Brass Dragon Codex

by R.D. Henham

Never start a conversation with a brass dragon--it might never end!

In another volume of the companion series to A Practical Guide to Dragons, orphaned baby brass dragon Kyani ventures out into the desert to find something to eat, and finds a gnome named Hector instead. Hector is not so sure he wants a chatty, hungry brass dragon following his every move. But several groups ready to go to blows over the marvelous invention Hector guards with his life, he may need the help that only a fun-loving brass dragon can provide.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Dragonlance, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Childrens, High Fantasy

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 10, 2009

About the author

R.D. Henham is a pseudonym of Rebecca Shelley.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

This is another entry in a series for young children in the world of Dragonlance. It is a stand alone novel. In this one, Hector is forced to leave his home because his inventions are deemed too dangerous. Hector is a gnome who we have seen in other books. He meets a brass dragon and they form an unusual friendship.

I thought this was one of the better offerings from this series. Even though the plot was linear and there was never a surprise, it was enjoyable and a fun read. I really enjoyed the interactions of the brass dragon as he sees the world with an innocence even though he has suffered a terrible loss. I believe young children would especially enjoy his character and I liked how this book included moral messages into its story. The only word of caution I have is the final scene. If one has not read the Red Dragon Codex before this one, the reader might be a little confused with this scene. It isn't essential to the plot but I enjoyed the connection between the two books.

I am enjoying this series even though it is meant for a younger audience. These books are a fun, quick read that have a nice moral message in them.

[ALEXANDER SIMMONS · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked the struggle between the dragon and the human.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brass Dragon Codex brings back a character we briefly met in Red Dragon Codex. Hector is a fun and entertaining main character that young readers will really enjoy reading about. His inventions rarely work, and usually cause a lot of problems, but this time he has invented something that may really help people over long distance talk with each other.

Kyani, otherwise known as Tumbleweed, as a young brass dragon that only wants a friend to talk to. With the death of both of his parents, he is starving for conversation. He is a highly likable metallic dragon, which means he is one of the good dragons, I don't know about you, but I really like the good dragons a lot more than the bad dragons.

Rebecca Shelley returns to the Dragon Codex series with her second book in Brass Dragon Codex. The story is smart, wonderfully written, and highly entertaining. I laughed when I learned of type of items in the brass dragon's hoard. Let's just say they are not your typical items like gold, jewels, precious metals, and magical armor and weapons.

I am not exactly sure what a gnome looks like in the world of DragonLance and Dungeons & Dragons. I am sure they don't look like the little red-hatted, long-bearded fellows we see as statues in people's gardens. I do know that they are short and love to invent things. I guess I picture them to be more like Hobbits than anything else. All I know is that I do like this race and look forward to reading more stories about gnomes in the future. Now, if only we could get a story that focuses on a kender as the main character. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Overall, Brass Dragon Codex is another excellent story in the ten-book series about all the different types of dragons in the world of DragonLance. Personally, I hope that there are more than just ten books, but I will have to wait and see. I think that this is a pretty awesome series and cannot wait to see what happens next in Green Dragon Codex. Sounds like it will be time for another evil dragon to rear it's ugly head.

I rated this book a 9 out of 10.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brass Dragon Codex (The Dragon Codices)
by R. D. Henham

A Thrill For The Adventure Lover In Me


This review is from: Brass Dragon Codex (The Dragon Codices) (Hardcover)
Brass Dragon Codex
In a world where Dragons haunt the sky looking for victims, no one feels safe.
That is until they come face to face with the Brass Dragon.

Hector, a gnome, has invented a device that will be his life's quest. He will change the communication between the gnome and the dwarf kingdoms. But, how will he prove his invention works, if no one will believe in him?

At a time when even his best friend Amber has deserted him, Hector finds a great friend in Tumbleweed, the orphaned dragon who has come to save his life. The only problem is, Brass Dragons love to talk. The dragon has found someone to talk to and he isn't about to let Hector go. Will Hector be able to prove himself? Will the Brass Dragon ever let him go? Will Hector be able to keep his invention away from thieves and men who wish to use his device to do evil?

I really enjoyed Rebecca Shelley as a scribe for R. D. Henham. She has a cleaver use of words and her plot kept me wanting more. This is a cute and quirky tale of the Brass Dragon, although he is small for a dragon, he became a powerful ally for a dwarf on a mission.

Jill Ammon Vanderwood: author of Middle Grade Books
Through the Rug
Through The Rug: Follow That Dog
What's It Like Living Green?: Kids Teaching Kids, by the Way They Live

[Carolyn Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a clever story, definately written to appeal to a younger audience. The writing was clean, never distracting and the story contained elements that I found charming.
Hector is a gnome whose life quest is to build a communication devise. All gnomes are inventive and have a life quest. I loved this feature of the story. Hector has a friend who happens to be a girl and an gnome, named Amber. Hector also becomes friends with a baby brass dragon, named Tumbleweed. The story is basically about how Hector builds a fantasy-story version of a telegraph machine and his quest to set it up across the desert to prove to Shem the communication divise really works. (Shem is.a human who banished Hector because he believed Hector's inventions were dangerous).
The author shifted within the POV of Hector, Amber and Tumbleweed through out the story. I felt this weakened an already conflict-poor story. Many points along the way, I felt the tension could have been heightened if I, the reader, were allowed to beleive that Amber could be in danger, or even dead, but when the author shifts POV and a semi-tense point from Hector to Amber's thoughts, I know immediately that Amber is okay. It's like poking a taut ballon with a pin.
If you don't mind predictable outcomes, and watered down tension, the book was good. I would recommend this book for young readers 8 to 12.

[Ali Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Anne McCaffrey and her Harper Hall Trilogy, so I've pretty much avoided all other dragon books--I mean, who could compete with her?

So that's my excuse why I haven't previously read any of R.D. Henham's Dragon books (The Dragon Codices.)

But, I had the opportunity to read The Brass Dragon Codex, and I now feel suitably repentant as to say, this was a darn good book and I will happily read the others and any new books Henham cooks up.

The Brass Dragon Codex tells the story of a lonely and talkative Brass Dragon who befriends a rather egocentric gnome. The unlikely pair turn out to be good for each other though and they both learn a lot from their friendship.

There is a subtle moral to the story: To have good friends, you must first BE a good friend.

My eight year old son snagged this book from me and finished it before I did. He said he loved it, and he's an astute reader. I believed him that it was good--but I have to add my hearty hurrah to his. The Brass Dragon Codex is a truly enjoyable book. It was a fast and friendly read, enjoyable for both me and my son.

If you love dragons as much as I do, love a good story with the thrill of adventure, then you'll love R.D. Henham's Brass Dragon Codex.

Enjoy!

[Monster]

This is a very simple and straightforward tale of friendship, what it takes to be a friend, and how to have friends you have to make sure that first of all YOU are a good friend. Our story starts with a young Brass Dragon discovering that his parents have been done in by an evil Blue dragon. The little dragon is lonely and unhappy now that he is living alone and looks high and low for a friend. Meanwhile a little gnome gets himself kicked out of the city for an invention gone wrong - but he has an even better idea, if only people would listen to him.
The dragon and gnome cross paths in the desert and learn the truth about friendship while helping each other to reach their goals. It's a really sweet story that many will enjoy. For the adults, there may be a bit lacking in the character department, but I handed this book off to my 11 year old son and it seems to be right up his alley. I would recommend this for the 10 and up crew depending on their reading ability. For those concerned about violence - the Brass Dragon's parents are killed, and there is a bit of violence, though none of it is overly gory. I would not give this to my 7 year old, but the middle school group should be fine.

Review by K.D.P

[Ravenskya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not something I would have picked up on my own, however the wonderful folks over at monsterlibrarian.com send me a copy to review, and I have to admit that it was quite an enjoyable read.

This is a very simple and straightforward tale of friendship, and what it takes to be a friend. That to have friends you have to make sure that first of all YOU are a good friend. Our story starts with a young Brass Dragon discovering that his parents have been done in by an evil Blue dragon. The little dragon is lonely and unhappy now that he is living alone and looks high and low for a friend. Meanwhile a little gnome gets himself kicked out of the city for an invention gone wrong - but he has an even better idea, if only people would listen to him.

Our dragon and our gnome cross paths in the desert and learn the truth about friendship while helping eachother to reach their goals. It's a really sweet story that many will enjoy. For the adults, there may be a bit lacking in the character department, but I handed this book off to my 11 year old son and it seems to be right up his alley. I would recommend this for the 10 and up crew depending on their reading ability.

[Jocelyn Montalvo Cullum]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14245954

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I selected this book for my first try at doing the strategy Narrative in One Sitting, for my advanced reading strategies class. We had 50 minutes to read a book about 200 pages in length (this one was 240), I was reading very fast but I really enjoyed the book, for a short read it is pretty good. The characters are well done. This is not a huge epic story, the codexes as I take it are meant to tell small stories from the lives of everyday dragons. I haven't read any of the other codexes, but I have read the Practical Guide to Dragons, on which they are based and so that gave me some background knowledge for this book. In short, its a fun short read if you have a little time, I like the characters and the story.

[Duane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read others in this series and to me, this was the weakest one so far. In this volume, we follow the adventures of one very talkative brass dragon and a gnome who has invented the telegraph. When circumstances bring them together, they decide to help the other so they can at least have someone to be around. The story just doesn't follow through to me, although I guess I can see younger readers enjoying the storyline of a baby dragon who is missing his parents. Try the other books in this series first.

[Christina Peterson]

It took a while for me to really get into this book because the actual dragon didn't really come into major play until later. It was a great story, though, and gave me a better feel of Brass Dragons. It kind of left me wanting for more dragon though, but it's hard to have enough dragon in it for my liking haha. I loved that they brought in a few of the characters from the Red Dragon Codex, which was the first book I read in this series. I wish they had finished the whole series, instead of leaving a couple of the colors unfinished, but I can't wait to read the last one (Green Dragon Codex)!

[Suzanne Eastman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about a very talkative dragon, a couple of nomes, some dwarves and the random human or two. In true adventure style we travel between cities, across a desert, into caves and over streams. Mix in a new and dangerous invention, a big bad dragon, some mean knights and an unusual thief and you have the making of a children's tale that is somewhat predicable but entertaining none the less.

[Ronda Hinrichsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of action. A great book for kids. For me, though, it took several chapters to get into it. I think that's because I didn't feel much of an emotional connection to the readers. But like I said before, it's great for kids. My fantasy-loving daughter loved it. Said it was better than the other "Dragon" books out there.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fun adventure with a dragon and a gnome. The dragon wonders into the desert searching for help and there he meets a unlikly companion and the excitement begins. Great story for girls as well as boys.

[Mickey888 · Rating 4 out of 5]

this story is about a little dragon with a big mouth.Suddenly the dragon finds a little gnome being attacked by deadly leaches.If she had'nt been there the gnome would have died.Read this amasing book to find out about there advetures.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never start a conversation with a brass dragon—it might never end! Hector the gnome learns this after running into the friendly little dragon Tumbleweed, who has just been orphaned. However this hungry little brass dragon isn't the only thing trailing him.

[Samantha Stanton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really cute

[Celest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tumbleweed is just the most adorable dragon ever! Even if he is a mega chatter-box.

[Joanne G.]

*Gnome named Amber.

[Caden · Rating 5 out of 5]

brass dragons talk too much.

[Critter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun to read. It was a really great book.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book