Who Would Like This Book:
If you love being swept away into fantastically detailed worlds, "Foundling" is a treasure trove! D.M. Cornish's Half-Continent feels alive, packed with unique lore, beautifully done illustrations, and even a massive glossary and appendices for worldbuilding fans. The main character, Rossamund, is endearing and relatable, discovering shades of gray in morality as he journeys through a monster-filled realm. This is perfect for readers who adore intricate settings and immersive adventures - think fans of Tolkien, His Dark Materials, or anyone who enjoys a Victorian twist to their fantasy.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the pace slow to start, with a plot that doesn't always match the depth of the world around it. The extensive use of invented words, long names, and dense lore can feel overwhelming, especially if you prefer stories that get right to the action. If you’re looking for non-stop excitement or find yourself impatient with info-heavy books, this one might test your endurance. Younger readers or those who dislike having to refer to glossaries may also find it a bit daunting.
About:
'Foundling' in the series 'Monster Blood Tattoo' by D.M. Cornish follows the story of Rossamund, a foundling boy raised in an orphanage who gets the opportunity to become a Lamplighter. As Rossamund embarks on his journey, he encounters monsters, mysterious characters, and adventures that shape his understanding of the world. The author weaves a unique world full of monsters, surgeries that grant powers with side effects, and secrets surrounding Rossamund's past, creating an immersive and entertaining narrative with detailed illustrations.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of violence, references to death, and potential psychological themes related to child abandonment.
From The Publisher:
Meet Rossamund?a foundling, a boy with a girl's name who is about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor of the Half-Continent. What starts as a simple journey becomes a dangerous and complicated set of battles and decisions. Humans, monsters, unearthly creatures . . . who among these can Rossamund trust? D. M. Cornish has created an entirely original world, grounded in his own deft, classically influenced illustrations. Foundling is a magic-laced, Dickensian adventure that will transport the reader.
Ratings (4)
Incredible (4) |
Reader Stats (17):
Read It (4) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (10) | |
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1 comment(s)
On the cusp of adulthood, Rossamund is required to leave his home at the orphanage to become a lamplighter, a job he neither wants nor trained for. However, before he can start his job, he is to report to High Vestig. What appears to be a straightforward trip soon grows into an all-out adventure.
The Foundling has all the things I like in a young adult fantasy novel—complex, original world building, morally ambiguous characters, likable characters, and interesting overarching themes. I like that
The Foundling questions binaries in reminding the readers that people are human, not wholly good nor evil.
My only complaint is that the novel ended too abruptly for my taste. Though I did feel the narrative was approaching a good stopping point, I thought it would go on for a bit longer, haha.
The Foundling is the first book that I’ve given five stars this year. The novel deserves all the hype it can get :)
What can you read after
Foundling?
About the Author:
D.M. Cornish was born in time to see the first Star Wars movie. He was five. It made him realize that worlds beyond his own were possible, and he failed to eat his popcorn. Experiences with C.S. Lewis, and later J.R.R. Tolkien, completely convinced him that other worlds existed, and that writers had a key to these worlds. But words were not yet his earliest tools for storytelling. Drawings were.He spent most of his childhood drawing, as well as most of his teenage and adult years as well. And by age eleven he had made his first book, called "Attack from Mars." It featured Jupitans and lots and lots of drawings of space battles. (It has never been published and world rights are still available.)He studied illustration at the University of South Australia, where he began to compile a series of notebooks, beginning with #1 in 1993. He had read Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels, The Iliad, and Paul Gallico's Love of Seven Dolls. Classical ideas as well as the great desire to continue what Mervyn Peake had begun but not finished led him to delineate his own world. Hermann Hesse, Kafka and other writers convinced him there were ways to be fantastical without conforming to the generally accepted notions of fantasy. Over the next ten years he filled 23 journals with his pictures, definitions, ideas and histories of his world, the Half-Continent.It was not until 2003 that a chance encounter with a children's publisher gave him an opportunity to develop these ideas further. Learning of his journals, she bullied him into writing a story from his world. Cornish was sent away with the task of delivering 1,000 words the following week and each week thereafter. Abandoning all other paid work, he spent the next two years propped up with one small advance after the other as his publisher tried desperately to keep him from eating his furniture. And so Rossamund's story was born - a labor of love over twelve years in the making.
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