Review: Brass Dragon Codex ****(/)

Title: Brass Dragon Codex
Author: R.D. Henham
Why I Read This: The author’s “assistant” Rebecca Shelley is a member of a writer’s group I’m in, and when she asked for some reviewers, I volunteered, because it sounded like a good read.
Short Summary: When Hector strives to fulfill his life quest to build a great communication device, he never imagined the troubles he would face- which include a chatty brass dragon, dwarves, knights, and a clever thief.
Website: http://www.rebeccashelley.com/rdhenham/rdindex.html

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This book is the fourth in a series of books that are companion to A Practical Guide to Dragons. I have not read any of them, nor do I play D&D, which this book is based off of. While I think extra knowledge would have helped, I had everything I needed to understand the story. Each of these codices is a stand-alone story, with a few continuing characters.

This was an easy, fun read, which is very understandable, as it is aimed for ages 9-12. Still, part of the reason I read it in one day was it was hard to put down. There was a lot of action and conflicts from so many areas, I was often left wondering what was going to happen, even though there were some things I was able to guess.

I loved Kyani’s character. I couldn’t help but laugh at how he would try to talk even to inanimate objects, and then speak for them when they didn’t reply. I also loved his sense of wonder at everything. The other characters were also interesting, if at times a little flat.

The beginning of the book details the invention of Hector, the gnome, and as a scientist, that really captivated me. It was really fun to read about how he discovered how to create the sender/receiver (telegraph), and then it was interesting to see how the people in his world reacted to his invention. I am curious, though, how they were planning on using it as a weapon, since to be effective, the enemy has to touch the bare wires.

There is a theme to this book of a lesson learned about communicating with people. It’s mostly handled well, but at times, it felt a bit heavy. Nothing terrible though.

With it being a middle-grade book, there is no sex or swearing. There are some fights, but nothing extensive or graphic.

Overall, this is a good read. I can definitely see kids in this age range reading it eagerly. I give it 4 and a half stars out of 5.