A Life of Order's.

Lamplighter, book Two of the Monster Blood Tattoo Trilogy by D.M.Cornish.

"A rever-man below us, sir! A rever-man in the tunnels underneath!"


Rossamund Bookchild is finally becoming a Lamplighter. He is becoming one of those hardy men sworn to light the lamps of the empire and protect travellers from ravenous bogles from the wild.

But Rossamund is still finding it hard to fit in, he has a girls name and he is small for his age and as a consequence is good at nothing but the strange chemistry of his world. This of course means he is the constant butt of jokes from his fellow trainees, none of them are his friends and the teachers yell at him often. On top of it all, learning how to light lamps is boring, not at all the adventurous life he was promised.

Rossamund is lonely......

....... And then Threnody arrives in a most dramatic fashion....

Lamplighter's world is unique, it is a world loosely based on 18th century England where the mechanical has been replaced by bio-mechanics and monsters are born from the mud. Although not as ordered as the first book, lamplighter contains a lot more detail of the world and it's people (it's more interesting). A good page turner, enjoy.

A life of Adventure.

Foundling, book one of the Monster Blood Tattoo Trilogy by D.M.Cornish.

"Beware the monsters, me boy! Ye've been safe in here all yer life, but out there..."

Rossamünd Bookchild, a foundling from the city of Boschenburg, has lived his entire life at Madam Opera's Estimable Marine Society For Foundling Boys And Girls. He is often bullied for his girlish name and his small size and if it weren't for his dormitory masters Fransitart and Craumpalin, and Verline, a parlour-maid he would be having a horrible time.

Rossamünd dreams of heroism on the vinegar seas, of great battles with slavering sea monsters, of becoming a vinegaroon in the Empire's service. So when he is summoned to begin life as a lamplighter by a leer named Sebastipole he is shocked and disappointed.

A Lamplighters life is a life of adventure he is told, "a life of land-locked boredom" he thinks as he sets out on one of the most dangerous, interesting and certainly exciting journeys of his life.

Foundling contains the beginning of a marvellous world where mechanics are replaced by bio-mechanics and alchemy mystery and monsters abound. Fun and easy to read, I like it.