Monster Blood Tattoo 2: Lamplighter
by D.M. Cornish
|
|
| published
|
May 1st 2007
by David Fickling Books
|
| first published
| 2008 |
| binding
| Hardcover |
| isbn
|
0385611927
(isbn13: 9780385611923)
|
| ebook |
|
| pages
| 448 |
| date added
|
06-07-07
|
|
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Read in April, 2008
You can like the first book in a new fantasy series. You can love a first book in a new fantasy series. You can compare that book to the works and worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien or Philip Pullman, if you’ve half a mind to do so. But no matter how much you love a book, when you see that its sequel is a whopping 711 pages long you may find yourself somewhat reluctant to pick it up. Iâ€...more
You can like the first book in a new fantasy series. You can love a first book in a new fantasy series. You can compare that book to the works and worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien or Philip Pullman, if you’ve half a mind to do so. But no matter how much you love a book, when you see that its sequel is a whopping 711 pages long you may find yourself somewhat reluctant to pick it up. I’m a busy reviewer. I get sent a lot of books to read and I’m only able to review a tiny portion of them. If a book is 711 pages long then it better earn my trust. I’d better be sure that there isn’t any needless information there. For all its length this had better be one heckuva lean, exciting, entrancing read. So I hefted this tome (there’s no other word for it) around with me and found pretty quickly that not only is Lamplighter, the second book in the Monster Blood Tattoo series, good, it happens to be even better than its predecessor. If Cornish tackled the idea of creating an original world and laying down the foundations in his first book, the second speaks to human prejudice, ignorance perpetuated, and maybe even the author’s Australian roots in this remarkable middle book in an increasingly multilayered world.
When last we saw of young Rossamund Bookchild he had successfully arrived at Winstermill, the fortress of the lamplighters. The boy is to learn the dangerous job of keeping the Empire’s roads lit at all times, despite the omnipresent fear of monsters on all sides. Because he has arrived a little late Rossamund is considered a bit of a laggard by his fellows. His status changes substantially, however, after a young noblewoman by the name of Threnody also arrives to become a lamplighter (the first female ever, perhaps). She and Rossamund strike up an uneasy friendship and good thing too. Dark machinations are afoot at Winstermill. The Master-of-Clerks has taken over in the Lamplighter-Marshal’s sudden absence. Rossamund finds a creature of despicable origins in the bowls of the fortress. And suddenly he and Threnody are bundled off to serve their first posts, but in a place as dark and dangerous as any in the Empire. Between parsing his own thoughts on monsters and trying to keep alive, Rossamund soon finds that the strange secrets from the past have a way of coming to light.
Generally the second book/film in any trilogy is going to be your weakest part. What percentage of people can honestly say that The Two Towers is their favorite book or Empire Strikes Back their favorite Star Wars movie? But Lamplighter is surprisingly strong and engaging for all that it’s a stepping stone to a conclusion. Maybe Cornish is helped by the fact that you never quite know where the storyline is headed until you’re almost to the end of the book. If Rossamund was a mild sedorner (monster lover) at the end of the first book, he’s made leaps and strides in that direction by the finale of the second. True, Lamplighter ends on a very “To Be Continued” note, which I usually despise. But in spite of this cliffhanger the book stands tall on its own two feet. Villains have been fleshed out and identified properly. Heroes are also named, though Rossamund is increasingly anxious over the moral complexities of people like Europe. And he finds himself wondering about his friend Sebastipole, “Could he be what Rossamund considered a good man and still do this? Could a man be wrong for doing what he thought was right?” And on top all of this, the book’s theme has been polished and defined.
It took me a little while to realize it, but D.M. Cornish shares much in common with his fellow Australian writers. As I read this book I was reminded of John Marsden’s remarkable “picture book” The Rabbits, as illustrated by Shaun Tan. In that book, a group of native animals are colonized violently by an invading species. Now look at the Monster Blood Tattoo books. Cornish has given us a set of assumptions and then turned them slowly on their head. In the first book you acquired Rossamund’s own “learned suspicions” as pertaining to the “fact” that all monsters are evil and must be destroyed else they will destroy you. Now in the second book we get a glimpse of the true stakes of the battle. Humans, it seems, have been encroaching on the monsters’ land for years. They destroy them regularly, even creating disgusting zombie-like creatures to fight them, and the monsters respond violently to this. As the book continues, you even got a glimpse of how little the humans even know about monsters. Their ideas about monster birth is a kind of spontaneous regeneration involving mud or maybe the buds on trees. These people know so little about their foes that they would rather kill them than learn anything about them, and it has been this way for centuries upon centuries.
You would think that this would mean that Rossamund was destined to do something to end all of this conflict. I’d like to think he could bring monster and man together in peace, but in truth I’m not sure if Cornish is really aiming that high. It seems like it will be enough for him to simply have Rossamund defeat the villains of the piece in the end. Then again, maybe it’s all connected. Hard to say. I guess we’ll just have to see what Cornish has up his sleeve in the last installment. One thing I will say (and this may be a tad spoilerish so avoid the rest of this paragraph if you care) is that I made a mistake in reviewing Lamplighter’s predecessor Foundling. In that review I said something along the lines of “never have I had such a clear sense that a character’s parentage is not the point of the series.” I might have as well have said, “I believe the next novel in this series will be written with Cheerios rather than words”, since that’s roundabout how off-base I was with that assumption. It’s not immediately apparent at the start, but Rossamund’s parentage may be the sticking point on which this entire series hinges.
Second novels have the luxury of getting to begin with an already well-informed bang. Lamplighter begins with excitement, heroism, blood, and women kicking monster-butt. Because the book assumes that you’ve read Foundling, it brings up multiple references to the occurrences in the previous book. A word to the wise then, do not begin this series with this book. It may be stronger than the first novel, but you need to understand this world completely from the first book to get anything at all out of the second. As for the new characters you meet, they’re fun. You can’t help but love poor sweet Numps, the seltzerman who is no longer quite right in the head but turns out to be a good friend to Rossamund. Or Threnody, the young noblewoman who wishes to be a lamplighter and who has such a crush on Rossamund that it shows itself in biting remarks, snipes, and a lot of pouting (which he never catches on to, sweet boy). What’s more, characters from the previous book are better fleshed out, which is helpful.
As in the second, Lamplighter retains Cornish’s ear for a well-turned phrase in his world’s particular vernacular. “Move your ashes, scrub!” sounds like a real enough sentence to me. Descriptions too remain sparkling and bright. Cornish isn’t afraid to use delightful words in average sentences as with, “A susurrus of deep displeasure stirred about the boys.” And then the names have multiplied here and become delicious. There’s Sourdoor, Epitome Bile, Bellicos, and more.
It has been said many many times before regarding other series, but I don’t think one more time is going to hurt anyone. Having finished this book at long last my sole regret is that I don’t have the third. Perhaps Mr. Cornish will be kind enough to make the final book in the trilogy a good 1,000 pages at least so that I don’t have abandon Rossamund and his world quite so soon. Someday I like to think that children’s literary scholars will take some time to pick apart Cornish’s histories and theories regarding conflict and how it is perpetuated by a society that would perhaps prefer peace if they considered the matter. Until then, you’ll just have to enjoy the books on their own. It’s a brilliant little number and hopefully will garner the fan base it so desperately deserves.
Ages 10 and up....less
The Monster Blood Tattoo series continues with this next installment. Lamplighter is twice as thick as its preceding story, Foundling, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is twice as good.
For those of you who haven’t read the first in the series, main character Rossamünd is a foundling who embarks on an adventure to reach a city called High Vesting in order to begin training as a lamplighter. On this journey, he encounters a wide cast of characters including leers, massacars, lahzars, ...more
The Monster Blood Tattoo series continues with this next installment. Lamplighter is twice as thick as its preceding story, Foundling, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is twice as good.
For those of you who haven’t read the first in the series, main character Rossamünd is a foundling who embarks on an adventure to reach a city called High Vesting in order to begin training as a lamplighter. On this journey, he encounters a wide cast of characters including leers, massacars, lahzars, and even monsters.
The second book continues immediately after the first left off. RossamĂĽnd makes it to High Vesting in the nick of time to begin his training. The first time he goes out to practice his lamplighting with the other prentices, they are set upon by a large monster, a horn-ed nicker to be specific, and two others. With the aid of a group of calendars, they manage to destroy the monsters. However, with that, they also learn that there is to be a female prentice named Threnody.
RossamĂĽnd and Threnody become unexpected allies as they train and work together. Many characters from the first book come back into play, such as Europe the lahzar, Master Sebastipole, Master Fransitart, Master Craumpalin, and Freckles the glamgorn bogle. New characters include Mister Numps, and numerous others employed as lamplighters or related services. I found that it was very hard to keep track of all the different names.
I found Lamplighter harder to read than Foundling for several reasons, but mostly because of sheer size. The second story was about twice the size of the first. The wording was strange at times, the descriptions repetitive or drawn out and boring. The new terms used made the story hard to understand, especially where the new monetary system and months were concerned. There were a lot of subplots within the story that were hard to keep track of, and unlike the first book, there wasn’t a clear goal of the story. It merely followed Rossamünd’s journeys, but I couldn’t really find a point to those journeys. I also felt that this story was a bit too much like Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Eragon, although fans of those stories would probably like this one.
What also bothered me was that RossamĂĽnd was also called clever, but to me, he never seemed to be. I figured out many unsolved problems of his before he did. RossamĂĽnd also seemed to contradict himself a lot and could never seem to make up his mind unless it was done for him. His relationship with Threnody was awkward at best and very repetitive. Reading this second book almost discouraged me from wanting to read the rest of the story when it comes out.
However, I did like the ending of the story. The last hundred pages or so redeem the story’s other faults. If the books are named after Rossamünd’s occupations during them, then there is good reason to believe the third book will be called Factotum. Despite the length of this book, I am looking forward to the next installment in the series, and I hope the sheer size of this book will not daunt others from reading it.
reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot......less
bookshelves:
fantasy
Read in July, 2008
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...more
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, 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.
...less
Read in July, 2008
Heck, what can I say about a book that has made me excited about reading again? Waiting eagerly for the next installment like a young child? There's just something very magical about this series, and this book has only continued that, broadening the world and making the story only more deep and disturbing.
Following orphan Rossamund as he becomes a Lamplighter in the Most Serene Emperors service, it quickly becomes more apparent than the first book that something is truly rotten in the world....more
Heck, what can I say about a book that has made me excited about reading again? Waiting eagerly for the next installment like a young child? There's just something very magical about this series, and this book has only continued that, broadening the world and making the story only more deep and disturbing.
Following orphan Rossamund as he becomes a Lamplighter in the Most Serene Emperors service, it quickly becomes more apparent than the first book that something is truly rotten in the world. The power of Cornish's writing is that he hints and lays down clues throughout rather than just coming out and saying it. It really makes you feel as if you are discovering the truth of the world along with our young hero.
Probably a more complex write than the first book, its also (thankfully) longer. The language of the world hits you thick and fast, as does the war and violence of the setting. As Rossamund sets into the drudge of his apprenticeship as a Lamplighter, the book could have risked bogging down, but thankfully Cornish took that time to also lay the groundwork for which became a killer of an ending.
I wail as I wait painfully for book three to come out. Probably the best book I'll read this year, I think. If you want a fresh fantasy world very unlike any other, and filled with character and depth, then give this series a try....less
bookshelves:
2008-books-read,
young-adult
Read in July, 2008
The second in a young adult fantasy series, Lamplighter picks up where Monster Blood Tattoo leaves off. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, a richly constructed piece of fantasy, much of the ilk of Harry Potter, but perhaps a little inaccessible for those who don't want to have to work. The world that the lamplighters inhabit is an alternate world, complete with an alternate vocabulary, contained in the back of the book - a whole hundred pages devoted to an "explicarium" or a glossary. T...more
The second in a young adult fantasy series, Lamplighter picks up where Monster Blood Tattoo leaves off. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, a richly constructed piece of fantasy, much of the ilk of Harry Potter, but perhaps a little inaccessible for those who don't want to have to work. The world that the lamplighters inhabit is an alternate world, complete with an alternate vocabulary, contained in the back of the book - a whole hundred pages devoted to an "explicarium" or a glossary. The author will often use vocabulary in the work, without offering an explanation in text, a little infuriating, if you ask me. I hate not knowing what something is, especially if it seems important, and I hate having to page back to the glossary to look. Overall, a nice escape. Can't wait for the third!...less
bookshelves:
classic-fantasy,
favorites,
ya
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
lovers of high fantasy
I loved this, and I am only sorry that I will have to wait for the third!
This series deserves far and away more popularity than it has recieved. The world-building here is as rich as Harry Potter and His Dark Materials, with a darker edge than either. Disturbing things are afoot for Rossamund Bookchild; he is finding that he is not who he thinks he is, and realizing ever more that he faces a world of violence and predjudice. Who can he count on? Who will stand with him, and who will give in t...more
I loved this, and I am only sorry that I will have to wait for the third!
This series deserves far and away more popularity than it has recieved. The world-building here is as rich as Harry Potter and His Dark Materials, with a darker edge than either. Disturbing things are afoot for Rossamund Bookchild; he is finding that he is not who he thinks he is, and realizing ever more that he faces a world of violence and predjudice. Who can he count on? Who will stand with him, and who will give in to superstition and bigotry? There is horror and sorrow here, but compassion and humanity too. Excellent stuff!...less
bookshelves:
fiction-read
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Dave by:
my youngest daughter
recommends it for:
readers of fantasy.
We read the previous book in the trilogy as a family. We found it interesting and entertaining with subtle messageas about tolerance and avoiding the irrational fear of people and things outside of core communities. Lamplighter is longer and more complex following the adventures of the orphan boy Rosamund in a fantasy world called 'The Half-Continent'. The character development and plot remind me of the work of Lloyd Alexander. The series is a coming of age saga that deals gently with common...more
We read the previous book in the trilogy as a family. We found it interesting and entertaining with subtle messageas about tolerance and avoiding the irrational fear of people and things outside of core communities. Lamplighter is longer and more complex following the adventures of the orphan boy Rosamund in a fantasy world called 'The Half-Continent'. The character development and plot remind me of the work of Lloyd Alexander. The series is a coming of age saga that deals gently with common issues of identity and friendship. I listened to the audio book during a long road trip....less
I was so impressed with the first book in this trilogy and anxiously anticipated the sequel. With many trilogies, the second book is often a disappointing stretch between the first and last books. Lamplighter, however, was not! The world Cornish creates in the first book (Foundling) continues to captivate and intrique readers as RossamĂĽnd Bookchild embarks upon his career as a lamplighter. New characters are introduced and previous characters reenter the story that both build and extend the com...more
I was so impressed with the first book in this trilogy and anxiously anticipated the sequel. With many trilogies, the second book is often a disappointing stretch between the first and last books. Lamplighter, however, was not! The world Cornish creates in the first book (Foundling) continues to captivate and intrique readers as RossamĂĽnd Bookchild embarks upon his career as a lamplighter. New characters are introduced and previous characters reenter the story that both build and extend the complexity of the story leaving the reader almost breathless in the end and wanting more!...less
bookshelves:
science-fiction-fantasy,
young-adult
Read in May, 2008
Wish I could give half-star ratings as I thought this was a 4.5. I'm loving this series even though this second book was gigantic. Great high fantasy. My only real complaint is the excessive use of new terminology to describe things (hats, coats, weapons, horse-drawn coaches, etc...). This is neat in the Tolkien sense, but generally distracts from the plot and character development which he does so well in this second book. A bit of a cliff-hanger ending makes me anxious for book 3!
Read in June, 2008
Where the first of the series presented a straight tour d' monde - introducing us to the world, its society, and its culture - the second act brings us closer to the central story. In this volume we learn that something is rotten in Denmark and that new allies are rare. (Rossamund makes, by my count, four new friends in all the six-hundred pages of the book.) With those two chunks of exposition off his chest, I look forward to a character-rich third volume.
I didn't read Monster Blood Tattoo, so I didn't know what I was getting when I started this... Lucky for me, the second book doesn't rely too much on the first, so it was easy to catch on. It was distracting to constantly have to learn new meanings for words ("Calendar", for example), but the plot is exciting and will engage most readers. Now I have to go back and read Book One!
bookshelves:
2008
Read in May, 2008
Had to read the first book again to remember the story. I didn't really get into this one until after I had read about 100 pages. After the first 100 pages I couldn't put it down. The only thing that is a little distracting is that the last 200 pages are a glossary that keeps referring you to the first book's glossary.
bookshelves:
novela
Read in June, 2008
La generación de mundos fantásticos requiere imaginación, consistencia técnica, verosimilitud...
En este caso, no se gasta mucha imaginaciĂłn, la consistencia tĂ©cnica es muy limitada, y la verosimilitud no alcanza el mĂnimo exigible...
AsĂ que, al cajĂłn de los fracasos editoriales.
bookshelves:
fantasy,
youngadult
Read in July, 2008
D.M. Cornish has created a lush, fantastical, and detailed world: the Half-Continent, inhabited by complex characters, monsters, and ever-present evils, dangers and mysteries. Though this second installment was dauntingly long, I still wasn't ready to leave this world at the end.
Read in June, 2008
D.M. Cornish crafts a fantasy world that is as fully realized as Frank Herbert's Dune. The second volume in Cornish's Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy could have used a heavier hand in editing, but is overall an enjoyable and compelling tale.
bookshelves:
fantasy,
reviewed
recommends it for:
Fans of the first book only!
This looooooong book, which I reviewed for LMC, explains the dearth of entries lately. My bookshelf was dominated by this 600-pager for far too long. Anyhoo, I did NOT enjoy it, but then again, I hated Lord of the Rings, too.
bookshelves:
to-read
I liked the first book in this series, but I'm having trouble getting into this one. I think I've forgotten a lot about the first one that you really need to remember. Also, it's about 3.4 million pages long. I am daunted.
bookshelves:
currently-reading
The book's size itself is daunting...and the fact that almost 1/4 of it is a glossary almost through me for a loop, but once I started and settled in, I remembered why I loved the first book in the series so much.
bookshelves:
teen-fantasy-scifi
Read in January, 2008
As good as the 1st. Excellent detailed high fantasy book. If you like any orphan, adventure, fantasy type stories you will probably like this. Good for all ages. 1 of my favorite series.
bookshelves:
alltimefavorites,
fantasy,
youngadult
Read in January, 2008
The second Monster Blood Tattoo book. I will sit on my hands and wait for book three...and try to be patient.
book data (includes all editions)
avg rating
(all editions):
4.14 (50 ratings)
avg rating
(this edition): 4.00
(4 ratings)
number of reviews: 24
other editions
[close]
Lamplighter: Monster Blood Tattoo, Book 2 (Hardcover)
isbn: 0399246398
[close]
Monster Blood Tattoo: Book Two: Lamplighter (Audio CD)
isbn: 0739351532
[close]
Tatuaje de monstruo. El viaje de Rossamund (Hardcover)
isbn:
