Some books are destined to be lifelong treasured possessions. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, the bestselling German author of The Thief Lord, could easily lay claim to being such a book. It is a meaty, magical adventure that oozes a passion for books and the awesome power of words on a page, written by an author who clearly adores stories. Every chapter is introduced by tempting quotations from classic novels that whet your appetite for more and help underline the terrific heritage of children's literature that Inkheart is added to.

Meggie is the daughter of a revered bookbinder called Mo whose peaceful existence is one night shattered by the arrival of Dustfinger--a shadowy man with a mysterious link to Mo's past. Mo and Meggie are soon on the move, running from something that threatens everything they hold dear. But the past inevitably catches up with them and Mo is forced to reveal to his daughter for the first time his terrible secret. He has the ability, or curse, to breathe life into any story he reads and make the characters come alive. Just such a character, the sinister Capricorn, is after Mo to ensure that he stays alive and is never returned to the pages from which he was sprung. And, of course, he'll stop at nothing to guarantee success.

Inkheart is a treat and echoes of its many colourful characters, nail-biting drama and unrelenting invention will stay with the reader for a long time. It's also a novel for people who really love books. (Recommended for ages 10 and over.) --John McLay

2008-11-18 An enjoyable read.

This novel reminded me of when I was a child, and I once said to my father that I'd really love to spend the night alone in a Library, being fascinated by books. When asked why, I'd replied by telling him that I believed that all the characters from all the stories came alive during the night and I wanted to see and to meet some of them. I was delighted at the prospect, until that is, my father quite sensibly pointed out by replying there would be many bad and evil characters amongst the good too - and of course he was right!

This is a long book, (over 500 pages!) and I'd be surprised at many very young people reaching the end of it. The story starts off very interesting, but as one or two other Reviewers have said; it does get a bit 'slow' in parts. However, all the characters are vivid, and I was particularly drawn to the character 'Ellinor' - perhaps because she wasn't too 'sugary sweet' and overly sentimental - at least not until much later on in the story where along with a couple of the other characters, she gets a bit of a personality 'make-over'.

I was rather surprised in reading in the cover that this is to be a major film - I personally did not feel that this was movie material - but then I'm not into the Harry Potter movies and that kind of stuff.

This is the first part of a trilogy I believe, and although I did enjoy the book, I'm not sure I would read the next instalment.