The Silver Tracks

 Book Title: The Silver Tracks

Author: Cornelia Funke

Series: Reckless #4

Date Started: November 7th 2021

Date Completed: November 13th 2021

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Mystery

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Star

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

There's something truly magical about childhood favourites following you into your adult years and maturing alongside you. Okay, I was maybe a teenager when Reckless first came out, but having grown up with Inkheart, Dragon Rider, The Thief Lord, Igraine the Brave, to find the same magic and wonder in Funke's newer works as an adult is really precious.

Funke's Mirrorworld, with its fairytale versions of our world, teeming with mythical creatures and folkloric dangers, will always be so dearly beloved to me. Funke (amongst others like Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, Holly Black & Tony Diterlizzi) is no small part of the reason I grew up to make fairytales myself (albeit onscreen), and the Reckless series might just be the one that best explains why. The treasures that Jacob and Fox hunt for aren't just shiny; they grant desires and access over obstacles. Trinkets that freeze a perfect moment forever, that let you know where your loved ones are at all times, that allow you to transform into something that lets you freely run around in the night. These books distil why fairytales are so alluring to us, and why they are made to begin with; to allow us to access things the real world won't let us. The books are in no way meta about this, but reading them reminds me why fairytales are such a fabulous form of escapism and storytelling - and that's the best way to be pay homage to an inspiration or source text.

The Silver Tracks really puts the angle of Jacob and Fox's journey in a new direction, and starts to give shape to what I imagine will be the finale of the series. That being said, I love that Funke balances the more mature developments in their lives with the excitement of treasure hunting and adventure. We still explore the Mirrorworld and get to see plenty of trouble, which I feel like sometimes peters out in a lot of Young Adult literature when two protagonists become a couple. Funke knows there's is far more exciting and important things for them to overcome than angsty squabbles.

As this series has developed, it's been so cool that we've kept in contact with all these characters from across the books, not just as references but as pivotal characters. All these intersecting lives add to the vibrancy and realness of the story; I definitely wasn't expecting Clara to keep showing up after the first book, and the network of spies and treasure hunters Jacob and Fox have at their disposal comes in very useful. On top of that, we also get to meet new people as well - and I'm just saying that so that I can mention how fast Hideo become one of my absolute favourite characters.

The Reckless/Mirrorworld series is so vivid and lush and imaginative and wonderful. If Inkheart was a love letter to fairytales, then this series is the epic poem it deserves (did you spot the Inkheart reference in the book?). The fact that The Silver Tracks developed the Jacob and Fox's story as adults, gave us more wonder and beauty, and even let us see the Mirrorworld equivalents of Korea and Japan just had gushing the whole time. I desperately hope it doesn't take another six years for the next one, but if it means a story like this I'll wait two decades.