Audio Pick--Inkspell (unabr.)
From SLJ February 2006
Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK -- School Library Journal, 2/13/2006
11 cassettes or 16 CDs. 18:46 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape (library.booksontape.com). 2005. cassette, ISBN 0-307-28291-0: $65; CD, ISBN 0-307-28929-9: $85.
Gr 5-8–Fourteen-year-old Meggie is back at home after the intrigue and adventure she encountered in Inkheart (Chicken House, 2003), the first volume in this projected trilogy. In this second episode, the calm of her life is shattered when Farid, protégé of the fire-eater, Dustfinger, begs her to use her magical ability and read him into Dustfinger's story. Meggie longs to see the enchanted world she has only encountered through the pages of a book and travels with Farid into the story. Events quickly spin out of control. Evil characters from Inkheart re-emerge to extract revenge. Battle lines are drawn between two kingdoms. Several individuals are intent on re-writing the story to ensure their own happy ending. A multitude of intriguing characters are kept straight by the tour-de-force performance of actor Brendan Frazier who distinguishes each one with a different accent–from Dustfinger's Scottish burr to Fenoglio's Brooklyn inflection to Orpheus's southern drawl. His performance is so convincing that listeners must remind themselves that this is not a full-cast production. Action, romance, and danger are delivered with just the right inflection and pace in this stunning performance. Expect the popularity of the series to climb as Inkheart has been optioned for movie rights.
