Funke completes the trilogy that began with Inkheart (2003) in this long, eventful novel. Although the scene frequently shifts from one set of characters to another, there is rarely any relief from the sense of encroaching menace that takes many different forms. The unusually large cast is helpfully identified for readers in the appended eight-page, cross-referenced list of characters and places in the trilogy. Though some of the violent scenes are not for the fainthearted, readers who loved the detailed world building and the adventure in the earlier books will probably enjoy this one as well. Still, others will find it less satisfying than its predecessors. From the initial premise of a bookbinder who reads aloud so beautifully that he can draw a story's characters out of the pages and into his own world, the earlier volumes were booklovers' books. This one seems more plot driven, or perhaps driven by the necessity of bringing so many intertwined stories to a satisfying conclusion.

An enormous cast of characters parades in and out of this final installment of the trilogy, halting the pacing and complicating the plot, and also relegating Meggie's story line to a mere subplot. Nevertheless, the metafictional nature of the novel, coupled with its thematic exploration of mortality and its celebration of bookishness, should provide fans of the series with both comfort and closure.

A monumental third installment brings the Inkheart trilogy to a grueling, blood-spattered, mortality-obsessed close. The Inkworld is in disarray: Its author, Fenoglio, has lost his ability to write and, therefore, shape events; the odious Orpheus, however, has taken to recycling Fenoglio's words to control the narrative/world himself. The evil Adderhead, whose immortality was bound into the White Book by bookbinder-turned-people's champion Mo/the Bluejay, finds his body decomposing and demands a new Book; can Mo use the opportunity to end the villain's life altogether? Can Dustfinger come back from the dead? Will Resa's baby be born into peace or violence? Is Meggie falling out of love with Farid? (Thank goodness there's an A to Z of Names and Places!) Where the first volume was thoroughly young Meggie's story, this narrative alternates among a dizzying array of characters, most of whom are adults who betray distinctly adult concerns. While Funke's storytelling is as compelling as ever, the natural audience for this brooding saga seems, sadly, to be teens and up and not the children who so eagerly responded to Inkheart . (Fantasy. 13 & up)

This concluding volume in Funke's bestselling trilogy picks up where <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Inkspell left off, but sputters for a hundred pages filling in backstory. (Even then, an addendum is needed to identify a cast of 114 characters.) The Inkworld, full of dark magic, is under siege; the savagery of the Adderhead and his minions now extends to taking all the peasants' children until somebody delivers, as ransom, the Bluejay, a Robin Hood–style character whose identity has been assumed by Mo, Meggie's father (it was Mo who started all the trouble by reading several villains right out of the book-within-a-book, <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Inkheart—don't even consider reading this series out of order). The <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Inkheart author, Fenoglio, now living in Inkworld himself, has turned to drink; the odious Orpheus, when he's not under a maid's skirt, rewrites Fenoglio's work (editors!) to benefit himself. The interesting metafictional questions—can we alter destiny? shape our own fate?—are overwhelmed by the breakneck action, yet the villains aren't fully realized. More disappointingly, the formerly feisty Meggie, barely into her teens, has little to do but choose between two suitors. Funke seems to have forgotten her original installment was published for children. Ages 9–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

Gr 5-9 This final volume in the trilogy returns readers to Inkworld and its wide cast of characters. Under the rule of the evil Adderhead, it is a bleak and dangerous place. General gloominess bogs down the pace initially, as several characters agonize, sometimes tiresomely, over past regrets and the dire uncertainty of the future. Meggie, despite her gift of magical reading, remains a disappointingly dull protagonist, but other characters are quite compelling. Her bookbinding father, for instance, emerges as a swashbuckling outlaw, and, when he brings the fire-dancer Dustfinger back from the dead, things get really interesting. The assortment of villains is vivid and frightening, especially Mortola, who can change shape, and the immortal Adderhead. Even more intriguing is Mo, who evolves into a powerful and complex scoundrel as he explores the evil potential of his unique ability to make up stories, then read them into reality. The finale includes a thoroughly engrossing climax as the Adderhead and Mo meet their doom, though a subplot involving Meggie and her companions is less exciting. Despite occasional weaknesses in plotting and characterization, Funke successfully explores ideas of fate, free will, and the power of story in a multilayered tale with many dramatic moments, bringing the series to a satisfying conclusion. Summaries of the first two books and a list of names and places are provided for those new to the series, but this last installment will be appreciated most by readers who start with the first title. Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library, OR