In Order to Write

Tim Pratt’s Blood Engines

November 7th, 2007 | by smokingpen |

A couple of years ago, more out of curiosity over a picture and a publishers blurb than for any other reason, I came across the writing styles of Tim Pratt. The book The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl. I really enjoyed the book and even emailed the author to see if he was doing anything else. He emailed back, thanking me for my praise, and suggested I wait for news and go to his website.

In the couple of years since then, I’ve read some of his short stories, gotten my hands on his one novel, and waited for longer works to be published and I continued to go to his website and read his blog. Not always interesting and the things he does on the side are not choices I would make, but hey, I like the guys writing. So, when he announced a deal with Bantam to write a series of books based off of a character, Marla Mason, who is the head witch in a fictional east coast city.

Then came more waiting.

When the book was published (in mass market paperback) I went out to Borders and picked up a copy of his Blood Engines published under the name T.A. Pratt (the reason for the name change is because his protagonist is female and the publisher’s are marketing toward a primarily female audience).

I bought the book and ignored the fact that I still haven’t read the one my wife asked me to read, and started to read Blood Engines. I think, honestly, that Pratt really is turning into one of the more influential writers in fantasy. The novel is set in the present era. It starts with Marla and her sidekick Rondeau arriving in San Francisco looking for a friend of Marla’s and a Cornerstone.

The Cornerstone is a magical artifact that will make the impossible possible and Marla wants it so she can avoid being erased.

The real story begins when Marla discovers that her friend was killed by very poisonous golden frogs quite possibly be a madman wearing snake skin underwear and an insect wing cape. She begins to investigate and all hell breaks loose in the city of San Francisco.

I think, with the plot out of the way, that Pratt has created a universe and world that is comfortable and well written. He’s put some thought into this and has a protagonist that is a little evil, a little good, and a lot in between. She realizes her strengths, acknowledges her weaknesses, and moves forward regardless. The writing is tight, the story is well plotted, and at no point does something happen where the reader is deceived or made the feel they were not a part of the action leading to that point. Even when the ex-movie actor B clearly lies to Marla, you are drawn into the lie because you’ve grown to like having B around and wanting him to succeed along with Marla.

It makes sense, to me, that various early readers of Pratt’s book wondered whether or not B would be back in future installments. He is that dynamic and interesting of a character. Interesting enough that I can see Pratt, eventually, using B as the central protagonist of his own story - though that is up to the author. Pratt also used narrative time to share action through B’s POV, leaving Marla to do her own thing somewhere else. As I said, this is a well written story that doesn’t try to overstep exactly what it is - a very good read.

The one detraction I have from the book is the overt sexuality that is brought into the story. Granted, it is a part of the world Pratt created for his characters and one of the Sorcerers Marla has to interact with is what Pratt calls a Pornomancer, but the abject sexuality, for a period of 50 to 100 pages, kept causing me to put the book down or aside and work through other things I’ve been reading and working through. Even with that aspect to the story, though, I think Pratt is still in the early stages of becoming a really good writer and as such, over time, these elements will find a more subtle way into his writing.

Even with the detraction, I found the story to be enjoyable and the final, climactic scenes, as well as how Marla eventually saves her own hide, to be very enjoyable and absolutely worth the read. Blood Engines is a good book that, if you are into fantasy and like a little bit of impossible adventure and some less-than-moral characters, this may be the story for you.