Ink Heart & Ink Spell by Cornelia Funke

I have to say that I agree with about how good Cornelia Funke's books are. I especially liked Inkheart because of all the references to books in the book, also fire eaters rock! After I got done with the books I wanted to learn how to bind and fix books like Mo, have a library like Elanor (is that spelled right?) and learn how to breathe fire like Dustfinger. I have almost figured out how to do the bookbinding, the others might take awhile. Anyway the characters are well done in all of Cornelia's books and I liked that.

learn how to breathe fire like Dustfinger. I have almost figured out how to do the bookbinding, the others might take awhile.

If you could learn how to do that, I'd be very impressed!

I enjoyed the challenge to "read it out loud". I honestly was a little hesitant to. I normally don't read out loud, but I did a little bit just for this book. It's a totally different feeling when you do read it out loud because you're like--oh man, this is about stuff coming to life out of the books. What if that really happens?

Oh course, that's not true, but when you're reading alone at night, anything seems real. This book has that magical feeling about it. It's just real enough to buy into and just abstract enough to disbelieve.

I have read InkHeart, InkSpell, Dragon Rider, and the Thief Lord, all of which are by Cornelia Funke. And I just wanted to add my input into your conversation. And if you all don't know, the last part of the Ink Trilogy is going to be InkDeath. Happy reading!

Monki wrote:And if you all don't know, the last part of the Ink Trilogy is going to be InkDeath. Happy reading!

Thanks for the tip Monki, I actually found that out just yesterday by reading over my brother's shoulder as he was browsing Cornelia Funke's website. I also saw that the English version won't be available until sometime in 2008, not that that is so far away now. The site didn't say when in the year it was coming out though, hopefully soon.

By the number of posts you have so far you must be new, Monki, so welcome to the site.

Monki wrote:I have read InkHeart, InkSpell, Dragon Rider, and the Thief Lord, all of which are by Cornelia Funke.

i too have read all of those books and have loved them all. although at first icould only read about 50 pages of dragon rider because the start was so boring but i really like it now.

This was a totally AWESOME series! I couldn't believe how well the author put the characters together. I wasn't quite looking forward to reading it at first, but it completely changed my mind. Getting into Inkheart was a little slow at first. After all, you don't really find out what's going on until around chapter 16. That kinda annoyed me. But the Inkworld was described so well, i could see everything in my head as clear as day. And the story just kept me guessing, the twists and turns of the story were so great! (I'm trying REALLY hard not to give spoilers.) You just don't know until you've read it for yourself.

I loved Inkheart... haven't read Inkspell yet, which this thread just reminded me of. Now I'm going to have to get it from the library.

Inkheart is brilliant; absolutely so.

Dustfinger is an amazing character. in Inkspell he's great.

I can't wait for October, that's when book 3 Inkdeath is supposed to release.

Farid is also very charming, I fell in love with him!

The movie will be out in January next year and the cast is big. Branden Fraser as Mo, Hellen Mirren as Elinor and Dustfinger will be played by the actor who was Hassasin in da vinci Code. but they forgot to colour Dustfinger's hair red.
I'm excited.

Inkheart is one of those books which inspires you and makes you want to write.

Funke is a wonderful storyteller.

I agree, Sohini, Funke IS a fantastic storyteller.

The Inkheart trilogy (well, the first two parts, so far) were good, but they're not really the sort of books I'd go back to reread thought, for some reason. don't know, but there was something missing there. The characters were bril, but the plot seemed somewhat... lacking.

Still, those books were really good.

Thief Lord still tops them though. Now THAT'S a book I could reread a couple of times

Ah, good times with Cornelia Funke.

I absolutely love these books, but I don't really know why. I agree with a lot of the people who are saying that the plot just seemed to move really slowly. It's like nothing really big happens until the end and until then, it just feels like it is slowly chugging along. Nobody slam me.

I totally fell in love with Dustfinger and the end of Inkspell really made my heart stop. But, if you go to Funke's website, there is a spoiler there about Inkdeath that made me want to scream. I really hope that it doesn't go through the way it sounds like it will. I hate it when books do that sort of thing to me.

I loved Thief Lord all the way to the end with the magic. It was going great without the magic, why bring it in for apparently no reason? Messed with my head, it did. Really didn't like that. And the movie was just... weird. I loved some of the actors, but the effects and some other actors just didn't do it for me.

~GryphonFledgling

I thoroughly enjoyed both Inkheart and Inkspell. Can't wait for the third! Though it will probably be awhile yet. I found that this was one of those series that I couldn't put down! It was really exciting. Though I liked Inkspell better than Inkheart. I thought that there was a lot more action. The ending of Inkspell was really sad though.

As for the Theif Lord: I also saw the movie first, and that mask was really was ridiculous. It was a good book, but I think that I like the Inkheart trilogy better.

It took me several tries to get into Inkeart, but it was definitely worth it. If you've had a hard time with it, try again. It's good. (I, too, fell in love with Dustfinger (and Gwin), but all of the characters - especially Elanor - started to grow on me.)

I haven't gotten around to reading Inkspell yet, but now that I know there's another one I might re-read the first and read the second so I'm ready for the third.

Cornelia Funke has her goods and bads.

The Thief Lord is amazing. Has someone created a topic about that?

InkHeart is a couple steps below amazing, but still good. The beginning is enchanting with the rain and candle light. The relationship between father and daughter is heartfelt and endearing. The read made me feel like a little kid again when magic was possible and books were magic.

I haven't read InkSpell yet, it's been on my shelf for at least...going on three years. Looks like I'm going to follow Meep's example and go back and read the two. I was unaware a third was coming out.

DragonRider, to me, was bland, boring, and an overall downer to Funke's writing...

Sohini wrote:Dustfinger will be played by the actor who was Hassasin in da vinci Code.

Paul Bettany is the actor who's going to play Dustfinger. Which works out well for me, because one of my favorite actors is playing one of my favorite fictional characters. ^.^

I read Inkspell a few years back when it first came out. I was...nine or ten, I think. I don't remember. But at the time, it was a really good book. And it still is, without a doubt, but after a few years, what I can remember of the plot, it seems pretty weak. I just finished reading Inkspell, and really the only thing that kept me hooked was Dustfinger's story. Maybe that was just because I could hardly remember the previous book...

I need to find Inkheart again. Hopefully they'll have it at the library next time I go there.

But Dustfinger and Gwin are definitely two of my favorite fictional characters. Everyone else in the story was just OK.

I read Dragon Rider and Thief Lord when I was younger, too. Can't remember much about those books, either, but I know that I loved them at the time. Cornelia Funke is a great writer, in my opinion.

-May

Check out the cover!
http://www.amazon.com/Inkdeath-Cornelia ... 0439866286
It looks amazing! And guess what, the release date is October 7, 2008. I can't wait!
Current countdown: 64 days, 3 hours, 41 minutes

I'm really tempted to invest in a hardcover set of all three books. I already own the first one in paperback, but otherwise I'd have to buy the second two seperately. Plus, the hardcover editions are utterly gorgeous.

Dustfinger is one of my most favorite characters in the world. That is one of her greatest strengths, her characters... or maybe, her non-villainous characters. Her villains are good, but I wouldn't say they're one of her strengths. But just her gift for storytelling in general is... brilliant. I love books that are about books, if you know what I mean? The way they talk about books, the way they come alive (and not just literally;) is wonderful. These are books I can read over and over and over and over again. When I'm in-between books and am looking for something else to read next, I frequently pick up Inkheart and read portions of it. It never gets stale. They're such genuine, such real books.

Even the romance between Meggie and Farid isn't the least bit contrived.
I still can't believe it took me so long to get into Inkheart. I remember I kept getting it out from the library again and again. Once I read the first page, but apart from that I never even picked it up while I had it... once I finally got to the second page I was hooked for life:)

I hope the movie is... good. Either it has to be perfect, or nothing like the book. I'd prefer that it was perfect but that might be too much to hope for. At least if it's nothing like the book it won't ruin the book. I hope