Customer Reviews

Dead Reign

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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.

The first book (Blood Engines) in the this series took me 3 tries to start - the first 100 pages or so are rough at best. The second book (Poison Sleep) was much better and this, the third in the series is much, much better. The lead character has developed well: she still has many rough edges, but they are integral to the character and her abrupt, straight-forward manner (whereas in the first book they merely made her unlikable). Marla's motivations are pretty simple: protect the city of Felport against anything and everything. Her methods are rough, violent and often brutal, but she's developed more of an awareness as the books progress.

In this book Rondeau particularly shines - on his own, without Marla, trying to lead an underground opposition against an opponent (Walking Death, trying to take over Felport) he's vastly mismatched against.

Looking forward to the fourth book!

While not quite as great as the first Marla Mason book, Blood Engines, I did like this book better than the previous installment, Poison Sleep. The story was interesting and it was fairly fast-paced. I love it how the author is not afraid to pit Marla against some pretty big enemies. In this book, she fights Death himself! All the other urban fantasies I've read never have the main character going up against a god. That's what makes Marla's world so interesting. Anything can happen and it didn't seem at all questionable that Death himself would want something from her.

I liked that we got to see some characters from the first book back in this one, like B and Cole. I also liked that we got to learn more about the magical artifacts that Marla always has with her: the cloak and dagger. It was also interesting to find out more about her past, before she became a sorcerer.

Overall, this is a great book if you like lots of action, magic, and a tough heroine in your urban fantasy. I'm looking forward to reading Spell Games, especially after the slight cliff-hanger this one had. It makes me sad that the publisher decided to drop this series after just four books, while there are some pretty awful urban fantasy series out there that seem to go on forever.

The Marla Mason series by T. A. Pratt is a pure poetry. It is a series that I've purchased as a gift for friends and that I have also purchased both in print and as audio books for myself. The reader does the series justice and I highly recommend the books to anyone who loves a rousing story and a wickedly funny heroine.

Truly innovative, absorbing and utterly fascinating. Words can't even describe how compelling and well written this book is. I read the whole thing in a few hours and am off to read the next book, Spell Games.

As all the other books of this series, it has the craziest twists and turns that make me not want to put it down. You have to read all the books!

After reading this showpiece of the magical, my first reaction was it read like a good Simon R. Green novel. Something out of the Nightside or even like The Man with the Golden Torc (Secret Histories, Book 1). This is a compliment, as I believe this novel, like his, is fast mystical action filled with weird types of magic and legendary characters.

Plot-wise, this character building journey involving aspects of death was well-written.

This novel is by far the best in the series. While occasionally creepy and naughty, Pratt's writing in this novel doesn't veer into useless tangents. Pacing was smooth, and the perspectives from Rondeau's point of view are handled skillfully (not boring). The fighting scenes are more refined than the first two, with no jarring/missing equipment, and it feels like the editor did a good job.

This book is one I'd actually want to own and later read, a worthy buy, even if you don't get the rest of the series. What kept it off five stars is Pratt doesn't like describing the main characters physically, making it sometimes hard to picture the action. Still don't know what Marla looks like.

T.A. Pratt presents the world of Marla Mason in a formalistic manner but it's one that I love and look forward to each and every time.