Marla Mason

Development

Pratt 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. 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." 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."

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.

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

Prequels

1. Bone Shop (2009)
2. Haruspex (2009)
3. Pale Dog (2011)
4. Mommy Issues of the Dead (2011)
5. "Ill Met In Ulthar" (2012)

Main series

1. Blood Engines (2007)
2. Poison Sleep (2008)
3. Dead Reign (2008)
4. Spell Games (2009)
5. Broken Mirrors (2010)
6. Grim Tides (2011)
7. Bride of Death (2013)
8. Lady of Misrule (2015)
9. Queen of Nothing (2015)
10. Closing Doors (2017)

Short story collection

• Do Better: Marla Mason Stories (2019)

Short stories

• 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

In 2008 Pratt announced on his livejournal account that film and television rights to the series had been optioned to Phoenix Pictures. No actors or directors were announced as attached to the project.

References

References

1. "2009 Locus Recommended Reading List". Locus Magazine.
2. "Recommended Reading: 2007". Locus Magazine.
3. "2008 Locus Awards". Locus Magazine.
4. "2010 Locus Awards". Locus Magazine.
5. "Tim Pratt: On the Side of Wonder". Locus Magazine.
6. "Marla Mason".
7. "The Big Idea: T.A. Pratt". John Scalzi.
8. "Bone Shop: A Marla Mason Story".
9. "Bride of Death: A Marla Mason Novel". Kickstarter.
10. "Review: Blood Engines". SF Site.
11. "Review: Blood Engines". Strange Horizons.
12. "Review: Blood Engines". Locus Magazine.
13. "Review: Poison Sleep". Publishers Weekly.
14. "Review: Poison Sleep". SF Site.
15. "Review: Poison Sleep". Locus Magazine.
16. "Review: Dead Reign". Publishers Weekly.
17. "Review: Dead Reign". Locus Online.
18. "Review: Spell Games". Publishers Weekly.
19. "Reviews: Dead Reign, Spell Games". SF Site.
20. "Review: Spell Games". Locus Magazine.
21. "Kickstarter for Closing Doors".
22. "Un[redacted]". LiveJournal.
23. "Une nouvelle sorcière sur grand écran ?". Elbakin.