#i'm very busy and my internet connection is unstable at best

[schleierkauz]

Is it me or does The Color not only have inconsistencies, but is it much weaker than the other three? I mean, there are hardly any descriptions, for example. Everything seems summarized, without delving into anything; and it seems there is no development in the characters, they seem a bit... robotic. After Dustfinger's ambivalence in Inkheart and Mo's double soul conflict in Inkdeath (especially Inkdeath is a jewel), and the melodic prose that Cornelia had then, maybe The Color falls short?

I mean, the Violante thing, for example. Violante being a better mother and suddenly overcoming her traumas just by... the intense therapy with the Prince, it seems to me a way to pave the pitfalls without real development. An easy and schematic way, avoiding the conflict. It's like to subtract depth from the characters. And the Violante we knew in Inkdeath didn't need a man to overcome anything! 

VERY interesting message, and you mention some things I’ve also been thinking about, Anon, so this response will probably be pretty lengthy. Edit, yep, it was - I’ll put it under a cut. :D

Alright, so first of all I agree that so far the whole story seems... rushed, especially compared to the very detailed descriptions of the first three books. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we’ve spent very little time with our actual heroes thus far-

There were chapters 2 and 3 from Fenoglio’s perspective (which... not to drag Fenoglio but I think most of us would have preferred a look into someone else’s head), chapter 5 was from Meggie’s perspective but dealt mainly with her love triangle with just a dash of magical exposition, chapter 6 was mainly about trying to find Ironstone (again) and then in chapter 8 everyone vanished and we didn’t get a whole lot of detail there, either. Now, I love chapter 8 and it was very painful to hear, but I think it’s a strange choice to give us so little time with Resa, Mo and Roxane. Especially Roxane, goddamn, she didn’t even get to speak! Just give me a normal day of her peaceful life with Dustfinger and her son, just one, I don’t care if nothing exciting happens, Cornelia.

... But that brings me to my next point. You mentioned how Violante changed and while, yeah, it is a huge thing... I really loved the latest chapter (those descriptions of the red sky, red pages and the red blood on that girl’s hands... loved that), including that part where her whole therapy process was described. It reminded me of the earlier chapters, when Fenoglio cannot believe an actual plot is happening again.

Because it really feels like... yeah, everyone got their Happy Ending. Mo and Dustfinger both have their happy families living peacefully together (even though I really really wanted to see how/if Brianna and Dustfinger repaired their relationship and I think there should have been a spotlight on those two ages ago and it’s really frustrating to me but that’s a post for another time), Elinor and Darius are doing their thing, Violante brought peace to Ombra, loves her son and got to hook up with the Prince, who’s also presumably doing wholesome robber things... you get the idea. It’s this borderline unrealistic fairy tale ending, and everyone thought the story was over - we as the readers, they as the characters and Cornelia Funke as the author.

And then Orpheus set it all on fire.

Personally, I really like that, because now everyone has to figure out how to continue a story they clearly weren’t prepared for. I was actually very sceptical when Fenoglio described Dustfinger as this perfectly calm unafraid best version of himself because, well... good for him, but a character like that isn’t very fun to read about. But seeing how quickly that seemed to crumble when Orpheus’ plan continued, I think things are going to play out in interesting ways from here on out.

Regarding readability, sentence structure and melodic prose... 

Um. Honestly, that’s probably my fault? Cornelia’s writing style has definitely changed and evolved since she wrote the first three books, but as someone who’s read Dragonrider II (which was written like 20 years after the first one) as well as that Pan’s Labyrinth fanfiction that came out last year, I honestly don’t think it’s... less pretty. She still tends to use a lot of metaphors and similes and flowery language. The one exception I can think of is Reckless, and TCoRs style doesn’t remind me of that at all. I really try my best over here but this is the first time I’ve ever translated a longer text from German to English (and not the other way around) and it’s an ambitious project. Think of my versions as, like, the prototype of the prototype. I’m sure the official translations will flow a lot better.

So... Yeah. I agree that parts of TCoR seem strange and clunky, but overall I really enjoy it and I’m looking forward to hear more. Also, keep in mind that these chapters aren’t the finished versions, who knows how much things will change until the final release? 

(Oh, and as for Violante not needing a man in the other books - I disagree, actually. While she has always been a strong character and I love her, she was very much just trying to appear strong in order to defeat her father, and Mo saw through that facade fairly easily. He kept having to remind himself not to dad her... and by the end she was trapped in a hole while her son saved the day. If anything, she’s a stronger force in this book, since she worked through some of her issues and I can’t wait to see her throwing shoes at Orpheus)