Re-Launch: The Reckless Series
Cornelia Funke is re-launching her latest series for this month. The RECKLESS series follows Jacob Reckless as he escapes from his world into the world behind the mirror, throwing himself into adventures in a land filled with witches, fairies, and dwarfs.
In 2015, Funke’s new publishing company, Breathing Books, published Reckless: The Golden Yarn, the third book of the series. Books one and two—Reckless: The Petrified Flesh and Reckless: Living Shadows—were previously published under different titles through Little Brown, and are being re-released via Breathing Books in the U.S. this fall.
The new editions represent for the first time Cornelia’s original vision for the stories. They received a cover art makeover, as well as revisions throughout, to shape the story Funke says needs to be told. Book one, Reckless: The Petrified Flesh, had never truly satisfied her. “I did not see that world fully yet, and didn’t know the characters that well,” said Funke.
The Petrified Flesh (Reckless) – October 11, 2016
Ever since Jacob Reckless was a child, he has been escaping to a hidden world through a portal in his father’s abandoned study. Over the years, he has made a name for himself as a finder of enchanted items and buried secrets. He’s also made many enemies and allies — most important, Fox, a beautiful shape-shifting vixen whom Jacob cares for more than he lets on.
But life in this other world is about to change. Tragedy strikes when Jacob’s younger brother, Will, follows him through the portal. Brutally attacked, Will is infected with a curse that is quickly transforming him into a Goyl — a ruthless killing machine, with skin made of stone.
Jacob is prepared to fight to save his brother, but in a land built on trickery and lies, Jacob will need all the wit, courage, and reckless spirit he can summon to reverse the dark spell — before it’s too late.
Living Shadows (Reckless) – October 11, 2016
Jacob Reckless returns once again to the Mirrorworld — filled with profound characters, extraordinary creatures, and epic life-or-death treasure hunts that could only come from the mind of the master storyteller of our generation, Cornelia Funke.
Jacob Reckless has only a few months left to live. He’s tried everything to shake the Fairy curse that traded his life for his brother’s — legends such as the All-Healing Apple, the Well of Eternal Youth, the blood of a northern Djinn. And yet hope after hope is extinguished. After months of fruitless searching, Jacob journeys through his father’s mirror one final time to deliver the bad news to Fox.
But there they hear of one last possibility — an item so legendary that not even MirrorWorlders believe it exists: a crossbow that can kill thousands, or heal one, when shot through the heart. But a Goyl treasure hunter is also searching for the prized crossbow. Jacob must find it first — and somehow convince Fox to do whatever it takes to save him.
The Golden Yarn (Reckless)
Jacob Reckless continues to travel the portal in his father’s abandoned study. His name has continued to be famous on the other side of the mirror, as a finder of enchanted items and buried secrets. His family and friends, from his brother, Will to the shape-shifting vixen, Fox, are on a collision course as the two worlds become connected. Who is driving these two worlds together and why is he always a step ahead?
This new force isn’t limiting its influence to just Jacob’s efforts – it has broadened the horizon within MirrorWorld. Jacob, Will and Fox travel east and into the Russian folklore, to the land of the Baba Yaga, pursued by a new type of being that knows our world all to well.
Reckless: The Petrified Flesh and Reckless: Living Shadows will be re-released at a launch party at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on September 24. There will also be a discussion-based event with Funke and Breathing Books at The Last Bookstore on September 30. Books will be available at both events.
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