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juushikaTitle: Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo, Book One)
Author and Illustrator: D.M. Cornish
Published: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2006
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 433
Total Page Count: 56,265
Text Number: 162
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Rossamünd Bookchild is a foundling boy with an unfortunate name, about to leave his orphanage for employment out in the wide world. But Rossamünd lives in the Half-Continent, a place with its own lexicon and styles, populated both by men and by monsters who haunt the countryside and oceans and wage an never-ending war with mankind. Bright action, vivid characters and illustrations, and a(n overly) lengthy appendix set this book apart: at once comically larger than life and carefully constructed with plenty of ambiguous detail, Foundling could benefit from less world building but remains an intriguing, readable novel which reads fairly well on its own and promises an exciting adventure in the sequels to come. I recommend it to all readers, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Foundling is not an exceptional book—perhaps as a nature of its premise (which focuses so heavily on world-building), perhaps because it is the first in a series (and Rossamünd has yet to undergo significant growth). There is nothing earthshaking, no marvelous and eye-opening developments, no significant or long-lasting impact on the reader. But even if it is not great, Foundling is readable, engaging, and vivid—on the whole, quite good. The characters are colorful and humorously faulted, and the author's own illustrations help bring them to life. The plot is a rambling journey across a dangerous countryside, constantly introducing new monsters and new characters to engage the reader. The setting is complex, filled with its own language, species, fashion, and society. Best of all, everything has the potential to be ambigious, including local dialects, complex and secretive character motivation, and above all the nature of monsters—who are perhaps not so entirely evil as Rossamünd initially believes.
With all this ambiguity, an 120 page appendix, and a few too many nouns in the Half-Content's language, Foundling does suffer a little from a glut of complexity. Cornish is enamored with his own fantasy world, which drags reader attention away from character and plot—sometimes to learn something no more important than the layout of a boat. Luckily, there only a little unnecessary world building, but it would be nice to see the background integrated with a bit more subtlety. Otherwise, this book is quite enjoyable. It's a rare occasion when I pick up a fantasy book series, but Foundling is a fun story set within a vivid world which makes for a swift, engrossing read. The book has a fairly satisfying conclusion while still creating a promising beginning to the Monster Blood Tattoo series, which is the best of both worlds. I enjoyed it, and look forward to the sequels; I also recommend it to all readers—younger readers will find the text approachable while older readers still find it engaging, and the Half-Continent's complexity opens up a new world for any audience.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author and Illustrator: D.M. Cornish
Published: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2006
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 433
Total Page Count: 56,265
Text Number: 162
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Rossamünd Bookchild is a foundling boy with an unfortunate name, about to leave his orphanage for employment out in the wide world. But Rossamünd lives in the Half-Continent, a place with its own lexicon and styles, populated both by men and by monsters who haunt the countryside and oceans and wage an never-ending war with mankind. Bright action, vivid characters and illustrations, and a(n overly) lengthy appendix set this book apart: at once comically larger than life and carefully constructed with plenty of ambiguous detail, Foundling could benefit from less world building but remains an intriguing, readable novel which reads fairly well on its own and promises an exciting adventure in the sequels to come. I recommend it to all readers, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Foundling is not an exceptional book—perhaps as a nature of its premise (which focuses so heavily on world-building), perhaps because it is the first in a series (and Rossamünd has yet to undergo significant growth). There is nothing earthshaking, no marvelous and eye-opening developments, no significant or long-lasting impact on the reader. But even if it is not great, Foundling is readable, engaging, and vivid—on the whole, quite good. The characters are colorful and humorously faulted, and the author's own illustrations help bring them to life. The plot is a rambling journey across a dangerous countryside, constantly introducing new monsters and new characters to engage the reader. The setting is complex, filled with its own language, species, fashion, and society. Best of all, everything has the potential to be ambigious, including local dialects, complex and secretive character motivation, and above all the nature of monsters—who are perhaps not so entirely evil as Rossamünd initially believes.
With all this ambiguity, an 120 page appendix, and a few too many nouns in the Half-Content's language, Foundling does suffer a little from a glut of complexity. Cornish is enamored with his own fantasy world, which drags reader attention away from character and plot—sometimes to learn something no more important than the layout of a boat. Luckily, there only a little unnecessary world building, but it would be nice to see the background integrated with a bit more subtlety. Otherwise, this book is quite enjoyable. It's a rare occasion when I pick up a fantasy book series, but Foundling is a fun story set within a vivid world which makes for a swift, engrossing read. The book has a fairly satisfying conclusion while still creating a promising beginning to the Monster Blood Tattoo series, which is the best of both worlds. I enjoyed it, and look forward to the sequels; I also recommend it to all readers—younger readers will find the text approachable while older readers still find it engaging, and the Half-Continent's complexity opens up a new world for any audience.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
