Children's Literature – L. F. Wade A boy named Sue never had it as hard as a boy foundling named Rossamund. Life on the fantasy world of the Half-Continent offers few, if any, benefits to a young boy (with a girl's name) growing up in an orphanage. His lowly birth is balanced by a caring orphanage staff who offer him their blessings as he sets off to become a Lamplighter for the Empire. But as soon as he leaves their safe haven his adventures begin. He narrowly escapes getting shanghaied and finds himself in the company of one of the most famous monster slayers in his world. She shows him to more than he ever imagined before she sends him on his way to start his training. This first book of the "Monster Blood Tattoo" series ends with Rossamund entering into his Lamplighter training. It is an introduction to a fantasy epic set in a world that defies comparison. The unearthly and alien nature of Rossamund's world heightens the tension of the story as he travels relatively unguarded and unprepared. Rossamund witnesses motors driven by muscles in boxes, a caustic and dangerous 'vinegar' sea, and a monster slayer who can summon electricity with implanted organs. He also encounters monsters of every imaginable shape and size, some benign and some quite malignant. The vast amount of creativity poured into the first part of this series is evident in the 100 plus pages of illustrations, definitions, and appendices. Certainly Rossamund's further adventures will be worth reading. 2006, G. P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin, Ages 14 up.