The Dominion Key

Joshua Dread #3

by Lee Bacon, Maxwell Glick (Narrator), Richard McGonagle (Narrator)

6 Hours and 19 Minutes

The summer is coming to an end and Joshua--along with his friends Sophie, Milton, and Miranda--are about to begin seventh grade. But when a trip to the mall turns into an attack by nFinity and a couple of Phineas Vex's goons, it becomes clear that they're no longer safe in Sheepsdale. To ensure their safety, Joshua and his friends must enroll in Alabaster Academy, a school for Gyfted kids. Located on an isolated island where there are only two types of weather (rainy and very rainy), Alabaster is filled with every kind of superpowered student you can imagine--not to mention a whole new species of bully. But when Alabaster comes under attack, Joshua and his friends are forced to escape once again. Their only hope for survival is to find a mysterious key that will enable complete world domination for whoever possesses it. But what if Phineas Vex finds the key first?

Genres: Superheroes, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Humor

Audio CD

First published May 13, 2014

About the author

I grew up in College Station, TX and first began writing in elementary school. I would write stories and poems with the intention of making my classmates laugh. Twenty years later, I used this same technique to write my first kid’s book.

Over the years, I’ve worked a lot of different jobs—farm laborer, art gallery assistant, bartender, assistant literary agent—before settling on the two jobs that I currently hold: Writer and freelance translator. I now live in Brooklyn with my wife and two cats.

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for the first three books. Not sure if there will be more, but it ends highly unresolved, so I assume there will be.

I read this series aloud to my 8-year-old son, and it was just the right level. He loved it and got all the jokes. I enjoyed it as well, but I'm not sorry there isn't a fourth book available right now.

The premise starts out well--Joshua is the child of supervillains--but the twist ends there. Of course he develops powers, and of course he uses them only for good. There is so much more the author could have done with this idea--the pull toward the good or the bad, opportunities for our hero to become a villain. The struggle between your parents' expectations and your own desires. But I guess most of that would be lost on the target audience. Oh well.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun conclusion to the Joshua Dread series. After (most of) the main characters discover their supernatural powers, they are put into a school for heroes and villains. They learn that foes plan to destroy the Earth and with the help of school faculty they

[AuroraIce]

Bookshelf reread.

Joshua and his friends go to the mall, where things begin floating and they’re attacked by a telekinetic girl and a scrawny short boy wearing cement mix to make himself big and tough, though he melts in water and isn’t super smart. They were sent to attack them by nFinity and, having never met them before, are quite eager and excited to kill them, which I find rude.

Seeing as this means Phineas Vex wanted them attacked, the super parents gather together to make a plan and squabble. Even Scarlet Flame shows up in her helicopter, failing to be discreet, to help out her boyfriend, Captain Justice. Sophie is not a fan of hers. The parents decide to sent their kids to their alma mater, The Something Academy, where most heroes and villains went to school, a haven for Gyfted kids except the ones who have a bad time there, and this is the first time the main characters of hearing of it. They figure Vex won’t suspect that place, and it has protections to keep them safe.

But first they have to deliver them there discreetly, and the most discreet way is hidden in the tour bus for Captain Justice’s reality show. This gets to show the Dread Duo being helpful. During one stop, minor villains attack the bus just cuz it belongs to a hero. They try to float it away, but Joshua’s mom uses plants to drag it back down. Then the gets reach a boat and float off to the island to meet the headmaster, who at first looks like a scary ax man but is really a Santa Claus who loves his job. The school has been run by their family for generations.

His daughter, Cassie, gives them the tour. She liked Milton best from the Alliance of the Impossible in book 2, and is excited to learn who he is. She also has to keep back the more hostile students from bothering them and explain the belief that the ghost of the first headmaster lingers in his own painting.

The attack from the mall had allowed Joshua to snag a list of items in nFinity’s possession, and during their trip and while in school, news articles keep coming out reporting those same items getting stolen by people matching the description of their mall attackers. The last item is the Dominion Key.

During classes, only Miranda doesn’t struggle, passing their lesson on explosives with ease while everyone else gets exploded on, as well as their gym class. Joshua learns the headmaster’s power allows him to create spatial portals out of thin air, but only to places he’s very familiar with. Joshua also sees the painting of the school founder and believes he hears his ghost.

Dr. Fleming is the teacher who does the explosives and other such things, and he takes them up to the lighthouse to meet the giant robotic duck.

Miranda’s intuition power points them toward the textbook for Dr. Fleming’s class, which he wrote himself, and the about the author page talks about how he invented the Dominion Key. They rush to his office to question him since it’s the only item not yet stolen. He’s making a peanut-butter-and jelly explosive, but becomes worried when they warn him he’ll be hunted. He says he hid the key in a secret location once he realized that when paired with those other items, it can be used to control the world.

The school falls under attack during this discussion by motorcycle cyborgs. They manage to help the headmaster portal away while he’s being attacked, and then run off to escape on the robot duck so they can retrieve the key and destroy it. However, one of the bullies chases them down, eager to commit evil, and claws Dr. Fleming, injuring him too badly to continue. They’ve been sneaking through the tunnels after Cassie has revealed that there is no ghost, just her dad being mistaken as the founder and the family using walls tunnels that were built for protection but kept as a family secret. They hide Fleming in there an go on without him.

The werewolf bully also goes for Milton, and Joshua gets so desperate that his strange power that takes control of him activates, freezing time while a blast of light shoots from him toward the bully, but everyone’s eyes slowly move with understanding of what’s going to happen. Realizing it it hits, Milton will be destroyed too, Joshua fights to pull the power back in, which knocks him out as usual, but he stops it from hitting them and the bully flees.

In the lighthouse, Joshua faces the telekinetic girl and the cement boy alone, using the light to blind his enemies so he can win. He explodes the window,s letting rain take out the cement boy. He could have done better, but he hardly puts his power of combustion to good use.

They fly off on the duck but get shot at by cyborgs. The duck is hit and wobbles, and over the water, Miranda falls. Joshua grabs her but loses his grip and he goes into the water, seemingly dying as if that could happen to a main character in a book of this grade level.

Needing somewhere to land since the duck is running low on power due to compensating for the damage, Sophie chooses a place and they end up in a field, where an old hero and sidekick live together because I guess they never found anyone else to have in their lives or separated. They mentored her dad and therefore view her as a sort of granddaughter, but were also willing to shoot this group of kids at first when they thought they didn’t know them.

They send them off in their old hero mobile and Sophie, having driven it before, does the driving while they hold off the cyborgs that somehow quickly found them. Fleming had told them after his injury that the key was hidden in a cabin, which instructions how to get there. So that’s where they go.

Once they arrive and knock, Fleming opens the door, revealing the healer at the school has healing powers so his wound was fixed quickly and then he traveled over here, faster than them apparently. He’s been looking at Joshua strangely ever since he saw his uncontrolled power.

The cabin is cabiny outside but new and state-of-the-art inside. He feeds them while talking about how he didn’t invent the dominion key, but rather a tool to utilize the key’s power, like a plug. He takes them to this room and puts this metal on his head, apologizing before activating a device that sticks non-metal to the walls, trapping them all there. He reveals Joshua is the dominion key, as his spontaneous combustion power, rare and volatile, comes with this side effect of spatial time disruption something or another, like when it takes over and time freezes, which is what the world domination thing uses before altering more stuff and controlling people. I don’t really remember.

Fleming would rather work with who he think will be the winner, and since Vex is unbeatable in his power suit, Fleming is scared, and he wants to see hiw put to use, he’s chosen his side and alerted Vex to their location and capture. Joshua manages to use his power to separated his hand from the wall enough times to snatch the peanut butter and jelly explosive from Milton’s pocket and disrupt things, allowing Cassie to turn into mist, which is unaffected by the device, and move to the control panel to turn it off. Before she does, Joshua has also his Fleming so his metal headpiece comes off and his face slams into the wall.

They go out and nFinity is there to attack with so much fire, but the Dread Duo arrives and stops, but Vex and his cyborgs are arriving. So do the students from the school, led by Miranda, who survived. She uses her power and leadership to instruct the students on how to fight, doing well against his unbeatable suit.

Vex is still overpowered though, and keeps coming, getting closer. Joshua is desperate to control his power, and manages to activate it and fire at Vex, who has been after him since his power attacked in the first book and make Vex realize he was the dominion key. It seems to obliterate him, but he’s fine. This allows the headmaster to open a portal to Antarctica, where he sends everything he doesn’t want, as his family went on vacation there once and regretted it.

I don’t know why they think that would keep Vex, as if his suit that can’t be beat by any powers, which possesses the same abilities as all the top super people, will be weak to cold and isolation.

Miranda loves the school and plans to go back, whereas Cassie is excited to be out of the school for the first time. Joshua has been recovering since using his power and crashing through the house as a result, getting hours of painful healing from the school healer. He’s sad about Miranda, who’s mom will be joyous because she’s always trying to move her into something her-related. Cassie and Milton like each other.

They know Vex will come back and need to prepare and make sure he can’t get Joshua, using methods such as going home.

It seems this the final book, even though it leaves things open for Vex's return and other things still unresolved.

He’d become famous for flying around the world, fighting evil, punching dictators.

“You know we don’t allow that kind of things in our house! Good guys are a bad influence.”

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.5 of 5

The Dominion Key is the third book in Lee Bacon's Joshua Dread series.

It is nearing the end of summer and the start of school just around the corner when Joshua and his friends Milton, Sophie, and Miranda are attacked in a local mall by some of Phineas Vex's goons. The attack is troubling to Joshua's and Sophie's parents (the Dread Duo and Captain Justice, respectively) and it is decided that for their own safety, the kids will be sent to Alabaster Academy - a special school, located on a remote island, for Gyfted students. Although everyone there has super-power (except Milo), it only means that the school bullies take bullying to a whole new level.

Joshua and his friends, which now include Cassie, the principal's daughter, discover that Phineas Vex is trying to collect all the various pieces to a device that could give him the power of world domination. The last missing piece to the collection is something called The Dominion Key. It so happens that the key was produced by a teacher at Alabaster Academy - one Dr. Fleming. Fleming lets them in on a little secret, and it's not something any of them wanted to hear.

Like the first book, this book moves along quickly, easily holding the attention of the young reader.

It is pretty clear that there has been something significant that has happened between the first and this third book - all the characters mention and respond to it, but it is really explained, which I found frustrating. I'm glad to have at least read the first book or I'm not sure I'd really understand the relationships between these students.

This is a series that should really appeal to a lot of middle school students because it has all the right ingredients : superheroes, students with special abilities, and an adventure in which their very lives are on the line.

Looking fr a good book? Joshua Dread: The Dominion Key by Lee Bacon is the exciting third book in the Joshua Dread series and is entertaining reading for the middle school student, but they will want to read the series in order because the events in previous books are not explained well in the future volumes.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad honestly thought there could be more character development but in these kind of stories I don't really look for that. I usually look for the action. Everything just seemed too convenient. Everytime they were in the most sticky situations (not just this book but the previous books as well) the same thing would happen. The same exact person would come to their rescue and that just kind of bored me as the book became too predictable. I don't exactly regret reading this but also I'm sure I wouldnt miss it if I never read it. I think my opinion is a bit too generous and would give this book 2 stars but I love action superpower stories and I just couldn't do that.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the book and the whole series. It is the best because the parents are super villans, but now kinda super heroes. I really liked Milton because he kept misspelling words. He was so funny!

[CraftyChara · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

[Steve S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really fun series and this book continues it. A little too much deux ex machina though.

[Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book in the series. I really liked it because it was exciting and full of action packed scenes. Very good adding Sophie's old friends that act like grandparents. Very good fight against Phineas Vex and crew. Very funny with giant robotic duck.

[Jennifer Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book The Dominion Key by Lee Bacon is fictional novel in the genre of action/adventure. It is the third book in the Joshua Dread series. Joshua Dread is a 7th grade boy who is ‘gyfted’ with superpowers. He is the son of superhero parents. The majority of his friends are also ‘gyfted’, with the exception of his friend Milton. When the group of kids is attacked by another superhero gang at the mall, their parents decide that they’d be safer if enrolled in the Alabaster Academy, a school for other kids with superpowers. While enrolled at the school the kids continue to investigate the motivation behind their attack at the mall and learn that it is part of a plot for world domination by evil villain Phineas Vex. The kids must try to take down the evil villain and stop his plot. This book is a silly and delightful mixture of a tale reminiscent of The Incredibles combined with the suspense of a Harry Potter adventure at Hogwarts. Just plain fun. While this book is fun, I would only purchase it if you already have the first two books in this series.

[Edward Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read the previous books, but this seems to be a series you can start any where and quickly catch up. This is almost like "The Incredibles", but some people do know about the secret identity of the parents (Joshua's parents are the Dread Duo; and some are on to the identities of the kids - and they're after them. So to be safe, the kids (Joshua, his superhero friends Sophie and Miranda, plus "normal" guy Milton) are sent to a remote island/school where they can learn more about their powers and, you know, be safe. Uh huh.

ARC provided by publisher.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun series, and I really enjoy the blend of humour, action and awesome fighting scenes. Defeating a villain with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? That's something I never thought I'd read! And yet, in this series, it works. The whole thing works - although aspects of this one reminded me a bit too strongly of other, more well known, books that I've read. Still, I enjoyed it all, and read it in just a few hours (whilst at work, I might add).

This is a great series, perfect for kids from 8 to 13. Highly recommended.

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

nFinity and Phineas Vox are becoming more of a threat to Joshua and his friends. This leads to their parents enrolling Joshua in Alabaster Academy, the oldest school for Gyfted Children.
The plot as very subtle elements of "Deathly Hallows," but Bacon uses these elements in a satirical way.
I also liked the reference to Adam West and his Batmobile.

[Gail Shipley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boys will love this book full of superheroes and super villains. Has secret passages, unusual super gifts, and a bad villain to conquer. Action filled and fast paced. Good for upper elementary and middle school.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quite good book, in my opinion. Moves a little too fast for my taste, and the (spoiler alert) cliffhanger at the end does leave opportunity for a fourth book which I am not sure is forthcoming, but still a good read.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to make it a habit to rate any and all books on my reading challenge list. I'm not saying this book was bad. I'm not saying it was phenomenal either. It was fine, there was nothing to hate about it, and so technicality wise, this is just 3 stars.

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joshua is threatened by nFinity and Phineas Vox, so the solution is to send him and his friends to a remote school called the Alabaster Academy.
Some of the action and the academy are very similar to "Deathly Hallows," but Bacon uses a light satiric touch.

[Jared H]

Fleming is a dumbo. He sucks at planning anything bad. He should've gone to a hospital to check his brain cells. This is a great book. I totally forgot that the principle could make the portal. The part where the school students all came in. Loved this series.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me nostalgic for The Three Investigators. That's a good thing. But it also reminded me of how much I hated Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. And that's a bad thing.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this is my favorite book in the series.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book. its my second all time favorite book.

[Lazybee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this series are the parents of Joshua, the dread duo. Unlike other super hero parents they seems more realistic and practical.

[Noel Ahlers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific book in the Joshua Dread series! Quick read. My 12 year old loved it.

[Tiffiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 12 yr old loved this series and read this book in about 24 hours.

[Christine Landis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy, fun read. I can picture it as a movie.