Firedrake, a young dragon, his loyal brownie friend Sorrel, and a homeless boy named Ben are united as if by destiny. Together they embark on a magical journey to find the rim of heaven, a place where all silver dragons can live in peace and harmony. With only a curious map from a rat, and the scarce whispers from an old dragon to guide them. They fly across the moonlit lands and seas to reach the highest mountains in the world. If you want to find out if they find the rim of heaven, read Dragon Rider, by Cornelia Funke. ( )

Summary: Dragons have always tried to stay out of the way of humans, so when a construction team threatens to invade their mountainous highland hideout, they must find another place to live. A young silver dragon named Firedrake volunteers to go search for the Rim of Heaven, a fabled valley far to the east - supposedly home to another group of refugee dragons, and so isolated that no humans will ever be able to find it. He's accompanied by Sorrell, a brownie with a sharp attitude and an insatiable craving for mushrooms, and it's not long into their travels before they pick up Ben, a young human orphan who helps them out of a tight spot. But that's not all they've picked up: they've also attracted the attention of Nettlebrand, a giant golden dragon whose sole purpose in life is to hunt and kill other dragons... and now they're unwittingly leading him to the one place they thought they could be safe.

Review: This is one of those case where I don't think I would have enjoyed this book in book form nearly as much as I did in audiobook form. Not that it's not good: it's a fun little fantasy adventure geared towards mid-grade to pre-teen kids, and the interesting complexity of the world meant that it held my attention a lot better than many other mid-grade fantasy novels have. Although it certainly could have been tightened up a bit in places (500+ pages is a long book for this reading level), it never felt particularly draggy, and although there were elements that would have been more interesting if they were left a little bit more morally ambiguous, I can let that go as writing for a younger audience.

However, what really made this book a stand-out for me was the audiobook narration. Brendan Fraser does such an incredible job with the voice-acting that it makes me sad that he hasn't narrated more audiobooks (this and Funke's Inkspell are the only two I can find). He doesn't have a "typical" reader's style or cadence, but he reads into the microphone exactly as if he were reading a bedtime story to his own kids - complete with acted-out sneezes, whispers, grumbling noises, a huge range of consistently well-done accents, even bird noises and other not-strictly-textual sounds. If you'd ask me a priori if I wanted my audiobook narrator making spitting noises and raven squawks into my ear, I would have said absolutely not - ordinarily that kind of thing comes off as over-produced and totally obnoxious. But somehow Brendan Fraser makes it work, and the effect is more charming than annoying, and if it did its job pulling me into the story, I can only imagine how well it would work on kids closer to the intended age range. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: As a book, it would be good for mid-grade fantasy fans, or adults who want a light, well-told fantasy adventure. As an audiobook, it would be perfect for a long car trip with the whole family, or just for grown-ups who miss having someone read them bedtime stories. ( )

Love Brendon Fraser's reading!!!! ( )

this is an amasing book about a dragon named firedrack that has to find a better home for the other dragons that live in the same valy away from the humans so they can live in peace. with the help of his browny friend named sroole he looks for the rim of hevan. along the way he meets a boy named ben that lived alown in a old factoury, he has no family or money. he ends up going on this fabulis jurny to the other side of the world. they stoped at a mouten where firedrack resed, later some mouten dwarfs came and looked at firedrack. one dwarf named gravelberd whent to the golden one that hunted dragons he looks like a dragon but he is not a dragon......... i wont tell you any more if you want to now the rest you have to read this amazing book. ( )

I always like adventure stories, and this one has the theme of where home is. Memorable and likable characters. ( )