Sleep) pits kick-ass sorceress Marla Mason, the guardian of East Coast metropolis Felport, against the newly reincarnated king of the underworld, a handsome and lusty fellow who calls himself Walking Death. He invades her territory in human guise and demands her prized artifact, a magical dagger that symbolizes her office and can cut through anything as long as its rightful owner wields it. When she refuses and Walking Death discovers that the weapon can't be seized by force, he exiles her and takes over the city. While a few unpredictable allies start an underground resistance, Marla turns the tables on her enemy by launching her own invasion of Hell. Pratt's writing is wildly imaginative, with roller-coaster pacing and startling twists galore. (Nov.)
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About the Author

T.A. Pratt lives in Oakland, California with partner H.L. Shaw, and works as a senior editor for a trade publishing magazine.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553591355
• ISBN-13: 978-0553591354
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

T.A. Pratt is the author of the Marla Mason series of urban fantasy novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dead Reign by T.A. Pratt, February 13, 2009

By 

brookereviews "B" (tampa, florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Reign (Mass Market Paperback)

Dead Reign is a unique addition to the Marla Mason series in that, Marla isn't able to protect her city because she has been exiled. This being the case, Rondeau gets his much needed time to shine. Having Walking Death after you can't be a good thing, and Marla has to go to hell, literally, to defeat him. I thought that Pratt's ideas for Death and hell were very interesting. Hell can't really be a fiery pit of despair can it? Well, not in Marla's world. Marla's trip to hell gives us a much needed look into her past, and helps build her into a much stronger protagonist for us readers. It also leaves the plot wide open for upcoming books in the Marlaverse.

Usually, I have a problem when a bunch of characters are added into a story, but in this case all of the players are necessary and each has their own unique flavor. Pratt manages to construct these new sorcerers, and make them shine with their distinctive personalities. Not leaving one to fall flat. A small issue I had with the book was that there was a lot of build up for an epic battle scene between Marla and Death/Rondeau and Death, but we don't see that. I think this was mainly a platform to show growth in all the main characters. I don't think Dead Reign is as GREAT as Poison Sleep was, but it definitely lives up to my expectations for fantastic Urban Fantasy.

If you plan to pick up this series, definitely start from the beginning with Blood Engines (Marla Mason, Book 1) . Each book could honestly stand alone if you really wanted to start with a different one, but you'll miss the little nuisances between the characters and their city of Felport.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars madcap maniacal fantasy, November 4, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Reign (Mass Market Paperback)

The chief guardian sorceress of the large East Coast city Felport Marla Mason is looking forward to the upcoming Founders' Ball after barely surviving the attempts on her life by a mercenary psychic assassin (see POISON SLEEP). However, a hunk arrives in town with two dangerous followers; reanimated John Wilkes Booth and a psycho necromancer. The newcomer, with sexy looks to die for, insists he is Walking Death, chief of the underworld. He orders Marla to give him the magical dagger that signifies her position as the chief guardian. She tells him to go to Hell. Fuming with fiery brimstone, Walking Death sends Marla to the underground.

As he enjoys dispatching people to his home, Walking Death fails again to understand the inner strength of Marla. She finds a few unreliable maniacs and brings war to Hell.

The third Marla Mason wild sorcery thriller (see BLOOD ENGINES) is a madcap maniacal fantasy that from the opening visit by the deadly sex machine Walking Death until the final macabre dance never slows down. The support cast is over the top of Felport or under the ooze of Hell as nothing not even death is sacred. Fantasy fans who appreciate something well written but different will want to read the marvelous Marla Mason tales as they are insanely humorous fun.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It actually surprised me.., January 7, 2009

By 

Ann J. Vaccaro "shoe shopper" (New Paltz, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Reign (Mass Market Paperback)

I have enjoyed T A Pratt's previous books, obviously, which is why I purchased this one as well. It started off with some ookey stuff as these types of books do (a bit too graphic but setting the scene for how bad the bad guys are), but I got caught up in it completely. It was well written and I found the plot to be a step away from the formulatic outline usually taken, a step in the right direction. The characters were further revealed to the reader in this third story, the observations on people's fascination, curiousity and approaches to death -shrewd and witty. A fun read.