6/2/2023 0 Comments Factotum by dm cornishThe thing that most impresses me about Cornish’s writing, the thing that keeps bringing me back to eagerly devour another tome (and tomes they are!), is the language. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so you’ll just have to trust me on this. Though a thousand YA books begin with this rather cliché premise, Cornish takes the premise and turns it on its head. The story centers around Rossamünd, a boy with a girl’s name, an orphan trying to make his way in the world. I was immediately caught up in the visionary world of Cornish’s Half Continent, where the sea is vinegar, monsters and man fight a daily war, and the making of potions is both chemistry and magic. (This was back in about 2009, I think, when my interest in steampunk was a fledgling thing yearning for exploration.) Fortunately for me, some of my favorite novels are young adult literature, so I wasn’t put off by the label–and neither should you be! Years ago I picked up the paperback of Foundling because I was attracted to the cover, which featured characters drawn by the author, and which appeared quite steampunk. It’s number three in a set called “The Foundling’s Tale” (or alternately “The Monster Blood Tattoo”) the first two being Foundling and Lamplighter. Factotum is a novel by DM Cornish, an Australian writer I greatly admire.
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