Lamplighter

I found this, the second book in the Monster Blood Tattoo series, to be much better than the first. Foundling was enjoyable and different, creating a new world with strange terminology and even stranger characters, but it took some time to really take off and I found the new words interfered with the reading flow (despite the explicarium at the back of the book). Lamlighter starts and ends with a bang. The pace is fast, the monsters fierce, the main characters mysterious and refreshingly neither all good nor all bad. By the end I found myself thinking in this new language and wanting to pick up my fodicar, search for a fulger and become her factotum rather than a measly lamplighter. There is also some serious thought-provoking stuff show more behind this novel: are monsters those who behave like them or only those who look like them? Can humans be monsters and monsters be humane? The last chapter left me desperately awaiting the third book in the series (I think due in September). Refreshingly unique fantasy. Recommended for adults and older children alike. show less

Didn't see that one coming. But you're going to have to go read it yourself. I am working through the Foundling's Tale and just finished the second book. What a ride! On the one hand, I respect the author's meticulous detail creating a world with people and monsters. Characters with place names from our world (I caught Europe and Idaho amongst others. On the other hand, the print is small and no detail can be missed or you are missing the whole scene. The back third of the book is the background, glossary, etc. I put this creation on par with Middle Earth.

Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish (Putnam, 2008) is, like its predecessor Foundling (Putnam, 2007), a dark and dense pleasure indeed. Young Rossamund has begun his prenticeship as an Emperor’s Lamplighter at the labyrinthine stronghold Winstermill and begins to adapt to the rigorous schedule. Rossamund has a remarkable talent for finding and befriending the gems among some truly rough characters, and these friends come in very handy as a sinister hidden plot results in Winstermill being controlled by nefarious schemers. To shorten the rest of the plot to one sentence – Rossamund and his reluctant friend Threnody are prematurely placed in the most dangerous, monster-ridden stronghold in the Empire, survive several nasty monster attacks, show more and end up back at Winstermill, where Rossamund is accused of something that the reader has suspected all along. What that is, you’ll have to discover for yourself; I’m no plot spoiler!

The many vivid characters and their intriguing relationships to each other, the intricate details of dress, routine, language, food, and everything else, and most of all Rossamund’s growing awareness of his own nature and thoughts about the world – these elements, bound together by masterful prose, make reading these two books an intense experience. Cornish has built an entire rich world, and I plunged into it gladly.

May I use that word “obsessive” again? Cornish’s drawings, tables, charts, glossary, and maps point to a seriously deranged mind. Reading these books is like reading a foreign language you’re not quite fluent in; you have to keep checking the glossary until finally you just let the strange words sweep you away into the story. In one section of Lamplighter, Rossamund and some others play a card game called Pirouette. Some general rules were given. I checked the glossary; there was an entry but the full rules weren’t given. However – I am quite sure that if I dropped by Mr. Cornish’s house in Australia and asked him to play a game of Pirouette with me, he’d whip out a deck of cards (handpainted by himself) and teach me to play. show less

This is the second installment in the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy. Starting shortly after Foundling ends, the beginning of Lamplighter finds Rossamünd training to become a lamplighter – one of the group of men who light and douse lamps along roads outside the cities to keep monsters at bay. It’s no surprise to learn that Rossamünd’s luck seems to be the same as it was in the previous book – faced with monsters while training, running into them in the fortress where they are living, not to mention the fact that because of his size Rossamünd has troubles with the usual lamplighter duties.

Part way into their training, the apprentices are joined by a female apprentice, something that normally doesn’t happen. Threnody is a wit show more (they can hurt other people with their minds*), is moody, and happens to be more disliked than Rossamünd. The two quickly become friends-of-a-sort (meaning, his is the only company she actually puts up with), which works out well for both of them when their graduation from apprentices to full-fledged lamplighters comes early and the two of them are sent out to the most remote and most dangerous location to begin their service as lamplighters. And this is where all the fun (for the reader) really begins.

I completely loved this book. Because I had just read the first book in the trilogy a few weeks ago, it was still fresh in my mind so I didn’t have to worry about the whole “remembering exactly what’s going on and who all these people are!” that usually accompanies books in series’. Much-loved characters reappeared, and there were many other wonderful new characters introduced. I wasn’t as enthralled by the “bad guys” in this book, but I think that’s because the other major characters in this installment got more interesting themseves. And then there was Threnody – ah, how I have that soft spot for bratty characters!

On the topic of Rossamünd, however… well, I want (at some point) to go back and reread the first part of this book, as well as the first book, in order to see if there is any hint to certain developments in character. I don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that he went to being a very small, ordinary boy, to having superhuman strength in a relatively short period of time. Of course, this could possibly be as a result of some of Rossamünd’s character which hasn’t been revealed yet, but we don’t know that completely yet.

The monsters, and the experiences we have with the monsters, were definitely my favourite parts of the book – they could be quite exciting or charming, depending what kind of monsters you were reading about.

I greatly mourn the fact that I’m going to have to wait for the third book of this trilogy – anyone have any idea when we can be expecting it? As with most of the trilogies I’ve read, it leaves off with some closure but mostly left me wanting – no, needing – to know what happens next. I’ve grown quite attached to little Rossamünd, and want to know exactly what he is and where he came from before arriving on the doorstep of the orphanage! I want to know exactly what the monsters and what his masters know that we don’t! I’m also wondering whether we’ll see more of Threnody in the last installment. So many unanswered questions!

* Sounds kind of like River Tam, eh? show less

A wonderful sequel to Foundling. I enjoyed it even more than the first book, which was excellent. Several new characters are introduced, including Threnody, a monster slayer of noble birth who joins the Lamplighters as the first female prentice, and whose haughtiness is supplanted at times by surprising acts of charity. Also Numps, a seltzer-man who has gone a bit mad after being savagly attacked by monsters and now cleans lamp panes and keeps a secret stash of bloom in the fortress. The scenes between Numps and Rossamund are often tender, and provide further hints at a mystery that is introduced in the first book, and expanded on in this volume to great effect. Europe also reappears in this book as a sort of odd, detached maternal show more figure.

Rossamund, who is generally meek and apathetic for a hero begins to show a bit of backbone in this book, maintaining his disgust for monster killing, but fighting bravely to defend his fellow lamplighters and friends. Cornish gives us a complex character who, in the seemingly clear-cut battle of humans vs. monsters is one of the few people capable of seeing in shades of grey. Indeed, some of the human characters are much more monstrous than some of the monsters themselves.

Cornish's fantasy world continues to be deeply satisfying and absorbing. The one complaint I have is that the sheer number of new words he introduces, while very inventive and evocative, make it difficult sometimes to keep track of what's what, especially since there are often several different words for the same thing which are used interchangeably. Of course, one can always consult the extensive glossary, however, it takes away from the excitement to have to flip to the back.

Highly recommended. show less

Veterans rejoice; newcomers beware! D.M. Cornish has returned with the second book in his children’s fantasy series, Monster Blood Tattoo. He picks up right where he left off, making no allowances for those unfamiliar with his own brand of fantastical jargon. I struggled a little at first, but my memories of Foundling soon came flooding back, ready to remind me of the two types of lahzar, the terrors of pernicious threwd, and how exactly a sthenicon works. As if all this were not enough to confuse new readers, Cornish wastes no time in introducing a whole stack of completely new vocabulary. To describe Lamplighter as ‘creative’ would be an ettin-sized understatement. I sometimes wonder if Cornish has time to do anything else but show more dream up fascinating creatures, contraptions and characters for his books!

As MBT fans will instantly notice, Lamplighter is literally twice the size of its prequel. Its pace fluctuates (or should I say ‘vaoriates’?) to a substantial degree – Rossamünd’s battle with the gudgeon will have you glued to your seat, while his carriage ride to Wormstool will have you falling asleep in it – but overall, that tried-and-true rule of literature prevails: a thicker sequel is almost inevitably a slower one. The plot is, at times, merely an unimpressive scaffold for Cornish’s creativity to adorn, and is disappointingly predictable until the final chapter. Rossamünd seems to have retained his frustrating inability to recognise black habilistics when they are staring him straight in the face. Lamplighter’s bulk is ideal for hitting yourself over the head with when, after 400 pages, we finally find out that – shock horror – Grotius Swill is a massacar.

To compensate for these weaknesses, Cornish employs many of the same tactics that made the Harry Potter series such a hit. The school-like routine of prenticing keeps the writing flowing nicely. The characters are whimsical and colourful, and readers will respect some utterly while detesting others with relish. Even Winstermill, with its shadowed furtigrades and secret passageways, fills its audience with a decidedly Hogwarts-ian thrill.

It may have its flaws, but Lamplighter has held fast to its prequel’s key attributes: sheer inventive power, and a delicious style of narration and dialogue – archaic, but also strikingly otherworldly. Go ahead; read it. But for your own sake, read the first book first! show less

Rossamund has finally arrived at his original apprenticeship as a lamplighter. As he begins his career he finds himself slightly disappointed by the rigorous, violent, and repetitive life he faces. After his arrival monster attacks increase and it is obvious that something sinister is developing among the lamplighter hierarchy. Rossamund makes an unlikely friend in the first girl lamplighter despite her prickly manner and self-obsession. Despite his early difficulties, Rossamund is making a home for himself in his new profession, but matters are accelerating and it seems like unknown enemies have it in for him. Can he manage to stay alive long enough to bring justice to his friends?

This series is really blossoming. The world building of show more Cornish on point and so very rich. I get such a sense of a huge world with a layered culture. It's a very immersive book. I really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one. show less