Friday, January 24, 2014

Dragon Rider: 3 Stars

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

I decided to listen to this book because Brendan Fraser was the reader.  Have I mentioned my ridiculous crush on him? Well, let me tell you, I have a big ol' crush on that man.  He's just so adorable!  

As a reader, he is pretty entertaining. He makes sound effects and has a wide range of voices.  I can just imagine him reading to young kids. I bet they would be enthralled! 

Anyhow, in Dragon Rider, there are dragons (duh!) who hide in a certain part of the world, terrified of humans. But the humans keep getting closer. An older dragon recalls a wondrous place where the dragons could roam free called the Rim of Heaven. The problem is he doesn't actually know where it is.  Firedrake, a young dragon, and a Brownie named Sorrel volunteer to go find this magical place and save the dragons. 

As the journey sets out, Firedrake and Sorrel gain two companions: Ben, a human boy, and Twigleg, a homunculus. But Twigleg has a big secret. He is spying on them for Nettlebrand, a flightless, gold-covered, dragon-like creature who wants to kill all dragons. 

But the secrets only begin here.

This was another cute story from Funke. She has a creative mind and the ability to create wondrous imaginative worlds combined with our reality. Her characters are unique and relate-able. I can see why kids love this story. 

I had the same complaint for this book as I did for Inkheart and Inkspell: it was unnecessarily long. Funke focuses on a lot of details to create her world, but the attention to detail bores me. I could have done with less descriptions and more focuses on the plot.

Rating: PG

3 comments:

  1. YAY! I've been wanting to read Funke's books for a while now! Which book of hers would you recommend that I read first??
    and P.S. Now I must listen to this book's audio to hear it being read by Brendan Fraser! That should be fun ♥
    xoxoxo

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    1. Michelle, Dragon Rider is a standalone novel, but I like Inkspell so far the best of Funke's books. It is the second in the Inkworld trilogy. Fraser doesn't read the first one but does read the second one. If I had to make a recommendation, it would be Inkspell, but you have to read Inkheart first (which isn't the best, but isn't bad).

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