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Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo #1)

by D.M. Cornish (Goodreads Author)

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 3,449 ratings · 434 reviews

The orphan Rossamnd--a boy with a girl's name--begins his journey through theperilous Half-Continent where the human race lives in perpetual conflict withmonsters of every shape and description. G.P. Putnam's Sons

Hardcover, 434 pages

Published May 18th 2006 by Putnam Publishing Group

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Nov 08, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.com

MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO is an unusual book. Even before I delved into it, I was struck by some of the ways that it's different from other young adult fantasy novels. For one thing, more than a quarter of the book is taken up with an extensive glossary and other appendices. It is also sprinkled with art - typically sketches of characters in the novel. So even before reading a word of the story, I was curious. Surely such an unusual book would be eit...more Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.com

MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO is an unusual book. Even before I delved into it, I was struck by some of the ways that it's different from other young adult fantasy novels. For one thing, more than a quarter of the book is taken up with an extensive glossary and other appendices. It is also sprinkled with art - typically sketches of characters in the novel. So even before reading a word of the story, I was curious. Surely such an unusual book would be either a magnificent, ground-breaking achievement or a disappointing, confusing disaster, right? Turns out that neither of those lofty expectations panned out. Nonetheless, this is a good, entertaining novel with some interesting characters and a unique approach to the human/monster relationship.

The hero of MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO is an orphan, or in the language of the book, a foundling, named Rossamund Bookchild. He was raised at an orphanage, or rather, a foundlingery, called Madam Opera's Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls. The only clue the boy has about his parents is that someone had pinned a girl's name, Rossamund, to his blankets before abandoning him years earlier. No doubt that is a story in itself, but it will have to wait for future books.

When Rossamund is old enough, he is selected for a career and sent off to begin life away from Madam Opera's Marine Society. While he is pleased to have been chosen for a job and eager to see the world outside the foundlingery's doors, Rossamund also worries that his career as a lamplighter might not be exciting enough for him. But the boy is dutiful, so he gathers his meager belongings and sets off. Rossamund's journey to lamplighter headquarters should be straightforward enough, but he accidentally ends up aboard the wrong ship and things go downhill from there.

The real adventure in MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO is the dangerous path Rossamund follows in an attempt to find his new employer. Along the way, he meets both humans and monsters, but it is often hard to tell one from the other. More than once he is forced to wonder whom he can trust. Just because an individual is human, does that mean he can be trusted, while all monsters can't be? And how should Rossamund think about a beautiful woman who can make lightening with her body and kills for a living?

I liked how this book has few simple answers. Rossamund goes into the world expecting all adults to be as helpful and kind as those who cared for him at the foundlingery. At the same time, he expects all monsters to be evil, bloodthirsty beasts deserving of nothing better than a violent death. He soon learns otherwise, on both counts.

My only real complaints with MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO were minor. First, I occasionally wanted to scream at Rossamund for being a naive fool. Growing up in a sheltered environment is one thing, but blind stupidity is something else entirely. Like when Rossamund got on the wrong boat. I almost put the book down right then and there, figuring that he was about to get what he deserved. But I muddled through and am glad I did.

My other problem in the book was with names. They are often long, complicated, odd, and hard to pronounce. I hate it when fantasy or science fiction authors do that. It's like they're trying to create a sense of other-worldliness by making up words and creating unusual names. In reality, it just makes things hard on readers and discourages parents or children from reading aloud. I mean, a name like Doctor Verhooverhoven? Is this necessary? If the author has done his job, his descriptions have already created a fantasy world in the reader's mind and he need not resort to ploys like impossibly goofy names.

But, those complaints aside, this was a fun novel. It is an interesting story told from an unusual perspective that kept me entertained. Lovers of the young adult fantasy genre should pick up a copy. Since this is "Book One," our young hero has just begun his string of literary adventures. I will be following his journey with interest. (less)

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Oct 26, 2011 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers of younger age fantasy

Shelves: audiobook, library-checkout, middle-grade-juvenile, steampunk, monster-story, monster-hunters, orphan, hero-i-loved, adventure, 2011-reading

Found this one at the library and picked it up for a listen. I found it quite good. The worldbuilding was thorough, including a lexicon of terms especially adapted to the storyline. It's not quite steampunk (no steam tech), but that's probably as close a designation as I can use. There is some advanced tech, including enhanced humans, and primitive gadgetry, and some mad science type elements that bring to mind the steampunk aesthetic, so there you have it. Rossamund was a really great kid--quit...more Found this one at the library and picked it up for a listen. I found it quite good. The worldbuilding was thorough, including a lexicon of terms especially adapted to the storyline. It's not quite steampunk (no steam tech), but that's probably as close a designation as I can use. There is some advanced tech, including enhanced humans, and primitive gadgetry, and some mad science type elements that bring to mind the steampunk aesthetic, so there you have it. Rossamund was a really great kid--quite tough for all that he goes through in this book. He had a good heart and an unshakeable sense of conscience that guides him through the murky waters of his journey from being a foundling at a home for orphans to his profession as a Lamplighter in service of the Emperor.

I liked Europe. She was a bit fussy and stuck up at times, but I think that's just her way of dealing with emotional situations that she's not comfortable with. You could tell she grew quite fond of Rossamund, and who could blame her.

Kids being abused and taken advantage of is a huge issue for me, so that horrible Captain Poundage's treatment of poor Rossamund really got my goat. I found this part so hard to deal with, knowing he was taking advantage of a child before Rossamund figures that out. I wanted to jump inside the story and beat the crap out of the guy. He truly deserved a medieval-style beatdown. (view spoiler) It was rough seeing this kid go through the hardships he faced, period, so I was glad that he had some people there to help him when he couldn't help himself, and he turns out to be very good at doing that, for the most part.

The concept of what a monster is leads to some interesting thoughts about right and wrong. Is a monster merely a non-human creature, or can a human be worse of a monster than a non-human creature? I think that this story proves the latter, most definitely. The worst monster of all in this book is a human man--Captain Poundage. And Rossamund is bright enough to see that from early on. He helps Europe to open her mind to see the same. Not that her profession is 100% wrong, but maybe she should think more about who/what she feels is deserving of destruction.

I liked this book a lot. I found Rossamund utterly endearing, and the adventures on which he embarked kept me listening intently, and on the edge of my seat. This is a good story for younger readers and slightly older ones (like me).

Suggested Casting:

Gemma Arterton as Europe

Kodi Smit-McPhee as Rossamund

(less)

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Apr 15, 2008 Betsy rated it 4 of 5 stars

By this point I think the nation's readers of children's fantasy novels have hit a kind of boredom plateau. You get a new fantasy on your desk and you have to tick off the requirements. Alternate world? Orphaned hero or heroine? School for the extraordinary? To a certain extent, a lot of these tried and true stand-bys are essential to a good book. There's a reason they exist, after all. But after reading a bunch of them, reviewers like myself get a little jaded. Kids think everything's new, so t...more By this point I think the nation's readers of children's fantasy novels have hit a kind of boredom plateau. You get a new fantasy on your desk and you have to tick off the requirements. Alternate world? Orphaned hero or heroine? School for the extraordinary? To a certain extent, a lot of these tried and true stand-bys are essential to a good book. There's a reason they exist, after all. But after reading a bunch of them, reviewers like myself get a little jaded. Kids think everything's new, so they're more inclined to love the newest sparkly cover that comes down the pike. For us, finding something that is truly original and truly unique is almost impossible. I mean, it's not as if Harry Potter was the first boy to go to wizarding school even. So imagine my surprise when I encountered a truly rare and amazing fantasy world. A place so thoroughly thought out, planned, meticulously recorded, and imagined that it feels less like a fantasy novel and more like the factual memoirs of an alternate world. I'm not exaggerating here. Aussie D.M. Cornish has spent (according to his bookflap) "the last thirteen years bringing the Half-Continent to life." The result is a book that feels like the first true successor to Tolkien I've ever found.

His name is Rossamund Bookchild. Bookchild because he is an orphan raised by a Marine Society and given the same last name of all the children there. Rossamund, normally a girl's name, because that was the name pinned to him when he was left on the steps as a babe. Growing up reading exciting pamphlets recounting daring deeds, Rossamund has a dream of someday becoming a sailor (or vinegaroon) on the vinegar seas where high adventure awaits. He dreams of someday seeing the vicious monsters that constantly do battle with man around the country and must always be kept at bay. Yet instead of a glorious life on the seas, Rossamund is told that he is to be apprenticed as a lamplighter, lighting the roads of the Half-Continent. It's a disappointing blow, but on the way to his new job Rossamund hops the wrong boat and finds himself facing monsters, rever-men, teratologists, bogles, leers, wits, and a host of other characters and dangers. Moreover, has Rossamund always been told the truth about the monsters people fight, or is there more to some bogles than meets the eye?

Normally when an author wants to introduce you to a new fantasy world, the hero is a kid from our mundane universe who is pushed through extraordinary circumstances into a peculiar realm. Rossamund, however, inclines far more closely to the Bilbo Baggins mode of adventuring. He has led a nice sequestered life in Madame Opera's Estimable Marine Society and his journey turns out to be very much a series of adventures, both good an ill, that are new to him simply because he has only read about the wider world and has not yet lived in it. Yes. Fine. Our hero is an orphan as per a million fantasy novels before. But never have I had such a clear sense that a character's parentage is not the point of the series. Phew!

Really, Rossamund is a great hero. Like Taran in Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron series he yearns for adventure. But unlike Taran he's not a brash young man with a braggart's tongue and a desire to enter battle. Rossamund seems to want adventure without wanting to ever hold a weapon in his hands. He's a rather gentle kid. He'd sooner say nothing than say the wrong thing, a tendency that causes the people around him to open up unexpectedly. Which, from a narrative perspective, is keen. Rossamund's growth in this book is not complete, a fact noticed by the sweet bogle that considers telling him the secret of his name. Still, you have confidence in this hero. He is kind and good and that goes a long way when you have to spend a whole book with him.

Another difference from your normal run-of-the-mill fantasy is Cornish's use of female characters. Strong female characters, that is. At first I figured that this would be yet another boy-boy-boy book. But then you meet the character of Europe and it's all up in the air. Europe is the fighting fulgar that meets Rossamund early in his travels and inspires both his respect and his disgust. She kills monsters for a living, which wouldn't be so bad if the first one Rossamund encounters with her weren't such a sweet but stupid fellow. Her moral complexity mixes with a personality that has enough pep and zazz to keep you guessing about her intentions for most of the book. Fighting women in fantasy novels tend to have no sense of humor, but Europe is quite the wit (inside joke) when her innards aren't trying to reject her new organs.

Maybe it's Cornish's Aussie roots, but he has a knack for language that exceeds the norm. His descriptions are nice and no question, but dialogue seems to be his bread and butter. "Don't give me a reason to remember yer name any further, me darlin' chiffer-chaffer." Or calling someone a "prattling hackmillion". That kind of thing. His easy-going language will strike you as almost cockney at first, but closer inspection of the words and phrases used put a very particular spin on the entire affair. His talent for names is nothing to scoff at either. You'll read titles like Sloughscab, Poundinch, Europe, and Licurius, which pour out of the author like mad wild things.

Regarding the sheer complexity of this world, here is my thinking: Cornish is so invested in this Half-Continent he has created, and so clear on every minute and tiny detail involved that you can't help but be swept up in the logic of it all. Even more amazing though is that Cornish describes everyday realities of the realm without making them sound anything but simultaneously routine AND amazing. Everything we learn about Rossamund's world is extraordinary, but Cornish has it so well-planned that it almost feels routine and logical. Not in the boring sense, of course.

Standing at a handsome 434 pages, this book may appear a bit daunting to your average reader. So you can well imagine my amazement when I hit page 312 and found the story to be over. Finito, as it were. The next 122 pages consisted of an elaborate and enticing Explicarium "Being a glossary of terms and explanations including Appendices". Sounds simple, right? Well, it begins with a explanation of pronunciations for certain terms in this book. Then an explanation of italics. And then a list of faux sources used to research this book (which is always fun). The glossary is extensive and you can basically learn quite a lot about the Haacobin Empire in which Rossamund lives, including history, characters, and different kinds of boats if you've an inclination to do so. Of course, at the same time you'll run across definitions like "muck hill: pile of poo", so make no assumptions. The glossary is followed by a guide to the 16-month calendar of the half-continent, detailed drawings of different occupations and what they wear, every boat from a gun-drudge to a main-sovereign, and enlargements of the Half-Continent terrain that is the most frightening and magnificent map I've ever seen in a work of fiction. Stranger still, all the pictures in this book (and there are many) were drawn by the author himself. Aye, me.

The age level is an interesting question here. Our hero is about fourteen, which puts this book squarely in the middle grade/YA realm. There is some violence (one nasty fellow meets his end by getting eaten alive) but it tends to go quickly. For the most part, I'd say that any kid who could handle the Harry Potter books, the The Amulet of Samarkand series, or any of the The Lord of the Rings would definitely enjoy this series and get into it.

But who thinks of these things? Who imagines a world where people bathe their eyes in chemicals to gain unnatural powers? Or who undergo dangerous surgeries to get superhuman abilities? Who imagines something as tiny and delicate as a spoor, a small shape that is blue or white and burned into the skin to denote a person's occupation? D.M. Cornish, obviously. Basically I just recommend this to anyone who wants something wholly new and never seen before. Cornish's imagination will fuel fans for decades to come, should they find this book. Consider it a little-known gem that you'll end up sucked into. Amazing stuff.

Ages 11 and up.(less)

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Jun 07, 2007 Tama Wise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although the beginning of this book felt a little kiddish in it's language, what evolved was a rather sophisticated tale of fantasy and horror, in perhaps one of the most unique worlds I've seen a book set. Rather than going with English medieval flavors so common in fantasy settings, Foundling is set in a world German medieval in tone.

This book reminded me of the sense of exploration that comes with a good fantasy book, helped by how easy it was to immerse oneself in it. Perhaps one of the cool...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Nathaniel Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is what "young adult" fiction should be, by all rights. The vocabulary was rich and liberally sprinkled with neologisms that tickled my etymologist's fancy, and the writing was lucid and flowing, keeping me involved with ease.

I was particularly enchanted by the world details that slipped into place; the complex, quasi-magical chemistry; the "vinegar seas" whose acidic waters gave sailors their rugged, pit-faced appearance; the boats powered by "gastrines," basically vat-grown muscles in lar...more

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Sep 30, 2010 Robin Wiley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, juvenile-fantasy, love-it-more-than-puppies

Tolkien loved inventing languages, and designed Middle Earth, and wrote Lord of the Rings to have someplace to put those languages.

DM Cornish is an illustrator, and has been drawing characters, creatures and maps for years, and wrote this book to have someplace to put them.

The world, called the Half Continent - is GINORMOUS. The map is roughly 8 x 10, and the book covers about a square inch...of the world, and this is the first book. Lots of potential here.

World of Dickens, with alchemy and iron...more

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Feb 03, 2011 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, horror-esque, sci-fi

I'm not really sure waht to say about this book. It wasn't bad, really, but it wasn't very good, either. I think some of the ideas and people were interesting enough that it could've been better - even though there were some times where I was rolling my eyes because the conveniences and stupidity at times sort of strained credulity.

One of the things I liked most about the book was (view spoiler)...more

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May 30, 2010 Merrilee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Merrilee by: Tama Wise

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

I was actually more than a little disappointed by this book. Cornish has built a wonderful world, full of fascinating people and places. Unfortunately he felt the need to share every detail with the reader. This book was not so much a novel as a prologue, and for two-thirds of the book, the main character Rossamund just wanders around, having things happen to him.

When he finally gets a little gumption and the story starts moving, the novel ends. And the last 120 pages are glossaries.

I can see...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Gena rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked this up and thought it would be a nice change from all the YA paranormal romance I've been reading. Boy, was I right! It's a great mystery-coming-of-age-adventure-monster book! I love Cornish's world, he's thought out all the details and built a fascinating society.

Rossamund is a great character and when he sets off to become a Lamplighter you cheer for him. Of course he meets misadventure almost at once but in the form of a monster hunter named Miss Europe. She is a legend and is take...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm always a huge fan of books that create a new world and go into it in great detail. D.M. Cornish's world is incredibly imaginative and developed--a great addition to the book is the extensive appendix complete with glossary, diagrams, maps and more. The story is jam-packed with adventure; poor Rossamund found himself in so many dangerous situations throughout the book it was amazing he escaped relatively unscathed. I have to admit, he was at times a little annoyingly naive and innocent, but I...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Caleb rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This book is phenomenal. The writing is deep and perhaps ridiculously detailed. The characters are fresh and fascinating. And most interestingly, at the center of the series, the lore is extraordinarily detailed. The creation of this fictional world was a massive undertaking, and its author had began to create far before he ever started writing about it through the eyes of the protagonist, the young boy Rossamund, in a cohesive story. Rossamund grows up in an orphanage, with no real known parent...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Foundling is a must read if you like books such as the Harry Potter series or Lord Of The Rings. I was just amazed at D. M. Cornish's world as his hero, an orphan named, Rossamund, travels from the safety of his home to his new job as a lamplighter in the city of High Vesting. This book is full of great and memorable characters with lots of adventure and new twists that I think most people will enjoy. Monsters lurk in the lands outside of sprawling cities and there are a lot of them some of...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Madame X rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: gorgeous-writing, steampunk, superior-worldbuilding, ya-or-teen-protagonist

FOUNDLING is a delight - strange and gnarly, with a vaguely steampunk mentality. The characters are incredibly vivid, physically and as personalities, and the worldbuilding is astonishingly deep. Cornish takes a real delight in words - his language is fussy, prickly, onomateopoeic, as absorbing and tangled as his tale.

The twist in Cornish's world, the half-continent, is that it is on the eve of a technical revolution - but while ours was mechanical, theirs is biological. It's an oddly believabl...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Loren rated it 3 of 5 stars

From ISawLightningFall.com

Every once in a blue moon you happen across a novel that pulls everything together, bundling interesting characters, big themes, an engaging plot and a winning style into a single package. But such books are rare. Even an extremely talented author has a hard time producing more than one in a career. Still, efforts that fall short of that Platonic ideal often excel in a narrower range, making up for their deficiencies with depth in other areas. One such example is D.M. C...more From ISawLightningFall.com

Every once in a blue moon you happen across a novel that pulls everything together, bundling interesting characters, big themes, an engaging plot and a winning style into a single package. But such books are rare. Even an extremely talented author has a hard time producing more than one in a career. Still, efforts that fall short of that Platonic ideal often excel in a narrower range, making up for their deficiencies with depth in other areas. One such example is D.M. Cornish's Foundling, the first volume in the YA series Monster Blood Tattoo.

Rossamsünd Bookchild has always hated his name. The other residents of Madam Opera's Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls never tire of reminding him that he's a male with a female moniker. He really had no choice in the matter, though. When he was unceremoniously abandoned on the Society's doorstep as a squalling bundle, that despised name was printed on a scrap of paper affixed to his clothes. Rossamünd wants to become a vinegaroon when he grows up, one of those hearty souls who braves the caustic, multi-colored seas in vessels powered by biological motors. Yet when the time comes, he gets snapped up by the lamplighters, solitary wanderers who keep alight the boundaries between civilized realms and the lands of the monsters. Rossamünd doesn't know what to think about his prospects. Becoming a lamplighter sounds exciting, but aren't the beasts who roam the hinterlands dangerous? He has no idea. While seeking to realize his destiny, Rossamünd will see that those who hunt monsters can prove every bit as awful as their prey.

To be forthright, Foundling isn't a book you'll read for style. Cornish prose is serviceable but unremarkable. Ditto for his flat characters and a largely predictable plot. Where he succeeds, though, is setting, and there he drives it out of the proverbial park. Outside of Tolkien and perhaps VanderMeer, I don't know if I've ever seen a secondary world that displays such originality of thought. Monster hunters battle their prey with specially compounded chemical regents or undergo experimental surgeries to grant themselves electrokinetic powers. Every vanquished foe gets commemorated with a tattoo inked in the creature's own ichor, hence the series' name. Hyper-perceptive trackers wear boxes containing alien sensory organs over their faces, allowing them to grow into their ears and eyes. Black-market traders cobble together hideous revenants out of cast-off corpses. Then there's an entire menagerie of beasties, chronicles of epic history and strange new geographies that I won't even try to recount. In fact, I really don't need to since Foundling contains an explicarium (a glossary, really) running over 100-pages long. Where Cornish's novel succeeds, it does so with panache aplenty. (less)

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May 02, 2011 Theresa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 27, 2011 Ren rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was a great read. I had seen it in the library months ago and thought I might like it, had it for weeks but never got to read it. Months later I picked it up again thinking "oh yeah... maybe I'll actually read it this time. Well it didn't happen once again. Finally about a month ago I picked up the first 2 books on tape, ( I like listening before bed) and I saw this one in new release that looked cool. I brought them home along with countless others and pulled out the new release one....more

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Jan 07, 2011 Sheenab rated it 2 of 5 stars

Book Review
Foundling; the first book in the Monster Blood Tattoo Series by M.D. Cornish
Content
It took me about 3 to 4 chapters to really get into this book as this sometimes happens with books that are the first in a series. There were several action scenes in the beginning that I felt did not pull me in as I would have liked. However, I greatly enjoyed how the author used biology mixed with technology in creating such items as the "sthencion."

Writing Ability
M.D. Cornish tries to bring his reade...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Zohora Noor rated it 5 of 5 stars

After finishing this book I thought "Wow, I need to reed the sequel!"

But how can the sequel be any better than the first? Well I'm going to have to find out. This book is really sophisticated (it even has it's own mini-dictionary in the back!), So whoever hates to go back to a translation every few pages shouldn't read this book.

The language in this book isn't very simple either. It's like study-English-hard-to-know-the-meaning kind of talk. Which really would have sucked if I weren't the pat...more

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Nov 08, 2009 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well that sounds interesting, doesn’t it? I certainly thought it did! And it's the best place to start because that blurb drew me in pretty quickly. Unfortunately that piece is a bit misleading. I don’t know about you but from reading that, I thought those would be adventures he’d be taking while working as a lamplighter. It certainly insinuates that, don’t you think?

But that would have to be a no. The whole book, all 311 (not including the 121 pages of reference) pages, is about Rossamund getti...more

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Aug 28, 2009 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: must-reads

There are very few teen fantasy titles that come along that I find myself raving to all my co-workers about. And I mean ALL of my co-workers. I don't care if you haven't read a teen novel in years, I'm throwing this one at you.

The unfortunately named Rossamund (yes, he's a boy and we'll call him Rosie for short) is a foundling, raised in an orphanage where he has little hope of any real future but dreams of a life at sea. Fate, however, has other things in store for him--Rosie has been tapped to...more There are very few teen fantasy titles that come along that I find myself raving to all my co-workers about. And I mean ALL of my co-workers. I don't care if you haven't read a teen novel in years, I'm throwing this one at you.

The unfortunately named Rossamund (yes, he's a boy and we'll call him Rosie for short) is a foundling, raised in an orphanage where he has little hope of any real future but dreams of a life at sea. Fate, however, has other things in store for him--Rosie has been tapped to join the corps of lamplighters, the men and women who wander the emperor's highways lighting the lamps that keep the monsters at bay. For yes, the half-continent is home to many monsters...and monster-fighters, too.

Unfortunately, Rosie misses the boat, literally, and runs afoul of cutthroats and thieves. His apprenticeship is not off to a good start. Through a series of daring escapes, misadventures, and near-death experiences, Rosie eventually finds himself in the company of Europe, a legendary monster-fighter. As he travels with Europe, his initial suspicions are confirmed--not all monsters look like monsters.

Hints at larger schemes, subplots, and secrets abound and there are surely a slew of sequels to come. (Book Two: Lamplighter is already out and is also on my must reads list...)

Cornish has built an amazingly detailed world here. The technology is a mix of pre-industrial with a good deal of magic thrown in. There's class tensions, feuding nations, and warring political factions within the empire itself. The guild and naval structures alone are amazing. And then there are the monster fighter: the fulgars, lazhars, leers, and skolds who've been trained (or altered) to protect the human population, many who wander the land as mercenaries for hire. To explain or enhance the lot, the books contain a lengthy glossary (or explicarium) and beautiful b&w sketches. Cornish has created an exceedingly complex and captivating society, one I can't wait to immerse myself in again.

Go read now.(less)

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Jul 27, 2009 Olgy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade

I loved reading FOUNDLING. The following book review was originally posted to the CCF website and is reposted here with permission.

================
I just finished reading a wonderful fantasy novel for the second time: "Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo book I)," by first time author D.M. Cornish. The book was sent to CCF as a review copy by a Senior Editor at G.P. Putnam's Sons. The paperback edition [ISBN: 0142409138] came out September 6, 2007. This is a young boy's survival story that is sure t...more I loved reading FOUNDLING. The following book review was originally posted to the CCF website and is reposted here with permission.

================
I just finished reading a wonderful fantasy novel for the second time: "Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo book I)," by first time author D.M. Cornish. The book was sent to CCF as a review copy by a Senior Editor at G.P. Putnam's Sons. The paperback edition [ISBN: 0142409138] came out September 6, 2007. This is a young boy's survival story that is sure to grab middle grade students' attention.

The world building Cornish carries out in this book is so exquisitely woven and the story's characters so well developed that I forgot I was supposed to read the book in order to write a review and instead allowed the story to carry me along. I then went back and read it again, this time marking things as I went. I loved reading this fantasy story once and then once more.

Upon opening the envelope when the review copy came in the mail I was intrigued by the cover art. It shows the outline of a monster as it is coming out of the woods. Turn the book over and you see the illustration wraps around the spine of the book and continues on the back, where you see the silhouette of a young boy hiding in the thicket. It appears that the monster is passing quite close to where the boy is hiding and that is, indeed, what takes place during one of the tension-filled scenes in the story.

Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo book I) is a story of survival. It's the story of Rossamünd, an orphan boy growing up in Madam Opera's Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls, who desires, against all odds, to make something of himself. He is an idealist at heart, loves to read about heroes and battles between good and evil, and is in awe of teratologists, those who kill monsters and then bear a tattoo made from the monster's blood. He survives bullying in the orphanage and endears himself to several of his tutors who go out of their way to teach, protect, and empower him to continue to grow into the young man he's destined to be. This takes place without the adults taking over the storyline. This is, first and foremost, the survival story of a young boy, and the author makes sure the focus stays on Rossamünd and not on the secondary characters that surround him.

The story has many of the components that would make it a must read for middle grade students. It has a likeable enough protagonist who must rely on his wits to survive the heroes and monsters he comes in contact with. Tension racks up when Rossamünd leaves the orphanage with plans to take up what he thinks will be a safe, albeit boring, job in the service of the Emperor of Half-Continent only to find himself catapulted from one misadventure into another. Our young protagonist must survive captivity at sea and on land and must decide whether to save the life of a super hero he's not too sure he actually likes, all the while trying to distinguish between good and bad monsters and those who fight them. If at first he's clumsy and naive and makes wrong decisions, his determination to survive drives him to work his way out as best he can and continue to learn and grow as he moves along. The storyline is paramount and the lessons woven throughout are shown rather than told, never crossing the line into didactic teaching of right and wrong but rather allowing the reader to interpret for themselves the value, meaning and consequences of the actions Rossamünd takes as he faces and survives countless life and death situations.

I loved everything about the book except the ending. This is the first book in what promises to be either a series or a trilogy but one of my pet peeves is that even in books in this category, each book needs to stand on its own and deliver a satisfying ending to the reader. The last few pages in this book are lists of questions about what the protagonist is facing and will have to face in the days to come. I was left with the feeling that the 312 pages I read were merely an introduction to book two. I would have been happier had those last few pages been deleted and the book had ended with a better sense of closure. To be fair to Cornish, other great stories also follow this pattern (Golden Compass, Lord of the Rings). They end their books with a series of questions that'll be addressed in books to come.

That being said, it's hats off to Cornish for the way he developed the storyline and the amazing amount of background information that comes along with the book. Normally, writers attempt to include massive amounts of information and back-story within the story itself, resulting in a storyline that drags and bogs down. Cornish did it right. The story is 312 pages and then comes "The Explicarium: Being a glossary of terms and explanations including appendices." This wonderfully informative section at the end of the book goes on for 121 pages. It's there if the reader wants to learn more about the nuances woven throughout the story but not forced fed into the storyline itself.

I'll be looking forward to Cornish's second book (Lamplighter, due for release in April 2008) because I really, really, really want to find out what happens next to Rossamünd Bookchild, the young and courageous protagonist in the story.

=================
I loved reading FOUNDLING. The following book review was originally posted to the CCF website and is reposted here with permission.(less)

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Jul 24, 2009 Randy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Got this on sale for the library at school. It was a bit slow staring, but it caught my attention so I kept turning the pages. about 60 pages in, it picked up and ended a page-turner. In a world filled with numerous monsters in conflict with humanity we enter the life of a young orphan,Rossamund. He is saddled with a girl's name and has to survive the abuse in the orphanage where he is trained for the sea. After being passed over a number of times he is finally chosen to enter a profession, but...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Sandra Strange rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Another beginning of another YA fantasy series aimed at junior high readers and above, this one is a little too self conscious for me. It starts a bit slowly because it has so much exposition to get through (a bit imitative of Tolkien with all kinds of vocabulary and cultural references to explain, in fact the "glossary" at the back is about 1/5 of the book). Once the plot really gets going, the adventures of the boy with a girl's name who is raised in a foundling home and sets out to "seek his...more

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Feb 24, 2009 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This book was more amazing than I thought it would be, and judging by the covers alone I was like "wow, this looks pretty amazing!" The premise is more than familiar: a young orphan boy's coming of age story. The story is occasionally predictable and the main character perhaps a little milquetoast, but the wonderful little details put into everything made this whole book feel fresh and exciting. Not to mention the other characters (particularly Europe, of course) are totally hardcore and awesome...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Alexis rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: NO ONE

Shelves: eurgh-not-for-me, fooled-by-a-pretty-cover

Okay, I don't actually like using the word "hate" when describing a book, it has to be really, really bad to make me do that. So, come here, and listen very, very closely while I whisper into your ear:

I HATE THIS BOOK!!!

I should have known I was in trouble when I read the first sentence--in fact, since I tried to read the stupid thing, I've promised myself that I will read the first page of every book before I buy it. What a waste of money and life.

Rosie was not, in fact, a boy with a girl's nam...more

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Mar 22, 2012 pauliree rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio-book, young-adult, fantasy, 5star-books, childrens, read-in-2012

This was pure listening pleasure. The narrator is the master of all kinds of British (and even some French and German) accents and he makes this a fun and easy thing to listen to. Which is quite an accomplishment when you think of all the made up words in this world. The author (an Aussie I found out after a bit of reading!) has dedicated quite a bit of his life to creating an imaginative and thoroughly original world.

It is a world of monsters. Of boggles and grindlings (sp?) with various levels...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Marshmellow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The world building is incredible. The author's put an amazing amount of work into making a world in intricate details that's both exotic and familiar, it's like Victorian England, but with monsters. The glossary/encyclopaedia/appendix with illustration at the back is roughly 120 pages long. I've read every entry, it gives additional interesting information that's not in the book. The author is an illustrator himself, so the illustrations are also good. It's a very interesting world he's created,...more

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May 26, 2013 Lily rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Foundling is a very original story! The fantasy world it takes place in is HUGE, and the world is very strongly developed and made up of many new things original to the author.

...Unfortunately because of that, I found myself more confused reading the Foundling than I was actually enjoying it. It seemed like every few new pages there was something or someone to learn about, and I had to constantly memorize what was being told to me, in order to know what was being said or talked about.

Because...more The Foundling is a very original story! The fantasy world it takes place in is HUGE, and the world is very strongly developed and made up of many new things original to the author.

...Unfortunately because of that, I found myself more confused reading the Foundling than I was actually enjoying it. It seemed like every few new pages there was something or someone to learn about, and I had to constantly memorize what was being told to me, in order to know what was being said or talked about.

Because of this, I felt that the Foundling's plot AND character development fell short... Because most of the time throughout the story was about 'the world' it was taking place in. There was so much time spent on that, that I didn't know what info to absorb most into the story. Because when events DID happen, it was kinda like a 'hi' and 'bye' kind of thing, not all that memorable. The world is so big in fact, that at the back of the book there's a glossary about 200 pages long explaining what everything is again. The glossary is almost as many pages as the main story itself, in the edition I read.

The story got better near the end though! Development finally started to sink in, and for the first time, I wanted to continue to read to see what will happen. If it weren't for that, I would have given this book 1 star...

The characters weren't too bad. I only wished they were more developed, as I see so much more potential in them. Rossamund I thought was the most developed, and I loved him! A little boy among all the dangers he has to face in the story, his fears seemed so real that you just wanted to hold him close and say "it'll be ok." Fouracres was probably my most favorite character though! Oh my gosh. I loved his upbeat positive attitude which lightened up the story! It was actually when he came into the story, my mind was starting to change about this book.

So yeah... If the story would have focused less on the 'fantasy world' part and more on the plot and characters, I think would have liked it more. I will read the next book in the series when I can, and see where the rest of this will go.(less)

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Mar 15, 2013 PhoenixFantasy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Foundling is one of the most beautiful YA novels I’ve ever read. I adored it. It’s a breathtaking read.

Cornish must have put an unbelievable amount of work into this, it’s just bursting at the seams with all the love and attention you can tell has been heavily lavished upon it. There’s an enormous glossary, there are extensive appendices, and there are maps like you wouldn’t believe. The illustrations are to die for, and are presented with a level of care and detail that exactly mirrors the pros...more Foundling is one of the most beautiful YA novels I’ve ever read. I adored it. It’s a breathtaking read.

Cornish must have put an unbelievable amount of work into this, it’s just bursting at the seams with all the love and attention you can tell has been heavily lavished upon it. There’s an enormous glossary, there are extensive appendices, and there are maps like you wouldn’t believe. The illustrations are to die for, and are presented with a level of care and detail that exactly mirrors the prose. It really is a beautifully realised work of outstanding imagination.

To my mind, this is the perfect ‘starter’ novel for anyone contemplating a future reading Epic Fantasy. I would love, LOVE, my son to read this book when he’s a bit older (3 might be pushing it). Initially it does read as being perhaps on the youngest point of the YA scale, but as the novel progresses things do get darker, and there are some violent passages, which coupled with the complexity of the language bumps it up to cover just about any age’s preference, IMHO. I could see a 12 year old adoring this, and an 80 year old having a blast with it too. It’s a Universal pleasure for anyone who has a love of language and a delight for stories.

It made a nice change here to see some three dimensional, non-stereotypical, genuinely influential female characters driving the plot. This is a rare enough pleasure in Adult Fantasy, but even more so in YA.

The language of the novel has got to be, for me, its biggest advantage. Cornish’s prose is rich, varied and challenging. It’s imaginative, evocative, and utterly glorious. I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to see vocabulary like this used in YA, so much of the time all I see is writing dumbed down to what feels like the lowest possible denominator, and Cornish is the perfect antidote to that kind of popular condescension. This coupled with the intricate detail of the novel could well make it daunting for some younger readers, but that’s a Good, Good thing. The beautiful simplicity of the story will draw them in, and before they know it they’ll be learning some amazing new words and devouring a 400 page novel. And it’ll prepare them nicely for the second one, which weighs in at a whopping 700. If you want your young ‘uns to develop an early taste for the good stuff, this is a series you definitely want to sneak onto their shelves.

Foundling is a sophisticated tale set in a unique world, and it showcases some of the most compellingly delicious writing I’ve ever read. This is YA as it should be done! I can’t recommend it highly enough.

http://phoenixfantasyreviews.com/2013...(less)

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Jun 20, 2012 Martine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, steampunk

Imagine living in a world, where pirates are called vinegaroons because the colored seas smell like vinegar. Imagine living in a world that’s inhabited by monsters, where every day can become a fight for survival. And now, imagine the hero of the story in this world has a girl’s name, is lame at stick –fighting and making knots but good with letters and math. Meet Rossamünd Bookchild, who is, like all the other book children, a foundling.
Now, I could mope why all the good heroes grow up parent-l...more Imagine living in a world, where pirates are called vinegaroons because the colored seas smell like vinegar. Imagine living in a world that’s inhabited by monsters, where every day can become a fight for survival. And now, imagine the hero of the story in this world has a girl’s name, is lame at stick –fighting and making knots but good with letters and math. Meet Rossamünd Bookchild, who is, like all the other book children, a foundling.
Now, I could mope why all the good heroes grow up parent-less, but I don’t. In fact, the book was so addicting that I hardly had time to mope at all. It’s not the best ebook though, due to the 120 pages of glossary at the end, that the reader might need to fully understand this strange new world in which Rossamünd lives. But even without reading them, I found the story very enjoyable.
It is listed among the steampunk books, but since the ships of traders and vinegaroons are not moved by engines but by giant bred muscles that have to be fed, I assume this belongs to the rare sub-genre of biopunk? I’m not sure. What I’m sure of is that I found this story awesome as hell, even though Rossamünd is a bit stupid every now and then, willing to trust some people too early, but he was raised in a foundlingery after all, and the kids didn’t get out much so it’s excusable.
The first book of the Monster Blood Tattoo novels is mainly an adventure story about a boy who just wants to get from one place to the other so he can start his career as a lamp lighter, but who gets lost along the way. And a dangerous way it is. So, the readers learn more about Rossamund's world as Rossamünd learns more about his world and finds out that it’s not quite as he expected it to be.
The smart reader will recognize some subtle hints that rise speculations… so I’ve got something to do until I start with the second book. (Already bought it.)
But what really got me hooked was the Alchemy (the Körnchenflecter is quite close to the real deal), the names and the pictures. Lovely drawn images of the people and monsters that Rossamünd meets during his journey (my favorites being the postman Fouracres, Europe and Freckle)! And the names, well, usually I’m a bit picky when it comes to fancy names, but here I rather liked it because some seemed dutch, some seemed German (the name for a special kind of monster was Kraulschwimmen, which made me laugh so hard), and well, odd names for an odd world, right?
Another thing that’s really nice and very steampunk is this – you don’t get power for nothing. Among the society of the world there is a special group of people called lahzars, able to fight with electricity (fulgars) or your mind (the wits). They’re mighty monster-hunters, or "teratologists", but in order to get that super nice superhero abilities you need to find a surgeon who cuts you open and puts some weird organs inside your body. Which means that you need to drink a few nasty concoctions every day to keep your guts from going sour and still live with the risk of having dangerous spasms… honestly, this is so cool.

I guess this is now the right time to confess that I’m a sedorner. A monster-lover. For those who have not yet read the book; it’s the worst insult, given to those who show sympathy for the monsters, but liking some of these guys is… inevitable.
And Rossamünd, though he seems not much at the beginning of the book, is a nice little guy with a heart too kind who has yet to find his strength, and he’s a bit strange which makes me like him even more. I will definitely read books two and three.(less)

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About D.M. Cornish

D. M. Cornish (born 1972) is a fantasy author and illustrator from Adelaide, South Australia. His first book is Foundling, the first part of the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy. The second book named Lamplighter was released in May 2008. The third in the series is yet to be named.

D.M. Cornish was born in time to see the first Star Wars movie. He was five. It made him realize that worlds beyond his ow...more D. M. Cornish (born 1972) is a fantasy author and illustrator from Adelaide, South Australia. His first book is Foundling, the first part of the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy. The second book named Lamplighter was released in May 2008. The third in the series is yet to be named.

D.M. Cornish was born in time to see the first Star Wars movie. He was five. It made him realize that worlds beyond his own were possible, and he failed to eat his popcorn. Experiences with C.S. Lewis, and later J.R.R. Tolkien, completely convinced him that other worlds existed, and that writers had a key to these worlds. But words were not yet his earliest tools for storytelling. Drawings were.

He spent most of his childhood drawing, as well as most of his teenage and adult years as well. And by age eleven he had made his first book, called "Attack from Mars." It featured Jupitans and lots and lots of drawings of space battles.

He studied illustration at the University of South Australia, where he began to compile a series of notebooks, beginning with #1 in 1993. He had read Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels, The Iliad, and Paul Gallico's Love of Seven Dolls. Classical ideas as well as the great desire to continue what Mervyn Peake had begun but not finished led him to delineate his own world. Hermann Hesse, Kafka and other writers convinced him there were ways to be fantastical without conforming to the generally accepted notions of fantasy. Over the next ten years he filled 23 journals with his pictures, definitions, ideas and histories of his world, the Half-Continent.

It was not until 2003 that a chance encounter with a children's publisher gave him an opportunity to develop these ideas further. Learning of his journals, she bullied him into writing a story from his world. Cornish was sent away with the task of delivering 1,000 words the following week and each week thereafter. Abandoning all other paid work, he spent the next two years propped up with one small advance after the other as his publisher tried desperately to keep him from eating his furniture.(less)

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Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo #1)

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