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noellegrace8's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The best of the Inkworld series (though I have yet to read the new #4!). This one heavily focuses on Dustfinger, which is always a good time. And there is less pandering to the reader as a booklover, but the premise is still steeped in the love of books and stories. The only place this one falls a bit short is the chapters where we whip back to Elinor's house, as they can be a little boring, deterring from the main storyline in a way that can be frustrating when chapters end on a cliffhanger from Meggie, Mo, Fenoglio, Farid, Resa, or Dustfinger's point of view. This installment is exciting, complex, and really brings Fenoglio/Funke's world to life. And get ready for a bit of emotional whiplash.
I don't factor performance into auidiobooks, but I'd give Brendan Fraser (yes, THAT Brendan Fraser) 4.75/5 stars. His dialogue is FANTASTIC. Truly wonderful voice acting. But his narration can be a bit like Nicholas Cage at times; you're only ever about 90% certain of why he's using the cadence and inflections that he is. But the voices are so diversified that it makes it impossible to miss who is talking. A genuinely good performance!
I don't factor performance into auidiobooks, but I'd give Brendan Fraser (yes, THAT Brendan Fraser) 4.75/5 stars. His dialogue is FANTASTIC. Truly wonderful voice acting. But his narration can be a bit like Nicholas Cage at times; you're only ever about 90% certain of why he's using the cadence and inflections that he is. But the voices are so diversified that it makes it impossible to miss who is talking. A genuinely good performance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Infidelity, War, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Sexism, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Medical content, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Torture, Abandonment, Bullying, Misogyny, Ableism, Physical abuse, and Stalking
Classism is an inherent theme in the story's setting, even leading to violence and death. Fire is a central symbol. Violence, one moment with a shotgun, blood, one battle of war, murder, and injury are fairly consistent throughout the book. There is a closed-door affair that is forefront but not described. Grief is mild but runs throughout by mourning the deaths of loved ones and years missed with family due to the inability to see them. Everything in the "minor" section is either only briefly mentioned, alluded to, not thematic, or a mild product of the setting.quercine's review
Listening to the audiobook for the first in the series was so easy to follow. This book however is too multi-layered to listen to instead of traditional reading. There’s multiple stories happening in the Inkworld and in the regular world and I just couldn’t follow it. I also got kind of disheartened with how Fenoglio’s character development (for the worse) really drove the story. I really hope to finish this one day but in effort of not hitting another slump I have to DNF :(
snootycrumb's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
4.0
The story itself is fantastic, but I especially loved Brendan Fraser's reading of it. It's not for everyone, I suppose, but he put so much life and heart into it and I wish he had done more audiobooks. Each character had their own voice, and his narration style was so comforting.
kaylin_m's review
was very long for 10 year old me. want to read series again though
reviewsmayvary's review
5.0
Still love it. I had zero recollection of the end of this book. #ReRead
Meggie isn't sort of on my nerves. And I wish Brendan Frasier didn't take over as the audiobook reader. Meh.
Meggie isn't sort of on my nerves. And I wish Brendan Frasier didn't take over as the audiobook reader. Meh.
celli's review
I don't know. Maybe if I come back to this after the movie has faded a little in my memory (Brendan Fraser: stop making the stoic Christian Bale face. On neither of you is it acting), I can get into the book, but I spent too much time nitpicking details to really appreciate it.
kathytrithardt's review
4.0
This middle book of the trilogy has a lot of moving pieces, including characters, intentions, and locations. Be sure to remind yourself of all the characters from the first volume before going into the second, as some characters have multiple names.