Inkspell (Inkheart Trilogy) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Cornelia Funke (Author), Brendan Fraser (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2005 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Inkheart Trilogy

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, the book whose characters came to life - and changed her life forever.

But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the original tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the magical ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval inkscape once more.

Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long both are caught inside the book, too. There they meet Inkheart's author, Fenoglio, now living within his own story. But the tale is much changed, and threatening to evolve in ways none of them would have ever imagined. Will Meggie, Farid, and Fenoglio manage to write the wrongs of a charmed world? Or is their story on the brink of a very bad ending?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Just a few chapters into Inkspell, Mo (a.k.a. "Silvertongue") sagely says to his daughter, "Stories never really end, Meggie, even if the books like to pretend they do. Stories always go on. They don't end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page." A fitting meta-observation for this, the unplanned second installment in Cornelia Funke's beloved now-trilogy.

Of course, it's that sort of earnest, almost gushing veneration of books and book-loving that made the absorbing suspense-fantasy Inkheart so wonderful in the first place, with that lit-affection getting woven integrally into the plot (Inkheart being both Funke's first book in the series, and the fictitious book within that book, authored by the frustrated Fenoglio, now trapped within the book, er, within the book. Fenoglio, perhaps not surprisingly, self-referentially wishes in Inkspell that he had written a sequel to Inkheart.) Inkspell should serve as a special treat for fans of the first book, as characters from Inkheart who have found themselves in the "real world" (if there is such a thing) find themselves read back into their own mythic, word-spun world--along with some of our favorite "real-world" characters. As with the previous book, Funke's greatest accomplishment here is telling such a rich and involving (and fun!) story, while still managing sweet, subtle commentary on the nature of words and meaning. Expect a tantalizing finale, too--as Funke says, "No reader will forgive me the ending, though, without a part three." (Ages 8 and up) --Paul Hughes --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up–This sequel begins a year after the conclusion of Funke's popular Inkheart (Scholastic, 2003). In this fantasy world, certain readers have the power to bring characters out of books–and send them back. Meggie and Farid, apprentices to the fire-eater Dustfinger, follow him to the Inkworld, the land of the book-within-a-book, Inkheart, after he has been read back into its story by a mysterious man named Orpheus. Orpheus uses his powers to read Mortola and Basta, some of the villains of the first volume, into the story, along with Meggie's parents. In Inkworld, Meggie enlists the help of Fenoglio, the original author of Inkheart, to help create a new future for her parents and herself as palace intrigues, war, and the Silver Prince threaten. The story moves along at a rapid pace, from Farid and Dustfinger's original meeting with Orpheus to Farid's warning of Mortola's return to the shift of action to the Inkworld and the heightening conflict in both worlds. Expanding on the ideas behind Inkheart, Funke explores what might happen if authors try to change the world they have created. Familiar characters and those new to this volume are clearly drawn. This is an involving story that will draw readers smoothly to its conclusion and leave them waiting for the final volume in this projected trilogy.–Beth L. Meister, Pleasant View Elementary School, Franklin, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: Listening Library (Audio); Unabridged edition (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307281620
• ISBN-13: 978-0307281623
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.6 x 5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (287 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Books on CD > Children's Fiction > Fantasy

More About the Author

Cornelia Funke is one of today's most beloved writers of magical stories for children. She is the author of The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, Inkheart, Inkspell, the Ghosthunters series, When Santa Fell to Earth, and Igraine the Brave. She lives with her family in Los Angeles, California, in a house full of books.