Normally I'm pretty certain about how I should go about reviewing a book, but in regards to
Monster Blood Tattoo (Book One: Foundling), I'm on new ground. How so? Watch this to find out.
Now, if that hasn't confused you, just take a moment to think about what I've just said. Books aren't supposed to look like this unless they're written by J. R. R. Tolkien, the map and lore legend of the literary world. I'm seriously impressed. Actually, I was completely taken by surprise by
MBT and I'm not afraid to admit it.
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| Exhibit A |
The story, the world, the characters, all combined to suck me into a vortex of monsters, vinegar waves, and the plight of a boy with a girl's name (
Exhibit A).
But that's not all. Oh no.
Exhibit B is a 102-page glossary of terms unique to The Half-Continent--a number not including the appendices depicting different "types" of people on The Half-Continent, various ships, the calendar system, and a highly detailed "exploded" map of The Half-Continent broken into six sections, among other things.
 |
| Exhibit B |
I was very happy to have the glossary and the appendices, if only to assure myself that I guessed right about the definitions and to reassure my mind that the book actually happened. Plus, I really love visual aids.
When I bought this book on sale for waaaaay less than the amount it was meant to be sold for, I didn't know what I had in my hands. I admired the title and the cover, read the jacket and decided it would be interesting, but I had no idea just
how interesting I'd find it. I have a book buying addiction,
remember?
Now that I've read
Book One: Foundling, I
must read the others. I feel like a
wit* is compelling me to do so.
I guess I know what I'm going to do with my recently acquired gift cards to bookstores.
Until next time...
*A
wit is a type of
lahzar whose powers are felt rather than seen, unlike the
fulgars. Another name for one is a neuroticrith ("holder of a distorted mind").
Wits control the invisible bioelectrical field using the surgically introduced organs definitive of the
lahzars. They are mostly monster hunters by profession.
(See what I mean? That glossary is fantastic! My definition is just a tiny summary of the one in the book. The actual definition of a
wit is nearly two pages long!)
