“Inkspell”

Author: Cornelia Funk

My first thoughts to express this book are simple: long and tedious. It has never taken me so long before to finish a book...two months. As much as I LOVED the first book, I felt that "Inkspell" was just pulling it painfully longer. The characters were all amazing, and the idea of the whole theme was outstanding. "Inkspell" was very entertaining and beautifully written, but when it comes down to it, do you really want to read ANOTHER long book about it? I just felt like the 1st book ("Inkheart") was enough, and there really wasn't any point in dragging it on. 

Dustfinger and his young apprentice, Farid, meet a Silvertongue named Orpheus. He agrees to help read them back into Inkheart, the story Dustfinger belongs in. But Farid gets left behind, and goes to Maggie, the daughter of Mo, for help to be reunited with Dustfinger. Maggie being a Silvertongue herself, agrees to read both her and Farid into the world of Inkheart leaving her home and family behind to help Farid and see for herself what the world of Inkheart looks like. But the Silvertongue, Orpheus is in league with the mother of the dead villain Capricorn. Capricorn's mother, Mortola, is desperate to find the book Inkheart, so she can be read back into her home and find out if her son is still alive. But she will, of course,  get her revenge on Mo first. (Mo was the one who read the words that killed her evil son.) While Maggie, Farid and Dustfinger are having their own little adventures in Inkheart, Mortola kidnaps Mo, Maggie's father and Resa, her mother. With Orpheus's help, he reads them all straight into Inkeart. But Inkheart is not the same anymore. Fenoglio, the writer living in his own story is worried because characters he never created are showing up, and characters he never wanted to kill are dying. It's definitely an adventure with: the story getting out of Fenoglio's control, Dustfinger and Farid helping Maggie to save her parents and Mortola after them all for revenge of her son's death. 

The beginning was dreadfully slow, and for me, the story had no particular goal or destination. It was just a bunch of super interesting ideas and mixed plot lines that kept you somewhat interested. There were a lot of characters and places to keep track of. Even though a good deal of the characters had a unique voice, they were still just wandering around trying to get themselves out of a multiple of sticky situations. All this takes place inside a made-up world inside a book that's slowly getting out of the authors control. Even though it was fascinating enough to keep my attention, it's wasn't the best, considering how awesome the first book was . If you're looking for a trilogy, I would suggest reading the "Youngest Templar", the "Graceling Realm", or even the "Iron Fey Series". What trilogies are your favorites?