Reviews tagging 'Death'

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

18 reviews

agatelee's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I read Inkspell as a child, and I remember almost nothing about it. Now that I've re-read it, I know why.

This book has a lot of sitting around waiting for things to happen. In the first book of the series, the villains felt captivating. In this one, there are several somewhat villainous individuals, none of whom deliver a consistent and menacing threat. Mo is unconscious and injured for most of the book, and Meggie has almost nothing to do until the very end. Also, the climax involves Mo pulling a new ability out of nowhere that has never been mentioned before.

The setting is now within the world of Inkheart, the book within the book. It's chock full of magical creatures like fairies and glass men, but the magic of the setting never seems to affect the plot much, until the very end. The most memorable parts are when Inkheart's author, Fenoglio, sits around complaining that his story is no longer obeying his original intentions. 

I think what really didn't work was the utter lack of emotion in Inkspell's characters. The most egregious example is when Meggie's parents are having a conversation, and they say, "Meggie is in love with Farid; it's so obvious from the way she looks at him." This is after several chapters from Meggie's POV, none of which give any indication that she feels that way. 

Overall, I found Inkspell unfocused and emotionless. I would recommend it only to readers who truly loved Inkheart. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

insanebookperson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

aidamaria_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Dustfinger carried this book on his back, from beginning to end. I cried for him several times, for the things he lost, the things he got back, the sacrifices he made. I, too, would go to great lengths to get this man back.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, and Torture

e_freckles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Slavery, and Pregnancy

ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Oh dear. On one hand I loved the world-building, on the other the characters just didn't work for me this time around. The antagonists were suitably evil and nasty (as they should be) but even the protagonists that we're meant to be rooting for were often unlikable (did not like Dustfinger for about 98% of the whole book, Fadrid constantly being jealous of Roxane, Roxane's dislike of Fadrid). Sadly by the time I got to the big death at the end of the book I didn't care that much and was just glad that I'd finally finished it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

julells's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Habe ich, als ich das Buch als Kind zum ersten Mal gelesen habe, manche Passagen laut gelesen, nur für den Fall, dass ich etwas aus dem Buch herauslesen kann? 
Ja.
Mache ich das zehn Jahre später immernoch? 
Definitiv!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

kryolitee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

wtf bro😭 this book broke my heart and then ripped it completely into pieces just a few pages later😭 you better make it right again in the next book cornelia


but seriously, this book is incredible and so so much better than the first one! The first book didn’t quite catch me and it dragged a little bit, but this time I was immersed in the story and it felt like I was right there in the book with the characters, taking every step and fighting every battle with them. And now as I have finished the book it leaves me kinda empty, longing to go back again and walk side by side with all the characters I’ve grown to love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror and Child death

Minor: Slavery and Torture

maggiegirouard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Really good, parts of it were slow but the writing is beautiful and the storyline interesting. I will be reading the final book in the trilogy at some point. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Slavery

lizziaha's review against another edition

tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

These characters are so complexly flawed that I became so angry with them, a feeling that bled over into my opinion of the book, despite acknowledging that this is the outcome of extremely creative writing. I preferred the story in the ink world compared to the reverse in the first book. Mo remains my favorite character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death

Minor: Rape and Slavery

jackiie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail