Lamplighter

Lamplighter is the second book in the Monster Blood Tattoo series (MBT) and is a good continuation of the series. Cornish is able to further expand on an already remarkable world and add enough new things to keep readers of the first book interested, which is no easy task. Cornish continues to show his mastery of character development by further unfolding the mysteries and personalities of each of the beloved cast. While meant for a somewhat younger audience, Lamplighter is still able to appeal to all generations because of Cornish's writing talent and imagination. I have recommended this book to friends, all of whom have loved it. So, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves depth and personality coupled with imagination. If you have not yet read the first book, read that first as it is vital to understanding what is going on in the second. Happy reading, and enjoy.

If you've already read Foundling (Book 1 of the Monster Blood Tattoo series), then you are indeed in for a treat. As much as I liked Foundling, and I loved it and rave about it to anyone who will listen, Lamplighter, is even better. Cornish is one of those rare, master storytellers, who weaves his magic so deftly and so thoroughly, that before you can blink an eyelash, you have totally entered his endlessly inventive, complex, detailed world. You experience the entire range of Rossamund's emotions from alienating loneliness and mind numbing fear, to the excitement of finding a new friend. Cornish has a way with words, that is evocative of the atmosphere of the Gormenghast novels, as well as the work of the great Jack Vance, but he does all this with his own unique style. He invents words, because our vocabulary simply cannot begin to describe the uniqueness of the denizens and way of life of the Half Continent. This is just part of what makes the book so compelling, charming and so very palpable. It is very, very difficult to not just sit to read it all in one big, long gulp. Cornish has great psychological insight into Rossamund, and the interaction with all of the other characters in the book. Life indeed is not all black and white, and some of the worst monsters, in fact are human. In addition to purchasing the first hardcover edition, I'm also listening to the audio book version. First I listen to a chapter or two, then I read the same chapters in the book. I'm going slow, savoring it like the finest meal and I desperately wish it would never end. Thank you D.M. Cornish for bringing such great pleasure, such an adventure, into my life. Dan S. Tong Chicago, IL USA

Lamplighter, the second novel in the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, follows the continuing adventures of Rossamünde. He is an apprentice Lamplighter now and undergoing training at Winstermill. His adventures are far from over. The monsters are coming out in force and the Lamplighters are being pressed hard. Even within the safe wall of the fortress, enemies lurk, and plots thicken. Rossamünde struggles with his secret sympathy for some monsters that could get him labeled a sedorner and traitor to humankind. Soon more turmoil arrives in the person of Threnody, a girl who wants to be a Lamplighter. He makes new friends, and new enemies. Rossamünde suspects that the life of a Lamplighter will never be easy, especially for a young man who harbors his own secrets that may just be the most dangerous secrets of all. I took an immediate liking to Rossamünde and the people who surround him. He is ambivalent about what he is doing with his life, and his struggle reveals a great deal of the world he lives in. The other characters are also well rounded and wrestle with their own demons. The world of the Half-Continent itself is complex and fascinating. The way Cornish opens each chapter with a definition of a word that will show up later in the chapter is a great way to work the language of this world into the reader's head. This is the second book in the trilogy, but it didn't read like it. The plot was urgent and well developed. While reference is made to the first book, Foundling, I was able to read and enjoy the story without having read the first volume. I will be watching for the first book to fill in the story, and waiting for the third to come out so I can learn more about this terrific story. Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended for fantasy fans.

You can like the first book in a new fantasy series. You can love a first book in a new fantasy series. You can compare that book to the works and worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien or Philip Pullman, if you've half a mind to do so. But no matter how much you love a book, when you see that its sequel is a whopping 711 pages long you may find yourself somewhat reluctant to pick it up. I'm a busy reviewer. I get sent a lot of books to read and I'm only able to review a tiny portion of them. If a book is 711 pages long then it better earn my trust. I'd better be sure that there isn't any needless information there. For all its length this had better be one heckuva lean, exciting, entrancing read. So I hefted this tome (there's no other word for it) around with me and found pretty quickly that not only is Lamplighter, the second book in the Monster Blood Tattoo series, good, it happens to be even better than its predecessor. If Cornish tackled the idea of creating an original world and laying down the foundations in his first book, the second speaks to human prejudice, ignorance perpetuated, and maybe even the author's Australian roots in this remarkable middle book in an increasingly multilayered world. When last we saw of young Rossamund Bookchild he had successfully arrived at Winstermill, the fortress of the lamplighters. The boy is to learn the dangerous job of keeping the Empire's roads lit at all times, despite the omnipresent fear of monsters on all sides. Because he has arrived a little late Rossamund is considered a bit of a laggard by his fellows. His status changes substantially, however, after a young noblewoman by the name of Threnody also arrives to become a lamplighter (the first female ever, perhaps). She and Rossamund strike up an uneasy friendship and good thing too. Dark machinations are afoot at Winstermill. The Master-of-Clerks has taken over in the Lamplighter-Marshal's sudden absence. Rossamund finds a creature of despicable origins in the bowls of the fortress. And suddenly he and Threnody are bundled off to serve their first posts, but in a place as dark and dangerous as any in the Empire. Between parsing his own thoughts on monsters and trying to keep alive, Rossamund soon finds that the strange secrets from the past have a way of coming to light. Generally the second book/film in any trilogy is going to be your weakest part. What percentage of people can honestly say that The Two Towers is their favorite book or The Empire Strikes Back their favorite Star Wars movie? But Lamplighter is surprisingly strong and engaging for all that it's a stepping stone to a conclusion. Maybe Cornish is helped by the fact that you never quite know where the storyline is headed until you're almost to the end of the book. If Rossamund was a mild sedorner (monster lover) at the end of the first book, he's made leaps and strides in that direction by the finale of the second. True, Lamplighter ends on a very "To Be Continued" note, which I usually des