What do you think?
Rate this book
Monster Blood Tattoo #3.5
Tales from the Half-Continent
Bunting Faukes has a debt and no way to repay it—times are tough for grave robbers. But a way out is presented in the person of Atticus Wells, a sleuth with strange eyes that see into everything.
Virtue Bland is alone in the world. Packed off to Brandenbrass to serve the household of her late father’s employer, she has only her old pa’s olfactologue to remember him by. But with it she can smell monsters.
The Corsers’ Hinge and The Fuller and the Bogle are two new stories from the Half-Continent.
Virtue Bland is alone in the world. Packed off to Brandenbrass to serve the household of her late father’s employer, she has only her old pa’s olfactologue to remember him by. But with it she can smell monsters.
The Corsers’ Hinge and The Fuller and the Bogle are two new stories from the Half-Continent.
216 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2014
6 people are currently reading
1042 people want to read
About the author
D.M. Cornish
17 books702 followersD. M. (David) 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 4, 2014
I enjoyed writing them at least ... :\
Want to read
June 4, 2014Why is this not available in the US? I want to read it!! :(
January 24, 2016
Be advised to have the full multi-volumed version of the Oxford English Dictionary ready as you step nimbly up to any one of the Monster Blood Tattoo series, but particularly this book. Diving into it is like turning up to an immersion language class somewhere in the underbelly of an alternate Victorian society - and finding not just the words are eldritch but the customs and culture are too.
These two novellas (well, they're too long for short stories and definitely too short for novels) are set in the dark-shadowed, grotesquely baroque and feverishly complex lower echolons of society in the Half-Continent. The first story ultimately reminded me of Frank Stockton's classic short tale, The Lady or the Tiger and Other Stories. Long, convoluted, full of arcane perils involving human complicity with evil forces, the story seems built to set the stage for an ethical dilemma/ moral choice similar to that in The Lady or the Tiger? Although this was a surprise, in retrospect I realise I should have seen it coming because the only specific notes I jotted down as I read were to do with references to the letter 'e':
Master Jack bore the oddest patterns on his knuckles, like ... like, a series of lesser case e's. (p 48)
Formed like the rounded figure of a 3, these were the allegory of Lobe the Listening. (p 52) [The picture on the page itself looks like a mirrored E.]
At their feet, the rescuers beheld broad white marks... swiftly making them out as a great e-form. (p 95)
These references attracted my attention because the letter 'e' is an ancient symbol of choice.
The first story - The Corsers' Hinge - reminds me in its structure of much of the work of Michael Morpurgo. It has a framing device - and that is formed by the narrative of Bunting Faukes, a grave robber who has an order to fulfil and a specific list of corpses to deliver. He is out in the back country, on the edge of despair - he needs a particular kind of body to help him pay off a considerable debt.
The bulk of the story is, however, taken up with the tale of Atticus Wells and his associates - a sleuthing team dedicated to the rescue of Viola Grey - a young, rather feckless girl who goes out on the Half-Continent equivalent of 'clubbing' and gets abducted. Sold on through slavers to a cult which worships a monster sea-god and wants to call it up onto the land. The Shilemoth - the servant of the god in question - may perhaps qualify as a mutant python/typhon, very much in keeping with the prominent e's of the story.
The second story, The Fuller and the Bogle, is a simple narrative, far less fraught with spiritual symbolism from classic Greek mythology. It follows the story of Virtue Bland - a girl whose father is killed by a monster - and who goes to the city of Brandenbrass to work for Scourge Frangible. He is an old - and now very ill - friend of her father's. One day, while undertaking the back-braking work of washing and cleaning - she encounters a very hungry and consequently very murderous boggle.
These two novellas (well, they're too long for short stories and definitely too short for novels) are set in the dark-shadowed, grotesquely baroque and feverishly complex lower echolons of society in the Half-Continent. The first story ultimately reminded me of Frank Stockton's classic short tale, The Lady or the Tiger and Other Stories. Long, convoluted, full of arcane perils involving human complicity with evil forces, the story seems built to set the stage for an ethical dilemma/ moral choice similar to that in The Lady or the Tiger? Although this was a surprise, in retrospect I realise I should have seen it coming because the only specific notes I jotted down as I read were to do with references to the letter 'e':
Master Jack bore the oddest patterns on his knuckles, like ... like, a series of lesser case e's. (p 48)
Formed like the rounded figure of a 3, these were the allegory of Lobe the Listening. (p 52) [The picture on the page itself looks like a mirrored E.]
At their feet, the rescuers beheld broad white marks... swiftly making them out as a great e-form. (p 95)
These references attracted my attention because the letter 'e' is an ancient symbol of choice.
The first story - The Corsers' Hinge - reminds me in its structure of much of the work of Michael Morpurgo. It has a framing device - and that is formed by the narrative of Bunting Faukes, a grave robber who has an order to fulfil and a specific list of corpses to deliver. He is out in the back country, on the edge of despair - he needs a particular kind of body to help him pay off a considerable debt.
The bulk of the story is, however, taken up with the tale of Atticus Wells and his associates - a sleuthing team dedicated to the rescue of Viola Grey - a young, rather feckless girl who goes out on the Half-Continent equivalent of 'clubbing' and gets abducted. Sold on through slavers to a cult which worships a monster sea-god and wants to call it up onto the land. The Shilemoth - the servant of the god in question - may perhaps qualify as a mutant python/typhon, very much in keeping with the prominent e's of the story.
The second story, The Fuller and the Bogle, is a simple narrative, far less fraught with spiritual symbolism from classic Greek mythology. It follows the story of Virtue Bland - a girl whose father is killed by a monster - and who goes to the city of Brandenbrass to work for Scourge Frangible. He is an old - and now very ill - friend of her father's. One day, while undertaking the back-braking work of washing and cleaning - she encounters a very hungry and consequently very murderous boggle.
February 6, 2017
So good to see another book added to the Half-Continent collection.
I love this trilogy - I've not read anything else quite like it.
This trilogy is an inspiration to me as a reader, a writer and as an illustrator. I love the way DMC has created such interesting and beautifully illustrated characters, a well-developed world with an intriguing use of language and a setting so different from mainstream fantasy without being inaccessible.
It has some of the aesthetic of a steampunk novel without the use of steam or goggles, It has something like Lovecraftian monsters without being about hopeless fear and insanity, it has fantasy without sorcery and the sense of being a strange new world without being totally foreign and unrelatable. And behind it all, there is the hand of Providence at work.
These books are magnificent and absolutely worth the effort to seek out.
I love this trilogy - I've not read anything else quite like it.
This trilogy is an inspiration to me as a reader, a writer and as an illustrator. I love the way DMC has created such interesting and beautifully illustrated characters, a well-developed world with an intriguing use of language and a setting so different from mainstream fantasy without being inaccessible.
It has some of the aesthetic of a steampunk novel without the use of steam or goggles, It has something like Lovecraftian monsters without being about hopeless fear and insanity, it has fantasy without sorcery and the sense of being a strange new world without being totally foreign and unrelatable. And behind it all, there is the hand of Providence at work.
These books are magnificent and absolutely worth the effort to seek out.
December 1, 2021
This book of tales is a voluptuous pleasure. I don't know why DM Cornish is not more widely appreciated.
The tales are two novellas are set in the Monster Blood Tattoo universe, where monster-hunters -- teratologists -- use alchemy and steam-punky technology against nickers and bogles and other nasty creatures. In the first story, an unlucky corser (someone who robs graves to order for various scientific and other, more nefarious uses) ends up helping a private investigator rescue a lost girl who's been abducted by fictlers -- "false-god worshippers and inveterate anti-socialists, fictlers were the worst fashion of backward hill-dwelling nincompoops, filled with delusions of a world ruled by their mythical deep-dwelling masters, the slumbering idiot false-gods."
Written with a penny-dreadful-esque flair, "Beyond the squat blue fellow a third figure was crouched behind a boulder that jutted near the bridge. Clad in a heavy black weskit over a clean white shirt, he was taking aim with a prodigiously long long-rifle up the left flank of the gully. The weapon spoke, offending the new-won hush with its violence, the bark of its deadly voice repeating dully back to them through the convolutions of the gullies."
The second story follows the evolution of a servant-girl –– Virtue Bland –– from country bumpkin to ambitious would-be monster-hunting scourge. The setting -- a walled town -- is as much a character as the plucky young Virtue and the bogle who killed her father.
These are small works, but vividly written and fun to read.
The tales are two novellas are set in the Monster Blood Tattoo universe, where monster-hunters -- teratologists -- use alchemy and steam-punky technology against nickers and bogles and other nasty creatures. In the first story, an unlucky corser (someone who robs graves to order for various scientific and other, more nefarious uses) ends up helping a private investigator rescue a lost girl who's been abducted by fictlers -- "false-god worshippers and inveterate anti-socialists, fictlers were the worst fashion of backward hill-dwelling nincompoops, filled with delusions of a world ruled by their mythical deep-dwelling masters, the slumbering idiot false-gods."
Written with a penny-dreadful-esque flair, "Beyond the squat blue fellow a third figure was crouched behind a boulder that jutted near the bridge. Clad in a heavy black weskit over a clean white shirt, he was taking aim with a prodigiously long long-rifle up the left flank of the gully. The weapon spoke, offending the new-won hush with its violence, the bark of its deadly voice repeating dully back to them through the convolutions of the gullies."
The second story follows the evolution of a servant-girl –– Virtue Bland –– from country bumpkin to ambitious would-be monster-hunting scourge. The setting -- a walled town -- is as much a character as the plucky young Virtue and the bogle who killed her father.
These are small works, but vividly written and fun to read.
October 4, 2020
Second time around even better than the first.
December 16, 2015
This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
These are two original Tales that are set in the Monster Blood Tattoo universe. Please keep in mind that I have not read the originals in this series.
'The Corsers' Hinge'
Bunting Faukes has a debt and no way to repay it - times are tough for grave robbers. But a way out is presented in the person of Atticus Wells, a sleuth with strange eyes that see into everything.
I was frustrated from the very beginning about the references to different things and people that I was just expected to know. Jumping into these as a set of short stories, the background was just not grabbing enough.
This story started out with Bunting, then jumped back to the sleuth, then back to the present. I would suggest that this was jarring, except that the segue back into the present was flawless.
The ending of this seemed inevitable. A possible reward against an obvious one? I only wish there had been some escape, and that something bigger would come of it.
'The Fuller and the Bogle'
Virtue Bland is alone in the world. Packed off to Brandenbrass to serve the household of her late father's employer, she has only her old pa's olfactologue to remember him by. But with it she can smell monsters.
This short story resonated more firmly with me. Having gotten a basic grasp of it in 'The Corsers Hinge', this one went a lot more smoothly. I liked Virtue, I enjoyed the back story, and I felt for her. Not a complete loss.
I would consider reading the other novels in the series - if only someone would give them to me to review! Personal reading is just so far down the list of things I have to do.
I received this novel from Scholastic in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Book blurbs are taken from Goodreads.
These are two original Tales that are set in the Monster Blood Tattoo universe. Please keep in mind that I have not read the originals in this series.
'The Corsers' Hinge'
Bunting Faukes has a debt and no way to repay it - times are tough for grave robbers. But a way out is presented in the person of Atticus Wells, a sleuth with strange eyes that see into everything.
I was frustrated from the very beginning about the references to different things and people that I was just expected to know. Jumping into these as a set of short stories, the background was just not grabbing enough.
This story started out with Bunting, then jumped back to the sleuth, then back to the present. I would suggest that this was jarring, except that the segue back into the present was flawless.
The ending of this seemed inevitable. A possible reward against an obvious one? I only wish there had been some escape, and that something bigger would come of it.
'The Fuller and the Bogle'
Virtue Bland is alone in the world. Packed off to Brandenbrass to serve the household of her late father's employer, she has only her old pa's olfactologue to remember him by. But with it she can smell monsters.
This short story resonated more firmly with me. Having gotten a basic grasp of it in 'The Corsers Hinge', this one went a lot more smoothly. I liked Virtue, I enjoyed the back story, and I felt for her. Not a complete loss.
I would consider reading the other novels in the series - if only someone would give them to me to review! Personal reading is just so far down the list of things I have to do.
I received this novel from Scholastic in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Book blurbs are taken from Goodreads.
September 18, 2025
As a frequent reader of fantasy, I am often surprised by how little of the genre's "real estate" is explored by many stories. Most of them either use a ‘Game of Thrones’- or ‘Harry Potter’-esque style. Of course, these two giants of the fantasy world have inspired many excellent books, but I often wish to read more diverse stories. After all, the whole point of the fantasy genre is, in my opinion at least, to give free rein to imagination. For example, grave robbery is the kind of unusual concept that most fantasy authors don't consider.
‘Tales from the Half-continent’ by D.M. Cornish offers two stories that are divergent enough from more popular types of fantasy. The tales are set in a fantasy world called the Half-Continent, a world also featured in the author's 'Monster Blood Tattoo' series. That said, this book has two independent stories separate from the trilogy. While we are on the topic, I prefer this method of world-building, where parallel stories are told without needing to be shoehorned into a larger, single narrative (whether one exists or not).
There are only two tales and each of them is essentially the size of a novella. I believe it would have been more sensible to publish them separately.
Most of my praise here is for the first story—'The Corsers’ Hinge'. The story follows a grave robber who has a debt of corpses to pay. Entangled with it is the story of a search and rescue mission for a kidnapped young girl led by one of the strangest of detectives. The story was intriguing, to say the least.
Though I initially thought some of the detail was inessential, I remembered that the same world has already been staged for another, much larger story and thus contains elements from it. I could give full stars for originality. I believe a reader's guide—like a “tourist guide” for the Half-continent—would be helpful for keeping track of all the strange details and concepts in this world.
Coming to the second story, ‘The Fuller and the Bogle’—it was shorter and, for some reason, felt even shorter. Despite the female protagonist, I found it somewhat difficult to care. It felt like a blend of a longer Grimm brothers’ fairy tale and a YA fantasy revenge story, leaning more toward the latter. The plot here wasn't that complex. My main concern was that I simply couldn't connect with the protagonist.
Overall, I think both stories are at the very least worth reading. I think this book is a sufficiently good introduction to the fantasy world—enough to leave me curious about the other books. The first of two tales is highly recommended for lovers of fantasy, especially those who prefer stories that venture off the beaten path.
‘Tales from the Half-continent’ by D.M. Cornish offers two stories that are divergent enough from more popular types of fantasy. The tales are set in a fantasy world called the Half-Continent, a world also featured in the author's 'Monster Blood Tattoo' series. That said, this book has two independent stories separate from the trilogy. While we are on the topic, I prefer this method of world-building, where parallel stories are told without needing to be shoehorned into a larger, single narrative (whether one exists or not).
There are only two tales and each of them is essentially the size of a novella. I believe it would have been more sensible to publish them separately.
Most of my praise here is for the first story—'The Corsers’ Hinge'. The story follows a grave robber who has a debt of corpses to pay. Entangled with it is the story of a search and rescue mission for a kidnapped young girl led by one of the strangest of detectives. The story was intriguing, to say the least.
Though I initially thought some of the detail was inessential, I remembered that the same world has already been staged for another, much larger story and thus contains elements from it. I could give full stars for originality. I believe a reader's guide—like a “tourist guide” for the Half-continent—would be helpful for keeping track of all the strange details and concepts in this world.
Coming to the second story, ‘The Fuller and the Bogle’—it was shorter and, for some reason, felt even shorter. Despite the female protagonist, I found it somewhat difficult to care. It felt like a blend of a longer Grimm brothers’ fairy tale and a YA fantasy revenge story, leaning more toward the latter. The plot here wasn't that complex. My main concern was that I simply couldn't connect with the protagonist.
Overall, I think both stories are at the very least worth reading. I think this book is a sufficiently good introduction to the fantasy world—enough to leave me curious about the other books. The first of two tales is highly recommended for lovers of fantasy, especially those who prefer stories that venture off the beaten path.
September 27, 2020
Actual rating: 3.75 stas
CW: kidnapping, child trafficking, death of an animal, (mentioned) death of a parent
Without Rossamund as our guide, Tales from the Half-Continent truly feels like it's leaving its YA tags and aspirations behind - which is totally fine with me! The Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy has always been quite dark for whatever age it felt like it was being marketed to, but these stories felt particularly unencumbered. As always, Cornish's illustrations are remarkable.
"The Coarsers' Hinge" - 4 stars
All of the Lovecraftian elements that were alluded to in Factotum are really being explored here and I love it!!! It even has most of the elements of good Lovecraftian fiction - a detective, , , and
"The Fuller and the Bogle" - 3.5 stars
This was a little more traditionally YA, but in a good way. A slightly more contained monster hunting adventure with lots of revenge.
CW: kidnapping, child trafficking, death of an animal, (mentioned) death of a parent
Without Rossamund as our guide, Tales from the Half-Continent truly feels like it's leaving its YA tags and aspirations behind - which is totally fine with me! The Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy has always been quite dark for whatever age it felt like it was being marketed to, but these stories felt particularly unencumbered. As always, Cornish's illustrations are remarkable.
"The Coarsers' Hinge" - 4 stars
All of the Lovecraftian elements that were alluded to in Factotum are really being explored here and I love it!!! It even has most of the elements of good Lovecraftian fiction - a detective, , , and
"The Fuller and the Bogle" - 3.5 stars
This was a little more traditionally YA, but in a good way. A slightly more contained monster hunting adventure with lots of revenge.
June 20, 2025
I managed to score a copy of this book using Alibris. It took a few months, but I suddenly received a notification that a bookseller had a copy for sale and was able to order it.
This book was such a welcome find and such an enjoyable read! I had just finished re-reading the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy (enjoying it even more the second time), and I was so happy for any more stories in this universe. I don't know why it's not more popular. (Maybe this needs an HBO or Netflix series to get more people into it?) The world and the characters are rich and fascinating, and if D.M. Cornish writes any more books about the Half-Continent, I'll be buying them without hesitation! I think this series will become one I will revisit and continue to re-read every so often going forward. I can't possibly give higher praise than that as I have limited time and so many books I'm still trying to get to!
This book was such a welcome find and such an enjoyable read! I had just finished re-reading the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy (enjoying it even more the second time), and I was so happy for any more stories in this universe. I don't know why it's not more popular. (Maybe this needs an HBO or Netflix series to get more people into it?) The world and the characters are rich and fascinating, and if D.M. Cornish writes any more books about the Half-Continent, I'll be buying them without hesitation! I think this series will become one I will revisit and continue to re-read every so often going forward. I can't possibly give higher praise than that as I have limited time and so many books I'm still trying to get to!
September 19, 2025
So this was an interesting find! For reference, I did not read the previous books in this series, so I read the two stories here as stand-alones. These books are well-written, with a classical fantasy feel, a nicely macabre vibe, and an impressive amount of world-building tucked into a small story. The audiobook narrator has pleasant voice that I definitely think adds to the stories, and the narrative takes its time unfolding the adventures. With the larger focus on the world and background in a small tale, I didn't quite connect with the characters as much as I would've liked, but I would recommend this for anyone looking for a couple short grim, monster-y reads told in a descriptive, atmospheric writing style.
July 8, 2022
Two short stories that follow in the Monster Blood Tattoo setting. The first story took a while before the action finally got started, but once it did, the story was great. The second story took off quickly and had the young heroine taking on a small boggle herself.
December 5, 2025
People from the half continent doing their best
May 31, 2014
I waited, I drooled for this book to be released. Finally, not able to wait for the U.S. release, I ordered it from Fishpond. Upon it's arrival I did a happy dance!!! OK, enough. I am again amazed at the world Mr. Cornish has created with the Half-Continent. I don't know as I will ever have the desire to revisit quenched. As before, after not reading one of his books in a while, I had to re-wrap my mind around his Dickensian way of writing. Which is a good thing! Once I was firmly hooked, bound and deep into the story or rather stories, I didn't want them to end.
Although, these two stories are set in the Monster Blood Tattoo world, they have absolutely no connection with the Foundling - Rossamund. So, no worries if you think you'll be left out in the cold with references to the Foundling trilogy. There is nothing here that you should be expected to know from those prior books. These tales stand well on their own. The one area where perhaps one might feel left out on some clue, the prior books had a large glossary and many maps. Whereas they were trimmed down within this book. Since many terms are creations of the authors mind, it certainly is difficult to look up their meanings. However, several of these odd words are defined within the same sentence. This can be frustrating if later in the book you've forgotten what it meant and really have no easy way to look it up again.
First, a side note. As with the first book The Foundling it's paperback. The type of paper they chose for the cover is sooooo smooth and a delight to hold. Odd, I know, but it is a joy nonetheless! Also, as with all the other books, the art work is phenomenal, both the cover and drawings within. I don't know who chose the covers for the Foundling U.S. series, but they didn't hold a candle to the Australian or British releases. Love - love - love the art work on this cover!
The Corsers' Hinge:
A bit dark, but so is this world to begin with. Reminiscent of the dark ages time period. Bunting is a corser and is having a particularly rough period earning acceptable cash flow to pay off debts. Grave robbers have a tough job, especially when there are specific requests. Bunting fills requests for the ashmonger Mr. Pypsquique (hoot and holler - what's not to love about that name!?!) but pickings are thin, especially when in competition with other corsers (grave robbers). Corsers have a code of honor called the Hinge which seems more transient than applied. So, going further out into the necropolis is a necessary evil in order to fulfill Pypsquiques particularly unique order. Only trouble is, there is more likely a chance to run into a wild bumpkin, nicker or bogle (monster). This is when all chaos breaks loose and the true nature of the story begins. Introducing Atticus Wells, Fictlers (false god worshipers) and a slew of other characters and monsters. A breathtaking adventure and one wild ride.
The Fuller and the Bogle:
Virtue Bland is sent off to her recently deceased father's past employer in order to earn money for her family's livelihood. Taking with her the one item which belonged to her dear father, his olfactologue. Upon confrontation with a bogle the size of a child, this story truly begins. To say much more gives away the tale.
A fun, somewhat dark ride filled with monsters, bogles, nickers and all other forms of gruesome characters. Dire situations, heart pounding adventure and daring do. Spunky characters and odd balls, underdogs and heroes along with those that hang right there at the edge of evil, as well as several villainous characters too. A fantastical world to be absorbed in and a joy to read.
Whew! I'm most certainly long winded in saying - READ the book! Why only 4 stars? Only because of the fact (and what I understand is of the publishers doing), lack of a glossary and there is miniscule explanation of several words or more-so difficulty in finding the definition later in the book. As for my favorite words or rather name, it has to be Mr. Pypsquique!!!!
Although, these two stories are set in the Monster Blood Tattoo world, they have absolutely no connection with the Foundling - Rossamund. So, no worries if you think you'll be left out in the cold with references to the Foundling trilogy. There is nothing here that you should be expected to know from those prior books. These tales stand well on their own. The one area where perhaps one might feel left out on some clue, the prior books had a large glossary and many maps. Whereas they were trimmed down within this book. Since many terms are creations of the authors mind, it certainly is difficult to look up their meanings. However, several of these odd words are defined within the same sentence. This can be frustrating if later in the book you've forgotten what it meant and really have no easy way to look it up again.
First, a side note. As with the first book The Foundling it's paperback. The type of paper they chose for the cover is sooooo smooth and a delight to hold. Odd, I know, but it is a joy nonetheless! Also, as with all the other books, the art work is phenomenal, both the cover and drawings within. I don't know who chose the covers for the Foundling U.S. series, but they didn't hold a candle to the Australian or British releases. Love - love - love the art work on this cover!
The Corsers' Hinge:
A bit dark, but so is this world to begin with. Reminiscent of the dark ages time period. Bunting is a corser and is having a particularly rough period earning acceptable cash flow to pay off debts. Grave robbers have a tough job, especially when there are specific requests. Bunting fills requests for the ashmonger Mr. Pypsquique (hoot and holler - what's not to love about that name!?!) but pickings are thin, especially when in competition with other corsers (grave robbers). Corsers have a code of honor called the Hinge which seems more transient than applied. So, going further out into the necropolis is a necessary evil in order to fulfill Pypsquiques particularly unique order. Only trouble is, there is more likely a chance to run into a wild bumpkin, nicker or bogle (monster). This is when all chaos breaks loose and the true nature of the story begins. Introducing Atticus Wells, Fictlers (false god worshipers) and a slew of other characters and monsters. A breathtaking adventure and one wild ride.
The Fuller and the Bogle:
Virtue Bland is sent off to her recently deceased father's past employer in order to earn money for her family's livelihood. Taking with her the one item which belonged to her dear father, his olfactologue. Upon confrontation with a bogle the size of a child, this story truly begins. To say much more gives away the tale.
A fun, somewhat dark ride filled with monsters, bogles, nickers and all other forms of gruesome characters. Dire situations, heart pounding adventure and daring do. Spunky characters and odd balls, underdogs and heroes along with those that hang right there at the edge of evil, as well as several villainous characters too. A fantastical world to be absorbed in and a joy to read.
Whew! I'm most certainly long winded in saying - READ the book! Why only 4 stars? Only because of the fact (and what I understand is of the publishers doing), lack of a glossary and there is miniscule explanation of several words or more-so difficulty in finding the definition later in the book. As for my favorite words or rather name, it has to be Mr. Pypsquique!!!!
October 10, 2020
Without Rossamund this book felt a bit unmoored for me. The original trilogy was dark, but Rossamund was always around to lighten the half-continent's bleak outlook for most of it's inhabitants. Without Rossamund it was just bleak and the Corsers' Hinge was hard for me to get through. The other story in the book, The Fuller and the Bogle, was much more fun for me to read and I recommend it.
January 21, 2016
It's been a while since I've read the monster blood trilogy of books and I was really looking forward to revisiting that world. Unfortunately I found this book a bit of a struggle...
The first of the two stories is the better crafted. But the language and invented terminology that peppered the first few books becomes overpowering in places and I found myself re-reading pages to find out what exactly was happening. The second story, also good, unfortunately doesn't go far enough to explain itself and there are coincidence that even I found hard to reconcile and then it just ends very abruptly.
If you liked the first three books, then you will most likely enjoy this. I just wanted to like it more than I did.
February 1, 2016
Actual rating: 3.5.
April 24, 2024
This is one of my favorite series, I hope there will be a U.S. ebook (ePub) release.
Read
May 21, 2015I hated this book. What a struggle.
April 26, 2017
DM Cornish's follow-up to the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy continues to explore the many spheres of the fascinating and rich world of the Half-Continent. This book includes two stories, following different characters. It's not for the squeamish or those who like clearly happy endings. They carry Cornish's trademark language (creative, plausible, adding to the sense of a long cultural history) and his striking illustrations. I didn't enjoy these stories as much as the trilogy, probably because the characters were less endearing, but I was glad to have the chance to explore this intriguing world some more.
Here's hoping we saw more of the Half-Continent!
Here's hoping we saw more of the Half-Continent!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews