Releasing in mid-September, Inkspell by Cornelia Funke is the the sequel to the well-received Inkheart. The sequel continues the story of Dustfinger, Farid, Meggie, Mo and Resa. Dustfinger has discovered another reader, Orpheus, who can not only read characters out of books, but can return them into books by rearranging words from that book. After Dustfinger is read back into Inkheart, Farid is desperate to follow him and warn him that Basta, the villain, is after him. So Farid goes to Meggie to try to get her to read him into Inkheart too. But Meggie does more than that and reads herself into Inkheart with Farid. Soon afterwards, Mortola and Basta force Meggie’s father Mo to enter the story of Inkheart as well.
Once into Inkheart, the reader and the characters begin to see the magic of Inkheart with their own eyes. This is perhaps the most charming part of the book, as we are allowed to see the tiny fairies and complex society of Inkheart. Funke’s prose is weighty and heavy as it was in Inkheart. She has a unique style of writing that can take some getting used to. But this writing is exactly what creates the world of Inkheart with such vibrancy. Inkspell is a masterpiece of setting, with an imaginary world so well-rendered that it makes the real one pale. We are introduced to a new group of fascinating characters in this book, each complex and distinct.
Recommend this to good readers who will be able to see their own love of books reflected back to them, and see themselves as people who would like someday to enter their favorite books too. I enjoyed Inkheart, but would say that this novel is even better. It is more vibrant and evocative. There are many great quotes about reading in the book, but my favorite comes early:
“Isn’t it odd how much fatter a book gets when you’ve read it several times?…As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells…and then when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you, like a pressed flower… both strange and familiar.”
A sigh-worthy quote that will hopefully get you to try this series.