Little Better than a Beast

Marla Mason #5.6

by T.A. Pratt, Tim Pratt

Marla Mason has faced a lot of tough adversaries in her years as chief sorcerer of Felport, but in this short story her city is menaced by a monster from the past: the legendary Beast of Felport, a creature that slaughtered the city's original settlers hundreds of years before, has returned. But the Beast isn't the only refugee from the past -- the city's first chief sorcerer, the ruthless Everett Malkin, has traveled through time as well. He's none too pleased with how Marla's running things... and Marla has never been too good at taking criticism.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Magic, Short Stories

15 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 11, 2011

About the author

T.A. Pratt is the pseudonym of Tim Pratt, under which he penned the Marla Mason books.

I've crowdfunded seven projects (four through Kickstarter) successfully in the past few years, and I don't foresee any problems with this one, either. I write novels for a living, and this is a book I'm excited to do. It's always possible there will be bumps and delays on the production process, or an unforeseen illness or other disaster, but if so, I'll keep everyone posted, and we'll get there in the end.

Reviews

[Choko · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is another day-in-the-life type of snippet, but it doesn't belong in the 5.6 slot. It should be read anywhere between book #1 and #5, but not after. Just a small detail of the life of Head sorcerer Marla Mason 🙂

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

This vignette is listed out of sequence, and actually occurs between Poison Sleep and Dead Reign according to the story notes. It is fun side quest, detailing Marla and her team dealing with a monster from Felport's past, and it gives some insight into the establishment of the city. I liked the way Marla dealt with the sexism of the original chief sorcerer, and actually used a non-lethal solution for the monster itself.
Pratt discusses how the idea originated, and it reminded me of how many of my ideas in D&D develop, starting as offhanded comments or little details meant to give the game world a feeling of being filled out. Where Pratt is working from his own ideas, I frequently do the same with the comments of my players (and the other DMs in my group do the same thing). This all just ties into how I describe a good role playing campaign as collaborative story telling.

[Selenity Jade (Coffee Addicts Book Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining short story, but I'm kind of lackluster about the ending. Locking up a historic figure, just for being a tool? In a mental institution, no less. He's a jerk from the past, okay. But seems a little harsh.

[Timelord Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really doesn't fit here in the timeline... it needs to be between books 2-4 instead...

[Joy Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short story from the world of Marla Mason. This one has a pretty good start, but the ending was a bit blasé. I really enjoy Marla and Rondeau so I hate to complain here but the story just didn't really fill in any holes, nor did it add anything to the lexicon as it were. If you are a completionist then please do read this, but don't think it will add to your Mason mania.

[Antonio Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otra historia de Marla Mason. Esta se puede leer casi en cualquier momento (porque no revela nada de la trama central de las novelas). Muy fan de la ingeniosa resolución de Pratt al problema central. Este hombre siempre consigue sorprenderme.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Marla Mason short bought for my Kindle. I have really enjoyed reading these.