The adventures of Marla Mason, chief sorcerer and protector of the city of Felport, have been chronicled in novels including "Blood Engines," "Poison Sleep," "Dead Reign," "Spell Games," "Broken Mirrors," and "Grim Tides."
Now, for the first time, her origins are revealed. Bone Shop chronicles Marla's early days in the city, her rise to power, and the terrible tragedies that shaped her extraordinary life. This is a story of questions answered and shadows forecast. This is the story of Marla Mason.
My Thoughts :
I haven't visited this series for a long time but I always admired Marla Mason when I read about her adventures. When I saw this book on audible I decided to give it a go for a couple of reasons. The main one being that this book has been on my Kindle for a while and I still hadn't gotten around to reading it. I knew I would get to it via audiobook.
What I didn't realise about this book is that it is actually a prequel to the series. That threw me for a few minutes but once I understood where the book was coming from I had no problems settling into it. If anything it made me more eager to listen to it. Finding out how Marla came to be who she is and learning about everything she went through to get there is a very interesting and exciting story. I found myself hooked within a few chapters and couldn't believe my luck at finding out more about Marla and of course her magic.
The story had a lot of action in it and it was, at times, quite dramatic. However the characters, including, Marla didn't follow the drama of the situation but always kept calm and kept on. It came across as very unfeeling at times but the story of course wasn't about feelings and to be honest it was quite refreshing to have a story lacking emotion. This meant that the story always stayed on track and didn't wander off into Marla's head and what she was thinking. She got things done and boy did she have a rough time of it.
Only one thing was a little off putting about this prequel and that was the jumps of time. The story begins when Marla is a teenager and jumps dramatically at points. This made me a little dizzy and it always left me slightly confused. Spending a considerable amount of time with a Marla of a certain age and then suddenly skipping six years wasn't easy to keep straight. I know why the author did it and it wouldn't have worked any other way but it still irked me.
I really enjoyed this prequel and it was nice to get to know another side of Marla. If you are reading this review and have read any of the books then you will definitely want to get this one. If you haven't come across this series before then maybe you should think about trying it. It is quite magical and strange with some weird and wonderful angles and concepts. Artifacts and magical abilities make up the underground world of Felport where Marla makes her home. It is a very special story.
Now I hope to get through some of the other Marla stories I have found on Amazon. The majority of them are novellas but I believe one of them that I am missing is a full length story. I wonder where this strong woman ends up at the end of it all.
1 comment:
Great review, I do have the first two books in this series on my shelves, perhaps more, but still have to start reading it. Looking forward to it now!
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