Five stars because I didn't figure that the author had been planning the reveal of this book from the first one. I think I may have gotten a little distracted by the roving from one vivid scene to the next, and the see-sawing relationships between Rossamund and other beloved characters like Europe. I fell in love with the world in Factotum, for it has a very atypical character - the world /is/ a character here - filled with strangeness and beauty and monstrosity not even the oldest of the characters fully understands [Or if it does, it isn't telling~]. The glossary at the end was helpful and needed for a few words - if you're off-put by the expanse of worlds in other series like Dune and LoTR, I don't recommend this book. These books have some of the most canny big-picture plotting, answering the questions that need to be answered, and letting the readers' minds chew on all the rest. The time-capsule, jargon-clustered language may require some re-reading, but I read Factotum not long after Lamplighter, so the trek was made easier for me. I recommend following the same route if you can. In this novel, the character of Rossamund - our bookish, downtrodden, unlucky foundling - has grown without drifting into instant adulthood. By the end of it, the nature of who Rossamund is and what the significance of the Monster Blood Tattoo has for him fully blossoms, and various pieces of the puzzle of this tale link together on spider-web threads, the time spent to tell it much more worth its while than as any individual form. Thought-provoking and colorfully imagined, Factotum is an excellent end-cap to a very good and lesser-known series. Factotum is a book set in another world where monsters roam. The protagonist, Rossamund, is the servant to one of the most famous monster hunters in all of the world, the Branden Rose. He is constantly facing problems that come up such as defeating monsters and other bad people. My favorite part in the book is when Rossamund learns that he is a monster, a rossamunderling, because the author has great foreshadowing. If you liked the Hunger Games, you will like this book.
What do You think about Factotum (2010)?
A good end to the trilogy. Amazingly detailed world, and some great language.
—Reader
You must see this to it's close - and then give it to all your children
—vimisha
Fantastic conclusion to this thoroughly enjoyable trilogy.
—sabhya
The end of an excellent fantasy/adventure trilogy.
—Aisha
*applause*The third book to this saga. Amazing!
—Estrellaa
