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Reckless #3
The Golden Yarn
Jacob Reckless continues to travel the portal in his father's abandoned study. His name has continued to be famous on the other side of the mirror, as a finder of enchanted items and buried secrets. His family and friends, from his brother, Will to the shape-shifting vixen, Fox, are on a collision course as the two worlds become connected. Who is driving these two worlds together and why is he always a step ahead?
This new force isn’t limiting its influence to just Jacob’s efforts – it has broadened the horizon within MirrorWorld. Jacob, Will and Fox travel east and into the Russian folklore, to the land of the Baba Yaga, pursued by a new type of being that knows our world all to well.
This new force isn’t limiting its influence to just Jacob’s efforts – it has broadened the horizon within MirrorWorld. Jacob, Will and Fox travel east and into the Russian folklore, to the land of the Baba Yaga, pursued by a new type of being that knows our world all to well.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
173 people are currently reading
6252 people want to read
About the author
Cornelia Funke
422 books14k followersCornelia Funke is a multiple award-winning German illustrator and storyteller, who writes fantasy for all ages of readers. Amongst her best known books is the Inkheart trilogy. Many of Cornelia's titles are published all over the world and translated into more than 30 languages. She has two children, two birds and a very old dog and lives in Los Angeles, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 393 reviews
May 9, 2017
That was so enigmatic! I feel like I just want to curl into a corner and cry.
When speaking of this book I just want to say, that I remembered next to nothing of the books prior to this in the series. So basically it was like being a confused puppy!
But it was such a great book, the prior introductions weren't as necessary as one would assume.
Jacob reckless, I mean even the choice of name makes you cringe with excitement. There was so much dynamic between characters, so much innovation in retold fairytales and stories that I just couldn't keep up at times.
I'm not going to review this book in detail, but I can easily say it was such an enjoyable read. But you probably should read the prior two books a little closer to reading this!
When speaking of this book I just want to say, that I remembered next to nothing of the books prior to this in the series. So basically it was like being a confused puppy!
But it was such a great book, the prior introductions weren't as necessary as one would assume.
Jacob reckless, I mean even the choice of name makes you cringe with excitement. There was so much dynamic between characters, so much innovation in retold fairytales and stories that I just couldn't keep up at times.
I'm not going to review this book in detail, but I can easily say it was such an enjoyable read. But you probably should read the prior two books a little closer to reading this!
May 10, 2017
Ich liebe den Schreibstil.
Ich liebe Fuchs und Jacob.
Ich hasse das Liebesdreieck.
Ich hasse die vielen Perspektivwechsel.
Uuuuund der rote Faden fehlt.
So könnte man meine Erfahrung mit diesem Buch in wenigen Worten in etwa zusammenfassen. Wenn ich an Reckless denke, dann schwanke ich grundsätzlich zwischen Begeisterung und Langeweile. Ich muss dabei sogar gestehen, dass ich Teile dieses dritten Buches nur überflogen habe, anstatt sie komplett zu lesen. Das Worldbuilding, der beeindruckende Schreibstil und auch die tollen Charaktere reichten in diesem dritten Band einfach nicht mehr aus, um mich durchgehend an die Geschichte zu fesseln, auch wenn all diese Dinge noch immer wundervoll waren. Vielleicht hat es auch damit zu tun, dass es hier ein unnötiges Liebesdreieck gibt, nachdem Fuchs so lange für Jacobs Aufmerksamkeit hat kämpfen müssen und ich seine Begründung, warum die beiden nicht zusammensein können, lachhaft finde. Jacob darf keine Kinder bekommen. Und jetzt? Wäre Jacob unfruchtbar, würde Fuchs ihn dann verlassen? Würde er ihr dann diese Entscheidung abnehmen? Das ist eine Entscheidung, die Fuchs zu treffen hat, nicht Jacob. Mal ganz davon abgesehen, dass es selbst in einer Welt wie der von Reckless so etwas wie Adoption geben sollte.
Das größte Problem jedoch, das war der rote Faden und dass man beim Lesen das Gefühl bekommen hat, dass der Autorin allmählich die Geschichte ausgeht. Die Ideen gehen ihr nicht aus, denn die Spiegelwelt hält noch immer Überraschungen und tolle, faszinierende Details bereit, aber es mangelt an einem würdigen, fesselnden Grundplot. Das ist auch der Grund, warum ich noch nicht sicher bin, ob ich einen vierten Band noch lesen wollen würde.
Ich liebe Fuchs und Jacob.
Ich hasse das Liebesdreieck.
Ich hasse die vielen Perspektivwechsel.
Uuuuund der rote Faden fehlt.
So könnte man meine Erfahrung mit diesem Buch in wenigen Worten in etwa zusammenfassen. Wenn ich an Reckless denke, dann schwanke ich grundsätzlich zwischen Begeisterung und Langeweile. Ich muss dabei sogar gestehen, dass ich Teile dieses dritten Buches nur überflogen habe, anstatt sie komplett zu lesen. Das Worldbuilding, der beeindruckende Schreibstil und auch die tollen Charaktere reichten in diesem dritten Band einfach nicht mehr aus, um mich durchgehend an die Geschichte zu fesseln, auch wenn all diese Dinge noch immer wundervoll waren. Vielleicht hat es auch damit zu tun, dass es hier ein unnötiges Liebesdreieck gibt, nachdem Fuchs so lange für Jacobs Aufmerksamkeit hat kämpfen müssen und ich seine Begründung, warum die beiden nicht zusammensein können, lachhaft finde. Jacob darf keine Kinder bekommen. Und jetzt? Wäre Jacob unfruchtbar, würde Fuchs ihn dann verlassen? Würde er ihr dann diese Entscheidung abnehmen? Das ist eine Entscheidung, die Fuchs zu treffen hat, nicht Jacob. Mal ganz davon abgesehen, dass es selbst in einer Welt wie der von Reckless so etwas wie Adoption geben sollte.
Das größte Problem jedoch, das war der rote Faden und dass man beim Lesen das Gefühl bekommen hat, dass der Autorin allmählich die Geschichte ausgeht. Die Ideen gehen ihr nicht aus, denn die Spiegelwelt hält noch immer Überraschungen und tolle, faszinierende Details bereit, aber es mangelt an einem würdigen, fesselnden Grundplot. Das ist auch der Grund, warum ich noch nicht sicher bin, ob ich einen vierten Band noch lesen wollen würde.
August 15, 2018
"The Golden Yarn...or the inseverable bond, as it is also called. As inseverable as the threads of fate."
3.75 ⭐️
I'm very sad that this is the last Mirrorworld book that is currently published. Who knows how long we will have to wait until the next one! Sigh.
However! Once again a wonderful trip into this amazing world full of magic, villains and secrets. Jacob and Fox are swept up into so many different tasks and treasure hunts; Jacob's brother Will once again follows him through the mirror to search for a remedy for Clara as something has been done to her - something not of our world.
The Dark Fairy is still around, but her love for the King of the Goyl (or the stone men) is causing her nothing but pain, and she would do anything to sever the bond between them caused by love.
Jacob also comes into contact with his father after about a decade, but it isn't the tearful reunion we would expect! All the old characters are in this book as well as plenty of new ones. That would be my only gripe that stopped this one from being 4 stars, the number of characters - all with different names and nicknames, as well as each chapter following a different person or set of people made it ever so slightly more difficult to follow than the previous two books were.
Otherwise, a magical and engaging story with lots of twists. Jacob has a debt that is owed from book 2, and it is only a matter of time until it will be paid.
"Why were love and death such close neighbours."
3.75 ⭐️
I'm very sad that this is the last Mirrorworld book that is currently published. Who knows how long we will have to wait until the next one! Sigh.
However! Once again a wonderful trip into this amazing world full of magic, villains and secrets. Jacob and Fox are swept up into so many different tasks and treasure hunts; Jacob's brother Will once again follows him through the mirror to search for a remedy for Clara as something has been done to her - something not of our world.
The Dark Fairy is still around, but her love for the King of the Goyl (or the stone men) is causing her nothing but pain, and she would do anything to sever the bond between them caused by love.
Jacob also comes into contact with his father after about a decade, but it isn't the tearful reunion we would expect! All the old characters are in this book as well as plenty of new ones. That would be my only gripe that stopped this one from being 4 stars, the number of characters - all with different names and nicknames, as well as each chapter following a different person or set of people made it ever so slightly more difficult to follow than the previous two books were.
Otherwise, a magical and engaging story with lots of twists. Jacob has a debt that is owed from book 2, and it is only a matter of time until it will be paid.
"Why were love and death such close neighbours."
June 7, 2021
Cornelia Funke is rather one-of-a-kind in the fantasy field. I can name only a handful of writers who go this all-out with mythologies, owning them, transforming them, and building a fully integrated worldbuilding for these great characters to play in. It is neither tongue-in-cheek nor a heavy hand in the writing, either.
While these can be classified as YA, enough complexity in plot and depth of emotion is within this to be rather more adult in execution. The pain, the sacrifice, the acceptance, and the rather grown-up choices all seem to scream 'adult' to me. But that's not what draws me to this. It is the deep exploration of so many myths. From the sisters of fate to Baba Yaga to 1001 Arabian Nights to fae to shapeshifters and so much more, this is not a simple sampler of a tale. These all interact in very interesting and complicated ways, and if that isn't enough, we have a greater complication and interaction between our world and the other one. History, artifacts, and complications.
These are some truly interesting books.
While these can be classified as YA, enough complexity in plot and depth of emotion is within this to be rather more adult in execution. The pain, the sacrifice, the acceptance, and the rather grown-up choices all seem to scream 'adult' to me. But that's not what draws me to this. It is the deep exploration of so many myths. From the sisters of fate to Baba Yaga to 1001 Arabian Nights to fae to shapeshifters and so much more, this is not a simple sampler of a tale. These all interact in very interesting and complicated ways, and if that isn't enough, we have a greater complication and interaction between our world and the other one. History, artifacts, and complications.
These are some truly interesting books.
June 7, 2021
This third volume is a bit of a new beginning. The repercussions of Will having followed his brother have been resolved so new adventures awaited.
New adventures meant that Will once again travelled to Mirrorworld. *doh* Though this time he has good reason (though it is far too easy to lie to him if you ask me).
Most surprisingly, though, was that the book started with Jacob‘s and Will‘s father, John! Yep, the asshole is alive and well, but simply never returned to his family.
In the goyl kingdom, Kami‘en has a successor - a goyl of such peculiarity that his own mother hadn‘t wanted him until the Dark Fae made him beautiful (and saved his life). And therein lies the problem: she loves the boy. Actually, she loves Kami‘en. But she is done getting hurt all the time. Which is why, when the young prince vanishes and she is blamed, she goes in search of the Weaver who can cut the Golden Yarn binding the fae to the goyl king.
Funny, how that worked out in combination with Will‘s desire for revenge.
Jacob and Fox are caught in the middle, especially thanks to Spieler, .
This book infuriated me the first time I read it and it was no different now. John is a despicable man and certainly doesn‘t deserve the title „father“. Not that Amalie is a better mother. Or Kami’en a better husband (or lover). I felt so much for Jacob, Niomee and the prince.
And Spieler‘s demand for as well as his other plots had me gnashing my teeth also.
So much to hate, so much to be furious about - I felt like a goyl!
Nevertheless, I can‘t help but be in awe at the intricate and always unique characters the author creates. Whether you love them or hate them, they are never two-dimensional.
What delighted me especially in this 3rd volume was the new setting. I marvelled at the tales and myths Cornelia Funke weaved into this dashing tale that had us travelling far into the east, to Varangia with its zars, Cossacks, Baba Yaga, rusalkas, golems, flying carpets and more. Just the right setting for such a tragic story of treachery and betrayal, unrequited love and desperate pain.
For those interested in the print version, see my review here (I included some exemplary illustrations). However, I can assure you that at least the German audiobooks are just as worthy what with the music that adorns the beginnings and endings of every chapter and conjures exactly the right frame of mind and emotional response for this reading experience. Not to mention the fabulous job the narrator is doing.
I can‘t wait to finally continue the tale now that the next book is out.
New adventures meant that Will once again travelled to Mirrorworld. *doh* Though this time he has good reason (though it is far too easy to lie to him if you ask me).
Most surprisingly, though, was that the book started with Jacob‘s and Will‘s father, John! Yep, the asshole is alive and well, but simply never returned to his family.
In the goyl kingdom, Kami‘en has a successor - a goyl of such peculiarity that his own mother hadn‘t wanted him until the Dark Fae made him beautiful (and saved his life). And therein lies the problem: she loves the boy. Actually, she loves Kami‘en. But she is done getting hurt all the time. Which is why, when the young prince vanishes and she is blamed, she goes in search of the Weaver who can cut the Golden Yarn binding the fae to the goyl king.
Funny, how that worked out in combination with Will‘s desire for revenge.
Jacob and Fox are caught in the middle, especially thanks to Spieler, .
This book infuriated me the first time I read it and it was no different now. John is a despicable man and certainly doesn‘t deserve the title „father“. Not that Amalie is a better mother. Or Kami’en a better husband (or lover). I felt so much for Jacob, Niomee and the prince.
And Spieler‘s demand for as well as his other plots had me gnashing my teeth also.
So much to hate, so much to be furious about - I felt like a goyl!
Nevertheless, I can‘t help but be in awe at the intricate and always unique characters the author creates. Whether you love them or hate them, they are never two-dimensional.
What delighted me especially in this 3rd volume was the new setting. I marvelled at the tales and myths Cornelia Funke weaved into this dashing tale that had us travelling far into the east, to Varangia with its zars, Cossacks, Baba Yaga, rusalkas, golems, flying carpets and more. Just the right setting for such a tragic story of treachery and betrayal, unrequited love and desperate pain.
For those interested in the print version, see my review here (I included some exemplary illustrations). However, I can assure you that at least the German audiobooks are just as worthy what with the music that adorns the beginnings and endings of every chapter and conjures exactly the right frame of mind and emotional response for this reading experience. Not to mention the fabulous job the narrator is doing.
I can‘t wait to finally continue the tale now that the next book is out.
December 29, 2015
This time we're crossing into unknown territory so there is even a map at the beginning of the book (or maybe the publisher only included it because it's fashionable now).
Anyway, there are as few illustrations as in the second book (only at the beginning of the chapters, meh) but they are as gorgeous as ever (yay)!
As you know by now, Jacob and Fuchs are still a team and we're still travelling through the world behind the mirror that gets savaged by progress (yes, I don't like it one bit), the war with the Goyl and the ramifications of the two previous books.
However, this time we're moving far to the East, to what is Russia in our world. Varangia it's called in Mirrorworld and full of tame bears wearing human clothes, fire birds, Russian witches (Baba Yagas), colourful houses, lots of magical items and old old old forests that I wish so much still existed in our world today.
As characters, there is the so-called "Spieler" (player), an Erlelf, who definitely isn't a good guy. What happened to him and his kind was not very nice but apparently they had been bad before and are now simply seeing themselves as victims, using every available resource (and there are many) to get their revenge although their punishment was justified.
Revenge is the general force for Will (Jacob's younger brother) too. I must admit that I don't like Will very much. In the first book he was a victim, lost in an unknown world, needing his brother, being overwhelmed by a curse. In this book he was supposed to be a victim of Spieler's too, but he was just so whiney and selfish on one side, completely stupid and annoying on the other, so I couldn't sympathize with him.
And we get to see John Reckless, Will's and Jacob's father. I'm not sure I should start writing about this man. In short: I HATE HIM! With all my heart! Not enough that he abandoned his family, no. He's addicted to fame and glory while simultaneously being the greatest coward that ever lived. He's the one bringing all the progress to Mirrorworld for which alone I'd want to kill him. But he also has no real interest in his son, even when he's standing right in front of him and uses every person in his life just as long as they are deemed good/useful enough. Urgh! You have to read it all to understand the dimension of his awfulness. Unfortunately he does not die a violent death in this book like I had hoped.
As a new character we get a man from our world. That was spicing things up a bit and creating a few quite funny interactions. Also, I think, he's the one bridging the story to book 4 and its' setting (the Mirrorworld version of Canada, I think).
It was also nice to have the old characters like Alma the witch and Chanute again. It balanced the whole thing and showed where Jacob really belongs. And it made up for all the awful chapters about our world in the first third of the book (they were written as wonderfully as the other chapters but I don't want to read about our world, I like Mirrorworld much better, just like Jacob, and couldn't get behind the mirror soon enough).
And then we have Jacob and Fuchs. I usually hate when love stories are included but here I was really rooting for them. Having met when Fuchs was a little girl (before the first book) and having been the bestest of friends, they grow to need one another. At first only like friends, then like brother and sister and then ... well. Thanks to the fox fur that makes Celeste (Fuchs' human name) shapeshift, she's also aging sooner (which is logical considering that most animals, foxes in particular, age faster than humans). In the second book her age and that of Jacob caught up with one another and after what happened at the end of book 2, not even they can deny their feelings any longer. But thanks to Spieler, it's complicated. I usually really hate that because it's unnecessary drama but here it's never too much. Sure, the suspense was killing me, but it was still fairly realistic (considering we're in a world where fairy tales are true). And yes, there is a happy ending. Sort of. Well, it is happy for these two and that's all I really wanted (that's a lie actually, I'll explain later).
Also, I love the immportals the author created. Not the Erlelfen although they and their powers are pretty amazing. I mean the fae. Especially the Dark One (I'm not going to tell you her name or I'll have to die for that ;p ). I felt for her sooooo much. And that is why the ending of this book was so bitter for me. *claws out eyes crying*
And then the end of the book. So many questions!
Thanks to a conversation with the author, I know there will be more books. If the author has any say in it, it will be 3 more. And I think I know where the 4th will be taking us (at least in part, it's possible she will have to split the narratives to show happenings on two different continents).
I can only hope that I won't have to read too much from John Reckless' and only a few chapters (until the whole Spieler-thing is resolved) from Will's POV! But the new continent should make a very interesting setting for lots and lots of new magic and I know that Native Americans / Native Canadians have lots of great tales and magical creatures.
See you (soon I hope) on the other side of the mirror!
P.S.: Just heard from the author - the 4th book will NOT be set in Canada but in Japan!!!
Anyway, there are as few illustrations as in the second book (only at the beginning of the chapters, meh) but they are as gorgeous as ever (yay)!
As you know by now, Jacob and Fuchs are still a team and we're still travelling through the world behind the mirror that gets savaged by progress (yes, I don't like it one bit), the war with the Goyl and the ramifications of the two previous books.
However, this time we're moving far to the East, to what is Russia in our world. Varangia it's called in Mirrorworld and full of tame bears wearing human clothes, fire birds, Russian witches (Baba Yagas), colourful houses, lots of magical items and old old old forests that I wish so much still existed in our world today.
As characters, there is the so-called "Spieler" (player), an Erlelf, who definitely isn't a good guy. What happened to him and his kind was not very nice but apparently they had been bad before and are now simply seeing themselves as victims, using every available resource (and there are many) to get their revenge although their punishment was justified.
Revenge is the general force for Will (Jacob's younger brother) too. I must admit that I don't like Will very much. In the first book he was a victim, lost in an unknown world, needing his brother, being overwhelmed by a curse. In this book he was supposed to be a victim of Spieler's too, but he was just so whiney and selfish on one side, completely stupid and annoying on the other, so I couldn't sympathize with him.
And we get to see John Reckless, Will's and Jacob's father. I'm not sure I should start writing about this man. In short: I HATE HIM! With all my heart! Not enough that he abandoned his family, no. He's addicted to fame and glory while simultaneously being the greatest coward that ever lived. He's the one bringing all the progress to Mirrorworld for which alone I'd want to kill him. But he also has no real interest in his son, even when he's standing right in front of him and uses every person in his life just as long as they are deemed good/useful enough. Urgh! You have to read it all to understand the dimension of his awfulness. Unfortunately he does not die a violent death in this book like I had hoped.
As a new character we get a man from our world. That was spicing things up a bit and creating a few quite funny interactions. Also, I think, he's the one bridging the story to book 4 and its' setting (the Mirrorworld version of Canada, I think).
It was also nice to have the old characters like Alma the witch and Chanute again. It balanced the whole thing and showed where Jacob really belongs. And it made up for all the awful chapters about our world in the first third of the book (they were written as wonderfully as the other chapters but I don't want to read about our world, I like Mirrorworld much better, just like Jacob, and couldn't get behind the mirror soon enough).
And then we have Jacob and Fuchs. I usually hate when love stories are included but here I was really rooting for them. Having met when Fuchs was a little girl (before the first book) and having been the bestest of friends, they grow to need one another. At first only like friends, then like brother and sister and then ... well. Thanks to the fox fur that makes Celeste (Fuchs' human name) shapeshift, she's also aging sooner (which is logical considering that most animals, foxes in particular, age faster than humans). In the second book her age and that of Jacob caught up with one another and after what happened at the end of book 2, not even they can deny their feelings any longer. But thanks to Spieler, it's complicated. I usually really hate that because it's unnecessary drama but here it's never too much. Sure, the suspense was killing me, but it was still fairly realistic (considering we're in a world where fairy tales are true). And yes, there is a happy ending. Sort of. Well, it is happy for these two and that's all I really wanted (that's a lie actually, I'll explain later).
Also, I love the immportals the author created. Not the Erlelfen although they and their powers are pretty amazing. I mean the fae. Especially the Dark One (I'm not going to tell you her name or I'll have to die for that ;p ). I felt for her sooooo much. And that is why the ending of this book was so bitter for me. *claws out eyes crying*
And then the end of the book. So many questions!
Thanks to a conversation with the author, I know there will be more books. If the author has any say in it, it will be 3 more. And I think I know where the 4th will be taking us (at least in part, it's possible she will have to split the narratives to show happenings on two different continents).
I can only hope that I won't have to read too much from John Reckless' and only a few chapters (until the whole Spieler-thing is resolved) from Will's POV! But the new continent should make a very interesting setting for lots and lots of new magic and I know that Native Americans / Native Canadians have lots of great tales and magical creatures.
See you (soon I hope) on the other side of the mirror!
P.S.: Just heard from the author - the 4th book will NOT be set in Canada but in Japan!!!
January 3, 2018
Bin leider eher enttäuscht von diesem Band.. die ersten 200 Seiten ließen sich irgendwie super langsam lesen und das Ende ist einfach super unbefriedigend. Soll da noch ein Band kommen? Dachte hier nach wäre es zu Ende 🤦🏻♀️
January 1, 2016
My Least Favorite Cornelia Funke Novel
I loved many of Cornelia Funke's earlier novels, particularly the charming Inkworld series. She's an imaginative and original voice. These books were suitable for children and adults.
Alas, I haven't felt the same way about the "Mirrorworld/Reckless" series. These are darker. They're supposed to be dark romantic fairytales for adults. Think "Through the Looking Glass" but much darker and not humorous.
The series tracks the adventures of Jacob Reckless and his friends and enemies and various magical creatures (elves, fairies, creatures made of glass, goyle--who have stone skins, etc). Jacob is a renowned treasure hunter in the Mirrorworld. He found his way there by surreptitiously following his father from our world (the "real world") through an enchanted mirror to the Mirrorworld.
But for some reason, the Reckless/Mirrorworld books don't seem to work as well as the Inkworld novels. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why though. The plots are convoluted and the characters unsympathetic.
(That's just part of the problem). As usual Funke is very creative and good at world building, but it's hard to care about most of the people (except for Fox, an appealing shape shifter).
The central conceit of the book, that a magical "golden yarn" ties lovers together whether they like it or not, never came to life for me.
Jayne Entwhistle's audio reading didn't help matters. She reads this like a chirpy, bored English school girl. Her manner was completely unsuited to the material.
I loved many of Cornelia Funke's earlier novels, particularly the charming Inkworld series. She's an imaginative and original voice. These books were suitable for children and adults.
Alas, I haven't felt the same way about the "Mirrorworld/Reckless" series. These are darker. They're supposed to be dark romantic fairytales for adults. Think "Through the Looking Glass" but much darker and not humorous.
The series tracks the adventures of Jacob Reckless and his friends and enemies and various magical creatures (elves, fairies, creatures made of glass, goyle--who have stone skins, etc). Jacob is a renowned treasure hunter in the Mirrorworld. He found his way there by surreptitiously following his father from our world (the "real world") through an enchanted mirror to the Mirrorworld.
But for some reason, the Reckless/Mirrorworld books don't seem to work as well as the Inkworld novels. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why though. The plots are convoluted and the characters unsympathetic.
(That's just part of the problem). As usual Funke is very creative and good at world building, but it's hard to care about most of the people (except for Fox, an appealing shape shifter).
The central conceit of the book, that a magical "golden yarn" ties lovers together whether they like it or not, never came to life for me.
Jayne Entwhistle's audio reading didn't help matters. She reads this like a chirpy, bored English school girl. Her manner was completely unsuited to the material.
April 4, 2020
This is one of my favorite on-going series. Cornelia has said that the much anticipated fourth instalment will finally be released in 2020. I am beyond excited. I’ve been waiting for this moment for over five years now and thought it would be a good idea to reread the entire series in 2019 to refresh my memory … because ya’ll know that my memory is trash. I listened to the audiobook btw (Rainer Strecker’s attempt at a Russian accent had me cackling!) and I loved it a lot.
So, this review is going to be hella spoiler-y, since I want to go over all of the main plot points of this book, so that I can go back to this review when Islands of the Fox finally comes out. Beware!
I’m not sure if I should structure this review by the different character arcs (because, my gosh, there were so many POVs) or simply chronologically … I’ll probably do a mixture of both.
The Dark Fairy can literally have my life. I love her so much and I’m so excited to see where she’ll end up (I don’t believe that she’s like dead-dead, if you get me). She’s just such an iconic and tragic figure. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m much older now than when I first read the series but I ship her and Kami’en soooo hard. I love their tension and that she genuinely cares for him so much. That she helped him with the survival of his son with Amalia was everything. His baby would’ve died hadn’t she saved him and strengthened him with the Moonstone skin. Ahhh!
Surprisingly, I also “liked” that the Dark fairy was kind of sexualised. I know that sounds a little weird coming from me but her portrayal is very unusual for Cornelia Funke and I’ve never seen a character like her in her work before. Cornelia has said that she wouldn’t advise anyone younger than 16 years old to seek out this series (which I find a little too conservative… it’s really not that explicit, 12-year-olds will be fine) and I guess that it’s due to her. At the beginning of this book, she starts to feel neglected by Kami’en because he only visits her at night to make love to her and otherwise spends his time obsessing over his baby and wife. Poor Nyome, she deserves better!
When Kami’en actually turned on her because he believed Amalia’s lies, I was so furious. But at least Nyome took matters into her own hands and left his ass. When we find out that she’s actually traveling East to find the Three Fates to cut the Golden Yarn from her, I cried. The Golden Yarn represents love, it’s one of the most vital strings for a person to possess. Nyome wants to get rid of hers, so that she’ll never be able to love again. (I love that she took Donnersmarck with her, though, the two of them have a great dynamic.)
John Reckless can literally suck my ass, he’s the worst dad ever. I do like that Connie called him out for cheating on his wife and having multiple mistresses in the mirrorworld… how dare he even assume that he has any right to her and their sons??? I really don’t understand why he never sought Jacob out in the last 13 fucking years.
We learn that John is now posing as Isambard Brunnel (yes, the man who Jacob “mistook” for his father in book 2 … well, it turns out it was his father after all) and he is now working for Der Krumme (the father of Louis, if we recall the mess that was book 2).
The Earl King gives me the creeps; he told Jacob that he is able to impersonate different people and he impersonated Jacob’s father for years and slept with Jacob’s mother … like WTF??? You disgusting piece of shit. Jacob learns that there are other Earl weapons in our world and that the Earl people were banned from the mirrorworld decades ago (by the Fairies?) and if they dare to step through the Mirror again, they will all turn into trees. However, the Earl King has a plan to break that curse.
He also wants to have Jacob’s firstborn for his keeping and I’m like NOOOOOO??? I am so not here for all that relationship drama. Don’t get me wrong, Jacob and Fox are my ultimate baes and I love both of them oh so very much … but the way Jacob obsessed over Fox in this book is truly not healthy. It is the typical YA trope of “we can’t be together because of reason XYZ” and it got annoying really fast. Jacob chose to protect Fox (from the Earl King) by refusing to be with her. Fine. Then why are you throwing a hissy fit as soon as she looks in the direction of other guys?? Why are you constantly thinking about touching and kissing her? Give that girl a break. I thought the relationship drama was pretty uncalled for in this book since it added nothing to the plot and it was clear from the start that Jacob and Fox would end up in bed together (… I mean, the plot for book 4 doesn’t write itself). ;) I do like that Jacob told her about the Earl King and the promise to surrender his firstborn to him, though, otherwise, that would’ve been a major red flag.
I was also really glad to see Chanute being back. I missed this old drunk. I fear that he might die over the course of the series due to his ongoing sickness and I am not prepared for that. He and Sylvain (the guy that Jacob had to bring through the Mirror with him because he was also held hostage by the Earl King in the real world) are just an iconic duo. Those two misfits are truly children at heart and I hope that we get to see at least one little adventure of them in the next book.
Will’s storyline was a little underwhelming and confusing to me. At first his girlfriend Clara falls into a fucking “coma” (basically a Spindelschlaf from Sleeping Beauty induced by Earl King’s glass creatures) and when Will tries to wake her up by kissing her it doesn’t work. I was shook! Their relationship wasn’t (thus far) explored enough for me to get the feeling that they were falling out of love LIKE WHAT? Whatever, Will then decides to trust the Earl King and bargains with him that if he shoots the Dark Fairy with the magical crossbow, the Earl King will bring Clara back to life. So, Will steps through the mirror again. He’s soon taken under the wing of Nerron and I love that despite himself, the goyl grows attached to Will and his softness. We love a good father and son relationship! What I found weird though is that 16 is also falling in love with Will. That came out of nowhere imo.
So, overall I love that the plot of this book is mostly taking place in the East (Varangia to be specific, which is the equivalent to our Russia). Jacob and Fox are headed there to find Will, since the Red Fairy told Jacob that his brother is destined to kill her sister. Will is there to kill the Dark Fairy (MOOD) and Kami’en is also there because he wants to reunite with his love (since he finally found out that his wife is cray cray and abducted their son, so that Kami’en would banish the Dark Fairy, which he did, like the stupid ass that he is).
On their way to Varangia, Fox is attacked by the creatures of glass (16 and 17) and they turn her into silver. In order to save her life, Jacob visits the Baba Jaga to get her Rushnyky that’ll save Fox. Just like in the first two instalments, I love how Cornelia weaves these fairy tales into her narrative. Nothing feels contrived but very natural and moves the plot forward in a refreshing way. The Baba Jaga episode was one of my favorite parts of this narrative because it was so dramatic. In order to get her Rushnyky, Jacob has to give her Celeste’s Fox skin. He knows how much that means to her and that he eventually has to steal it back. I love that Jacob makes the decision to do fucking everything to save Celeste’s life, but then is willing to put himself into mortal danger to save her from the trauma of having lost her second skin as well. Again, I have to give credit to Cornelia for not turning Jacob into this invincible hero who always saves the day. So, when he goes back to the Baba Jaga everything goes wrong and Fox has to actually save his ass. I love it.
In Moskva, Fox makes the acquaintance of a spy named Orlando … and I’m still not sure how I feel about the love triangle that then ensued. I kind of liked Orlando as a character but thought that his relationship to Fox seemed extremely rushed. They only knew each other for a couple of days before they started going out and actually sleeping with each other. That doesn’t feel like Celeste to me. I don’t like that she acted out of character only to heighten the tension with Jacob. It was a cheap plot device. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed reading about all of that banter, not gonna lie. (At one point, Celeste realises that it’s Jacob’s name who for so long spun the yarn of gold around her heart, and I cried.)
After Jacob learns that Isambard is his father, he has a breakdown and when Fox consoles him, they finally hit it off and decide to no longer give any fucks about the Earl King because life’s too short. Orlando is actually pretty cool about it (we stan a non-possessive queen) but he still gave Fox one of his feathers (he can shape shift into a bird). If she strokes the feather, he’ll know and come to her rescue … he also said that if she is ever bored by Jacob, he’ll come as well LIKE MY BOY; That’s big dick energy right there. :D
In Moskva, Jacob is able to get a hold of a flying carpet. He knows that they have to hurry up if they want to keep Will from killing Nyome. So, the whole gang (Fox, Orlando and even Isambard) are on their way to Will. Of course, everything turns to shit when Isambard (aka John Reckless) decides to be a self-centered hoe again and steals the carpet to gain more riches in the East and leaves the rest of the troupe on their own.
The ending of this book was fucking thrilling, so much happened at once. Finally, Nerron and Will reach the Dark Fairy. Will wants to shoot her because he hopes that if she’s dead he will no longer turn into Jade stone. Even though Donnersmack (le bae) tries to protect the Fairy, Will manages to shoot her like the cold-blooded bitch that he is. (Like, for real, book 3 didn’t do much in regards to me and my sympathy for Will.) The Dark Fairy dies but Will’s curse of the Jade stone is still there. Nerron actually shoots Donnersmarck (which made me so mad) and takes the crossbow with him.
It is also revealed that Will fell in love with 16 (the glass girl) and I’m like UMMM what about Clara?? And her coma? Like, are we not going to bother with that anymore? In other lovey-dovey news, I found it heartbreaking (but still very well deserved) that Kami’en felt the death of Nyome in his whole entire body. He lost her for real.
So, what do I think will happen in book 4?
I think certain plot points are pretty obvious. At the end of book 3, Jacob and Fox sleep together for the first time (without protection because this is a fantasy land lmao). I’m pretty sure that Fox will become pregnant in the next book. I think the obvious option would be for it to be Jacob’s baby so that Spieler (the Earl King) can demand and claim his firstborn, however, I’m also left wondering if the baby might not be Orlando’s. She is also slept with him (only a few weeks prior to sleeping with Jacob) and that could serve us some delicious drama as well.
Furthermore, I have the theory that Will might not even be John Reckless’ son. He might be the son of Spieler (who posed as John Reckless and slept with Rosamund, like the disgusting creature that he is). They might explain why Will is so special.
The epilogue also gave me hope that we didn’t loose Nyome forever. When Spieler thinks he has won (basically that he broke her curse because she’s dead) he steps through the mirror and is forced to realise that a shadow of the curse is still there. Even though it’s a slow process, he’s still turning into a tree. Additionally, we have seen a Dark moth over the Fairy’s body that didn’t die with her. These facts hint that a part of Nyome is still alive somewhere, maybe just her spririt, but I cannot wait for her to be resurrected or reincarnated in a different body. I am not willing to let go of my bae so easily!
Also, in this book, the Onyx goyl are already turning on Kami’en and getting ready for war, so I’m pretty sure shit will hit the fan on that front in the next book.
I’m also curious to know what’s up with Rosamund, Jacob’s mom. In the second book it was revealed that she is somehow related to the long-dead witch king Gismund and in this book we learn that her ancestors have already passed through the mirror… so is she actually a human being of our world or was she maybe born in the mirrorworld? I hope we learn more about her history.
Another thing that I’ve noticed is that Connie interweaves the coming industrialisation (old magic versus new magic) into her narrative. New technologies become more and more important and some people feel like this changes the mirrorworld forever. The rise of the machines cannot be stopped. I wonder if that’ll be another plot point, the mirrorworld becoming more modern and maybe even falling apart because of it?
So, this review is going to be hella spoiler-y, since I want to go over all of the main plot points of this book, so that I can go back to this review when Islands of the Fox finally comes out. Beware!
I’m not sure if I should structure this review by the different character arcs (because, my gosh, there were so many POVs) or simply chronologically … I’ll probably do a mixture of both.
The Dark Fairy can literally have my life. I love her so much and I’m so excited to see where she’ll end up (I don’t believe that she’s like dead-dead, if you get me). She’s just such an iconic and tragic figure. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m much older now than when I first read the series but I ship her and Kami’en soooo hard. I love their tension and that she genuinely cares for him so much. That she helped him with the survival of his son with Amalia was everything. His baby would’ve died hadn’t she saved him and strengthened him with the Moonstone skin. Ahhh!
Surprisingly, I also “liked” that the Dark fairy was kind of sexualised. I know that sounds a little weird coming from me but her portrayal is very unusual for Cornelia Funke and I’ve never seen a character like her in her work before. Cornelia has said that she wouldn’t advise anyone younger than 16 years old to seek out this series (which I find a little too conservative… it’s really not that explicit, 12-year-olds will be fine) and I guess that it’s due to her. At the beginning of this book, she starts to feel neglected by Kami’en because he only visits her at night to make love to her and otherwise spends his time obsessing over his baby and wife. Poor Nyome, she deserves better!
When Kami’en actually turned on her because he believed Amalia’s lies, I was so furious. But at least Nyome took matters into her own hands and left his ass. When we find out that she’s actually traveling East to find the Three Fates to cut the Golden Yarn from her, I cried. The Golden Yarn represents love, it’s one of the most vital strings for a person to possess. Nyome wants to get rid of hers, so that she’ll never be able to love again. (I love that she took Donnersmarck with her, though, the two of them have a great dynamic.)
John Reckless can literally suck my ass, he’s the worst dad ever. I do like that Connie called him out for cheating on his wife and having multiple mistresses in the mirrorworld… how dare he even assume that he has any right to her and their sons??? I really don’t understand why he never sought Jacob out in the last 13 fucking years.
We learn that John is now posing as Isambard Brunnel (yes, the man who Jacob “mistook” for his father in book 2 … well, it turns out it was his father after all) and he is now working for Der Krumme (the father of Louis, if we recall the mess that was book 2).
The Earl King gives me the creeps; he told Jacob that he is able to impersonate different people and he impersonated Jacob’s father for years and slept with Jacob’s mother … like WTF??? You disgusting piece of shit. Jacob learns that there are other Earl weapons in our world and that the Earl people were banned from the mirrorworld decades ago (by the Fairies?) and if they dare to step through the Mirror again, they will all turn into trees. However, the Earl King has a plan to break that curse.
He also wants to have Jacob’s firstborn for his keeping and I’m like NOOOOOO??? I am so not here for all that relationship drama. Don’t get me wrong, Jacob and Fox are my ultimate baes and I love both of them oh so very much … but the way Jacob obsessed over Fox in this book is truly not healthy. It is the typical YA trope of “we can’t be together because of reason XYZ” and it got annoying really fast. Jacob chose to protect Fox (from the Earl King) by refusing to be with her. Fine. Then why are you throwing a hissy fit as soon as she looks in the direction of other guys?? Why are you constantly thinking about touching and kissing her? Give that girl a break. I thought the relationship drama was pretty uncalled for in this book since it added nothing to the plot and it was clear from the start that Jacob and Fox would end up in bed together (… I mean, the plot for book 4 doesn’t write itself). ;) I do like that Jacob told her about the Earl King and the promise to surrender his firstborn to him, though, otherwise, that would’ve been a major red flag.
I was also really glad to see Chanute being back. I missed this old drunk. I fear that he might die over the course of the series due to his ongoing sickness and I am not prepared for that. He and Sylvain (the guy that Jacob had to bring through the Mirror with him because he was also held hostage by the Earl King in the real world) are just an iconic duo. Those two misfits are truly children at heart and I hope that we get to see at least one little adventure of them in the next book.
Will’s storyline was a little underwhelming and confusing to me. At first his girlfriend Clara falls into a fucking “coma” (basically a Spindelschlaf from Sleeping Beauty induced by Earl King’s glass creatures) and when Will tries to wake her up by kissing her it doesn’t work. I was shook! Their relationship wasn’t (thus far) explored enough for me to get the feeling that they were falling out of love LIKE WHAT? Whatever, Will then decides to trust the Earl King and bargains with him that if he shoots the Dark Fairy with the magical crossbow, the Earl King will bring Clara back to life. So, Will steps through the mirror again. He’s soon taken under the wing of Nerron and I love that despite himself, the goyl grows attached to Will and his softness. We love a good father and son relationship! What I found weird though is that 16 is also falling in love with Will. That came out of nowhere imo.
So, overall I love that the plot of this book is mostly taking place in the East (Varangia to be specific, which is the equivalent to our Russia). Jacob and Fox are headed there to find Will, since the Red Fairy told Jacob that his brother is destined to kill her sister. Will is there to kill the Dark Fairy (MOOD) and Kami’en is also there because he wants to reunite with his love (since he finally found out that his wife is cray cray and abducted their son, so that Kami’en would banish the Dark Fairy, which he did, like the stupid ass that he is).
On their way to Varangia, Fox is attacked by the creatures of glass (16 and 17) and they turn her into silver. In order to save her life, Jacob visits the Baba Jaga to get her Rushnyky that’ll save Fox. Just like in the first two instalments, I love how Cornelia weaves these fairy tales into her narrative. Nothing feels contrived but very natural and moves the plot forward in a refreshing way. The Baba Jaga episode was one of my favorite parts of this narrative because it was so dramatic. In order to get her Rushnyky, Jacob has to give her Celeste’s Fox skin. He knows how much that means to her and that he eventually has to steal it back. I love that Jacob makes the decision to do fucking everything to save Celeste’s life, but then is willing to put himself into mortal danger to save her from the trauma of having lost her second skin as well. Again, I have to give credit to Cornelia for not turning Jacob into this invincible hero who always saves the day. So, when he goes back to the Baba Jaga everything goes wrong and Fox has to actually save his ass. I love it.
In Moskva, Fox makes the acquaintance of a spy named Orlando … and I’m still not sure how I feel about the love triangle that then ensued. I kind of liked Orlando as a character but thought that his relationship to Fox seemed extremely rushed. They only knew each other for a couple of days before they started going out and actually sleeping with each other. That doesn’t feel like Celeste to me. I don’t like that she acted out of character only to heighten the tension with Jacob. It was a cheap plot device. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed reading about all of that banter, not gonna lie. (At one point, Celeste realises that it’s Jacob’s name who for so long spun the yarn of gold around her heart, and I cried.)
After Jacob learns that Isambard is his father, he has a breakdown and when Fox consoles him, they finally hit it off and decide to no longer give any fucks about the Earl King because life’s too short. Orlando is actually pretty cool about it (we stan a non-possessive queen) but he still gave Fox one of his feathers (he can shape shift into a bird). If she strokes the feather, he’ll know and come to her rescue … he also said that if she is ever bored by Jacob, he’ll come as well LIKE MY BOY; That’s big dick energy right there. :D
In Moskva, Jacob is able to get a hold of a flying carpet. He knows that they have to hurry up if they want to keep Will from killing Nyome. So, the whole gang (Fox, Orlando and even Isambard) are on their way to Will. Of course, everything turns to shit when Isambard (aka John Reckless) decides to be a self-centered hoe again and steals the carpet to gain more riches in the East and leaves the rest of the troupe on their own.
The ending of this book was fucking thrilling, so much happened at once. Finally, Nerron and Will reach the Dark Fairy. Will wants to shoot her because he hopes that if she’s dead he will no longer turn into Jade stone. Even though Donnersmack (le bae) tries to protect the Fairy, Will manages to shoot her like the cold-blooded bitch that he is. (Like, for real, book 3 didn’t do much in regards to me and my sympathy for Will.) The Dark Fairy dies but Will’s curse of the Jade stone is still there. Nerron actually shoots Donnersmarck (which made me so mad) and takes the crossbow with him.
It is also revealed that Will fell in love with 16 (the glass girl) and I’m like UMMM what about Clara?? And her coma? Like, are we not going to bother with that anymore? In other lovey-dovey news, I found it heartbreaking (but still very well deserved) that Kami’en felt the death of Nyome in his whole entire body. He lost her for real.
So, what do I think will happen in book 4?
I think certain plot points are pretty obvious. At the end of book 3, Jacob and Fox sleep together for the first time (without protection because this is a fantasy land lmao). I’m pretty sure that Fox will become pregnant in the next book. I think the obvious option would be for it to be Jacob’s baby so that Spieler (the Earl King) can demand and claim his firstborn, however, I’m also left wondering if the baby might not be Orlando’s. She is also slept with him (only a few weeks prior to sleeping with Jacob) and that could serve us some delicious drama as well.
Furthermore, I have the theory that Will might not even be John Reckless’ son. He might be the son of Spieler (who posed as John Reckless and slept with Rosamund, like the disgusting creature that he is). They might explain why Will is so special.
The epilogue also gave me hope that we didn’t loose Nyome forever. When Spieler thinks he has won (basically that he broke her curse because she’s dead) he steps through the mirror and is forced to realise that a shadow of the curse is still there. Even though it’s a slow process, he’s still turning into a tree. Additionally, we have seen a Dark moth over the Fairy’s body that didn’t die with her. These facts hint that a part of Nyome is still alive somewhere, maybe just her spririt, but I cannot wait for her to be resurrected or reincarnated in a different body. I am not willing to let go of my bae so easily!
Also, in this book, the Onyx goyl are already turning on Kami’en and getting ready for war, so I’m pretty sure shit will hit the fan on that front in the next book.
I’m also curious to know what’s up with Rosamund, Jacob’s mom. In the second book it was revealed that she is somehow related to the long-dead witch king Gismund and in this book we learn that her ancestors have already passed through the mirror… so is she actually a human being of our world or was she maybe born in the mirrorworld? I hope we learn more about her history.
Another thing that I’ve noticed is that Connie interweaves the coming industrialisation (old magic versus new magic) into her narrative. New technologies become more and more important and some people feel like this changes the mirrorworld forever. The rise of the machines cannot be stopped. I wonder if that’ll be another plot point, the mirrorworld becoming more modern and maybe even falling apart because of it?
December 8, 2015
4.5
"He took her to be stupid, like all women. The discarded mistress of a King.
Love had made her so small."
I always find it impossibly hard to review Cornelia Funke's books. The thing is, they are complicated, they are convoluted and many-sided, their plots are like clocks put to work by some inconceivably refined gears, and the very same definition can be applied to their characters. In books like hers, there are wheels within wheels and worlds within worlds and secrets you will never uncover, no matter how hard you try. That's good luck. That's the worst of curses. For it means that thankfully you qill never run out of hidden details to discover, but also that you will always keep wandering what little marvel you have not been able to figure out yet.
The Golden Yarn is no exception.
It is a wonderful book. Magnificent. Enchanting. Mesmerizing. Fairy tales' lovers like me cannot avoid being totally entranced by it like childrens by their bedtime stories. And I am not talking about a purely aesthetic quality: the world behinf the mirror will delight you, but their inhabitants' -our characters'- stories will strangle your hearts. Funke can ensure that you find yourself out of breath page in, page out, even for those characters you thought you did not care about. Obviuos example: Kami'en and the Dark Fairy. They almost brought me to tears. And I am not one for tears. The Dark One, above all, in this book gave her best: I hadn't given her much attention before, and surely not the attention she deserved, but reading this book I realized how deep her characterization digs, and all the dirt that it brings out, all the self-hatred and the shame, the longing, an abyss of longing, the fragility and the firmness, the fear of not being herself anymore, and all for love's sake. She was simply marvellous.
And then there were Jacob and Fox.
"How clear one's own desires become once they are made impossible."
I have been waiting to see them together since the first book, and they didn't disappoint me, but still it wasn't perfectly perfect. But maybe it's just me that have been building too many castles int he clouds.
What I found more disappointing, instead, was the writing. Which is quite strange, because I have always loved Funke's writing, and still here I am saying it: in my opinion and given how gifted Cornelia is, this book could have been written much, much better. This resulted in me having some issue with the narrative and its pace -more the 'single-event pace' than the overall pace: moments on which it felt natural to linger where quite rushed and vice versa. It felt annoyingly unnantural and I know Funke knows betterthan this, so I wasn't properly happy about it.
But, needless to say, I loved the book all the same.
And, guess what: the waiting for the next one has already begun.
"He took her to be stupid, like all women. The discarded mistress of a King.
Love had made her so small."
I always find it impossibly hard to review Cornelia Funke's books. The thing is, they are complicated, they are convoluted and many-sided, their plots are like clocks put to work by some inconceivably refined gears, and the very same definition can be applied to their characters. In books like hers, there are wheels within wheels and worlds within worlds and secrets you will never uncover, no matter how hard you try. That's good luck. That's the worst of curses. For it means that thankfully you qill never run out of hidden details to discover, but also that you will always keep wandering what little marvel you have not been able to figure out yet.
The Golden Yarn is no exception.
It is a wonderful book. Magnificent. Enchanting. Mesmerizing. Fairy tales' lovers like me cannot avoid being totally entranced by it like childrens by their bedtime stories. And I am not talking about a purely aesthetic quality: the world behinf the mirror will delight you, but their inhabitants' -our characters'- stories will strangle your hearts. Funke can ensure that you find yourself out of breath page in, page out, even for those characters you thought you did not care about. Obviuos example: Kami'en and the Dark Fairy. They almost brought me to tears. And I am not one for tears. The Dark One, above all, in this book gave her best: I hadn't given her much attention before, and surely not the attention she deserved, but reading this book I realized how deep her characterization digs, and all the dirt that it brings out, all the self-hatred and the shame, the longing, an abyss of longing, the fragility and the firmness, the fear of not being herself anymore, and all for love's sake. She was simply marvellous.
And then there were Jacob and Fox.
"How clear one's own desires become once they are made impossible."
I have been waiting to see them together since the first book, and they didn't disappoint me, but still it wasn't perfectly perfect. But maybe it's just me that have been building too many castles int he clouds.
What I found more disappointing, instead, was the writing. Which is quite strange, because I have always loved Funke's writing, and still here I am saying it: in my opinion and given how gifted Cornelia is, this book could have been written much, much better. This resulted in me having some issue with the narrative and its pace -more the 'single-event pace' than the overall pace: moments on which it felt natural to linger where quite rushed and vice versa. It felt annoyingly unnantural and I know Funke knows betterthan this, so I wasn't properly happy about it.
But, needless to say, I loved the book all the same.
And, guess what: the waiting for the next one has already begun.
October 4, 2019
Einen Stern muss ich für die Herzfolter abziehen, die in der zweiten Hälfte ruhig etwas gnädiger hätte sein können.
February 5, 2021
Ich liebe es! Und ich hab noch so viele Fragen😱😱
October 12, 2024
Bislang mein Lieblingsteil der Reihe 🦊
February 15, 2018
This book started out really slow and took forever to actually build some kind of interesting story. The world and all it's fascinating details were beautiful, but it still lost it's magic for me. Only the last 100 pages really pulled me in again like the previous books did and convinced me that Cornelia Funke still hasn't lost her talent to enchant you with her words and world building.
The characters were not as endearing as I remembered them, I honestly liked some of the supporting characters more than the main characters (I looved Orlando and Dunbar). I didn't really care for Jacob and Will, I even had more sympathy for the Dark Fairy.
So I was definitely disappointed by this book, but the ending saved it for me a bit and made me kind of excited for the next one.
The characters were not as endearing as I remembered them, I honestly liked some of the supporting characters more than the main characters (I looved Orlando and Dunbar). I didn't really care for Jacob and Will, I even had more sympathy for the Dark Fairy.
So I was definitely disappointed by this book, but the ending saved it for me a bit and made me kind of excited for the next one.
February 6, 2017
3, 5 Sterne !
April 15, 2021
Wo endlich der vierte Teil da ist, habe ich die Vorgängerbände nochmal gelesen und dieses mal habe ich etwas mehr auf die im Buch vorkommenden Namen und Bezeichnungen geachtet. Oh ja! Die Autorin hatte da definitiv ihren Spaß. Es wird sich zeigen, ob Tchiourak ein Dummkopf ist. Auf jeden Fall lässt der Klang seines Namens diese Vermutung zu.
(дурак)
(дурак)
January 25, 2022
Rea-read: January 2022. It's still amazing, just as it was the first time I read it, but the good thing is a have the next book in my shelf now :)
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I'm still trying to catch my breath after this tremendous book. I'm amazed and can barely put a name to what I'm feeling. "Incredible", "Amazing", "Unbeliable", "Breathtaking"... Pick one, whatever you like the most. That's what I'm feeling, and more. Maybe this is my fanatic spirit talking, but Cornelia definitely deserves every praise that I could think of for this book.
After years of waiting, I finally could return to MirrorWorld. Along this three books, this world, that began as Jacob's dream, grew darker and darker, until it ended being his nightmare. That's one of the great things about Cornelia's worlds, for me. They're magical, like farytales, but they always, always, have dark secrets and traps beneath the beauty. And Jacob, Will, Fux and all the other characters are tangled between its threads. Not even the "bad guys" can escape from the threads.
All in all, this is a love story. Love like a blessing, and a curse. Love like a thread that can unite as it can choke to death to the people that fall in it.
Another good thing about this story is that it was totally unexpected. Every time I thought that I knew what this characters were going to do next, the story gave a different turn. The characters are surprising too, complex and deep. Will, Jacob's brother, was one of the best turns of this book, but Jacob and Fux are still very, very good characters. The new characters add a new layer to the already complicated relationships of Jacob, Will, Fux and Clara.
I could say a lot more about this one, but the only thing that I want to say to finish this is: I thought this was a trilogy, but MirrorWorld has a lot more to show, and I'm just as tangled in its threads as Jacob, Fux and all of them.
----
I'm still trying to catch my breath after this tremendous book. I'm amazed and can barely put a name to what I'm feeling. "Incredible", "Amazing", "Unbeliable", "Breathtaking"... Pick one, whatever you like the most. That's what I'm feeling, and more. Maybe this is my fanatic spirit talking, but Cornelia definitely deserves every praise that I could think of for this book.
After years of waiting, I finally could return to MirrorWorld. Along this three books, this world, that began as Jacob's dream, grew darker and darker, until it ended being his nightmare. That's one of the great things about Cornelia's worlds, for me. They're magical, like farytales, but they always, always, have dark secrets and traps beneath the beauty. And Jacob, Will, Fux and all the other characters are tangled between its threads. Not even the "bad guys" can escape from the threads.
All in all, this is a love story. Love like a blessing, and a curse. Love like a thread that can unite as it can choke to death to the people that fall in it.
Another good thing about this story is that it was totally unexpected. Every time I thought that I knew what this characters were going to do next, the story gave a different turn. The characters are surprising too, complex and deep. Will, Jacob's brother, was one of the best turns of this book, but Jacob and Fux are still very, very good characters. The new characters add a new layer to the already complicated relationships of Jacob, Will, Fux and Clara.
I could say a lot more about this one, but the only thing that I want to say to finish this is: I thought this was a trilogy, but MirrorWorld has a lot more to show, and I'm just as tangled in its threads as Jacob, Fux and all of them.
February 27, 2015
Finally. I was looking forward to this book for quite some time. I know many people disliked „Reckless“, because of its difference from Funke’s other books, especially Inkspell. Well, I admit I wasn’t very smitten with the first book in the first place, but it really crept up on me. I have read the series twice now, which is a pretty good idea before reading the third book. Just so you are back on track. This is one of these rare occasions where I like the second book much better than the first. Cornelia obviously grew accustomed to the new story-world. You could see/read how more at ease she must have felt with the 2nd novel and you can feel how much fun she seems to have writing these novels, because you can sense her passion in every word. Yes, she borrows a lot of the fairy-tale world, but that’s exactly the point here. And by the way, you would be quite shocked that not many of the old masters of fairy-tales really wrote those stories themselves…They all copied it somewhere.
It is such a great world Funke built up in the Reckless series. Also the characters are wonderful and thoroughly developed. You know how to work out, if a book is really good? When you read and read and the remaining pages diminish, you are devastated, because you only have about 200 pages left! And you wished there were another 500 pages. that doesn’t happen with bad books. (Ok, it also happens when you read a good book that is damn hard to read…believe me, reading War and Peace…you do not wish there were a 500 pages more of it to read.) Anyhow, this is the main fault I see here. The book is very easy to read through and somehow you could definitely have more of it.
The story picks up some unknown time (some days or some weeks) where book two ended. Jacob and Fox are still in Jacob’s world. They get to NYC to visit Will and Clara, also Jacob wants to pay the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City) a visit in order to get rid of the crossbow for some time.
Fox decides to return to the Mirrorworld without Jacob, not feeling very comfortable there. After a visit in the MET and a not so nice meeting with a strange girl and a taxi’s bumper, Jacob ends up in a strange house, finally meeting Johann Norebo Earlking, who helped him save Fox from the Bluebeard in the last book. Back then Jacob agreed to pay a prize, which Earlking would ask him in the future. Only then Earlking would tell him the
way through the Bluebeard’s labyrinth. Earlking tells him what he wants, which leaves Jacob devastated and he is now more decided than ever about suppressing his feelings.
Will is also dragged in to the Mirrorworld again, going on a hunt together with Nerron. He, too is manipulated by Earlking, who wants him to do a dark deed for him.
Kami’en’s and Amalie’s baby is born, but vanishes and everyone suspects the Dark Fairy. She flees, going on her own hunt to find something that will free her.
So we do have a lot of different plot line this time, which is a bit bothersome sometimes, because often you feel pulled out in order to read about something, which doesn’t interest you that much at the moment. The many different POVs were a bit too much for my taste and somehow did not leave room enough for more interesting parts. I missed the long dialogues and interactions between Fox & Jacob, although there was a good reason they kept apart this time. I had the impression Jacob didn’t get that much screen time.
Still I have to sing high praises. I like Cornelia Funke’s books better with each one. Her world-building is marvelous, her characters are just wonderful. We meet new characters and old acquaintances. Especially I liked that Chanute was in the game again and had a bigger part than last time. We leave Albion and Austria to visit Varangia in the east. Thus there is a whole lot of new treasures, creatures and magic to discover. Again, Funke’s writing is very descriptive and you can see everything quite clearly.
The characters are evolving further, too. I really liked Jacob and Fox tormenting themselves and loved the part where Fox finally gets some independence from Jacob, pity, I kind of liked Orlando a lot. Oh yes and:
It is such a nice, wonderful and enchanting reading experience. I just had a little reading slump and couldn’t get myself to picking a new one up. This one got me right back on track. Of course Funke has her own writing style. If you have never read one of her books before, you have to get used to it a bit, but it is very nice and cozy. And I think she tuned down her use of analogies a bit. (Drove me nuts in the first book actually)
It was too short. And here you have it again, my complete and inner torment with the literature franchises. This is so not cool. Always the obsession with dividing a story, what could be done in one or two books, into seven…Ok, ok, I hear you. I’m stopping right here! It is frustrating to wait 2 years or more for the next one.
Oh yes my friends, there will be a next one and I am pretty sure Cornelia Funke is enjoying herself in this fairy-tale world far too much, to give it up quite yet. I am counting on at least two more. And she is already working on the next I heard.
Imaginative, romantic, mysterious. Perhaps a bit more content next time? Make the pages thinner and the words smaller, no problem. (You can see through the pages of my War and Peace edition…crazy!)
Final word:
Just read it!
(4.5 stars)
This review appeared also on mybook blog bookfrog.net.
It is such a great world Funke built up in the Reckless series. Also the characters are wonderful and thoroughly developed. You know how to work out, if a book is really good? When you read and read and the remaining pages diminish, you are devastated, because you only have about 200 pages left! And you wished there were another 500 pages. that doesn’t happen with bad books. (Ok, it also happens when you read a good book that is damn hard to read…believe me, reading War and Peace…you do not wish there were a 500 pages more of it to read.) Anyhow, this is the main fault I see here. The book is very easy to read through and somehow you could definitely have more of it.
The story picks up some unknown time (some days or some weeks) where book two ended. Jacob and Fox are still in Jacob’s world. They get to NYC to visit Will and Clara, also Jacob wants to pay the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City) a visit in order to get rid of the crossbow for some time.
Fox decides to return to the Mirrorworld without Jacob, not feeling very comfortable there. After a visit in the MET and a not so nice meeting with a strange girl and a taxi’s bumper, Jacob ends up in a strange house, finally meeting Johann Norebo Earlking, who helped him save Fox from the Bluebeard in the last book. Back then Jacob agreed to pay a prize, which Earlking would ask him in the future. Only then Earlking would tell him the
way through the Bluebeard’s labyrinth. Earlking tells him what he wants, which leaves Jacob devastated and he is now more decided than ever about suppressing his feelings.
Will is also dragged in to the Mirrorworld again, going on a hunt together with Nerron. He, too is manipulated by Earlking, who wants him to do a dark deed for him.
Kami’en’s and Amalie’s baby is born, but vanishes and everyone suspects the Dark Fairy. She flees, going on her own hunt to find something that will free her.
So we do have a lot of different plot line this time, which is a bit bothersome sometimes, because often you feel pulled out in order to read about something, which doesn’t interest you that much at the moment. The many different POVs were a bit too much for my taste and somehow did not leave room enough for more interesting parts. I missed the long dialogues and interactions between Fox & Jacob, although there was a good reason they kept apart this time. I had the impression Jacob didn’t get that much screen time.
Still I have to sing high praises. I like Cornelia Funke’s books better with each one. Her world-building is marvelous, her characters are just wonderful. We meet new characters and old acquaintances. Especially I liked that Chanute was in the game again and had a bigger part than last time. We leave Albion and Austria to visit Varangia in the east. Thus there is a whole lot of new treasures, creatures and magic to discover. Again, Funke’s writing is very descriptive and you can see everything quite clearly.
The characters are evolving further, too. I really liked Jacob and Fox tormenting themselves and loved the part where Fox finally gets some independence from Jacob, pity, I kind of liked Orlando a lot. Oh yes and:
It is such a nice, wonderful and enchanting reading experience. I just had a little reading slump and couldn’t get myself to picking a new one up. This one got me right back on track. Of course Funke has her own writing style. If you have never read one of her books before, you have to get used to it a bit, but it is very nice and cozy. And I think she tuned down her use of analogies a bit. (Drove me nuts in the first book actually)
It was too short. And here you have it again, my complete and inner torment with the literature franchises. This is so not cool. Always the obsession with dividing a story, what could be done in one or two books, into seven…Ok, ok, I hear you. I’m stopping right here! It is frustrating to wait 2 years or more for the next one.
Oh yes my friends, there will be a next one and I am pretty sure Cornelia Funke is enjoying herself in this fairy-tale world far too much, to give it up quite yet. I am counting on at least two more. And she is already working on the next I heard.
Imaginative, romantic, mysterious. Perhaps a bit more content next time? Make the pages thinner and the words smaller, no problem. (You can see through the pages of my War and Peace edition…crazy!)
Final word:
Just read it!
(4.5 stars)
This review appeared also on mybook blog bookfrog.net.
October 18, 2020
"Ob Pflanze, Tier oder Mensch - das Leben zwang jeden, zu lernen und zu wachsen. Je öfter man davor davonlief, desto schwerer wurde der Weg. Und gehen musste man ihn trotzdem." S. 144
Zum Inhalt
(Achtung! SPOILER zu den Vorgängern)
Jacob Reckless und seine Gefährtin Fuchs besuchen seinen Bruder Will und dessen Freundin Clara in unserer Welt. Vor allem Fuchs kommt sich hier sehr verloren vor, aber auch Jacob zieht es in die Spiegelwelt zurück, doch zuvor muss er die Armbrust verstecken, eine mächtige Zauberwaffe der Erlelfen. Während Fuchs durch den Spiegel geht, möchte Jacob noch die Waffe sicher aufbewahrt wissen und ihr am nächsten Tag folgen - doch sie wartet wieder einmal vergeblich.
John Reckless, der Vater von Jacob und Will, ist in der Spiegelwelt unter dem Namen Isambard Brunel bekannt. Seine lange Gefangenschaft bei den Goyls hat ihm sehr zugesetzt. Da Lothringen und Albion nun eine Allianz gegen die Goyls gebildet haben, kann er seine Rachepläne in die Tat umsetzen und spielt diesen Pläne für technische Waffen aus unserer Welt zu.
Zur selben Zeit bringt die Puppenprinzessin Amalie das Kind von Kami´en zur Welt, das allerdings nur mit Hilfe der Dunklen Fee überleben kann. Als kurz darauf der neugeborene Mondsteinprinz direkt aus der Wiege entführt wird, fällt Amalies Verdacht sofort auf die Dunkle und es entbrennt eine regelrechte Treibjagd, die selbst Kami´en nicht verhindern kann, da er weit entfernt in kriegerische Aufstände verwickelt ist.
Aber nicht nur Amalies Schergen sind hinter der Fee her. Der "Spieler", Johann Norebo Earlking, fordert seine Schulden ein und Will muss noch einmal in die Spiegelwelt zurückkehren.
Meine Meinung
Erstmal muss ich zum Cover sagen, dass es mir mit den dieses Mal sanften Farben wieder sehr gut gefällt. Vor allem liebe ich es ja, wenn man den Schutzumschlag abmacht und kein "nacktes" Buch in Händen hält - hier wiederholt sich das Bild auf dem Einband. Aber auch innen sind die Kapitelanfänge wieder mit den liebevollen schwarz/weiß Zeichnungen der Autorin illustriert, was mir einen intensiveren Bezug zu den Charakteren geschenkt hat.
Es ist jetzt ungefährt ein Jahr her, seit ich die beiden Vorgänger gelesen habe und ich kam wieder gut in die Geschichte rein. Kleine Anspielungen auf die Vorgeschichte haben mir alles nochmal ins Gedächtnis gerufen und ich bin mehr und mehr in der Spiegelwelt versunken. Das ist so ein Buch, das ich langsam lesen musste. Der Schreibstil von Cornelia Funke ist so malerisch bezaubernd, dass man kein Wort einfach nur überfliegen will. Wortspielereien, Schnipsel aus Mythen und Märchen und ein Netz aus Metaphern haben mich von Anfang an gefangen genommen.
Jedes Kapitel ist aus einer anderen Perspektive geschrieben und es gibt viele davon. Das ist aber nicht verwirrend, sondern zeigt die verschiedenen Persönlichkeiten, die in die Suche von Jacob Reckless verstrickt sind. Man hat Jacob als Schatzjäger kennengelernt, immer in Begleitung von Fuchs, dem kleinen Mädchen, das ihm nie von der Seite weicht. Doch aus ihr ist eine Frau geworden und auch sie trägt eine Sehnsucht in sich, die es Jacob nicht leicht macht, seinen Weg zu gehen. Denn wonach er auch immer sucht, er muss sich erst einmal bewusst werden, was er sich zu finden erhofft.
Auch sein Bruder Will ist sich noch nicht klar darüber und er verstrickt sich in den Fängen von uralten Mächten, die seit Jahrhunderten ihr eigenes Spiel spielen.
Man erfährt einiges über Jacobs Vergangenheit, Hintergründe kristallisieren sich heraus und enthüllen, wer die Fäden zieht. Cornelia Funke versteht es, alles perfekt miteinander zu verbinden und mich mit jeder Seite tiefer in diese Welt hinein zu ziehen. Vor allem auch die Verbindungen zu alten Legenden lassen eine ganz besondere Atmosphäre entstehen, die mich fasziniert und berührt hat. Gerade auch die Beziehung zwischen Jacob und Fuchs, so einfach und doch so kompliziert hat mich sehr bewegt.
Vor allem Fuchs ist hier nicht das typisch naive Dummchen, das man aus so vielen Büchern kennt. Sie weiß ganz genau, wie Jacob fühlt und was ihn umtreibt. Es gibt keine unnötigen Missverständnisse, weil sie in ihm lesen kann wie in einem Buch. Auch sie hat schwerwiegende Entscheidungen zu treffen und selbst wenn sie auf ihr Herz hört, gibt es Zeiten, in denen sie nicht sicher ist, was es ihr zuflüstert. Alles, was sie tut ist nachvollziehbar, menschlich und ich hatte doch einige Male Tränen in den Augen, weil sie so eine zarte und doch starke Seele besitzt.
Aber auch die anderen Figuren hadern mit ihrem Schicksal. Sei es Kami´en, dem alles aus den Händen gleitet, die Dunkle Fee, die ihre einzige Liebe verloren hat, der Bastard, der immer nur seinen Schätzen nachjagd oder Will, der nicht weiß, was er wirklich will.
Die Gedanken der Figuren werden gekonnt in kleinen Sätzen eingestreut, so dass man mal mehr, mal weniger hinter ihre Maske schauen kann. Die Autorin trifft hier immer das richtige Gleichgewicht; direkt oder auch in Andeutungen und Gesten kann sie so viel ausdrücken, dass sich die Bilder im Kopf ganz von alleine formen. Ich hab so viele wunderschöne Kreationen gefunden, Sätze, die einem auf der Zunge zergehen, dass ich euch am liebesten das halbe Buch zitieren würde. Deshalb: Lest diese Geschichte, wenn ihr von der Magie hinter dem Spiegel verzaubert werden wollt.
Fazit
Ein wunderschöner, gelungener dritter Teil der Reckless Reihe, der mich von der ersten Seite an gefesselt hat. Abenteuer, Spannung, Magie und die Suche nach Liebe haben mich in eine verzauberte Welt entführt, die mich lange nicht loslassen wird.
© Aleshanee
Weltenwanderer
Reckless Reihe
1 - Steinernes Fleisch
2 - Lebendige Schatten
3 - Das goldene Garn
4 -
5 -
6 -
Zum Inhalt
(Achtung! SPOILER zu den Vorgängern)
Jacob Reckless und seine Gefährtin Fuchs besuchen seinen Bruder Will und dessen Freundin Clara in unserer Welt. Vor allem Fuchs kommt sich hier sehr verloren vor, aber auch Jacob zieht es in die Spiegelwelt zurück, doch zuvor muss er die Armbrust verstecken, eine mächtige Zauberwaffe der Erlelfen. Während Fuchs durch den Spiegel geht, möchte Jacob noch die Waffe sicher aufbewahrt wissen und ihr am nächsten Tag folgen - doch sie wartet wieder einmal vergeblich.
John Reckless, der Vater von Jacob und Will, ist in der Spiegelwelt unter dem Namen Isambard Brunel bekannt. Seine lange Gefangenschaft bei den Goyls hat ihm sehr zugesetzt. Da Lothringen und Albion nun eine Allianz gegen die Goyls gebildet haben, kann er seine Rachepläne in die Tat umsetzen und spielt diesen Pläne für technische Waffen aus unserer Welt zu.
Zur selben Zeit bringt die Puppenprinzessin Amalie das Kind von Kami´en zur Welt, das allerdings nur mit Hilfe der Dunklen Fee überleben kann. Als kurz darauf der neugeborene Mondsteinprinz direkt aus der Wiege entführt wird, fällt Amalies Verdacht sofort auf die Dunkle und es entbrennt eine regelrechte Treibjagd, die selbst Kami´en nicht verhindern kann, da er weit entfernt in kriegerische Aufstände verwickelt ist.
Aber nicht nur Amalies Schergen sind hinter der Fee her. Der "Spieler", Johann Norebo Earlking, fordert seine Schulden ein und Will muss noch einmal in die Spiegelwelt zurückkehren.
Meine Meinung
Erstmal muss ich zum Cover sagen, dass es mir mit den dieses Mal sanften Farben wieder sehr gut gefällt. Vor allem liebe ich es ja, wenn man den Schutzumschlag abmacht und kein "nacktes" Buch in Händen hält - hier wiederholt sich das Bild auf dem Einband. Aber auch innen sind die Kapitelanfänge wieder mit den liebevollen schwarz/weiß Zeichnungen der Autorin illustriert, was mir einen intensiveren Bezug zu den Charakteren geschenkt hat.
Es ist jetzt ungefährt ein Jahr her, seit ich die beiden Vorgänger gelesen habe und ich kam wieder gut in die Geschichte rein. Kleine Anspielungen auf die Vorgeschichte haben mir alles nochmal ins Gedächtnis gerufen und ich bin mehr und mehr in der Spiegelwelt versunken. Das ist so ein Buch, das ich langsam lesen musste. Der Schreibstil von Cornelia Funke ist so malerisch bezaubernd, dass man kein Wort einfach nur überfliegen will. Wortspielereien, Schnipsel aus Mythen und Märchen und ein Netz aus Metaphern haben mich von Anfang an gefangen genommen.
Jedes Kapitel ist aus einer anderen Perspektive geschrieben und es gibt viele davon. Das ist aber nicht verwirrend, sondern zeigt die verschiedenen Persönlichkeiten, die in die Suche von Jacob Reckless verstrickt sind. Man hat Jacob als Schatzjäger kennengelernt, immer in Begleitung von Fuchs, dem kleinen Mädchen, das ihm nie von der Seite weicht. Doch aus ihr ist eine Frau geworden und auch sie trägt eine Sehnsucht in sich, die es Jacob nicht leicht macht, seinen Weg zu gehen. Denn wonach er auch immer sucht, er muss sich erst einmal bewusst werden, was er sich zu finden erhofft.
Auch sein Bruder Will ist sich noch nicht klar darüber und er verstrickt sich in den Fängen von uralten Mächten, die seit Jahrhunderten ihr eigenes Spiel spielen.
Man erfährt einiges über Jacobs Vergangenheit, Hintergründe kristallisieren sich heraus und enthüllen, wer die Fäden zieht. Cornelia Funke versteht es, alles perfekt miteinander zu verbinden und mich mit jeder Seite tiefer in diese Welt hinein zu ziehen. Vor allem auch die Verbindungen zu alten Legenden lassen eine ganz besondere Atmosphäre entstehen, die mich fasziniert und berührt hat. Gerade auch die Beziehung zwischen Jacob und Fuchs, so einfach und doch so kompliziert hat mich sehr bewegt.
Vor allem Fuchs ist hier nicht das typisch naive Dummchen, das man aus so vielen Büchern kennt. Sie weiß ganz genau, wie Jacob fühlt und was ihn umtreibt. Es gibt keine unnötigen Missverständnisse, weil sie in ihm lesen kann wie in einem Buch. Auch sie hat schwerwiegende Entscheidungen zu treffen und selbst wenn sie auf ihr Herz hört, gibt es Zeiten, in denen sie nicht sicher ist, was es ihr zuflüstert. Alles, was sie tut ist nachvollziehbar, menschlich und ich hatte doch einige Male Tränen in den Augen, weil sie so eine zarte und doch starke Seele besitzt.
Aber auch die anderen Figuren hadern mit ihrem Schicksal. Sei es Kami´en, dem alles aus den Händen gleitet, die Dunkle Fee, die ihre einzige Liebe verloren hat, der Bastard, der immer nur seinen Schätzen nachjagd oder Will, der nicht weiß, was er wirklich will.
Die Gedanken der Figuren werden gekonnt in kleinen Sätzen eingestreut, so dass man mal mehr, mal weniger hinter ihre Maske schauen kann. Die Autorin trifft hier immer das richtige Gleichgewicht; direkt oder auch in Andeutungen und Gesten kann sie so viel ausdrücken, dass sich die Bilder im Kopf ganz von alleine formen. Ich hab so viele wunderschöne Kreationen gefunden, Sätze, die einem auf der Zunge zergehen, dass ich euch am liebesten das halbe Buch zitieren würde. Deshalb: Lest diese Geschichte, wenn ihr von der Magie hinter dem Spiegel verzaubert werden wollt.
Fazit
Ein wunderschöner, gelungener dritter Teil der Reckless Reihe, der mich von der ersten Seite an gefesselt hat. Abenteuer, Spannung, Magie und die Suche nach Liebe haben mich in eine verzauberte Welt entführt, die mich lange nicht loslassen wird.
© Aleshanee
Weltenwanderer
Reckless Reihe
1 - Steinernes Fleisch
2 - Lebendige Schatten
3 - Das goldene Garn
4 -
5 -
6 -
July 15, 2018
Recensione pubblicata su Cronache di Betelgeuse
Jacob e Volpe ci avevano lasciato con il fiato sospeso nell’avventura precedente. E riprendiamo le vicende proprio dove si era concluso il libro precedente, con un nuovo e pericoloso avversario. Ovviamente aver recuperato un’arma incredibile e potente rischia di attirare troppe attenzioni, specie se non si sa bene come maneggiarla.
Jacob purtroppo dimostra ancora una volta come il desiderio e la realtà siano due cose completamente differenti. Il nostro protagonista vorrebbe solo godersi la felicità dopo essere sopravvissuto a una terribile condanna, ma qualcuno non è dello stesso avviso. Il suo carattere ostinato, molto utile nelle avventure più pericolose, può rivelarsi un’arma a doppio taglio nei suoi rapporti con Volpe. In alcuni casi ho visto Jacob molto scostante, non riesce a capire come riuscire a conciliare il suo cuore e ciò che invece gli dice l’istinto.
Volpe invece è cresciuta ed è maturata grazie anche a tutte le vicissitudini che ha dovuto affrontare. Il suo nuovo approccio alla vita mi è piaciuto un sacco. Ha capito che se vuole qualcosa, deve lottare per ottenerla e non sarà mai indolore. Scopriamo qualcosa in più sul suo passato e appare sempre più come un personaggio complesso e sfaccettato. Volpe è una costante nella vita di Jacob, quasi quanto suo fratello, ed è giunto finalmente il momento in cui può dimostrare quanto vale.
Il mondo oltre lo Specchio nasconde alcuni aspetti che non avremmo immaginato. La guerra che è sempre rimasta sullo sfondo delle vicende di Jacob sembra quasi scomparire in confronto al nuovo conflitto che si sta delineando all’orizzonte. La magia e le antiche credenze diventano fondamentali per capire come affrontare il nuovo nemico.
Le rivelazioni però sono la caratteristica fondamentale di questo libro. Rimaniamo costantemente stupiti per gli indizi e le curiosità disseminate nella trama. Questo fa immaginare che nei prossimi libri avremo un universo ancora più ricco.
Jacob e Volpe ci avevano lasciato con il fiato sospeso nell’avventura precedente. E riprendiamo le vicende proprio dove si era concluso il libro precedente, con un nuovo e pericoloso avversario. Ovviamente aver recuperato un’arma incredibile e potente rischia di attirare troppe attenzioni, specie se non si sa bene come maneggiarla.
Jacob purtroppo dimostra ancora una volta come il desiderio e la realtà siano due cose completamente differenti. Il nostro protagonista vorrebbe solo godersi la felicità dopo essere sopravvissuto a una terribile condanna, ma qualcuno non è dello stesso avviso. Il suo carattere ostinato, molto utile nelle avventure più pericolose, può rivelarsi un’arma a doppio taglio nei suoi rapporti con Volpe. In alcuni casi ho visto Jacob molto scostante, non riesce a capire come riuscire a conciliare il suo cuore e ciò che invece gli dice l’istinto.
Volpe invece è cresciuta ed è maturata grazie anche a tutte le vicissitudini che ha dovuto affrontare. Il suo nuovo approccio alla vita mi è piaciuto un sacco. Ha capito che se vuole qualcosa, deve lottare per ottenerla e non sarà mai indolore. Scopriamo qualcosa in più sul suo passato e appare sempre più come un personaggio complesso e sfaccettato. Volpe è una costante nella vita di Jacob, quasi quanto suo fratello, ed è giunto finalmente il momento in cui può dimostrare quanto vale.
Il mondo oltre lo Specchio nasconde alcuni aspetti che non avremmo immaginato. La guerra che è sempre rimasta sullo sfondo delle vicende di Jacob sembra quasi scomparire in confronto al nuovo conflitto che si sta delineando all’orizzonte. La magia e le antiche credenze diventano fondamentali per capire come affrontare il nuovo nemico.
Le rivelazioni però sono la caratteristica fondamentale di questo libro. Rimaniamo costantemente stupiti per gli indizi e le curiosità disseminate nella trama. Questo fa immaginare che nei prossimi libri avremo un universo ancora più ricco.
May 16, 2016
Sin dudarlo se lleva la más alta calificación. Funke está hilando una de las mejores historias que he leído: ha creado un mundo donde conviven los seres fantásticos de las tradiciones antiquísimas de los cuentos de hadas y conviven sin perder un ápice de lo que las hace ser quienes son. Brujas, hadas, gnomos, duendes, animales fantásticos. Un mundo en el que todo quisiéramos estar. Desarrolla los personajes de tal manera que casi se pueden tocar, ver, oler. Y la historia de amor que se desarrolla es tan épica que lloro, me estremezco y quiero encontrar algún día algo así. Más que recomendable.
December 22, 2021
3.5
Nicht so gut wie die beiden vorherigen Bände, aber trotzdem eine schöne Fortsetzung 😊
Nicht so gut wie die beiden vorherigen Bände, aber trotzdem eine schöne Fortsetzung 😊
February 20, 2020
Was für ein Ende! Und nun muss ich bis zum Herbst warten, dass es endlich weitergeht 😣 Auch beim dritten Band kann und will ich nicht anders als 5 Sterne vergeben! Ich mag einfach alles an dieser Geschichte!
May 24, 2022
Grandioas gelesen von Rainer Strecker!
Diese Reihe hat mich schon vor Jahren begeistert und tut es immer noch. Einfach fabelhaft, wie Cornelia Funke alte Märchen, Legenden und Sagen in dieser spannenden Abenteuergeschichte verwebt. Alle Figuren, selbst die Gegenspieler, gehen ans Herz und sind so vielschichtig, dass ich einfach bei jedem Handlungsstrang mitfühlen kann.
Diese Reihe hat mich schon vor Jahren begeistert und tut es immer noch. Einfach fabelhaft, wie Cornelia Funke alte Märchen, Legenden und Sagen in dieser spannenden Abenteuergeschichte verwebt. Alle Figuren, selbst die Gegenspieler, gehen ans Herz und sind so vielschichtig, dass ich einfach bei jedem Handlungsstrang mitfühlen kann.
February 7, 2017
I feel like this series keeps getting better and better. Maybe it's because the plot is more exciting to me or maybe because I finally start to grow on the characters, even the "bad" ones, because they're getting more layers. I just know that I can't wait for the next book. I don't want to spoil anything since the book isn't out yet in the US. I just want to say: If you liked the first two books you're gonna love this one even more :)
March 8, 2017
This might be my favorite book of the year and one of my new favorite book series. This is just so good and eerie and amazing! I'm in love.
February 3, 2017
Reseña de toda la saga hasta el momento
http://plusbits.mx/reckless/
Mi amor por Cornelia Funke no es secreto ni nada nuevo. Cornelia llegó a mi vida cuando el Fondo de Cultura Económica decidió sacar ediciones más económicas de sus libros, que agonizaban porque Siruela los tenía tan caros que no podías ni soñar en comprarlos. Desde entonces, hemos tenido un idilio: a mí me gustan la mayoría de sus personas (exceptuando Muerte de tinta) y los compro todos religiosamente mientras van saliendo. A Reckless ―al menos a su primera parte― me lo encontré casi de casualidad; desde la portada no se parecía a nada que Cornelia Funke hubiera escrito antes, aunque en la sinopsis había un rastro de aquellos mundos fantásticos que tiende a crear. Su protagonista, sin embargo,esta vez es un adulto y uno con el que puede resultar difícil idenfiticarse. Jacob Reckless es un cazatesoros que no tiene muchos escrúpulos a la hora de engañar a los gobernantes, robar y salirse con la suya. Desde los doce años se escabulle al mundo detrás del espejo que estaba en el despacho de su desaparecido padre y se construye una reputación bastante buena (o mala, según a quién preguntes) como cazatesoros.
Sin embargo, sus problemas empiezan cuando Will intenta seguirlo detrás del espejo y acaba, de alguna manera «infectado» por la piel de los goyl, criaturas con piel de piedras preciosas, ónix, amatista y como la piel de Will, jade. Cornelia Funke no nos explica nada de su mundo antes de empezar a contarnos la historia, no, nos da un puñetazo en la cara con él. Uno de esos raros puñetazos en la cara que acaban sintiéndose bien, porque la experiencia es diferente, vamos descubriendo el mundo conforme la historia avanza, sus leyendas, sus cuentos, su geografía y sus problemas políticos. Nos encontramos ante un mundo donde nadie rescató a la Bella Durmiente y la enfermedad de Blancanieves ―que abandonó al príncipe por uno de los enanos― es algo serio. Es un mundo escalofriante pero, de alguna manera, atrayente. Uno de los puntos a favor que me encontré es que no estamos ante el típico mundo medieval de los libros de fantasía épica, estamos más bien ante un mundo en el que se respira un aire Victoriano con los primeros avances de modernidad… ¡incluso hay aviones rudimentarios!
Cornelia Funke es fantástica a la hora de sumergirnos en la historia de los dos hermanos, Jacob y Will Reckless, acompañados por Fux, la fiel cambiaformas que sigue a Jacob y le ha salvado la vida más de una vez y Clara, novia de Will, dispuesta a ir hasta el fin del mundo para recuperar a la persona que ama. El elenco de personajes es siempre variado, desde los más detestables cobardes, los villanos más horripilantes y las amantes más manipuladoras, como el Hada Oscura, que ha convencido a Kami’en, Rey de los Goyl, las criaturas con piel de piedras preciosas, que salga a la superficie y conquiste las tierras humanas. Entre tal elenco, Cornelia Funke va hilando una historia mucho más complicada de lo que parece en un principio y, poco a poco, entre las motivaciones de todos los personajes, sus contradicciones, las relaciones que entablan, vemos como se va tejiendo una historia de dimensiones monstruosas.
La prosa de Cornelia Funke es tan envolvente, tan poética a veces y capaz de reflejar los sentimientos de todos los personajes y darle humanidad incluso a los más inhumanos, como los son las hadas, que no puedes parar de leer. No importa lo mucho que odies al personaje o que le desees una muerte lenta, quieres saber qué pasa. Al menos, a mí me ocurrió así. La narrativa cambia un poco con respecto a sus otros libros (El jinete del dragón y la trilogía del Mundo de Tinta), aquí parece más adulta, como sus personajes, llenos de dilemas y contradicciones.
Toda la historia tiene su propia mitología y, en tres libros, sientes que conoces muy poco en realidad, que el mundo es tan basto, que necesitarías libros enormes para conocer toda la mitología, las leyendas y las historias. La magia en el mundo de Cornelia Funke es engañosa y las brujas pueden ser buenas o malas, existen los devorahumanos, padres que cambian el rostro de sus hijos por uno más bello si no les gusta demasiado aquel con el que nacieron, temibles Baba Yagas que ponen el cráneo de aquellos que han osado robarles en la puerta de sus casas. Las hadas, bellas criaturas que hacen a los hombres perder el sentido común, no se quedan atrás. El Hada Oscura es parte de las intrigas palaciegas en los libros, la responsable que Will Reckless tenga piel de jade, sin embargo, no es lo peor entre las hadas, que odian sentirse traicionadas y están muy dispuestas a usar a sus amantes en su beneficio. Los objetos mágicos están por todas partes, alfombras, ballestas encantadas, supuestas campanas que devuelven la vida a los muertos… Muchos, en el mundo de Reckless, pagarían sumas extraordinarias de dinero por poseer alguna de aquellas maravillas.
Además, la trama siempre tiene un ritmo trepidante, nunca le proporciona un descanso al lector. Incluso cuando los personajes parecen alcanzar un descanso están ocurriendo cosas, las intrigas avanzan, hay traiciones en cada esquina. Estos libros me recuerdan un poco a la fantasía que últimamente me cuesta trabajo encontrar. Fantasía llena de acción, personajes que se salen de los prototipos del príncipe encantador y la damisela en apuros. Los libros resultan un soplo fresco, siempre con nuevas incógnitas surgiendo. Con Cornelia Funke, siempre se tiene la impresión de que la historia es mucho más complicada de lo que te está mostrando, pero al leer, nunca se siente demasiado enrevesado, gracias a la manera tan simple que tiene de narrar y lo fácil que se pone en la piel de sus personajes.
Durante tres libros ocurren muchas cosas y es agradable ver como los personajes van cambiando y se van desarrollando. Los cambios son demasiado evidentes en todos. Nunca se sienten demasiado bruscos, pues vemos como van madurando conforme la historia avanza, como tienen remordimientos o, por el contrario, los pierden. Ningún personaje permanece igual durante los tres libros, ni siquiera los secundarios, que tienen un desarrollo, aunque este sea menor.
Y ya, antes de que siga yo hablando demasiado, sólo me falta decir que la edición de los libros, con las ilustraciones y los mapas de la autora es preciosa. Las ilustraciones aparecen al principio de todos los capítulos y siempre tienen relación con este. Realmente mi única queja con respecto a los libros es que, por alguna razón desconocida para mí, eligieron dejar la puntuación de todas las comillas a la manera inglesa ¡y estamos hablando de un libro en español! Pero de todos modos, eso no empaña demasiado la lectura, porque lo importante es la historia que Cornelia Funke está por contar. Existen tres libros publicados: Reckless, Sombras Vivientes y El hilo de oro, pero habrá, al menos, dos más. A estos personajes todavía les queda mucha vida.
http://plusbits.mx/reckless/
Mi amor por Cornelia Funke no es secreto ni nada nuevo. Cornelia llegó a mi vida cuando el Fondo de Cultura Económica decidió sacar ediciones más económicas de sus libros, que agonizaban porque Siruela los tenía tan caros que no podías ni soñar en comprarlos. Desde entonces, hemos tenido un idilio: a mí me gustan la mayoría de sus personas (exceptuando Muerte de tinta) y los compro todos religiosamente mientras van saliendo. A Reckless ―al menos a su primera parte― me lo encontré casi de casualidad; desde la portada no se parecía a nada que Cornelia Funke hubiera escrito antes, aunque en la sinopsis había un rastro de aquellos mundos fantásticos que tiende a crear. Su protagonista, sin embargo,esta vez es un adulto y uno con el que puede resultar difícil idenfiticarse. Jacob Reckless es un cazatesoros que no tiene muchos escrúpulos a la hora de engañar a los gobernantes, robar y salirse con la suya. Desde los doce años se escabulle al mundo detrás del espejo que estaba en el despacho de su desaparecido padre y se construye una reputación bastante buena (o mala, según a quién preguntes) como cazatesoros.
Sin embargo, sus problemas empiezan cuando Will intenta seguirlo detrás del espejo y acaba, de alguna manera «infectado» por la piel de los goyl, criaturas con piel de piedras preciosas, ónix, amatista y como la piel de Will, jade. Cornelia Funke no nos explica nada de su mundo antes de empezar a contarnos la historia, no, nos da un puñetazo en la cara con él. Uno de esos raros puñetazos en la cara que acaban sintiéndose bien, porque la experiencia es diferente, vamos descubriendo el mundo conforme la historia avanza, sus leyendas, sus cuentos, su geografía y sus problemas políticos. Nos encontramos ante un mundo donde nadie rescató a la Bella Durmiente y la enfermedad de Blancanieves ―que abandonó al príncipe por uno de los enanos― es algo serio. Es un mundo escalofriante pero, de alguna manera, atrayente. Uno de los puntos a favor que me encontré es que no estamos ante el típico mundo medieval de los libros de fantasía épica, estamos más bien ante un mundo en el que se respira un aire Victoriano con los primeros avances de modernidad… ¡incluso hay aviones rudimentarios!
Cornelia Funke es fantástica a la hora de sumergirnos en la historia de los dos hermanos, Jacob y Will Reckless, acompañados por Fux, la fiel cambiaformas que sigue a Jacob y le ha salvado la vida más de una vez y Clara, novia de Will, dispuesta a ir hasta el fin del mundo para recuperar a la persona que ama. El elenco de personajes es siempre variado, desde los más detestables cobardes, los villanos más horripilantes y las amantes más manipuladoras, como el Hada Oscura, que ha convencido a Kami’en, Rey de los Goyl, las criaturas con piel de piedras preciosas, que salga a la superficie y conquiste las tierras humanas. Entre tal elenco, Cornelia Funke va hilando una historia mucho más complicada de lo que parece en un principio y, poco a poco, entre las motivaciones de todos los personajes, sus contradicciones, las relaciones que entablan, vemos como se va tejiendo una historia de dimensiones monstruosas.
La prosa de Cornelia Funke es tan envolvente, tan poética a veces y capaz de reflejar los sentimientos de todos los personajes y darle humanidad incluso a los más inhumanos, como los son las hadas, que no puedes parar de leer. No importa lo mucho que odies al personaje o que le desees una muerte lenta, quieres saber qué pasa. Al menos, a mí me ocurrió así. La narrativa cambia un poco con respecto a sus otros libros (El jinete del dragón y la trilogía del Mundo de Tinta), aquí parece más adulta, como sus personajes, llenos de dilemas y contradicciones.
Toda la historia tiene su propia mitología y, en tres libros, sientes que conoces muy poco en realidad, que el mundo es tan basto, que necesitarías libros enormes para conocer toda la mitología, las leyendas y las historias. La magia en el mundo de Cornelia Funke es engañosa y las brujas pueden ser buenas o malas, existen los devorahumanos, padres que cambian el rostro de sus hijos por uno más bello si no les gusta demasiado aquel con el que nacieron, temibles Baba Yagas que ponen el cráneo de aquellos que han osado robarles en la puerta de sus casas. Las hadas, bellas criaturas que hacen a los hombres perder el sentido común, no se quedan atrás. El Hada Oscura es parte de las intrigas palaciegas en los libros, la responsable que Will Reckless tenga piel de jade, sin embargo, no es lo peor entre las hadas, que odian sentirse traicionadas y están muy dispuestas a usar a sus amantes en su beneficio. Los objetos mágicos están por todas partes, alfombras, ballestas encantadas, supuestas campanas que devuelven la vida a los muertos… Muchos, en el mundo de Reckless, pagarían sumas extraordinarias de dinero por poseer alguna de aquellas maravillas.
Además, la trama siempre tiene un ritmo trepidante, nunca le proporciona un descanso al lector. Incluso cuando los personajes parecen alcanzar un descanso están ocurriendo cosas, las intrigas avanzan, hay traiciones en cada esquina. Estos libros me recuerdan un poco a la fantasía que últimamente me cuesta trabajo encontrar. Fantasía llena de acción, personajes que se salen de los prototipos del príncipe encantador y la damisela en apuros. Los libros resultan un soplo fresco, siempre con nuevas incógnitas surgiendo. Con Cornelia Funke, siempre se tiene la impresión de que la historia es mucho más complicada de lo que te está mostrando, pero al leer, nunca se siente demasiado enrevesado, gracias a la manera tan simple que tiene de narrar y lo fácil que se pone en la piel de sus personajes.
Durante tres libros ocurren muchas cosas y es agradable ver como los personajes van cambiando y se van desarrollando. Los cambios son demasiado evidentes en todos. Nunca se sienten demasiado bruscos, pues vemos como van madurando conforme la historia avanza, como tienen remordimientos o, por el contrario, los pierden. Ningún personaje permanece igual durante los tres libros, ni siquiera los secundarios, que tienen un desarrollo, aunque este sea menor.
Y ya, antes de que siga yo hablando demasiado, sólo me falta decir que la edición de los libros, con las ilustraciones y los mapas de la autora es preciosa. Las ilustraciones aparecen al principio de todos los capítulos y siempre tienen relación con este. Realmente mi única queja con respecto a los libros es que, por alguna razón desconocida para mí, eligieron dejar la puntuación de todas las comillas a la manera inglesa ¡y estamos hablando de un libro en español! Pero de todos modos, eso no empaña demasiado la lectura, porque lo importante es la historia que Cornelia Funke está por contar. Existen tres libros publicados: Reckless, Sombras Vivientes y El hilo de oro, pero habrá, al menos, dos más. A estos personajes todavía les queda mucha vida.
May 22, 2023
Let’s hear it for book #50!
the plot was a little convoluted tbh, but i still had a good time. i’m honestly a fan of how short some of the chapters are - love the writing style as a whole
the plot was a little convoluted tbh, but i still had a good time. i’m honestly a fan of how short some of the chapters are - love the writing style as a whole
July 10, 2023
Eine neue Reise hinter den Spiegel bringt Jacob und Fuchs weit nach Osten. Sie und auch Jacobs Bruder Will sind Spielball uralter Mächte geworden, denn die Feen haben die Erlelfen aus der Welt hinter dem Spiegel verbannt. Aber diese haben immer schon ihre Rückkehr geplant und sie hatten Jahrhunderte Zeit dafür.
Wieder eine wunderschöne Reise in eine gefährliche Märchenwelt und voller Poesie. Auch wenn es für mich zwischendurch mal Längen hatte, reicht es immer noch locker für 4 ⭐.
Wieder eine wunderschöne Reise in eine gefährliche Märchenwelt und voller Poesie. Auch wenn es für mich zwischendurch mal Längen hatte, reicht es immer noch locker für 4 ⭐.
December 2, 2020
Reread 2020: Stimme noch immer mit meiner Meinung von 2015 überein: es geht einfach alles viel zu schnell und das ist schade, weil Figuren, Welt und Story richtig, richtig cool sind. Heute gebe ich nur noch glatte 4 Sterne.
______________________
4.5 Sterne
Am Anfang hagelt es zahlreiche Schläge ins Gesicht. Das wird eingeführt, jenes begriffen, solches ausgeführt und ein Stolperstein nach dem anderen in den Weg gelegt. Die Situation wirkte aussichtslos und beinahe überladen. Stück für Stück verläuft sich das am Ende alles und es ist ein wenig als würde die Flamme erstickt bevor sie in einem großen Feuerwerk enden kann.
Ich mochte den Weg, keine Frage, die neuen Ecken der Spiegelwelt (Russland, Baba Yaga, Zaren, haach) zu erkunden war ein Heidenspaß und wieder sehr originell erdacht und atmosphärisch beschrieben, aber die Schlüsselszenen passierten mir oft zu schnell. Überhaupt geht der Schreibstil an den wichtigen Stellen nicht genug ins Detail. Schwuppdiwupp, schon passiert und weiter durch die Spiegelwelt. Ich möchte gern öfter inne halten und das Erlebte auskosten und verarbeiten. Dazu gibt es zahlreiche Perspektiven von wichtigen Nebenfiguren (die Dunkle, Hentzau, Donnersmarck), die am Ende nur im Sande verlaufen.
In Sachen Fuchs und Jacob wurde ich ordentlich gequält. Dieser Windhund bzw. die Wildgans, meine Güte, hat der mich Nerven gekostet. Aber auch hier ging es mir ab einem gewissen Punkt (Stichwort Drachenskelett) zu schnell. Mehr Szenen, Gespräche und Emotionen bitte, Frau Funke. Das kann man nach der bücherlangen Quälerei nicht so im Raum stehen lassen.
Ich freue mich drauf die Geschichte pünktlich zum 4. Band erneut zu hören. Ich bin mir sicher, dass ich die russische Spiegelwelt dann besser genießen kann, weil ich nicht so versessen auf den Ausgang der Handlung sein werde.
______________________
4.5 Sterne
Am Anfang hagelt es zahlreiche Schläge ins Gesicht. Das wird eingeführt, jenes begriffen, solches ausgeführt und ein Stolperstein nach dem anderen in den Weg gelegt. Die Situation wirkte aussichtslos und beinahe überladen. Stück für Stück verläuft sich das am Ende alles und es ist ein wenig als würde die Flamme erstickt bevor sie in einem großen Feuerwerk enden kann.
Ich mochte den Weg, keine Frage, die neuen Ecken der Spiegelwelt (Russland, Baba Yaga, Zaren, haach) zu erkunden war ein Heidenspaß und wieder sehr originell erdacht und atmosphärisch beschrieben, aber die Schlüsselszenen passierten mir oft zu schnell. Überhaupt geht der Schreibstil an den wichtigen Stellen nicht genug ins Detail. Schwuppdiwupp, schon passiert und weiter durch die Spiegelwelt. Ich möchte gern öfter inne halten und das Erlebte auskosten und verarbeiten. Dazu gibt es zahlreiche Perspektiven von wichtigen Nebenfiguren (die Dunkle, Hentzau, Donnersmarck), die am Ende nur im Sande verlaufen.
In Sachen Fuchs und Jacob wurde ich ordentlich gequält. Dieser Windhund bzw. die Wildgans, meine Güte, hat der mich Nerven gekostet. Aber auch hier ging es mir ab einem gewissen Punkt (Stichwort Drachenskelett) zu schnell. Mehr Szenen, Gespräche und Emotionen bitte, Frau Funke. Das kann man nach der bücherlangen Quälerei nicht so im Raum stehen lassen.
Ich freue mich drauf die Geschichte pünktlich zum 4. Band erneut zu hören. Ich bin mir sicher, dass ich die russische Spiegelwelt dann besser genießen kann, weil ich nicht so versessen auf den Ausgang der Handlung sein werde.
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