MONSTER BLOOD TATTOO: FOUNDLING by D. M. Cornish
    Category:  Fantasy
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  5/18/06
    Publisher:  Putnam
    Reviewed by:  K. Osborn Sullivan
    Rating:  5 Stars


    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.
Monster Blood Tattoo Bk. 1:
Foundling
by D. M. Cornish