Bry Finch Finch itibaren 6454 Preslavets, Bulgaria
Mike Shayne is a slightly more cynical character than Philip Marlowe but he still manages to serve the cause of justice, although Shayne likes to combine this with a healthy personal profit as well. The plot is complex but it all comes together quite satisfactorily. I suppose that in some ways this book will strike some readers as being Philip Marlowe Lite. It has the background of official corruption that Chandler’s novels had, and it has the same kind of hardboiled dialogue. But since Halliday published the first of his Mike Shayne novels in the same year that Chandler published his first novel it would be unfair to characterise him as a mere imitator. Halliday does the hardboiled thing pretty effectively and the result is a highly entertaining little book.
Usually I like Margaret Atwood. She's a very good writer, and I generally enjoy dystopian literature. This book just bored me to tears. I tried for 3 months. When I was enjoying reading *anything* more than this book, I put it back into the paperback swap system. Maybe I'll try it again another time when I'm in a different headspace.
2 stars for Aquamarine and 4 stars for Indigo.
Pre/Anticipatory Thoughts: I had read the first two books in this trilogy and was anxiously awaiting the third and final installment. I really enjoyed “Inkheart” and “Inkspell,” so I expected to like this book—“Inkdeath”—equally as well. Looking at the cover of “Inkdeath,” I could see the outline of a skull. Inside the skull was a blurry image of a castle, a unicorn, a magpie and some greenery. Outside the skull a spooky looking butterfly with a skeleton head, a spider with a skeleton head superimposed on its abdomen, and a red fairy or butterfly share the cover with some black and white roses. The tone of the cover is very ominous and for readers who know the story, there is expectation that this tome will be filled with death. During reading: Once again, as with the previous books in this trilogy, I was forced to go back to the cast of characters time and again to keep them straight. The author, Cornelia Funke, is German and the books are translated from German. Sometimes the wording doesn’t make sense and many times the author uses several different names/nicknames for the same character. From the very first book, I found myself flipping back to the character list throughout the book. This third book was no different. Of course this text calls to mind its two earlier predecessors. I read “Inkheart” after J.K. Rowling finished writing the Harry Potter series and I was looking for something similar to fill the void. I had read Funke’s “Thief Lord,” and enjoyed Funke’s story-telling, so when “Inkheart” was published, I was eager to read it, too. This book is very dark and not intended for younger children. Translated from the German (as the book says) sometimes the sentences are confusing and the one needs a scorecard to keep the different plotlines and characters straight. The whole idea of an “Inkworld” is very appealing to a book lover like me. However, the character of Fenoglio—the Inkweaver—did grow tiresome in this book and I looked forward to when his pen (and voice) would be silenced! After reading: I was stunned at how “adult” this YA book was. Its recurring themes of truth, lies, blood, and death—among others—kept me going to the end. This is a long book at 663 pages and I don’t think anyone who hasn’t read the first two books would be wise to tackle it. Too much of the book depends on understanding what happened in the first two books. In a nutshell, “Inkheart,” the first book introduces us to a bookbinder named Mo and his daughter Meggie—both of whom possess an extraordinary skill—they can “read” people out of novels into their own world and vice versa. Some evil characters from a book called “Inkheart” seek out Meggie and Mo and that’s when the excitement begins. “Inkspell” has characters from “Inkheart” returning to the “Inkworld” after spending ten years in Meggie and Mo’s world. Soon Meggie and Mo find themselves trapped in the “Inkworld” where the story appears to be heading to a tragic end. That’s where “Inkdeath” picks up—with Mo’s family trapped in between the pages of a book that’s not turning out the way its author Fenoglio had intended. Will Mo be able to save the children of Ombra? Will he be able to save his family? Can he save the Inkworld? Can Fenoglio overcome his writer’s block in time to “fix” his story? And will Mo’s family ever want to escape the book now that they’ve become part of its story? This trilogy reminds me of Jasper Fforde’s “Thursday Next” series about a literary detective who travels through books and time to protect beloved fictional characters and the stories in which they live. Although Fforde’s series is definitely geared toward the adult reader, Funke’s is written for young adults. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the books but acknowledge that the books aren’t as easy reading as the Harry Potter series. If the weight and thickness of the book doesn’t scare off potential readers they will ultimately be rewarded with a good fantasy that is interesting and unusual. The stories appeal to both male and female readers and there are no blatantly religious or sacrilegious undertones that may offend the Gwinnett mother who fought to keep Harry Potter out of the public library. However, I’m sure there is enough of a “dark” story in “Inkdeath” to scare off anyone looking for a reason to make a stand against an “evil” book. As for strengths and weaknesses—the story telling was strong although the translation from German caused me to reread several parts while contemplating what was really trying to be said. If a student isn’t afraid of tackling a “heavy” book—literally and figuratively—this book fits the bill nicely. I would recommend reading the books in the order in which they were written. They are confusing enough read in order—they would be completely crazy if read randomly. 4Q/3P