Customer Reviews

Spell Games (Marla Mason, Book 4)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This installment of the Marla Mason series continues the solid story-telling and writing. However, Kindle readers beware: there are a lot of formatting problems in this, from missing periods to incorrect paragraph breaks to words with spaces between syllables. Hopefully a proofread and corrected version will be forthcoming (and hopefully downloaded to those of us who already purchased it?).

TA Pratt is a undiscovered gem of an author. This four book series is one of the best series I've read in quite some time. Casting about after having finished quite a few books over a period where I felt the need to escape into a different world after some bad stuff in the real one, I stumbled quite by accident into the world of Marla Mason.

I'm an exceptionally picky reader, and approached this series with extreme trepidation. Surely this would be just a Harry Dresden rip off. It is not - although I can imagine Harry and Marla hanging out for beers (and lemonade for Marla) and getting along something wonderful. TA Pratt wrote a completely fantastic story and world that stands on its own and engulfs the readers hook line and sinker.

The sad news, though: the publisher has not accepted a fifth installment of the Marla Mason series. This is a terrible travesty of the free market - if this series were just picked up and read, I'm certain it would catch like wildfire. Unfortunately either due to poor marketing or poor circumstance, it's languished and has been dropped.

The good news, though: TA Pratt has begun working on a serial donation based book, available at his website (search for marlaverse).

This novel lacked the sense of danger that made the previous novels so exciting. The characters are great, and it was fun learning about B's apprenticeship, but the bad guy in this book was disappointing. Supposedly a fungus magician is on his way to threaten Fellport. Well he certainly does show up, however, he leaves about 10 minutes later. The other question mark is Marla's brother Jason. That plot line wasn't much more developed than the mushroom guy. Nothing much happens in this book, which is disappointing since I loved this series so much. Even with all of that said, I ate the book up. It's just so fun to read about Marla no matter what is happening, or in this case, isn't happening. Hopefully the next one picks up the excitement a bit. I'm sick of reading in the first few paragraphs about some interesting drama Marla has run into between books, I want to experience it! Time to bring back our snake god from book 1 please. Fans of the other books should definitely read this, even with it's shortcomings.

The books was very captivating. Held me from beginning to end....as these books usually do. Can't wait for the next one!

I'm a little late to the Tim Pratt bandwagon but I have to say that the Marla Mason series is one of the best out there for urban fantasy. Spell Games sets up the next book beautifully. I can't wait to read about her next adventure. Do yourself a favor and pick this series up if your lookin' for a new author that rocks. I'd compare the Marla Mason series to the Kim Harrison books for entertainment and a creative new world. Buy it!!!

This book is so good I can't even stand it! I'll never look at mushrooms quite the same way again. The book picks up right where Dead Reign leaves off. Marla's long, lost brother, Jason, pops up in town and sets into motion consequences that will cost someone their life. To make matters more stressful, Marla has taken on an apprentice, Bradley Bowman "B", who will be her successor. Jason is a grifter, and has plans to scam a local billionaire out of millions of dollars. Marla permits him to run his scam in her town of Felport. She also helps Jason come up w/ an imaginary artifact (Borrichius spores) that some have been searching for years and have never found. Unfortunately, the chaos sorcerer catches wind of it and uses this to her advantage. The more chaos that is in Felport, the more her power grows. She makes sure the right ear is listening and hints that the Borrichius spores have been found and are in Felport. Too bad that ear happened to be Bulliard, a slave to the Mycelium mushroom god. Bulliard's power seems limitless, since all he has to do is sprinkling/blow a few mushroom spores on a person and the Mycelium grows in them and controls them. When Bulliard hits town, all hell breaks loose. Jason makes a decision on Rondeau that has a grave impact on B. I was so surprised by the last three-fourths of this book. I was shocked that Tim had events lead to this. This is definitely a must read and I can't wait for the next installment. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the series.
I also recommend:
White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows, Book 7)
Angels' Blood
Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten
Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom)
Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2)

I found this book entertaining, but not as much as earlier Marla Mason books. Still a worthy buy.

I love this author and this series but this one was one you can pass up...well almost. Getting to know her brother was a waste of time and if it wasn't what happened to Rondeau I would almost say not even necessary. Get it if you want to continue in the series but your not missing out on much.

This is the fourth installment of the "Marla Mason" series that does not fail to entertain. T.A. Pratt has a great imagination that mixes with the "realistic" world of our own. This is no Harry Potter and the author makes no attempts to even try. There is a great dynamic of character development, plot line, story, intrigue and twists to keep you going. Unlike some "sequels to sequels" where the author depends on you being familiar with the characters, the author does a good job of weaving in the back-story when and if it is required and only to the extent that it is needed.
I got the first book of the series from a free Kindle giveaway and fell in love with the characters right away. I found myself getting the second book, then third and now this one in a matter of only 72 hours. The only time I recall staying up late reading was a book was back in college which of course was no fun. However, I found myself staying up as late as 3am and still had to pull myself away from the book to get some much needed sleep.
The author tells an interesting story that feels both magical and realistic at the same time. The characters interact with each other in both a serious and playful tone where you find yourself holding your breath waiting one moment and laughing the next. While many of the characters are indeed sorcerers, they seem no more different than everyday people. The main character, Marla, is a prime example of this since she seems just as fallible, serious, comical and even a bit crazy as the rest of us.
If this is your first "Marla Mason" book don't let that shy you away from buying this book, it stands on its own just fine. If you are missing any vital background information, the author makes sure to provide only the information that you need, nothing more, nothing less. However, if you have the time and love this book, make sure you go and get the first one in the series...BLOOD ENGINES.

The set-up for this book didn't really draw me in, but the pay-off more than made up for it. The first hundred or so pages, while readable, weren't really all that engrossing. I especially didn't like all the mundane scenes with Marla's brother, Jason. But as I've said, the pay-off was great and I was totally engrossed by the last 100+ pages. While Blood Engines, the first Marla book, is still my favorite, this one isn't too far behind. This book, towards the end, was the darkest out of all the four books, and I think that only made it better.

Sadly, this is the last Marla book and it ends on a sort-of cliffhanger (it's not really a cliffhanger, it's just that you know there's more story left). The good news is that the author is working on the fifth book in the series right now titled Broken Mirrors. You can read it on the author's website. I'm going to wait for it to be self-published because I prefer physical books to reading from a computer screen. There's also a prequel novel available now (also self-published) titled Bone Shop. I plan on reading that one while I wait for the fifth book to be finished.

Overall, I really enjoyed the four books I've read in this series, and I'm glad the author decided to write more even though the publisher dropped the series. I'm definitely looking forward to more Marla Mason.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes tough heroines and lots of action and magic in their urban fantasies.