Foundling

This is a hugely underrated fantasy novel by one D. M. Cornish (I thought this was a pen-name at first, but some rather shallow digging on the internet proved that it probably isn't). It's a teen-aimed book ... well, to be more precise, it's a trilogy of books, but it should appeal to all fantasy fans. The first novel was originally titled Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling but the series has since been re-titled The Foundling's Tale, with the first book simply titled Foundling.

Our story begins with Rossamund, the 'foundling' of the title - an orphan. He has unfortunately, and inexplicably, been saddled with a girl's name - something that has been the bane of his life so far. Rossamund, like the other orphans at Madam Opera's Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls, has fond hopes of becoming a vinegaroon (a sailor). Unlike the other orphans though, he has a dark fascination with lahzers, leers and skolds - those who have made it their profession to fight monsters.

This is the Half-Continent, a world where humanity has been at war with countless breeds of monsters since time began. The skolds are your regular monster-hunters, armed with knowledge and the ability to make destructive potives (potions) - a kind of 'combat chemist'. Leers are those who wear specially-adapted wooden boxes on their faces. These boxes have bizarre organs attached to the inside that allow the wearer to heighten their senses and perception. These guys can follow scents and sounds and not much escapes them - unfortunately though, if they wear the box for too long, the organs inside can grow up into their various orifices and make it hard for removal!

And then there are the lahzers, who I suspect most of the trilogy will focus on. These are humans who have had special organs surgically grafted into their bodies to give them special abilities to help them fight monsters. There are two types of lahzers - the wits, who can stun and fight with their minds, and the fulgars, who can release and attack with electrical currents.


It's said that D. M. Cornish spent 10 years creating his world of the Half-Continent and all those who dwell in it before finally being badgered into writing a book that would exploit his creations. It shows - there is a LOT of background behind every sentence, character, place and thing that features in this book. Cornish is also a talented illustrator and he gives us pictures of all the major characters throughout the book - which is very useful considering that tere is a lot to absorb. There is also an incredibly detailed map and an 80 page glossary at the back explaining various bits and pieces. You simply can't ask for more than that!

The book itself comes across as a mix of Dickens and new-wave fantasy... Cornish has gone to great pains to avoid the cliches and hallmarks of the fantasy genre, using Dutch and Germanic-like phonetics to give his world a unique feel, and avoiding magic altogether (any bizarre powers featured in this book are a result of dark and disturbing biological-grafting - a kind of mix that references rising industrial age-Europe and abominable genetic engineering). The story itself is a good craic, even if Cornish does tend to do exposition a little awkwardly at times. I can't really blame him though, he's created this incredibly detailed world and only has about 300 pages of teenage-aimed text to use it in, but I can't help but feel he might've held off a bit on some of the explanations to allow the characters and story breathe a little bit more.

Anyway, this is a great and original fantasy book, written by an Australian author who looks to have a great body of work ahead of him. And as great as Foundling is, the series actually gets better and better as it goes on - which bodes well for the future!