When I was at my local bookstore, I perused the clearance section and found a couple of hardbacks for $4 each. Needless to say, this was a deal too good to pass up. So I bought them. The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven and Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling by D.M. Cornish will now be reviewed right here, so you can see which Tattoo to get (no pun intended).
The Black Tattoo: Jack knows his friend Charlie is the embodiment of cool, even though he's going through some tough times (his dad's having an affair). So when Charlie gets a moving black tattoo on his back, causing him and Jack to be recruited into a secret organization whose goal is to fight the demon Scourge, he's just all the cooler. Especially since the tattoo gives him magical powers and the ability to do kung-fu like a master. But the tattoo seems to have a darker side, so he, Jack, and the members of the Brotherhood must find a way to stop the Scourge from bringing Hell on earth-- literally.
Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling: The first in a massive trilogy, Foundling plunges readers right into the Half-Continent, a world just out of reach from our own, a world filled with interesting characters and escapades. Cornish started fleshing out his world in 1993, so the idea's about 16 years old now (give or take a few months). And it's good. The story starts with Rossamund, a boy with a girl's name, who is finally about to leave Madam Opera's, the foundlingery where he's lived all his life. He's been told that being a vinegaroon is the perfect occupation, but instead he gets chosen to be a Lamplighter. However, the journey to even start his new career is beyond difficult, and he meets bizarre and captivating characters along the way, such as Europe and the villainous Poundinch.
The Black Tattoo: Jack knows his friend Charlie is the embodiment of cool, even though he's going through some tough times (his dad's having an affair). So when Charlie gets a moving black tattoo on his back, causing him and Jack to be recruited into a secret organization whose goal is to fight the demon Scourge, he's just all the cooler. Especially since the tattoo gives him magical powers and the ability to do kung-fu like a master. But the tattoo seems to have a darker side, so he, Jack, and the members of the Brotherhood must find a way to stop the Scourge from bringing Hell on earth-- literally.Now I have to hand it to Sam Enthoven. For a first-time author, he's got a lot of creativity, and the writing is brisk, fun, and easy to get sucked into. But the book just got a little, well, odd, for my taste, and I'm not entirely sure I'd read a sequel if there was one. It was worth reading once, and it was worth the $4 I spent on it.
My rating: 6/10
Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling: The first in a massive trilogy, Foundling plunges readers right into the Half-Continent, a world just out of reach from our own, a world filled with interesting characters and escapades. Cornish started fleshing out his world in 1993, so the idea's about 16 years old now (give or take a few months). And it's good. The story starts with Rossamund, a boy with a girl's name, who is finally about to leave Madam Opera's, the foundlingery where he's lived all his life. He's been told that being a vinegaroon is the perfect occupation, but instead he gets chosen to be a Lamplighter. However, the journey to even start his new career is beyond difficult, and he meets bizarre and captivating characters along the way, such as Europe and the villainous Poundinch.A telltale sign of how big the world is can be found in the 100+ page long Explicarium in the back of the book, which also contains eight pages of maps. The Half-Continent is HUGE, and we've only just started to explore it. And, thanks to Cornish's excellent writing, that's a good thing.
Oh, and don't forget to wear your hat.
My rating: 9/10
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