If I Were Silvertongue

Entered into Vocal's Fan(dom) Favourite Challenge: Share a story with us about the best fantasy world out there.

If I Were Silvertongue

The Inkworld series by Cornelia Funke is a deep exploration of fantasy. Starting with the 2003 novel 'Inkheart' we are thrust into a world where the possibilities are limitless. The initial setting is a realistic Europe, in which Meggie and Mo (daughter and father) explore Italy in search of one specific book; Inkheart.

The crux of the fantasy is that Meggie's father Mo is beseeched with the rare and otherwise unheard of ability to read things into existence. With the lilting tones of his honey-sweet voice, he can conjure sounds, smells, objects, and even people into his world, from any other contained within a novel.

The apple of his eye - Inkheart - calls to him for reasons unknown to Meggie, and she is relatively uninvolved in his search for the book until one mysterious night when a stranger known as 'Dustfinger' appears outside her bedroom window. She doesn't realise it at the time, but alerting her father to the strange man in their garden will lead to an epic and enchanting tale of love, loss, exploration, and pure fantasy.

Silvertongue

Because of his abilities, Mo is regaled - beseechingly by some - as Silvertongue. In a particularly intriguing scene (mild spoilers for the remainder of the paragraph) Mo is blackmailed into reading a precious fortune from the book 'Arabian Nights'. As gold falls from the rafters, a young boy falls as well, and lands in a pile of gold, distraught and displaced.

The joy of the Inkworld series comes not only from the fantasy within the book, but from the possibilities outside of it. The ethical implications of Mo's talents are clear; read gold into being, and you might just bring a boy. But, let's take a moment to channel our inner politicians and ignore the ethical implications of what would happen if we were to read our favourites fantasies out of their own world and into our own. What would you wish for?

Personally, I'd use it to taste the world. A buttery pastry delivered fresh from Paris, or a hot New York pizza to share at lunch. Or perhaps I'd summon Peter Pan, and demand to be told what jokes he was telling that made the stars laugh so hard.

Halloween would be a hoot. Imagine summoning a round of Butterbeers to serve at your party, and then picture the look on your face when your diehard Potterhead best-friend tries to tell you, "Yeah, this isn't an authentic Butterbeer recipe."

I'd have a dozen books tagged chockers with colour coordinated sticky notes depicting my every desire. I'd have choice passages that - once conjured by my supposedly honeyed tongue - would fulfil my every flippant, selfish craving and make my life a whole lot easier. Let's explore some of the passages I'd utilise from my favourite books;

“It was a silence of three parts”

Patrick Rothfuss must have had us insomniacs in mind when he wrote this incredible passage from The Name of the Wind. There's no need to bookmark it - it's on the very first page. I'd reserve it specifically for the mornings in which my early riser musician neighbours are rehearsing their latest songs, or for the nights in which the neighbourhood dogs are rehearsing their latest acapella and all I want to do. is. sleep.

“It was a silence of three parts. The most obvious part was a hollow echoing quiet, made by things that were lacking. If there had been a wind it would have sighed through the trees, set the inn’s sign creaking on it’s hooks, and brushed the silence down the road like trailing autumn leaves. If there had been a crowd, even a handful of men inside the inn, they would have filled the silence with conversation and laughter, the clatter and clamour one expects from a drinking house during the dark hours of night. If there had been music… but no, of course there was no music. In fact there were none of these things, and so the silence remained.

“Fog tinged with the faintest shade of pink”

Once upon a time I rose at dawn and meditated in the light of the pale rising sun - I sat by a peachy pink candle that smelled delicately of rose. It filled the room with a calm I had never felt before. No, this isn't a fairytale. I literally did it... once. I've never been able to recreate that immersive calm that I experienced that morning, but I think I found a passage that might take me there once more in Carole Wilkinson's Dragon Dawn.

“It was a ghostly dawn. Fog, tinged with the faintest shade of pink, reduced the rising sun to a pale disc on the horizon. It brought no hope of warmth. In every direction the earth was covered with a carpet of white. The clouds were the same colour as the snow, and the fog made it impossible to see where the mountain peaks ended and the sky began. Ice crystals had formed a thin raft on the surface of a pool. One more night and it would freeze over."

“The circus arrives without warning”

Circuses are bizarre places. Whimsical - yes - but oftentimes dirty and sad. But one can't deny the pull towards these ethereal tents where performers test the limits of human capacity and observers are forced to suspend their disbelief and accept that magic is real, if only for a second. But what if I wanted to feel that way all the time? The crew from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern might be on board with interdimensional travel.

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions, or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white striped on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world.”

“How should the book taste?”

I stare vacantly at my healthy stack of unread books whilst lamenting to the void, "I have nothing to read!" A dusty copy of The Book Thief weeps silently at the bottom of my shelf, recalling the time I told my mother, "I'll read it soon." Soon means nothing to a reader; vibe is everything. If I could summon Monsieur Perdu and his Book Apothecary from Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop I'd never be at a loss as to what to pick up next.

“He had altered his method of matching books to readers. He often asked, "How would you like to feel when you go to sleep?" Most of his customers wanted to feel light and safe. He asked others to tell him about their favorite things. ... Estate agents loved the jangle made by a bunch of keys. Dentists loved the flicker of fear in their patients' eyes; Perdu had guessed as much. Most often he asked, "How should the book taste? Of ice cream? Spicy, meaty? Or like a chilled rose?" Food and books were closely related. He discovered this in Sanary, and it earned him the nickname "the book epicure.”

"Ruby apples, golden lemons, amethyst plums"

Scraping at the bottom of my purse for my last gold coins to pay for a coffee, I wonder if I will even know the feeling of financial stability. That sinking feeling in my stomach of being just a few cents short and not wanting to push my luck with the cashier is too familiar, and one I'd never have to experience again if I kept a copy of Jessica Khoury's Aladdin retelling - The Forbidden Wish - in my handbag instead.

“The floor is carpeted in delicate blades of grass, each carved from purest emerald. Low, spreading trees with leaves of Jade glitter beneath a high domed ceiling studded with glowing diamonds, like stars in a night sky. From the trees hang fruit: ruby apples, golden lemons, amethyst plums, sapphire berries. They glint and gleam, millions of jewels cut with a precision no mortal art could match. Below in the grass glitter delicate blossoms of topaz and lapis lazuli. You must look closely to realise they are not real trees or real flowers but priceless stones all.”

For the Love of Reading

While an epic fantasy in it's own right, the Inkworld series also acts as an homage to the dazzling talents of writers and the almost inhuman ability some people have to transport readers to other worlds through words alone.

At the beginning of every chapter is a quote from a famous novel, including excerpts from The Northern Lights, Garth Nix, and the works of Shakespeare (to name a few). Not only that, but Cornelia Funke shares a few spellbinding quotes of her own that readers still repeat to this day when talking about their love of books. One of my favourites is;

“If you take a book with you on a journey," Mo had said when he put the first one in her box, "an odd thing happens: The book begins collecting your memories. And forever after you have only to open that book to be back where you first read it."

That Cover Though

Also a charming feature, the Inkworld books feature a quaint illustration at the tail end of many chapters. Sometimes, it's of one of the many mythical creatures you can find in the fictional 'Inkheart', and other times it is simply a depiction of something that has happened within the chapter. I wonder how many children explored sketching as a hobby inspired by the mythical creatures. I certainly went through an artistic phase inspired by the Inkworld; I had an unfathomable crush on one of the main characters, so I tried my best to draw him into existence. It ah... wasn't my best work...

Not at all like the covers that we have been blessed with by the Inkspell cover designers. The Inkspell dust jacket is enough to turn any sceptic into a reader and a lover of art all at once. Just wow.

The Possibility of a new Franchise

For those of you who haven't read the Inkworld series, I implore you to do so. It's not simply a children's book; it's an epic fantasy that explores dark themes, the implications of choice, love, loss, and power.

If you are one of the... umm... unfortunate few who have had the story spoiled by the movie, don't let that deter you. The Inkworld is so rich in detail that it could be considered a similar experience to reading the Harry Potter series. Indeed, Cornelia Funke is often referred to as 'Germany's J.K. Rowling'.

The Inkheart movie - much like the Harry Potter or The Last Airbender movies - barely covers the intricacies of what's explored in such a detailed and consuming fantasy. There's a lot to be discovered, especially in Inkheart's sequel, 'Inkspell', and in the concluding novel 'Inkdeath.'

It is my greatest hope that after seeing similar series such as The Lord of the Rings and Shadow and Bone receive generous budgets and authentic representation - respectively - that the Inkworld series might be given a second chance for the big (or small) screen. It's offerings are limitless, especially considering that a series or movie rendition can pull from any fantastical world for inspiration, including Cornelia Funke's other pieces of work, including old favourites such as Dragon Rider and The Thief Lord.

So give it a chance...

And take a moment to wonder what you would do in Silvertongues shoes.