Blood Engines

Its easy to say that I enjoyed this book. I loved it actually. Marla is the sort of person I would hope to be if in her position, perhaps not her backstory so much (good lord does she know how to clear a room), but then you are the sum of your life experiences, so if she didn't have all of that luggage she wouldn't be who she is right? Or maybe that's an argument for the nurture vs. environment folks. All I know is that Marla was one kick-ass lady that I would be scared to meet under any circumstances.

This is really more of an urban fantasy mystery than a straight urban fantasy. Almost, but not quite, noir actually. Something at least one character suggests and two others, just by being who they are, back up. I had been interested in show more Blood Engines for a while now, the covers catching my interest (oh Daniel Dos Santos, you just...draw me in so well with your art) and a friend mentioning how morally grey Marla could be much of the time. Unfortunately, being the slacker that I am, I put it off until I owned all four books currently in print and the author had begun the fifth novel online as a serial (Broken Mirrors). I wish I had read this series as it came out, though I can't say I'm sorry to be able to read the books back to back and not wait.

Marla is everything an anti-hero should be; violence prone, selfishly motivated, sneaky, cut-throat and above all manipulative. This isn't to say she doesn't look out for her people (namely Hamil and Rondeau), and will save them if she can, but her primary focus is keeping herself alive and in power. A fact that her (for lack of a better word) retainers understand, even if Rondeau does complain about it.

I have yet to read the 'prequel' story Bone Shop, but there was quite a few times throughout Blood Engines where I felt like I wasn't reading the first book at all, but the second or third book. The casual references to past exploits and misdeeds are very misleading, especially in the beginning of the novel when Rondeau and Marla are just wandering around San Fransisco looking for clues to find her friend Lao Tsung.

Mostly what I enjoyed was the banter and the easy exchanges between the characters. Marla's overall tactics when talking to people varies very little (even if its in her best interests for it to do so), and she is very much a 'strike now, questions later' sort of girl, but she's also very cunning. She juggles no less then 3 threats on her life throughout the novel--the one that originally brought her to San Fransisco seeking Lao Tsung, and enemy she more or less stumbles upon while investigating and lastly the 'Big Bad' of the novel itself. This doesn't include years old promises of death, minor annoyances or casual encounters however. I believe at one point Marla asks Rondeau how many mortal enemies she has currently and he responds with "35".

What I found most interesting was that Marla would have let the Big Bad go his way if he hadn't interfered with her own quest. Until he got too close to her own city of Felport on the East Coast, but I don't think she was joking. Not even a little bit.

The novel dragged a little about 2/3rds of the way in, when plot threads came together and bounced off each other to make things very difficult for Marla. I got a bit of whiplash juggling the two or three concurrent storylines honestly, but the end was a great pay off that was true to her character. I can't wait to begin the second book, Poison Sleep immediately! show less

Thoroughly enjoyable, which is how I tend to like my urban fantasy! Like a lot of mid-2000s urban fantasy, it’s solid on plot and character and setting and magic system without doing anything more than is strictly necessary, but it’s also not like I pick up this genre when I wanted to be challenged, and if Pratt is anything, it’s entertaining.

I’m not sure I’ve seen another protagonist like Marla, though. She definitely operates in grey areas and often for entirely selfish reasons, but she also understands karma and has the greater good in the back of her mind. She’s got this air of mystery too, in that we only get glimpses of her past and her life in Freeport and are left trying to piece everything together. I liked that. show more Kept me on my toes.

And I liked the world-building! There are all kinds of magical traditions and foci, everything from Chinese medicine to computers to sexual energy. Powerful artifacts turn up with no provenance in thrift stores. There are seers and ghosts and doppelgangers and parallel dimensions and gods. It should feel like a hodgepodge of stuff but Pratt somehow makes it work, and it all felt cool and helped to keep the story fresh.

The plot’s fairly predictable for the genre—they talk to people, go places, get clues, etc.—with just enough in it to stay not-boring, but it’s also got some deeply hinky stuff. I’m not talking about the gay sexual sorcerer who hosts kink nights, who was pretty well handled. I’m talking about the nasty Chinese sorcerer and the actual villain, who is Aztec and doing his darnedest to conform to stereotype. Few clothes, obsidian knives, desire to feed his gods with blood, the whole bit. I side-eyed whenever he was mentioned, which, given that he’s the bad guy, was reasonably often.

But, like I’ve said, I had fun burning through this! It was pretty satisfying, as urban fantasies go, and I can absolutely see myself picking up the next book in the series. Someday. Maybe at a book sale or in a fit of “no book in my bag” desperation, which is what prompted me picking this one up in the first place. It’s not great shakes but you can do (and I’ve done) a lot worse.

To bear in mind: Questionable use of poison dart frogs. Questionable biology of poison dart frogs. Extremely questionable use of indigenous Aztec sorcerer in a villainous role. Slightly less questionable use of Chinese sorcerer as a more minor villain. Mention of cannibalism. Surprisingly good about mental illness and queer people, though not perfect. Harm to animals.

6/10 show less

This was a weird one. All the way through I was irritated by the lack of depth the characters seemed to show but every now and again there was a taste of something more to Marla, though it didn't stop me thinking of her as horrendously hypocritical. She will go on and on about how she kills without remorse but then mention in passing one of her enemies being despicable for having no morals. The cloak was a good example; she tells of how she kills, uses and controls people for her own ends and then says something about how the cloak makes you inhuman. But those glimpses of her I think were just enough to persuade me. Especially the parts when she regrets and action or is proved that there is a way that she didn't consider. For me it show more would have worked better if there were more about her reasons for acting like a homicidal dictator. She controls Felport because she believes it would be worse off without her, is it? Or is she just another power-mad fruitcake with a god complex? I have to say, in the first half of the book I was hoping that Susan would win but by the end I am curious about her as a character and I'm reasonably glad I kept reading.

I don't know whether I'll read the next one. The reviews and the snippet in the back of Blood Engines suggest that Mr Pratt's writing has grown a lot between books but whether or not it's my sort of thing I don't know. One of the most irritating things about this book was the way they'd go on. A lot of the dialogue seemed unnaturally long as if they were in a school play where they'd half turn toward the audience and explain outside the narrative. The other thing that bugged me was how the narrator would keep secrets. Marla kept going on about this terrible spell that would take her city away but never mention anything about it. Without knowing how it could possibly happen I just didn't care, it didn't seem to be real even to the characters. It also happened in conversations the characters were having, they'd sort of both have a lightbulb moment and then start whispering behind their hands, "I've just had a brilliant idea!" "I know, I just thought of the exact same thing!" Riiiiiiight. Or maybe I'm bitter because it never works for me, I can be all "Oooo I have a brilliant idea!" *we could get pizza* and my sister can be all "Oooo I have a brilliant idea" *let's go bungee jumping* and three hours later I'll be standing on a bridge with nothing between me and a splat but a bit of bouncy rope and all I wanted was a pizza.

Oh and every time someone did something nasty like raping dead people or eating dead people (better than live people?) they asked "Do you disapprove?" and then she went off on one about how it was weird but how she understood. She could just have said "No." and justified in her head. I have no idea why her talking so much bugs me but it does. It also bugged me how (I think) they both said 'disapprove' it's just such a weak word for things like rape and cannibalism. Though that's probably personal; I can't be doing with taking rape casually, which Marla seemed to do, but bearing in mind what the lass gets up to while 'protecting' the city it is at least in character.

Maybe I'll see how much the next book is.... show less

Marla Mason has a problem. She may be the most powerful sorcerer in her city, but she has only days until a rival deletes her from existance. She and her faithful sidekick Rondeau (actually a parasitic spirit riding a chance-met human) travel to San Francisco to use the Cornerstone, a block of incredibly powerful magic. Getting the Cornerstone will be difficult--suriving San Francisco may be impossible. Sorcerers, gods, and technomages stand in Marla's way, and a fanatical priest of Tlaltecuhtli seeks to destroy the world.
This was an odd book, because the story begins very much in media res. Marla is far from a blank slate or a new to sorcery, and she's had years to build up allies and mortal enemies. The backstories were written a show more little clunkily, but I was glad to see them--I love complications and contradictions. Although the story takes place exclusively in San Francisco, Marla and Rondeau's reactions to another city tell the reader a great deal about their own city, Felport. The magics are ingenious and often inventive: one sorcerer lives on a train perpetually going widdershins, another operates under the principle that reality is a computer simulation of the past. Although the writing is a little rough, the action is exciting and Marla a great protagonist. Anyone who enjoyed early Laurell K Hamilton or Kelly Armstrong should give this book a try. (Note: this is not in the least paranormal romance.)
It can be found online and free at: http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19025/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19025... show less

Pratt does a superior job in this genre, bringing us new concepts and premises in a genre that can get tired and old after reading so many. Excellent characterization, plotting, and setting, bring this novel all together in a way to keep you up nights.

Marla, head sorcerer in the city of Felport, has found out that a rival is preparing a spell that will destroy her and the city. In order to prevent that from happening, Marla and her associate Rondeau travel to San Francisco in order to find a cornerstone. The cornerstone is necessary to preparing a spell to counter her rivals. However, once they are in San Francisco, unexpected events lead them into a battle to save he world. This was a fun urban fantasy. Although she is a little rough around the edges, I liked Marla. The supporting characters were also interesting and unique. I would definitely be interested in reading more of the series. The only issue I had was that the story read like there should have been previous books in the show more series. There was a lot of background information I felt like I should have known. Although the author gave you the information you needed, I thought that there was more to the story that I missed. However, this was the first book in the series, so perhaps that background information will be fleshed out in subsequent books. show less

I like this series - it takes a different take on the current Urban Fantasy Fad with women protagonists that is currently out there. Marla is a hands on, do anything it takes sorcerer trying to keep her city safe. When a rival sorcerer plans to take her out, she needs to find the Cornerstone, a mythical magical item that makes magic stick - she gets drawn into a battle against a returning God, and a crazy sorcerer who is intent in bringing him back. What makes this series different is Marla's directness in how she deals with the world. She is a kick ass alpha who lets nothing get in her way. The world itself is also well written, theres a lot of reference to how sorcery works within the world, but its hinted at, rather than explained. show more You don't really know how much the non-magical people know. The magic follows rules, but it isn't really explained, you piece it together as the story goes along. No long world building paragraphs or chapters. My only complaint would be Marla's directness, it is quite refreshing in a character, but at the same time, you just want to slap her on the side of the head and say "Think!".

A great fast read. Not to deep, but still a great read. show less