Dragon Rider: now a major movie! - Softcover

Funke, Cornelia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1911077856 ISBN 13: 9781911077855

Publisher: Chicken House, 2017

Synopsis

The very first dragon adventure from the legendary Cornelia Funke - over 1 million English language copies sold worldwide!

'A warm-hearted dream of a book.' THE GUARDIAN

Firedrake, a brave young dragon, embarks on a magical journey to find the legendary place where silver dragons can live in peace for ever. Along the way, he discovers extraordinary new friends and a courage he never knew he had. But the greatest enemy of all is never far behind - a heartless monster intent on destroying the last dragons on earth ...

About this title

Review:

It’s a fantasy, it’s long and it’s got dragons in it. It’s bound to be another hit book from Cornelia Funke! Ever since the popularity of the German author of bestselling fantasies The Thief Lord and Inkheart went global a few years ago, her legion of fans have demanded more books from her than she can reasonably hope to write each year. So, re-discovering this hefty, earlier novel from 1997 was a logical development--and her keenest readers will devour it as before.

Possibly aimed at slightly younger readers than her previous novels, despite its massive five hundred pages, Dragon Rider is about a brave young dragon called Firedrake who embarks upon a dangerous journey to the Rim of Heaven in the Himalayas--a magical place where silver dragons can rest easy, free from the threat of destruction by mankind and their only hope of sanctuary. The key to its location is a map rendered by a rat who is a master cartographer.

Firedrake is joined on his quest by Ben, an orphaned boy, and Sorrell--a wise-cracking Brownie that is an odd, but ingenious, grumpy kind of fairy. Their journey is not a straightforward one by any means. Created by an alchemist called Petrosius Henbane in 1424, Nettlebrand is their biggest threat--a malevolent creature covered in impenetrable gold plates that is intent on destroying them. He is aided by Twigleg, a homunculus who has stowed away in Ben’s bag and who is feeding reports on their progress back to his master.

Their exciting encounters are many--and the colourful fold-out map in the book’s centre is an added bonus. It is easy to forgive the narrative’s excessive length when readers are gorging on such a wonderfully inventive and readable story from an author who has her readers in the palm of her hand on every page. (Age 9 and over) --John McLay

Review:

Imaginative and magical story (Newcastle-upon-Tyne Chronicle)

A delicious romp across the world ... a good old-fashioned fantasy adventure (Publishing News)

Dragon fanciers will approve of Firedrake, with his silver scales, true heart, and weary wings (The Observor)

A warm-hearted dream of a book (The Guardian) ---

About this edition

• Publisher: Chicken House
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1911077856
• ISBN 13: 9781911077855
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 400