From whiffling to waffling - Books - Times Online
from Amanda Craig's review of Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling by D. M. Cornish:
D. M. Cornish’s debut, Monster Blood Tattoo, begins with maps to its Half-Continent and an abandoned boy called Rossamund in desperate need of a job. Illustrated by the author, it is a fantasy closer to Peake’s Gormenghast than the appalling Eragon, and suffers from an excess of somewhat stale inventiveness. An orphanage is a foundlingery, sailors are vinegaroons, a cup is a biggin and so on; there is an “Explicarium” at the end, with Appendices and yet more maps. Maddeningly, Cornish can really write, and his story gets off to an engaging start when not tripping over these idiotic extras...
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