What do You think about Dragon Rider (2005)?
The dragons are about to be displaced by humans and they must find a new home. The new home is, in fact, their old home, The Rim of Heaven, but it’s so long ago in memory that only the oldest of the dragons has heard of it, and he doesn’t know where it is (all he can say is that it's 'east'). Fireheart, another dragon, undertakes a quest to find it with the help of his brownie and human friends. Trouble finds them every time they land. At one point they attract the attention of Nettlebrand, the
—Arminzerella
Dragon Rider is a good dragon book that doesn't delve too deeply into dragon lore, preferring to stand on it's own as more of an adventure tale involving dragons. The premise of the book is that the lair of a group of dragons is threatened and one of their own - Firedrake - is the only one willing and able to set out and explore the scary world to find a better place for his clan to live: a mysterious place called the Rim of Heaven.Like many such books when the protagonist steps beyond the sheltered confines of his/her character-incubator world, they quickly learn just how hard real life is. In Dragon Rider this trauma is embodied in Nettlebrand, a compelling although not completely fleshed out mechanic dragon.The cast of characters includes a young orphan named Ben, who becomes the namesake dragon rider, a homunculus named Twigleg that borders on Jar Jar Binks annoyingness, and a professor of fabulous beings, interested in Firedrake for obvious reasons. This book is a fun read as long as you don't take it too seriously and the 400+ pages fly by as you get engrossed in the story.
—Christopher
What a tale of fun and adventure! I enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the story (mostly--once in a rare while I was wondering "is this part necessary?"). I find Funke's creations to be quite interesting. What an imagination she has.But I think what I enjoyed most was the narration. I was intrigued to hear how Brenden Fraser would narrate a book. Sometimes celebrities aren't the greatest choices for narrators. But he was awesome!! I should have remembered from all of the films I've seen him in that he is an actor who gives his all. And I'm so glad he did in this book. It was such a fun, hilarious, enjoyable, and exciting listen. There were times I couldn't believe he had just done what he did in the narration. And even if occasionally it shocked me, impressed me, or even slightly annoyed me, I still loved it. I loved the voices and accents he did. His sound effects made me smile. He had so much energy and enthusiasm as he performed the book. I'm sure he is at the least half the reason why I enjoyed this book. I'm not sure how I would have done with a print copy. Occasional parts might have dragged for me. But in no way do they drag with this narrator. So if I recommend this book, it will be just like the Artemis Fowl series: it MUST be audio with THIS narrator!P.S. Classification - we have this in children's. I'd say it works in YA, too.
—Heidi
