Scan barcode
A review by cityinkwell
Foundling by D.M. Cornish
5.0
An absolutely foundational text of my teen years, fundamentally changed my brain chemistry. If you want a fantasy book with detailed worldbuilding, then my god. My GOD. This book has almost 100 pages straight of just the glossary, the cartography the illustrations - just a labour of love top to bottom from an extremely talented man.
D.M. Cornish spins a gripping world of regency-era monsters and an economy based around their slaughter, focusing on a vulnerable young teenager who is swept up in all the little corners that make up this world. The character arc is in flawless lockstep with the worldbuilding from beginning to end, and finishing it left me desperately hungry for more.
The series loves its strong female characters, not in the 'power fantasy girl' sense, but in genuinely bold and striking personalities that have massive influence over Rossamünd. They are the characters that stick, more than any other in the story. It's novel, but well appreciated.
It's not a particularly breezy read, there's a lot of dry lore exploration, almost no real escalation (quite a bit of the payoff for all this book introduces is in book 2) and very very different from your typical fantasy; this is a book that slams the buttons of a particular type of reader. And that reader is MEEEEEE
D.M. Cornish spins a gripping world of regency-era monsters and an economy based around their slaughter, focusing on a vulnerable young teenager who is swept up in all the little corners that make up this world. The character arc is in flawless lockstep with the worldbuilding from beginning to end, and finishing it left me desperately hungry for more.
The series loves its strong female characters, not in the 'power fantasy girl' sense, but in genuinely bold and striking personalities that have massive influence over Rossamünd. They are the characters that stick, more than any other in the story. It's novel, but well appreciated.
It's not a particularly breezy read, there's a lot of dry lore exploration, almost no real escalation (quite a bit of the payoff for all this book introduces is in book 2) and very very different from your typical fantasy; this is a book that slams the buttons of a particular type of reader. And that reader is MEEEEEE