The Marla Mason series is a series of ten main sequence novels and various prequels and short stories written by American author Tim Pratt under the pseudonym of T.A. Pratt. The books are told mostly through the third person perspective of Marla Mason, the head sorceress of the fictional United States East Coast city of Felport.
the cover of Blood Engines, the first book in the series | |
| |
| Author | Tim Pratt |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Media type | Print Audiobook E-book |
Critical reception for the series has been mostly positive, with Locus placing Blood Engines and Spell Games on their 2007 and 2009 "Recommended Reading List" for fantasy novels,[1][2] as well as nominating them for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel for their respective years.[3][4]
Development
editPratt began writing the series shortly after moving to the Bay Area and set the events of the first novel in the city of San Francisco.[5] He also said that Blood Engines "wasn’t intended to start a series, but it turns out I accidentally wrote something in a thriving subgenre."[5] Pratt based the character on a childhood friend of his by the same name and describes the character as "an ass-kicking sorcerer who doesn’t wear a leather catsuit, doesn’t suffer from low self-esteem, doesn’t wallow in angst, and is almost always absolutely certain she’s right... even when she’s dead wrong."[6][7]
The first four books in the series were published by Bantam Books imprint Bantam Spectra, but after the publisher dropped the series Pratt continued publishing the remainder of the series first through serialized versions and reader donations and then through successful Kickstarter campaigns.[8][9]
Many of the characters that appear directly in stories or novels starring Marla Mason also appear in other works by Pratt without Mason in them. For example, Bradley Bowman and Mr. Zealand appear in "Down With The Lizards And The Bees" and "Life In Stone", respectively, but Marla Mason does not.
Bibliography
editPrequels
edit- Bone Shop (2009)
- Haruspex (2009)
- Pale Dog (2011)
- Mommy Issues of the Dead (2011)
- "Ill Met In Ulthar" (2012)
Main series
edit- Blood Engines (2007)[10][11][12]
- Poison Sleep (2008)[13][14][15]
- Dead Reign (2008)[16][17]
- Spell Games (2009)[18][19][20]
- Broken Mirrors (2010)
- Grim Tides (2011)
- Bride of Death (2013)
- Lady of Misrule (2015)
- Queen of Nothing (2015)
- Closing Doors (2017)[21]
Short story collection
edit- Do Better: Marla Mason Stories (2019)
Short stories
edit- Grander Than the Sea (2011, set after Blood Engines)
- Shark's Teeth (2010, set after Broken Mirrors)
- Little Better Than a Beast (2011, set after Poison Sleep)
Film adaptation
editIn 2008 Pratt announced on his livejournal account that film and television rights to the series had been optioned to Phoenix Pictures.[22] No actors or directors were announced as attached to the project.[23]
References
edit- ^ "2009 Locus Recommended Reading List". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Recommended Reading: 2007". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "2008 Locus Awards". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "2010 Locus Awards". Locus Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Tim Pratt: On the Side of Wonder". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Marla Mason". Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ "The Big Idea: T.A. Pratt". John Scalzi. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Bone Shop: A Marla Mason Story". Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ "Bride of Death: A Marla Mason Novel". Kickstarter. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "Review: Blood Engines". SF Site. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Blood Engines". Strange Horizons. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Blood Engines". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Poison Sleep". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Poison Sleep". SF Site. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Poison Sleep". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Dead Reign". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Dead Reign". Locus Online. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Spell Games". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Reviews: Dead Reign, Spell Games". SF Site. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Review: Spell Games". Locus Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ Pratt, Tim. "Kickstarter for Closing Doors". Kickstarter. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ "Un[redacted]". LiveJournal. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "Une nouvelle sorcière sur grand écran ?". Elbakin. Retrieved 2 March 2013.