Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

Synopsis:

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of INKHEART, the book whose characters became real. But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval world of his past. Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long, both are caught inside the book, too. But the story is threatening to evolve in ways neither of them could ever have imagined.

Review by Patrick:

Wow. This book was amazing. I had the pleasure of listening to it in audio book format performed by Brendan Fraser. I thought Inkheart was good, but it is rare to find a sequel that is better than the first in a series. I believe Cornelia Funke has accomplished this. At first I wasn't excited that the performer was changed, but Brendan Fraser did an excellent job. The sound of Orpheus' voice was wonderful.

The story was amazing, and so real. When the characters go to the "Inkworld" as it is affectionately called by all of the characters not belonging to the book itself, the sheer descriptions and feelings of the characters is astounding. I believe she did an excellent job describing what a medieval world would be like, and the disparity between the rich and the poor (and the middle class, who just owns a few more cloaks than the farmers). I love it when the little details become real in the mind.

It got a little mind bending when I was thinking about all of the levels of intricacy. At one point I realized I was reading about a reader who was reading the words of an author to change a story that they both were currently inside when their real world was full of other characters who were stuck outside that world. Then outside of that I thought about what Cornelia Funke had been thinking about when she wrote, and what she would think of finally me the reader, reading her book, in which another book was written, and subsequently being changed by the author of that book. Talk about another layer of Inception.

There were so may twists and turns in this book. Nothing went how I expected it to. All of it went better. Everything wrong that could have happened did. It was amazing to see the darkness being unfolded before your eyes, and you had no idea what horrors would be in the next chapter, but you knew that you had to keep reading to find out.

I am stoic by nature. My own wife has seen me cry maybe a handful of times that we have been together. I. Do. Not. Cry. When the story took a turn for the worse, I was actually with her in the living room with headphones on (I couldn't wait for the commute the next morning). I closed my eyes and put my face in my hands, and she knew instantly that something was wrong. *Spoiler* How could I be so attached to a character? I was ready for death, but when it came, it still hurt like a knife in the back. I can't believe she did that. *Spoiler* But then again, I hadn't seen anything that was coming up in this book.

And the ending wasn't so much of an ending, but rather a springboard for the last book. The board is set, chess pieces moved, and some have fallen, but the characters must play out the story of the words that is written. You learn that in this book. If it is written, then destiny and fate must play out to the end. But I don't know what to do with the fear, excitement, and hope that the last chapters gave. What will happen in the last book? I do not know, but I will find out soon.

There is only one rating I can give for this book. 5. It was phenomenal. Enough said.

Up Next:

I'm still reading Gideon the Cutpurse and plan on finishing Catch 22 soon. If any of my other reserves come in from the library, I'll be reading those too.