Review Detail

The setting in the Monster Blood Tatto series is unlike any other I've come across in fiction. It has a special uniqueness all of its own. The reader is taken over rivers and fields, through forests and cities and villages, into isolated fortresses, and to the edge of monster-infested bogs. Every location is brought to life, not by the overlong descriptions you might find in other fantasy novels, but by the inhabitants of the various regions, the idiosyncrasies of the land and rivers, and the events that occur. One thing that especially impressed me was the fluidity of the character-driven plot and the author's ability to cover many events, conversations, and decisions in the span of only a few pages without rushing or making the reader feel rushed. To give just one example, near the end of the final book in the series, our protagonist was taken from a fancy gala in a comfortable mansion, into a blistering city-wide brawl that ended in the most bittersweet finale in fantasy. I thought a few times throughout the trilogy that the character of Rossamund Bookchild, our protagonist, was in danger of stunted development. Rossamund grows throughout each book in believable and logical ways, and by the end of the series is as likeable and memorable as any other member of this colourful cast. While these books are on the longer side, as each book progresses, there is so much to love as we follow Rosamund on his adventures from a bookchild, to lamplighter, to factotum, and thoroughly enjoy the side characters and how Rosamund influences the world as he walks through it.