Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

3.5/5 STARS

Genre: Children’s Fiction, Fantasy
Author: Cornelia Funke
Published: October 2005
Publisher: Chicken House
Pages: 655 {paperback}

Review on Goodreads

---

Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing

Oh my lord, I finally finished this book. I don’t know why I found this story so hard to read and get done – I have a hunch it’s just a fraction too waffly. But it was a great sequel to the first book, Inkheart, and whilst it was really slow in the middle, the world is rich with descriptions and colours and the characters are wonderful. Not to mention the ending is great!

---

Inkspell

This is the second book in the Inkworld series so if you haven’t read book one then RUN AWAY or be smattered with spoilers.

In this fine and long secondary instalment to the series, we have a most interesting plot. We find a conflicted cast of characters trying to do the reverse of what happened in book one. Everyone seems to want back into the story.

Dustfinger starts this merry-go-round of storytelling by leaving Farid behind and going back himself. Not long after Farid and Meggie go after him and thus the story begins. One of my favourite things about this book is that is takes place inside a book. We get a magical opportunity to thoroughly explore a fantastic world and it’s awesome.

Whilst a long book, the story is quite entertaining the whole way through and the pacing isn’t bad either. I honestly cannot tell you why it took so long for me to read it. I blame it on a short attention span.

---

The World

I would love to take a trip into Funke’s mind because the descriptions of the Inkworld sound marvellous. There’s a reason Meggie is so captivated with the wonders of it.

But the thought put into constructing not only the physical world but the politics of this fantastic set up is wonderful too. There are an abundance of characters and even more problems to resolve. There is adventure, romance, danger and mystery — it’s got everything.

I would love someone to create an illustrated version of this book or perhaps just some kind of field guide to it. I would buy that in a heartbeat.

---

The Characters

Meggie is a good main character, definitely. I like her sense of adventure and whilst I don’t agree with many of her (somewhat childish?) decisions they propel the story along. I’m really quite interested to see where she’ll end up at the end of the series.

I do like Farid too. He was a stand out in book one, but I don’t believe his infatuation with Meggie — it’s happened all too quickly and makes me feel uncomfortable at best.

Mo has a less significant role (or at least isn’t in on the action for certain reasons) but wow, he must be so stressed. Dustfinger was a classic and slippery character.

The baddies were solidly bad and the goodies were solidly good. This is storytelling in the traditional sense and I love the clear cut distinctions between the two.

---

Summary

I would certainly recommend continuing on the series if you’ve read book one. This 100% expands on the world we know and dives into new areas that we’re all so keen to explore. The story didn’t hold my attention like I hoped it would but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it either!

---

Grab a Copy!

I am an affiliate with these companies. By using these links to purchase books you are supporting Upside-Down Books!

Get free worldwide shipping and great prices with The Book Depository and Wordery!

Support an Australian company with Angus & Robertson and get free shipping on orders over $60!

Support an Australian company with Booktopia and enjoy flat rate shipping for AUS/NZ!

---

 You might also like . . .

---

Have you read Inkspell?

Share your thoughts below!

---

~~ Kirstie ~~

Follow @ozbooksnail