Publisher: Turtleback Books
ISBN: 9781904442486
Format: Hardcover
Price: 350 INR
Pages: 560
“Marvellous stuff for dreaming adventurers of any age.”
– Clive Barker
Winner of the Grand Canyon Reader Award for Intermediate Book in 2007, Cornelia Funke has created a beautiful world inside her second novel ‘Dragon Rider’. Remember that warm feeling you acquire upon opening a book and noticing the rich texture, the eye-catching illustrations in each chapter and the amazing story that makes you root for the ‘good people’ and at the same time, gasp with wonder and hatred for those with evil intent? Well, filled with magic, quite the geography and lots and lots of bustling imagination, this is one novel that defined my childhood.
When Rosa the rat brings news of humans exploiting the valley that they live in currently, the elders begin their search for yet another safe abode. They are in search of a magical place where dragons can live in peace forever. With a simple yet vague warning to “beware the Golden One”, Dragon Rider follows the exploits of a young, silver dragon named Firedrake, a brownie called Sorrel and Ben, a human boy. Together, they embark on a journey that takes them to magical lands where they meet marvellous creatures and encounter one ruthless villain. Their final destination is ‘The Rim of Heaven’ located within the mysterious ring of the Himalayas, a sacred place where it is believed the dragons could live in peace forever. This enchanting adventure will make you crawl into a cosy, sleepy position and teach you about the true meaning of home.
Nettlebrand is one mean name to give a dragon who’s as lazy as a potato couch, but yet was created to hunt and kill dragons. He has the ability to appear anywhere around the globe, through waterways. While the setback of the story with regard to Nettlebrand could have been exploited more, thus giving the story an even richer texture, Funke’s concept of an evil dragon who doesn’t eat humans doesn’t quite fit with the stories we’ve grown up to.
A rather nice feature of the book is that it comes with a fold-in map, the very same that a rat draws for the trio when they set out in search of the heavenly abode. Drawn and illustrated beautifully, it looks like childhood lurking within one of the corners of the map.
With a setting like the majestic Himalayas, dragons who live by ‘drinking moonlight’ and a homunculus called Twigleg, the author manages to throw in bits and pieces of every fantasy novel the readers can come across. However, at the same time, she attempts to keep the plotline original and clean of unwanted elements and for the better part, succeeds. Myth and reality, legends coming true and with loads of fabulous creatures thrown in, Dragon Rider rides its way to childhood comfort. So, while Funke shot to literary stardom with her debut novel ‘The Thief Lord’, there is no denying that it was this children’s book that made her so dear with her fans.
Rating: 8.5/10
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