I came across this book (and SPELL GAMES) by T.A. Pratt at our local Borders, and, having enjoyed the first two books of the series (and having several gift cards from Christmas left in my wallet), I bought them both.

I finished DEAD REIGN a couple of nights ago, and I enjoyed it even more than I enjoyed its predecessor, POISON SLEEP. (I blogged about it here.)

In this one, Marla Mason is confronted with the incarnation of Death, and he wants something that Marla has: her dagger of office. When she refuses to give it to him, he banishes her and takes over her city. The situation calls for some creative thinking, and Marla is nothing if not a creative outside-the-box thinking sorcerer.

As I've said in my previous review of POISON SLEEP, these books are not my usual cup of tea. I'm not a fantasy reader, and though I'd never sampled the sub-genre of "urban fantasy", I probably wouldn't have picked up this series had I not read the author's blog here on Journalscape. But also as I said before, I am glad I did pick them up, because I find Marla to be a very interesting and fairly original character. And her sidekicks are also of the same mold. These are characters you come to know and like very quickly, and that's half the battle in finding enjoyable fiction, in my view.

It's also refreshing to find an original take on the world. Marla's magical world, which is at once strange and familiar, is a place about which I want to read more. And then there are the stories. Just when you think something might fall into a pattern (and I haven't read a lot of fantasy lately, but part of the issue for me is that a lot of fantasies seem to be interchangeable), the story goes off in some fresh and unique direction. Strong sense of place, strong plotting and solid writing make these books winners for me so far.

I'll let you know what I think of SPELL GAMES when I finish it, but I'm sure it will be positive, if this trend continues.