There is a meticulousness to his world building. I sympathize, disliking that aspect to other authors’ writings, but with Cornish I enjoy how well he enfolds me into his universe. Not that I was complaining, but I know that some people aren’t particularly fond of Cornish’s meandering style. It really isn’t until they return to town that the plot starts to run towards the ultimate finish. After a brief stay in Europe’s home she and Rossamund go out nicker hunting in the countryside where things do not always go according to plan. Much of the book feels like a bit of a road novel too. Finally, Factotum is 688 pages, with 610 pages of story (the longest yet, storywise). Foundling was mere slip of 434 pages, and only 312 were story (the rest was backmatter). In comparing the book to its predecessors, I must say that this is probably the longest of the three. What these villains do not count on, however, is that an angry Europe is far more deadly than a pack of slavering monsters. Rumors of what he is plague and follow the two, however, and both Rossamund and Europe discover that there are forces aligned against them that will stop at nothing to get what they want. Rescued from his accusers by the always impressive Europe, the Branden Rose, Rossamund has become her factotum to escape the public eye. Which is to say, he’s accused of being a monster in man’s form. When last we left our intrepid heroes, Rossamund the Lamplighter had been accused of being a. Cornish has something more up his sleeve. Now I’ve read three and they’re books I honestly love with all my heart.

I never meant to read a young adult novel. It meant bidding adieu to a world I’d grown to love. Reading this book meant having to say goodbye to a lot of old friends.

Maybe that’s why I took my time with Factotum, the third and (sadly) last book in the Monster Blood Tattoo series. Moral ambiguity city, baby! I devoured Foundling with relish and when its sequel Lamplighter arrived I tossed that back as well. Here was a fantasy world I could believe in! One that on the surface looked like it was made up of the usual black and white tropes, and then later turned into an increasingly variegated series of grays. However it happened, I was immediately enthralled. With all the great middle grade fiction out there who has time for YA? So I’m not sure how I got conned into reading the first Monster Blood Tattoo Foundling back in 2006. This is out of necessity as a children’s librarian more than any personal animosity towards the genre.

Factotum novel