Monster Blood Tattoo Bk3: Factotum

D.M. Cornish (author/illustrator)

Omnibus Books, Australia: October 2010; 693pp

ISBN: 9781862916920

extension vocabulary

Genres: adventure, fantasy, speculative fiction

Issues: friendship, identity, loyalty, tolerance

Rossamund is 'pinned between sweet relief and restless, anxious dismay'. Having been rescued from his accusers at the Lamplighter's fortress, Rossamund must now come to terms with the fact that, in all likelihood he himself is a monster. How can he possibly play his new role as factotum to the great Branden Rose, fulgar teratologist, if he is one of those she would normally destroy?

Now that his secret is out it seems that many powerful people are keen to either acquire him for dark purposes or use him to attack the previously unassailable Duchess-in-waiting of Naimes. Torn between two worlds, Rossamund tries to ply his new trade with skill and loyalty whilst struggling to accept his uncanny gifts of strength, rapid healing and sensitivity to 'threwd', the presence of monsters around him. But not even the Lady Europe, with all her political power and wealth can fight all those who threaten Rossamund's safety; nor can Rossamund live safely amongst 'everyman' (humans) without her protection. Is there a solution? And will Rossamund and his allies – human and monster – find it in time?

D.M Cornish's Monster Blood Tattoo series is a refreshing variety of speculative fiction which explores an alternate world of fantastic creatures – monsters – without the usual dark lords, magic and mysticism of traditional fantasy. The human world is a Victorian-esque culture but the technology is more imaginative – ships run not by clockwork or steam but by great living muscles; 'teratologists' who have been surgically adapted to channel and release electricity, to use mental powers to bring about confusion and pain, or to use mysterious chemical mixtures in battle. Cornish's world is incredibly detailed and complete, including his own pencil drawings of many of the key characters. Present in the hard copy novels, although rarely in the audiobooks, are pages of 'Explicarium' or pages of glossary of terms. Gifted readers will delight in the invented and adapted vocabulary which represent the more than ten years Cornish spent creating backstory for this remarkable world.

Factotum sees the apparent end of the Monster Blood Trilogy but it would be a criminal waste of this wonderfully rich and fascinating world if Cornish did not continue the series. As with Tolkien's Middle-Earth and Tamora Pierce's Tortall, Cornish has created entire cultures, social classes and political systems, landscapes, technology, architecture, food and clothing from which his characters emerge as naturally as the sun rising. Character-driven narrative, complex personalities and even more complex relationships between them, text so rich in fascinating language that it is a veritable smorgasbord of flavours and textures – there is everything here that the most dedicated fan of speculative fiction desires and which encourages rereading.

Cannot be too highly recommended.

Same Series: Foundling; Lamplighter