A review by john_nygma
Reckless. Lebendige Schatten by Cornelia Funke
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It's a 3.75 from me since I enjoyed this a little more than the first entry in the series. The overall story is much more interesting here, and Jacob is given more attention to develop as a character.
The general writing style, the language, and the flow of the narrative are all as wonderful as they always are in a Cornelia Funke book. This woman just knows how to stay on the right side of flowery prose, where it all sounds beautiful and rather descriptive but without ever being too pretentious.
I enjoyed the story in this book more because it focuses mostly on Jacob and gives him opportunities to grow as a person and develop his relationships with Fox and other characters. Will and his girlfriend are basically completely absent from this story, and that's definitely a plus. They just didn't work for me in the first book and with them gone, we can finally focus on Jacob and Fox (who had the most interesting character beats in book 1) and the exploration of the mirror world.
Unfortunately, the characters still remain the weak point of the Reckless series. While we learn more about Jacob and Fox as people, Jacob, as a protagonist, still remains somewhat bland. We definitely get more here than we did in book 1, but to me, he still feels like every other fantasy protagonist who goes on adventures and is a bit too cocky for his own good. Fox is definitely the best and most interesting character in this instalment. I love learning more about her, and her relationship with Jacob is portrayed very emotionally. The secondary villain characters, while more interesting this time around, were also a bit too one-dimensional for me at times, but they served their purpose.
The flow of the story worked for most of the novel, though I think some bits could have been cut short. I found myself losing attention somewhere around the middle (after the Bluebeard encounter) and wished some story beats had been cut out or tightened to make an overall better paced story.
Overall, this was an enjoyable ya fantasy novel. Funke never fails to deliver, and her stories are always written with so much care and love for the world she creates. The dark fairytale vibes work wonderfully, and the characters, while still having their issues, are improved from the last instalment. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!
The general writing style, the language, and the flow of the narrative are all as wonderful as they always are in a Cornelia Funke book. This woman just knows how to stay on the right side of flowery prose, where it all sounds beautiful and rather descriptive but without ever being too pretentious.
I enjoyed the story in this book more because it focuses mostly on Jacob and gives him opportunities to grow as a person and develop his relationships with Fox and other characters. Will and his girlfriend are basically completely absent from this story, and that's definitely a plus. They just didn't work for me in the first book and with them gone, we can finally focus on Jacob and Fox (who had the most interesting character beats in book 1) and the exploration of the mirror world.
Unfortunately, the characters still remain the weak point of the Reckless series. While we learn more about Jacob and Fox as people, Jacob, as a protagonist, still remains somewhat bland. We definitely get more here than we did in book 1, but to me, he still feels like every other fantasy protagonist who goes on adventures and is a bit too cocky for his own good. Fox is definitely the best and most interesting character in this instalment. I love learning more about her, and her relationship with Jacob is portrayed very emotionally. The secondary villain characters, while more interesting this time around, were also a bit too one-dimensional for me at times, but they served their purpose.
The flow of the story worked for most of the novel, though I think some bits could have been cut short. I found myself losing attention somewhere around the middle (after the Bluebeard encounter) and wished some story beats had been cut out or tightened to make an overall better paced story.
Overall, this was an enjoyable ya fantasy novel. Funke never fails to deliver, and her stories are always written with so much care and love for the world she creates. The dark fairytale vibes work wonderfully, and the characters, while still having their issues, are improved from the last instalment. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!