Rossamund, the orphaned boy with a girl’s name, is now an apprentice Lamplighter. His job is to keep the lamps along the Emperor’s highroads lit to give hope to travellers amidst the threats of threwd and monsters. Rossamund yearns for adventure. A life of adventure however is a life of violence, or so he is often told. As one of the Emperor’s Own Lamplighters of the Conduit Vermis, adventure and violence seem to follow him. With monsters prowling outside and in the Winstermill stronghold, Rossamund must show courage and remain faithful to his friends.

Lamplighter is the second book in the Monster Blood Tatttoo series. It recounts Rossamund’s adventures as he completes his training to be a Lamplighter and is posted to the wilds of Wormstool. Once more he has to use his knowledge of chemicals to fight the monsters, but is always slightly estranged from his friends and monster hunters, Miss Europe, Mister Sebastipole, and Threnody. The tension increases as Rossamund uncovers the existence of the Duke of Sparrows and meets Freckle once more.

The book continues to extend the horizons of Rossamund’s world and the reader’s knowledge of the Half-Continent. We learn more about the kingdoms within and bordering the Empire, the monster hunters and where monsters come from. More information is available in the expanded Explicarium at the back of the book, revealing more about life on the Half-Continent with drawings, maps and technical diagrams. Lamplighter begins to uncover some of the mystery surrounding Rossmund’s identity and ends on a dramatic cliff hanger that left me astonished and eager to read the next in the series.

 Lamplighter is the compelling sequel to Foundling. A recommended book for readers aged 12 plus.

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2008-06-15