Daisy Chain?
I just bought a copy of Daisy Chain by Charlotte M. Yonge. (1894)
Couldn't help it... There's a handwritten note at the front of the book that says,
"To Gertie,
With best wishes for a Happy Birthday
from Emily
March 18th 1897"
Impulsebuying hem impulsebuying... Since books published back then don't have those convenient little blurbs at the back, I had no clue what it was about apart from it being a family chronicle. Still have no clue apart from it being a family chronicle with a girl called Ethan as one of the main characters.
Does anyone know if it's any good? Couldn't find many reviews.
Also, I've just finished Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke. Reaction: the opposite to Inkheart. With Inkheart, I was drawn in by the blurb and the whole idea of the book. So much so that I bought a hardback copy of the thing. A sinking feeling developed as I read it. A bit like the feeling you get when you spot a bargain on socks at a street vender (30% cheaper than everywhere else), buy a pair, go home, rip off the packaging only to find that friendly dude's just sold you a single sock. Or maybe not. I don't know if it's just that the book's not very well translated, but I didn't care for any of the characters, so it bored me.
I was rather weary when I got hold of Dragonrider. Cornelia Funke disappointed me once. And this time, the blurb seemed so generic. Boy meets dragon. Boy rides dragon. Boy and dragon have adventure. Especially after trying to trudge through Eragon (and still trying to this day). But the good reviews pursuaded me, and I'm so glad they did. It started off a bit slow, but by the time Twigleg the homunculus appeared, I was hooked. And, oh, the aviator rat. (There's something special about a rat piloting a modified toy plane in the Himalayas fighting the villain, who'se bigger than a dragon, with a spy in the back seat.) It's the characters that makes Dragonrider such a good read. And it's not the main characters that do it either.
The plot goes something like: Humans are going to flood a valley in Scotland where the dragons are hiding. This is bad news for the dragons, of course, so a brave young one called Firedrake decides to seek out a legendary place called the Rim of Heaven, where dragons live freely. His friend Sorrel, a bad tempered brownie who loves mushrooms, goes with him. On their way, they pick up Ben, a human child with no family. Ben helps them navigate to the Himalayas, where the Rim of Heaven is hidden, with the help of a map made by a rat. But of course, it's a dangerous journey. All the more so because the Golden One, a dragon-like being created by alchemy, has his eye on Firedrake and friends. He wants to go on a hunt again. He hunts dragons. This time he's going to be patient and wait for the prey to lead him to the place with even more preys. Then he'll eat them all.
Throw in spies, a double-agent, sandmen, a basilisk, moonflowers, and a djinn with a thousand eyes who lives in a car, and you have a good story.
Thinking back, it's not the main characters that makes the book a success. Actually I don't feel particularly attached to the dragon or the dragonrider. However, Sorrel, Twigleg, the Golden One, and the dwarf armour-polisher are special. That's more than enough to compensate for bits like the prophecy (thankfully introduced near the end) and, well, most of the human characters.
Couldn't help it... There's a handwritten note at the front of the book that says,
"To Gertie,
With best wishes for a Happy Birthday
from Emily
March 18th 1897"
Impulsebuying hem impulsebuying... Since books published back then don't have those convenient little blurbs at the back, I had no clue what it was about apart from it being a family chronicle. Still have no clue apart from it being a family chronicle with a girl called Ethan as one of the main characters.
Does anyone know if it's any good? Couldn't find many reviews.
Also, I've just finished Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke. Reaction: the opposite to Inkheart. With Inkheart, I was drawn in by the blurb and the whole idea of the book. So much so that I bought a hardback copy of the thing. A sinking feeling developed as I read it. A bit like the feeling you get when you spot a bargain on socks at a street vender (30% cheaper than everywhere else), buy a pair, go home, rip off the packaging only to find that friendly dude's just sold you a single sock. Or maybe not. I don't know if it's just that the book's not very well translated, but I didn't care for any of the characters, so it bored me.
I was rather weary when I got hold of Dragonrider. Cornelia Funke disappointed me once. And this time, the blurb seemed so generic. Boy meets dragon. Boy rides dragon. Boy and dragon have adventure. Especially after trying to trudge through Eragon (and still trying to this day). But the good reviews pursuaded me, and I'm so glad they did. It started off a bit slow, but by the time Twigleg the homunculus appeared, I was hooked. And, oh, the aviator rat. (There's something special about a rat piloting a modified toy plane in the Himalayas fighting the villain, who'se bigger than a dragon, with a spy in the back seat.) It's the characters that makes Dragonrider such a good read. And it's not the main characters that do it either.
The plot goes something like: Humans are going to flood a valley in Scotland where the dragons are hiding. This is bad news for the dragons, of course, so a brave young one called Firedrake decides to seek out a legendary place called the Rim of Heaven, where dragons live freely. His friend Sorrel, a bad tempered brownie who loves mushrooms, goes with him. On their way, they pick up Ben, a human child with no family. Ben helps them navigate to the Himalayas, where the Rim of Heaven is hidden, with the help of a map made by a rat. But of course, it's a dangerous journey. All the more so because the Golden One, a dragon-like being created by alchemy, has his eye on Firedrake and friends. He wants to go on a hunt again. He hunts dragons. This time he's going to be patient and wait for the prey to lead him to the place with even more preys. Then he'll eat them all.
Throw in spies, a double-agent, sandmen, a basilisk, moonflowers, and a djinn with a thousand eyes who lives in a car, and you have a good story.
Thinking back, it's not the main characters that makes the book a success. Actually I don't feel particularly attached to the dragon or the dragonrider. However, Sorrel, Twigleg, the Golden One, and the dwarf armour-polisher are special. That's more than enough to compensate for bits like the prophecy (thankfully introduced near the end) and, well, most of the human characters.