Reckless III: The Golden Yarn

Reckless III: The Golden Yarn by Cornelia Funke (Murdoch Books)

PB RRP $24.99   ISBN 9781782691266

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

Fairytales have long told of magic mirrors and Cornelia Funke’s Reckless series – a story inspired by the Grimm brothers – features one that is a portal to an alternate fantasy world (‘Mirrorworld’).

In The Golden Yarn, Jacob discovers a Rumpelstiltskin-like character (Spieler) in the human world, while trying to hide the legendary crossbow he found in Living Shadows. It seems the Reckless brothers are not the only ones who can cross between worlds … and theirs is not the only mirror.

Funke slowly weaves us through the plots and subplots of this third story in the series, as we absorb the details of the world she has built. First, Kami’en and Amelie’s baby goes missing. Then, the Dark Fairy disappears. Clara is in a Sleeping Beauty slumber so Will is seeking the Dark Fairy. Jacob is looking for Will … with several distractions along the way. He meets elf siblings, ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Seventeen’, who steal faces from mirrors to disguise themselves. He also meets … his long-lost father! Having struck a painful deal with Spieler, Jacob keeps his distance from his true love (Fox), who then falls in love with someone else. We also learn more about Will’s cursed skin from the first book, The Petrified Flesh.

This series will appeal to young adult readers of fantasy, particularly fans of Funke’s prior works (such as the Inkheart trilogy). Reading the first two novels in the series is a must as Funke releases crucial details at different points across the series. There is always a sense that she knows much more than she has revealed! Admittedly, this can either hook her readers or frustrate them.

Funke has revised and re-released The Petrified Flesh, retaining the original story but adding more depth to her characters. (The portrayal of darkness and light in her characters is definitely her forte, with her writing beautifully depicting the hesitation in their actions.) The second novel, Living Shadows, has also been re-jacketed. She is currently working on a fourth book in the series.

Fearless

Fearless by Cornelia Funke (Chicken House)
PB RRP $17.99
ISBN 978-1-906427-26-9
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Treasure hunter Jacob Reckless has managed to save his brother, but now faces death because a fairy curse has been burnt into his heart. The only chance he has to save himself is to find a treasure no-one has ever before found. Up against him is the fiercest rival he could imagine and even with the help of Fox, his beautiful shape-shifting friend, Jacob knows he may not succeed.

And so begins a search like no other, a test so great Jacob must push himself to the limit, with the stakes high and the prize being his life. But will he lose Fox’s life in the process?

This is a story like no other I have read. I did find it confusing at first but this is probably because I had not read the first book in the series. The writing is rich and evocative, the atmosphere dark and grim, and the world amazing and imaginatively constructed. I loved that so many fairy tales drifted in and out, such a mix of creatures with roots in diverse cultures. Many lesser known myths and legends make appearances or serve as a base for the tales and adventures related.

The Mirrorworld series is a very rewarding read for lovers of fantasy from the age of 11 and up. Start with Reckless, then read Fearless.

Reckless

Reckless by Cornelia Funke (Chicken House for Scholastic Aust)

HB RRP $2.99

ISBN 978105294855

Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

Cornelia Funke is fast becoming my favourite YA novelist. Writing in her native German, her use of language is poetic and her sense of the extraordinary being flawlessly woven into the ordinary is at times breathtaking.

In this novel Jacob Reckless finally decides to leave his house of dusty memories and follow where his father disappeared many years ago – through the mirror in the study and into a strange and powerfully dangerous land. For twelve years Jacob sneaks behind the mirror, sometimes for weeks at a time. Unfortunately his little brother Will finds out and follows, along with his girlfriend, Clara. With disastrous results. Will is bitten and begins the transformation to become a Goyl – a man made of stone. The green veins spread across his hands and up the side of his neck. Jacob has to use everything he has learned about this world, every trick, every contact, before he loses Will forever.

Jacob’s companion is Fox, a shape shifting red haired girl, fiercely loyal to him and jealous of Clara. As the three of them travel the land looking for a cure they are tracked by the goyl who use the sorcery of the Dark Fairy to turn every human into goyl with a mere scratch from their claws and must trust a dwarf named Valiant who has very little scruples.

This is fairy tales retold, with many disparate elements drawn together to create a fascinating whole. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dawn Meredith writes from the Blue Mountains and is a May Gibbs Fellow 2011. You can follow her exploits at www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogspot.com