Move Over, Harry Potter! Here Comes Cornelia Funke's Inkworld Trilogy To Theaters!

Soon another children's fantasy world, this one created from the agile mind of novelist Cornelia Funke, will be brought to a theater near you and I wish I could assure you that it will be animated, but I only know that the first of the trilogy, Inkheart, stars Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany and Helen Mirren. Having read that book not too long ago and most recently the final book, Inkdeath, I think animation would look best. This fantasy world, coming gloriously alive only through the magical voice of a bookbinder reading the story aloud, seems a commentary on the power of illusion discovered only in words and storytelling rather than in the power of our characters' reality threatening to be overwhelmed by evil and darkness. It's a nifty story of good and evil to read to your children over many thrilling weeks who may savor in the details like a wine connoisseur savors a favorite wine. With an animated movie they should be more able to savor the fantastic details.

I started reading the 663-page, hardbound book Inkdeath with a slight disadvantage. I didn't read the middle book, Inkspell, and while I read the author's summary of the first two books, it wasn't the same as reading the second book. It's not that I didn't want to read it; I didn't know about it until I spotted the final book at the library in the new books' section. The first book ended so happily that it never occurred to me that my heroes would again be swept back into the fantasy world. I dived into the final book, anyway, but it's not what I would recommend for children, not that they would let you!

It was rather challenging to orient myself, but I did in time.

There's much in Funke's world to fascinate most anyone who loves books. While she begins each of the eighty-one, titled chapters with quotes from various other books that relate to her story, inferring that her story owes its inspiration from at least some of them, I've never read any of the quoted books. Now I hope to correct that oversight. I really enjoyed my journey through this world where books actually can come alive if written and read by certain people. Yes, people. Unfortunately, this fantasy world will get a new author with power on his mind when the original one suffers writer's block. Things start to get scary when evil characters from a book visit the Folcharts in the real world, which they could do when Mo Folchart's wife who disappeared into the story as Mo read it to her, and these characters want Mo's book to destroy it and so control the story.

Mo and his daughter Meggie, who inherits her father's ability to read stories into life, must go to the Inkworld to rescue the wife/mother and outwit the evil characters in their scheme, but when it looks like they have, more complications arise as the book is stolen and another magical reader named Orpheus sends the book thief back to the Inkworld. The second book has Meggie, enamored by a boy from that world, reading her and the boy there, followed by Mo who is read there by a scheming Orpheus.

The Inkworld at first only appears enchanting like a page from medieval times, fairies flitting around, strolling players, water-nymphs glass men and brownies, but Meggie gets politically involved, even reading a killed prince back to life with the original writer's help, which is the beginning of more troubles. The writer soon realizes he has lost control of his story and the rest of the trilogy involves trying to get rid of many evil rulers of this city of Ombra, not only with the power of words, but also the sword and bloodshed. Our heroes, joined by a few robbers I liken to Robin Hood's merry fellows (although Mo becomes the peoples‘ hero they call the Bluejay of whom songs are sung), are forced to do things they hate, the wife even puts magic seeds under her tongue to turn herself into a spying, rescuing bird, Mo visits with Death and agrees to the shape-shifter's demands, and another is poisoned but kept alive through the help of clever words. It's very exciting and unpredictable.

Besides being a great fantasy adventure, there is much love between the good characters like Meggie's parents, Meggie and two boys and the sometimes traitorous Fire-Dancer and his family. Two evil characters are murderous, but also help our heroes to defeat evil. I also find it intriguing that Mo has this alter-ego, the Bluejay, who changes his personality to his wife's horror and who must denounce the lure of his heroic alter-ego in the end so he'll be able to outwit Orpheus and really be a hero (with help).

This trilogy is told from a different character's perspective each chapter, but occasionally I had to read a paragraph carefully before understanding whose perspective. This is somewhat confusing at times. It's written in third person omniscient, but Funke never refers to herself so it's only told by the characters who don't know they're telling a story. While this allows for many layers of the story to weave together, it could mean some rereading for children or adults with challenged memories or who aren't reading it quickly. There are a great many characters and things to remember; fortunately there's an Inkworld Glossary.

Funke is the internationally-acclaimed author of The Thief Lord and Dragon Rider, but has written much more noted in the About The Author in the back. She's been translated from the German edition by Anthea Bell. Hopefully the film Inkheart brings her very enjoyable books even more acclaim.

(I thought I had reviewed Inkheart, but it's not in my files or the search engine.)