{"id":1121,"date":"2009-05-11T20:15:35","date_gmt":"2009-05-12T01:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=1121"},"modified":"2025-05-05T21:30:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T01:30:25","slug":"spell-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1121","title":{"rendered":"Spell Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spell Games<\/a><\/em> (2009) T.A. Pratt<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I am annoyed.<\/p>\n

One of my least favorite things in the world is when a book ends with a major story arc unresolved, where you are left hanging to wait for the next book in the series.<\/p>\n

Guess what Tim Pratt did?<\/p>\n

Did I mention how much I hate it when books end and leaving you hanging?<\/p>\n

The most frustrating thing is that until the last two pages I was quite happy with Spell Games<\/em> and thought it was one of the best books yet in the series. The story kept going in unexpected directions, and I liked the fact that there was great difficulty and some unhappiness. OK, I wasn’t sad, because this series doesn’t have that kind of hook in me, but things were rough and I like it when authors are willing to take chances. But, this was not to be. <\/p>\n

SPOILERS<\/strong> (rot 13<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Jung znqr zr znq jnf V jnf irel rkpvgrq sbe jurer vg ybbxrq yvxr gur frevrf jnf tbvat. Zneyn naq Ebaqrnh jrer obgu tbvat gb unir gb qrny jvgu gurve thvyg bire O’f qrngu, naq frr vs gurl pbhyq yrnea gb yvir jvgu rnpu bgure nsgre rirelguvat gung unq unccrarq. Naq Ebaqrnh jnf npghnyyl tbvat gb unir gb yrnea ubj gb jbex zntvp naq or zber guna Zneyn’f fvqrxvpx naq snvgushy pbzcnavba.<\/p>\n

Ohg ab. Abj gurl’er tbvat gb tb naq gel naq oevat O onpx, abg gung oevat O onpx vfa’g n jbegul pnhfr, ubjrire, vg frrzf irel haernyvfgvp, naq V’z sne yrff rkpvgrq nobhg jurer gung vf tbvat gb gnxr gur fgbel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

END SPOILERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we discovered at the end of the last book (I should have seen it coming I suppose), Marla’s long lost brother has appeared and wants to get to know his sister again. He’s still a grifter, and is in town to pull a grift, but while he is in town he wants to spend time with Marla. And Marla doesn’t know what to think.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, B has come back with Marla to be her new apprentice, so she’s sending him around to all the local sorcerers to see what they can teach him–apparently B has a lot more going for him than he had realized (having a narcoleptic instructor didn’t help.)<\/p>\n

So although this was a good story and a nice addition to the series, I am extremely unhappy with the ending.
\nRating: 6\/10<\/strong> (would have been higher if not for the last two pages.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spell Games (2009) T.A. Pratt I am annoyed. One of my least favorite things in the world is when a book ends with a major story arc unresolved, where you are left hanging to wait for the next book in the series. Guess what Tim Pratt did? Did I mention how much I hate it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,291,16],"tags":[867,866],"class_list":["post-1121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","category-paper","category-supernatural","tag-marla-mason","tag-t-a-pratt"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-i5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1063,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1063","url_meta":{"origin":1121,"position":0},"title":"Dead Reign","author":"Michelle","date":"March 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Dead Reign (2008) T.A. Pratt When Marla stops the (not very sane) necromancer Ayers from animating a corpse, she sets into action a chain of events that will have her once again defending Felport from an invader, and learning more about the underworld than she ever wants to know. Hmm...\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/Dead-Reign.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2664,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2664","url_meta":{"origin":1121,"position":1},"title":"Bone Shop","author":"Michelle","date":"November 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Bone Shop (2010) T.A. Pratt Bone Shop is Marla Mason's back story--from how she first discovered magic to how she ended up chief sorcerer of Freeport. This was originally published as a serial novel on Tim Pratt's website after a financial crisis, but is now available as an eBook or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Bone-Shop.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":701,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/701","url_meta":{"origin":1121,"position":2},"title":"Poison Sleep","author":"Michelle","date":"October 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Poison Sleep (2008) T.A. Pratt Nathan raved about the first Marla Mason book, Blood Engines. I thought the book was good, but nothing really drew me into the story. But Michael liked Blood Engines so I bought the second book, and decided to read it while I was on vacation.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Poison-Sleep.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":590,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/590","url_meta":{"origin":1121,"position":3},"title":"Blood Engines","author":"Michelle","date":"June 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Blood Engines (2007) T.A. Pratt Nathan raved about Blood Engines a couple months ago, so I decided to move it higher in the list, based on his recommendation. Marla Mason is guardian of Felport, but is off the ranch in San Francisco, searching for a Cornerstone--a magical artifact that will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Blood-Engines.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3622,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3622","url_meta":{"origin":1121,"position":4},"title":"The Way of the Wizard","author":"Michelle","date":"March 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Way of the Wizard (2010) John Joseph Adams I love anthologies. They give me an escape in bite size pieces that won't keep me up past my bed time on a work night, and they also often a wonderful introduction to authors I have not read previously. This anthology\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"way_of_the_wizard","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/way_of_the_wizard.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24424,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24424","url_meta":{"origin":1121,"position":5},"title":"Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea","author":"Michelle","date":"April 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (2022) Rebecca Thorne (Tomes & Tea #1) Reyna and Kianthe have been dating for years, but because Reyna is one of the queen's private guards, they have to keep things secret. But one night after stopping another assassin, Reyna realizes she has had enough, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Can't Spell Treason Without Tea","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cant-Spell-Treason-Without-Tea.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cant-Spell-Treason-Without-Tea.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Cant-Spell-Treason-Without-Tea.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1121\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}