Inkspell

By: Cornelia Funke

Narrated by: Brendan Fraser

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 tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the 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 ever have 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?

©2005 Cornelia Funke (P)2005 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

• 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year, Children's Literature

"Readers who enjoyed Funke's Inkheart are in for a treat with this sequel." (Booklist)

loved it!

I thought Inkheart was wonderful, but Inkspell outdoes it. The Ink world is so imaginative and evocatively realized. I also did not know it was the center of a trilogy so the ending was more of a non-ending in the way of the Empire Strikes Back from the Star Wars trilogy, which is not saying that it takes away from the book in any way (we all know Empire was the best of series). I am really looking forward to seeing how it's all going to be resolved. I'm not a child and found the story to be absolutely compelling and complex enough for adults; I actually think it may be a bit too much for younger children - there is violence and death.

BTW, although not withstanding a few quirks (a sometimes staccato delivery, wildly speeding up the narrative to convey exciting action, and placing too much emphasis on certain words when it's not really necessary) Brendan Fraser does an excellent job narrating. He's one of the few book readers that understands his job is to entertain and "perform" the story, which he does with exuberant enthusiasm. With some of the characters I actually forgot it was still him reading (although his Elinor was quite annoying). I do think Lynn Redgrave slightly outdoes him (her Elinor was quite a hoot and kept me looking forward to those parts of Inkheart when Elinor was included - very funny), but overall I really enjoyed him and hope to be able to hear more of him in future books.

Great Narration

This book was a real treat. Brenden Frazer's narration was the best of many great Audible voices: more of a performance than just a reading. I loved Lynn Redgrave's voice in Inkheart, but was not troubled in the least by the change of narrators. Frazer brought this wonderful fantasy to life in a voice worthy of being called 'Silvertongue'. Bravo.

Better and better

I loved Inkheart. I was pleased to find Inkspell was even more entertaining. Brendan Fraser did an excellent job of immersing the listener into the story. I look forward to listening to Inkdeath.

Inkspell Review

I loved the book so much. The eloquent writing, abundant use of figurative language, wonderful plot, and just the truly magical, captivating story is what any audience would love. I thought that the book was read expertly, and I especially liked the different accents and voices to suit every character specifically. I have nothing but praise for this wonderful book. I would recommend Inkspell to anyone seeking a wild adventure full of wonder, magic, joy, sadness, intrigue, and love. Thank you so much to everyone involved in this superior creation being Inkspell.

Love the reader

I had seen the movie I thought I would read the book but I did not know they was more then one. So finding this second one was a good thing. I just fall in love with the story more and more and did not like that I could find the same reader as the first book but then after listening to it I fall in love we the voices a lover again. If you like the first book you will love this one as well.

A Beautiful performance from Brendan Fraser

I loved this story as a child, and I'm even more impressed with Mr. Fraser's performance. He made every character, and their voices, so distinguishable and unique; I can't thank you enough for your wonderful performance!This was an absolute joy to listen to for the second time. I think you're wonderfully talented, and I'd love for you to lend your voice to other stories in the future.

reader mumbles

reader has a lot of great accents but mumbles so much that i miss some of the story

Narration

Brandan Fraser Great Actor, but Narrator lacking some areas where most use head phones to listen audio books don't enjoy getting yelled in the ears, then during most sad areas he was so borring you would fall asleep missing the book. The impersonations was very good that is the only reason i gave him a 2 star

I wish it had been better

I liked it but it was mostly a let down. I liked that Silvertongue narrated it there were some points where it was unbearable to listen to.

Welcome to the Inkworld

This was the sequel to the fantastic book, “Inkheart.” This book transports you to the fantasy land of the Inkworld. With the same quirky characters, evil villains, three-dimensional heroes, and strange twists this was a fun ride. I really enjoyed it but for some reason I did not feel the same awe as I did with the previous book. Perhaps the pace lagged a bit being the second book in a trilogy. Still it was a fantastic journey that came alive with the beautiful reading by Brendan Fraser. He definitely deserves his Earphone Award.

I am 29 and loved this book - it's not just for kids.