I am still hoping to somehow finish the Young Adult Reading Challenge I started last year. Towards that effort, I decided to try out Dragon Rider from Cornelia Funke.
The book is a fantastical tale about a dragon whose environment is threatened due to human development on its land. So, the dragon (Firedrake), his friend Sorrel – the brownie, and a little boy embark on a journey to a legendary place called Rim of Heaven (a sort of Shangri-la) where silver dragons can live in peace for ever. With only a curious map and the whispered memories of an old dragon to guide them, they fly across moonlit lands and seas to reach the highest mountains in the world. Along the way, they must also defeat the villainous Golden One who is determined to kill all dragons.
My thoughts on this Book
I don’t know if I am reading too much into the book, and whether a child reading this book would get the message but I loved the concept of environment conservation that Cornelia Funke subtly conveys. About how man’s encroachment on forested lands is destroying the local habitats. The story in general is nice, although it could have been made a bit shorter without losing much of its charm. I also like that it is not a typical Dragon Rider kind of story. There seem to be so many these days (every Fantasy book seeme to have them) that the concept has become rather tired, but I liked the freshness of this one.
This is typical Cornelia Funke reading, and I think most lovers of the Inkworld novels will also like this one. In some ways, Dragon Rider is more simplistic. But, in this case, I think simple is good!
You should read Reckless a shot as well. It’s a book she wrote post the Ink series and I really enjoyed it. Was taken back to The Thief Lord in terms of brevity (without compromising on the intricate detail), wonderful relatable characters, interesting plot and fast paced action 🙂
give* not read!
I love this story so much! Dragons really fascinate me & Firedrake is so friendly & curious sounding. I just wish that Cornelia Funke would make a sequel to it!
I was going to pick up Dragon Rider. I’m a big Cornelia Funke fan but I just don’t know if I can keep interested in reading about dragons.
@bev: Thanks for visiting and commenting. It is a sweet book but really if you are not in the mood for dragons, don’t go for it.
It is not that great.
I remember hearing a radio interview with Cornelia Funke about this book – she had a beautiful speaking voice and a lovely accent, and she said, “My readers say to me, Cornelia, we love your books, but why are there so few girls inside?” It made me smile.
Though Iam personnally not so fond of this genre, but the story seems fascinating..
This book is strictly for fantasy-lovers…but I think it might be a nice book to read and story-tell to your kids. My daughter loved the cover so much that she wanted me to tell her the story. She really enjoyed the much-simplified and shortened version of it that I told her.
interesting story… but the dragon stories never fascinates me… 🙁 🙁
and thanks for introducing this book… 🙂
Thanks Kanagu for visiting and commenting on my blog. Because of your comment, I found another nice blog – yours 🙂
I am happily reading through your posts now 😀
Looks like a nice story.. I might give this one a try..