Reckless introduced our hero and his partner, Fox, a young woman who can shapeshift into a vixen with a magical fur coat, but at the price of aging in fox years while transformed. We learned of Jacob's life as a treasure hunter, seeking mystical trinkets out of fairy tale, and of the changes wrought on the mirror world by his father's introduction of 'real' world inventions for his own profit.
Rescuing his brother from the Dark Fairy cost Jacob dearly, and as Fearless begins he is dying from an inescapable curse. With all of the standard curatives proving useless, he seeks a dangerous last chance: a weapon of terrible and destructive magic that might just possess the power to heal if wielded in love.
What follows is an adventure story with heart and guts. The fairy tale mirror world is a dark and dangerous - one might say Grimm - place, and while the central story stands on its own, it also links into a wider narrative. The central characters are likeable and convincing, with their courage and their fears, their strengths and their failings. I have had a lot of time for Funke's work since I was introduced to Inkheart, and for me at least, Fearless is Funke at her best.
