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Lamplighter's world is unique, it is a world loosely based on 18th century England where the mechanical has been replaced by bio-mechanics and monsters are born from the mud.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.

Daughter of the Clayr?

Lirael By Garth Nix Part Two of the Old kingdom Trilogy.

"It opened it's eyes and they were silver fires, brighter and more terrible than anything Lirael had ever seen."

For every Clayr there comes a time around their twelfth birthday when they receive the ability of true sight, this enables the Clayr to watch over the entire old kingdom. For Lirael the sight is two years overdue leaving her feeling abandoned, alone and unsure of who she is.

She eventually joins the ranks of the librarians. While working in this surprisingly dangerous environment she manages to summon the Disreputable Dog. Together Lirael and the Disreputable Dog explore the library of the Clayr and in the process find out some interesting things about Lirael.

Eventually Lirael's explorations lead her on a journey to find herself that turns into a journey to save the living of the world.

Lirael is a good page turner with one of the best sidekicks ever (the Disreputable Dog) however it ends weakly necessitating the reading of Abhorsen to tie off unending plot lines. A welcome taste of The Old Kingdom.

Blood on Stone.

Sabriel by Garth Nix part one of the Old Kingdom trilogy.

"The bell was twisting in her grasp, trying to sound of its own accord, a sound that would make her walk in Death."

In ages past a wall was made from blood, stone and charter magic to separate two kingdoms from one another.

In Ancelstierre there are cops, cars and cameras. People are born, people go to school, people work and people die and that is their end. It is a land ruled by science.

In the old kingdom there are Charter-stones, carriages and crossbows. People are born, people work and people die but not always forever. It is a land ruled by magic. It is a land ruled by death.

Sabriel is a sixth form schoolgirl in Ancelstierre, she is pretty, smart and privileged. Her father is a necromancer. Her father is the Abhorsen one of the few dedicated to quieting the restless dead of the old kingdom.

When her father goes missing she takes up his bells and sword (tools of necromancy) and sets off into the Old Kingdom in an effort to find him. soon she is fighting for the survival of the charter itself.

This is the start of a very original seres with a new magic system and a very real main charactor. It is so good my sister is reading it! (that is rare FYI) I certainly enjoyed it.