Inkdeath (Inkheart Trilogy) by Cornelia Funke Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Inkdeath (Inkheart Trilogy)
Book Review: A mediocre ending to a promising story
Summary: 3 Stars
I LOVED "Inkheart", liked "Inkspell" (mostly), but "Inkdeath" left me a little cold. The first half of the book moves so slowly, I seriously began not to care where it was going. The fact that a beloved character was brought back from the dead, only to be killed again, even temporarily, was unforgivable.Book Review: A powerful statement of the power of reading, writing and storytelling to literally change the world
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been five years since German author Cornelia Funke's novel INKHEART was first published in English. Since then, the absorbing fantasy, which focuses on characters who can travel in and out of worlds simply by reading books aloud, has captivated millions of fans and will even be made into a feature film in 2009. Now, the story that began with INKHEART and continued in INKSPELL comes full circle with INKDEATH.
The central character of the first two books was Meggie, a girl whose father, the bookbinder Mo, has the wonderful and dangerous ability to bring fictional characters to life when he reads aloud. Since the beginning of the series, Meggie and Mo have spent most of their time trying to get characters from the Inkworld back where they belong, while rescuing people from their world --- including Meggie's mother, Resa --- who have been drawn into the fictional one. Over the course of two rich, adventurous novels, Meggie and Mo have become intimately involved with the lives of dozens of others --- from their world and the Inkworld --- and have been drawn, sometimes against their will, into the increasingly ugly political machinations of the unstable Inkworld.
At the opening of INKDEATH, the evil Adderhead has taken control of the great city of Ombra and --- thanks to Mo's unwilling involvement --- has received the gift of eternal life. Mo, who has now gained notoriety as the robber Bluejay, is involved in nightly campaigns to protect Inkworld villagers from the Adderhead's terrorist marauders who roam the countryside. Meanwhile, Meggie pines for her friend (and possibly more) Farid, who has become a de facto slave to the criminal Orpheus, who uses his own ability to bring words to life to create (and then have Farid dig up) buried treasure all over the Inkworld. As for Farid, he lives in the ever-dwindling hope that Orpheus will somehow be able to bring Dustfinger (who sacrificed his own life to revive Farid's) back to life.
As one might be able to guess from the book's title, all does not end well for all the characters readers have come to care about during the series, and its themes are far more complex and mature than its predecessors. Not all is entirely bleak, however --- plenty of twists and turns, not to mention some compelling new characters, will keep audiences on the edge of their seats even as Funke gives them new thematic material to consider.
Funke herself comes to INKDEATH with a new and sober perspective. As she writes in a moving author's note, her husband of 26 years passed away shortly before the novel's 2007 publication in Germany. In the end, though, the Inkheart trilogy is not only an emotionally absorbing, thematically rich fantasy series. It's also a powerful statement of the power of reading, writing and storytelling to literally change the world.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
Book Review: A wonderful book.
Summary: 5 Stars
INKDEATH
I enjoyed reading this book as much as I did the other two. It has really good detail and it really takes you to a new world were you can go on the adventure with the characters. While I was reading this book I thought I could actually hear the people talking, and smell the air. This book really is spellbinding and expertly mixed with joy, pain suspense, and magic.
It is definitely a booklover's book, and for me as a booklover and collector I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend this book for EVERYONE!
Review by my doughter Aubrey age 13
Book Review: A wonderful ending to the Inkheart trilogy - for both kids and adults
Summary: 5 Stars
Having read Inkheart, Inkspell, and now Inkdeath, I can say with absolute certainty that Cornelia Funke is a wonderful author.
Inkdeath is the conclusion to the Inkheart trilogy and well worth the wait.
It wraps up the story line in an interesting and action packed manner and was truly a joy to read.
My 10 year old daughter is currently reading Inkheart - the first book in the trilogy - and is totally entranced. I can't wait to see what she thinks of the remaining two novels.
I don't want to mention exactly what happens in the book as it would take too much away from the enjoyment of actually reading it but suffice it to say that it is great for both children and adults.
I'm a 36 year old dad and I highly recommend this book and this trilogy.
Book Review: Adults have an important role too!
Summary: 5 Stars
I would like to address the comments that frequently expressed concern about Mo taking a larger role in this book while Meggie takes more of a background role. First of all, why not? Isn't it wonderful that there is an author out there who portrays adults shining in their roles. Our society gets so bombarded with the idea that people can be shining stars when they're young and glamourous but then once you reach middle age, the media gives this impression that you need to somehow recede in the background, step back, and let the younger more glamourous take the scene. In this case, the adults are portrayed with bigger roles than you normally see in most books. Mo is the central character here and isn't it great that so many people were touched by these series even to the end. Some even said that Inkdeath was their favourite book. This makes a strong statement to our society which is that older people also deserve to have a chance to shine. Meggie got to shine in two whole books and so why not let Mo shine in the third one? This doesn't take away from Meggie in any way. Rather this teaches us a lesson in our lives that we should ALL be given opportunities to shine. Regardless of whether we're young or older, we can make a difference in this world in the lives of both children and adults and we can be a part of things. It's NOT all over for us once we pass our school ages! People like Cornelia Funke and George Lucas do such a great service to humanity and their work by portraying people of ALL ages as important central characters in their stories. Yes, young school age people and also glamourous people are given important roles but they aren't the ONLY ones given those roles. When authors like Cornelia Funke and the Star Wars authors constantly hit the bestseller list, this gives a subtle message to our youth worshipping media society that speaks to a longing deep within all of our hearts--the truth that ALL of us can be larger than life, and do beautiful and wonderful things.