Bone Shop

A Marla Mason Novel

By: T. A. Pratt

Narrated by: Jessica Almasy

Marla Mason is the chief sorcerer of Felport, a woman who's tangled with gods and monsters and come out on top (if a bit damaged in the process). But she wasn't always a formidable engine of brute force and pragmatism; she started out alone, in a strange city, without allies or any more power than the average teenage runaway on the street. Marla was always willing to do anything necessary to survive, and it didn't take long for her to stumble into a world of magic, danger... and even the occasional moment of grace.

Bone Shop tells the story of Marla's evolution from runaway to sorcerer's apprentice to mercenary magician and beyond. Fans of the urban fantasy series from Bantam Spectra that began with Blood Engines will find surprising secrets revealed about Marla's past, and new listeners can get to know the character from the very beginning.

Spellbound? Listen to all of our Marla Mason titles.©2009 T.A. Pratt (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Revealing background into Marla's history

I'm glad I listened to this book first as the prequel to the other Marla Mason novels, even though it was written after Spell Games and before Broken Mirrors. It gives some much needed background of Marla's history. Knowing this gives insight into why she acts the way she does. I also wonder if she will ever recover her memories that were erased, with a spell she asked to be cast, in future novels (which I haven't finished yet). Marla is quite human in her psychology and therefore she is flawed. It is nice to have a main character that isn't perfect, nor are any of the other characters, though some are better than others. I hadn't listened to Jessica Almasy as a narrator before, and at first I wasn't sure I liked her, but as the reading continued, I found myself relating very well to her reading of the book. I look forward to listening to the rest of the Marla Mason novels.

Chaotic storyline, amazing narration

The book was really enjoyable, I immediately bought the next (1st?) in the series, but it felt like the author was rushing through just trying to get plot points down. I hope the next one is less disjointed.

That being said, the narrator is the best I've ever heard on an audio book.

Great book well written and very enjoyable.

This book would be good just on its own but add Jessica Almasy as narrativer and it becomes a great book.

Hoping to be convinced...

I'm honestly in 2 minds......the book was a good read and i enjoyed it, but not to the point where I felt the need to rush to the "store" to get the next in the series. Don't get me wrong, it was a good read, but nothing fantastic enough to make me want to lose sleep in getting the next one.
I have read some of the reviews on the next series, and they're quite good.....so I'm still in two minds as to whether or not to spend a credit on the next one......just not entirely convinced it'll be worth it........

An interesting story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This was an interesting start to a series. This book was actually written in the middle of the series and is like the secret history of the main character. As such, I think that some of the world background got glossed over and there were some akward manuverings to make things fit. But it was still an interesting story and I am more than willing to actually listen to the rest of the series. It's kind of nice to see characters that have such twisted moral and no regret angst over them.

Would you be willing to try another book from T. A. Pratt? Why or why not?

Yes. I liked a lot of the world but it lacked detail. Since this was a prolgue to his series though, written in the middle of the series, that might be understandable.

What about Jessica Almasy’s performance did you like?

I thought she did a very good job giving the character's that teenage sarcastic ring without making you hate them.

The Cape

All of the Marla Mason books are novels on their own, one dose not run on from the other which I found hard I like an on going story but I got over it ,this is a sort of prequel you find out how Marla became Marla, how she got her cape and how she and her best friend Rando came about ,it made me laugh out loud and I was fascinated to see how she was forged into the sarcastic hero she is.

Fantastic!

I think I'm still psychologically traumatized from listening to this book. HaHa! Just kidding! I loved listening to this story. I was immediately sucked into it. There's a lot of trash talking, and a lot of adult language, and a whole lot of magic. It's the story of a girl that's living on the streets, who gets a lucky break, and becomes a Sorcerer's Apprentice, and of course where her life goes from there. It's great fun! There's a lot of adult language, and a lot casual talk of sex, and body parts, but it fits the book and the setting of the story. It really had me laughing. It was a nice break from my epic fantasy genre. I've already bought, and downloaded the next book in the series, and will start listening to it as soon as I submit this review.

The narrator was perfect! I've never heard her before, but I'll keep an eye out for more of her. I'm sure that whenever I hear her in the future she'll remind me of this series. She really made the characters come to life.

LIKE LIVING IN A FRAT HOUSE

PORNOMANCER
First two hours are hilarious. It reminded me of Moore's, Bite Me series. The author then moved from comedy to dark. I like dark, but this was not written well. I did not feel suspense or any feelings. It was all words on paper. I did not listen to the last two hours.

Narrator is great.

excellent start for the series

very engrossing and original. characters are wonderful. perfect narrator. looking forward to the next book.

Good did not encourage me to finish the series

If you could sum up Bone Shop in three words, what would they be?

MOre action required

Would you be willing to try another book from T. A. Pratt? Why or why not?

Yes, I felt like he could write better stuff

Have you listened to any of Jessica Almasy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure, she was great though really expressive voice

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, fairly simple book easy to follow. seems like more of a girl book.