Reckless
#5623.90 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Ongoing 2010–present Reading commitment Medium Cornelia Funke Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
Reckless (also published as Mirrorworld) follows two brothers, Jacob and Will Reckless, who discover a mirror that leads into a grim, magical world built from the darker roots of familiar fairy tales, where a goblin market, stone-skinned curses and a war between rival fairy-tale factions replace the softened, sanitized versions most readers grew up with. Jacob has spent years quietly exploring and profiting from Mirrorworld before Will follows him through the glass and is struck by a curse that begins slowly turning his skin to living stone, forcing Jacob to race against the transformation to save him. First published in German as Steinernes Fleisch (2010); four volumes have appeared so far, with a planned fifth not yet published. From an author already represented in this canon by Inkheart, The Thief Lord, and Dragon Rider, Cornelia Funke drew explicitly on the Brothers Grimm's darker, pre-Disney fairy-tale material for the series' tone and imagery.
Dark fantasy, Fairy-tale retelling · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
Mirrorworld Cornelia Funke
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Reckless: The Petrified Flesh | 2010 | 1 | core | 3.75 (23,282 ratings) |
 | Living Shadows | 2012 | 2 | core | 4.19 (8,656 ratings) |
 | The Golden Yarn | 2015 | 3 | core | 4.04 (4,746 ratings) |
 | The Silver Tracks | 2020 | 4 | core | 4.14 (1,953 ratings) |
A dark, fairy-tale-inflected saga about two brothers who can cross into a grim mirror-world of living fairy tales; a planned fifth volume has not yet been published. First published in German (Cecilie Dressler Verlag) as Steinernes Fleisch (2010); the English translation followed the same year.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Reckless? Reckless's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for Reckless? Publication order, starting with Reckless: The Petrified Flesh. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Reckless finished? Ongoing (2010–present).
- How much reading does Reckless take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~1,694 pages).
- How is Reckless ranked? #562 in this site's official ranking, based on 38,637 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #562?
Ranked #562 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.90 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (38,637 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.75 to 4.19.
- Less than 0.01 behind #561, The Red Abbey Chronicles (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 4 books · Ongoing · 39k ratings · Ranks #562 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length dark fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Reckless: The Petrified Flesh (2010)
- Living Shadows (2012)
- The Golden Yarn (2015)
- The Silver Tracks (2020)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Suggestions computed from what Reckless and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- Kingdom of the Wicked Dark fantasy / Romantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.92
- Little Thieves Fairy-tale retelling / Comic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.21
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.90 across 38,637 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Reckless / Mirrorworld (Cornelia Funke) accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is every published volume: Reckless: The Petrified Flesh (2010) through The Silver Tracks (2020). A planned fifth volume has not yet been published.