Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

While Inkheart happens in our world and can stand as a complete story, its sequel Inkspell and conclusion Inkdeath both happen in the magical realm of Inkworld and are written as one continuous story. This is the first time the readers get to see Inkworld and it is a richly imagined world comparable to Hogwarts that is a treat to the reader's imagination.

In Inkspell, Dustfinger finally gets his wish when Orpheus reads him back into Inkheart.   Determined to follow him, Farid gets Meggie to read him into the book and she goes with him as well.  Worried about their daughter, Mo and Resa get Orpheus to read them into the book, too, but sadly along with Mortola and Basta, villains from the previous book.   Now in Inkworld, Mortola and Basta are determined to get rid of Mo so Meggie finds Fenoglio, the author of Inkheart, who has settled into Inkworld to try to save him.

The story makes the phrase "The pen is mightier than the sword" literally true because Meggie saves Mo by getting Feneglio to write new lines into the story to change the course of events.   

Characters.  I thought that the leading characters of Mo and Elinor were well developed.  I would like to think that Meggie has matured already since the previous book, however what she does at the start of the book was too impulsive for a 13-year-old, which was to follow Farid into Inkworld after what she and Mo had to go through just to get Resa back.  It was as if she didn't think through the consequences.  The whole story of Inkspell and then Inkdeath is sparked off by this event so perhaps it was Funke's way of getting the story started.   Then I found too many side characters and creatures which made the story sometimes a little hard to follow, but perhaps it was Funke's way of making Inkworld as rich and real as possible.

Plot.  Just like Inkheart, I found the plot to be too long and circular, instead of being a single linear one that slowly builds up to a climax. There were a lot of unnecessary descriptions and scenes that didn't serve to add to or build up the plot. 

I also found the events to be a little hard to follow at times. Perhaps it was because of a lack in appropriate transitions or segues. I.e. Suddenly one of the characters you didn't know was in the scene says something and you think, huh, did i miss something?  Or perhaps it was just 'lost in translation' from the original German.

But towards the end i think the pace picked up to a very good climax.  The story ends hanging, making me want to get my hands onto the 3rd book as soon as possible!

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I decided to read Inkheart after I saw the good ratings on Amazon, but sadly I found it to be a disappointing waste of time.  Inspired by books and libraries, the story is about 12-year-old Meggie who grew up without her mother.  Her father Mortimer works as a bookbinder and has been searching desperately for years for a copy of the book 'Inkheart' which, unknown to Meggie, is the key to bringing her mother back.   One day a mysterious fire eater Dustfinger shows up at their home and Meggie soon realizes that her family has the rare gift of being able to read things in and out of a book. It turns out that the gift is also a curse, for when her father read Inkheart many years ago characters came out of the book and sent someone in their place, and that was how Meggie lost her mother when she was still a baby. Meanwhile the evil villain Capricorn whom Mo released from Inkheart is determined to stay in this world and wants to destroy every copy of the book to make sure he does.  With Dustfinger's help, Mo and Meggie must do everything they can to stop Capricorn and bring Meggie's mother back.  

What I really liked about Inkheart is that it is a book-inspired story.   Book lovers will enjoy reading about Mo's work as a bookbinder which include sawing and stitching books together and making trips to cozy bookshops.  It was a treat to read about the mansion of Meggie's aunt Elinor in Italy which was beautifully lined with books along almost every wall, particularly the breathtaking library.  The whole story is a tribute to books, reading, writers, and the written word. 

With Inkheart, the phrase "The pen is mightier than the sword" literally comes to life.  Funke really does make you think WHAT IF the characters written in a book could come to life, what would it be like?   You can't help but find that that desire in you when you were still a child to actually meet your favorite characters and see those magical places is suddenly tapped. What if?  

 

Characters.  As a father and husband, Mo's role in the book was inspiring in that he would do everything he can to protect Meggie and get his wife back.  Though at times he could be unreasonable, such as when he wouldn't tell Meggie the truth about how she lost her mother, he would eventually redeem himself.  Aside from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, few children's books actually give the father a central role in the story.  Meggie, on the other hand, doesn't seem to think and act like a 12-year-old.   Elinor's book-obsessed and practical no non-sense personality was one of the characters which I thought was well built.  I also believe that Funke meant the villains to be truly evil as described several times in the book. But when you actually meet them and you think they were about to do something truly evil they would suddenly fall short, much to my disappointment.

Plot.  The story is somewhat vague as to where the story actually takes place, but when Mo and Meggie visit Elinor it does mention that her house is in Italy.   Once the story starts, the plot takes a lot of long and winding circular twists and turns instead of being a strong linear one that slowly builds to a climax.  Events seem to happen back and forth (i.e. the characters are captured, then they escape, then captured again, then escape) without the story really progressing and doesn't give you the feel that the story is building up to a climax.     

All in all, Inkheart can be a treat if you love reading about books, libraries, and adventure but requires your patience to be able to read through the long circular plot of this almost 600-page book.  3.5 stars.

The Stand by Stephen King

I just finished reading the longest book I have ever read--this 1,400-page hollow-block of a book. The Stand is considered as Stephen King's greatest masterpiece and classic. I had been hearing polarizing opinions about it--that I would either love it or hate, but definitely not ignore it.   It was the most sensational "dystopian" novel of its time about a super plague that wipes out 99% of the population and making a 'stand' between good and evil. 

The Story:

The story is told in three books. The first book, called 'Captain Trips' refers to the 'superflu' and starts out when a it was accidentally released from a US military base. Before anyone could stop him, one of the infected guards manages to escape the facility and starts a chain of contamination from one person to the next.  The disease quickly multiplies and within a few weeks less than 1% of the population remain. 

The story features several characters from all over the country who encounter the disease in one way or another.  Stephen King takes his time to introduce them one by one and tell you about who they are, what they do, and what their troubles are in life -- devoting entire chapters to properly develop each one of them.  In the second book called 'On The Border" these characters eventually find their way to each other until they come together to make a 'stand' between good and evil. 

Some of the characters are good, some are bad and two factions quickly form separately--the good is lead by "Mother Abagail" while the bad is lead by Randall Flag who haunts the survivors in their dreams and appears to them in the form of a crow (hence the cover).    In the third book called "The Stand" each faction becomes aware of the existence of the other and feel that their existence is threatened by the other so they each endeavor to destroy the other. 

Characters:
Just like in any Stephen King novel, the characters are beautifully developed and are very real.  For me his uncanny ability to create true-to-life characters is one of the hallmarks of Stephen King that I always look forward to.   However, given the numerous characters in the novel and the many chapters dedicated to building each of their stories, the book became a lengthy tome.  In fact, when The Stand was first published in 1979 Stephen King was requested by his publishers to shorten the novel significantly so that it would meet the costs and still make profits out of their calculated 6.95 cover price then.  As a result, King had to delete almost 400 pages from the final draft.    But Stephen King was never satisfied with this so in 1990 the Complete and Uncut Edition of the Stand was released at 1,400 pages--the version I happened to have purchased. He said that the story 'may have been there' in the first version, but it was definitely not "elegant".


Plot: 
Because King took his sweet time in building each character and then telling the story of how they eventually came together to make a stand, I found the pace rather slow in picking up. Though it was absorbing, I was already 200 pages into the book and there were still new characters being introduced.  The story starts to pick up only in the second book when they start coming together.    The characters were unique and enjoyable but since the plot took its sweet time to develop I must say that this is not my favorite Stephen King novel.  Under the Dome is still my favorite to date. 

There are many movie adaptations and mini-series that have been made.  This is the trailer and the actual mini-series of one of them starring Rob Lowe, Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald star. Enjoy!

Trailer 

Actual Mini-series