Book Summary

In this spellbinding follow-up to Inkheart, Funke expertly mixes joy, pain, suspense and magic.

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, the book whose characters came to life. But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds Orpheus, a crooked storyteller with the magical ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval world of the past. Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie. Before long, both are caught inside the book, too. And the story is threatening to evolve in ways neither of them could ever have imagined.

Like Inkheart, Inkspell features the special touches that transform Funke's novels into keepsakes. Each chapter begins with a surprisingly relevant literary excerpt and concludes with a charming line illustration by the author herself. And this, the second book in the trilogy, also includes a hand-drawn map of the Inkworld and, as a helpful reference for readers old and new, a "dictionary" of characters. Silvertongue, Fenoglio, Crookback, Firefox: The entire epic cast is described in detail.