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Dragon Codices #1
Red Dragon Codex
For fans of The New York Times best-selling A Practical Guide to Dragons , a new series of fantasy fiction focusing on the power of dragonkind.
The Dragon Codices chronicle adventures with each of ten dragons of Krynn. From the fiery, evil red dragon to the playful copper, each dragon's tale is unique. Sindri Suncatcher, narrator of A Practical Guide to Dragons , shared these tales from his travels with library scribe R.D. Henham.
Mudd lives a peaceful life in his small town, tinkering with the mill and any mechanical devices that he can find. But his peaceful life soon changes when, out of nowhere, a red dragon attacks, burning the town and kidnapping Shemnara, the village seer. Only one clue is left behind--a cryptic note telling Mudd, "Seek the silver dragon."
The Dragon Codices chronicle adventures with each of ten dragons of Krynn. From the fiery, evil red dragon to the playful copper, each dragon's tale is unique. Sindri Suncatcher, narrator of A Practical Guide to Dragons , shared these tales from his travels with library scribe R.D. Henham.
Mudd lives a peaceful life in his small town, tinkering with the mill and any mechanical devices that he can find. But his peaceful life soon changes when, out of nowhere, a red dragon attacks, burning the town and kidnapping Shemnara, the village seer. Only one clue is left behind--a cryptic note telling Mudd, "Seek the silver dragon."
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2008
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1171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
May 30, 2023
Ugh, what did I just read? 🤦♀️
I have had these since my high school days (around when they first came out) as I loved dragons. Well, this is the most poorly written, under-developed story with the flattest characters ever.
I have the other books too and I have had them so long I almost want to force myself to read them...maybe they will be better than this one? 😅
I have had these since my high school days (around when they first came out) as I loved dragons. Well, this is the most poorly written, under-developed story with the flattest characters ever.
I have the other books too and I have had them so long I almost want to force myself to read them...maybe they will be better than this one? 😅
April 24, 2018
This book is part of the Dragonlance universe and it is an adventure with some minor characters from a YA series. In this one, Mudd is forced to go on a quest to rescue an elder woman from his village. As per usual for a fantasy adventure, he is joined by a group of different characters.
This book was a total surprise for me. I wasn't expecting much for it as I just recently discovered this series exists as it doesn't seem to be well known. This book is aimed at for young children but I enjoyed it. The message behind this book is don't judge a book by its cover and the author did a nice job with conveying this message. We see examples of this throughout and each one was poignant. In fact, one of them interested me so much that I wish that this minor character has his own novel. The adventure itself wasn't amazing but it is more than serviceable. The strength behind this book is the message and its supporting cast with their reveals. The finale was excellent and I loved every second of it.
It is nice when I receive a pleasant surprise from a book that I wasn't expecting much. This is the case for this one. It is an excellent book for young children but adults can enjoy this quick adventure.
This book was a total surprise for me. I wasn't expecting much for it as I just recently discovered this series exists as it doesn't seem to be well known. This book is aimed at for young children but I enjoyed it. The message behind this book is don't judge a book by its cover and the author did a nice job with conveying this message. We see examples of this throughout and each one was poignant. In fact, one of them interested me so much that I wish that this minor character has his own novel. The adventure itself wasn't amazing but it is more than serviceable. The strength behind this book is the message and its supporting cast with their reveals. The finale was excellent and I loved every second of it.
It is nice when I receive a pleasant surprise from a book that I wasn't expecting much. This is the case for this one. It is an excellent book for young children but adults can enjoy this quick adventure.
November 30, 2011
LRN: Solid five stars.
In this story, there's a village called Potter's Mill. The village maiden is kidnapped by a red dragon and a boy named Mudd who lives there has to save her.
Mum: Was she friends with the boy?
LRN: Yes. The red dragons eat girls.
Mum: Why?
LRN: They just do!
Mum: So what happens?
LRN: Mudd meets another son of a chief of a city named Drakecutter. They go to Palanthas to get this pendant that summons the silver dragon which is the weakness of the red dragon. The silver dragons spits out ice and the red dragon spits out fire. Mudd's sister Heira comes, and she is a ranger.
Mum: What's a ranger?
LRN: A forestman.
Mum: Not a forestgirl?
LRN: Ah, whatever.
Mum: Why is this such a good story?
LRN: Because the ending is awesome!
In this story, there's a village called Potter's Mill. The village maiden is kidnapped by a red dragon and a boy named Mudd who lives there has to save her.
Mum: Was she friends with the boy?
LRN: Yes. The red dragons eat girls.
Mum: Why?
LRN: They just do!
Mum: So what happens?
LRN: Mudd meets another son of a chief of a city named Drakecutter. They go to Palanthas to get this pendant that summons the silver dragon which is the weakness of the red dragon. The silver dragons spits out ice and the red dragon spits out fire. Mudd's sister Heira comes, and she is a ranger.
Mum: What's a ranger?
LRN: A forestman.
Mum: Not a forestgirl?
LRN: Ah, whatever.
Mum: Why is this such a good story?
LRN: Because the ending is awesome!
May 4, 2019
The story was intriguing but the writing was not very high quality. It might be a good book for kids but I would not recommend it for anyone who has read a book as descriptive as The Hobbit since there is no going back to this.
August 3, 2014
This book is one of the slowest, stupidest, most monotonous things I've ever read. Generally, I have good taste in books, and I don't generally find a need to bash them. This thing, though... this is just ridiculous.
The characters are just straight-up copy-and-paste from every other fantasy adventure book ever. You've got the plucky hero kid, the girly princess, the seer, the dragon. And it is all horribly boring.
The plot is terrible. New characters are thrust at you with no reason to care about them. One character, the Scottish farmer guy, makes it exactly one chapter before being thrown out. It's like the author wrote the character, then thought 'nah, he sucks,' but was too lazy to edit him out of the story entirely.
The dialogue is boring and monotonous. They spend half a chapter just talking about a windmill, which is sadly our first introduction to the hero. Good way to set up for the rest of the book.
I know it's for kids. But kids are not stupid. They should not be subjected to this piece of trash. A thesis on the life cycle of dung beetles is more interesting than this garbage--at least it has a plot.
Throw this book against a wall. Please.
The characters are just straight-up copy-and-paste from every other fantasy adventure book ever. You've got the plucky hero kid, the girly princess, the seer, the dragon. And it is all horribly boring.
The plot is terrible. New characters are thrust at you with no reason to care about them. One character, the Scottish farmer guy, makes it exactly one chapter before being thrown out. It's like the author wrote the character, then thought 'nah, he sucks,' but was too lazy to edit him out of the story entirely.
The dialogue is boring and monotonous. They spend half a chapter just talking about a windmill, which is sadly our first introduction to the hero. Good way to set up for the rest of the book.
I know it's for kids. But kids are not stupid. They should not be subjected to this piece of trash. A thesis on the life cycle of dung beetles is more interesting than this garbage--at least it has a plot.
Throw this book against a wall. Please.
September 26, 2016
This book was incredibly bland. if I'd had the time, I could have read it in a single day.
one dimensional characters and gaping plot wholes with a point and fetch RRPG Quest feel, this book nearly had me asleep.
the world was completely undeveloped, and even the last page left me with no desire whatsoever to read whatever came after this.
I don't think I could read one more page of such a simple but terribly executed story.
one dimensional characters and gaping plot wholes with a point and fetch RRPG Quest feel, this book nearly had me asleep.
the world was completely undeveloped, and even the last page left me with no desire whatsoever to read whatever came after this.
I don't think I could read one more page of such a simple but terribly executed story.
October 12, 2018
This book is tremendous, there are many things that happened in this book. Its starts with a boy roughly age 16 who is sent on a quest after the attack of the legendary dragon redclaw. Shemnara was captured after the first raid, and now he is sent on a quest to seek the silver dragon sleekwing. Him and his sister went together and on this trip they picked up a couple of men. A elf with a pendant of wishes and a knight. They went together and soon came upon a village with a library with the clues and tips on where the silver pendent is. Then they continued on and went to the location. Then they came upon a cave and went through the trials of the three powers. Courage love and belief. Then they had to challenge the skeletons that went and attacked Mudd. He is the 16 year old. Soon they completed the challenges and found the silver pendent. Then he called for the dragon who was soon related to the elf and granted mudd the puzzles that he liked to solve. They saved shemnara and defeated redclaw.
October 4, 2018
The book was fairly good but it honestly wasn't my type of book to read. One of the characters Mudd (he was probably my favorite) lived in a small peaceful town. Mudd's life will not be peaceful for much longer be the red dragon attacks the village he lived in. The red dragon burned the town homes and even kidnapped Shemnara. Shemnara was the ladie who was captured by the red dragon and also warned Mudd and his sister. I personally would not recommend this book to others because I just didn't like it the book that much.
January 21, 2022
This was a fun book. It had lots of fantasy characters: elves, dwarves, and dragons. It was a fairly predictable plot: The dragon kidnaps the village seer, the hero and his sister set out to save her gathering a small group of friends along the way. They have to pass a series of tests to be able to summon the silver dragon in order to get rid of the evil red dragon. There were some fun plot twists along the way. Fun adventure! I'm glad I picked it up.
January 4, 2025
2.5⭐. This was meh- I don’t think this was a Codex Companion I read as a kid, and was disappointed in it as a novel read. Boring, and rather unexplained if not familiar with the world. Ending picked up a bit, but was really just trying to get through it. Feels as if the author underestimates how much kids can pick up on when reading- does waaaay too obvious foreshadowing and too much “telling” why Koran or Mudd are motivated to do what they do.
March 28, 2023
interesting and fun to read and I enjoyed most of the plot but the were parts were I felt like the story was bland and lacked detail to really get your mind going and really immerse yourself in the story
July 21, 2018
Great book for new Game masters and young children who want to read Tolkien.
November 27, 2019
i really like the adventured taken by the characters and the pot twist.
May 4, 2021
At first I found it boring, but as I continued reading it, it was actually pretty good. The ending was the best.
May 18, 2021
I love how it's like a dnd campaign with only hints of mechanics. Certainly a better read now knowing more about dungeons and dragons than when I was little
January 26, 2023
This book was so so good if you’re looking for action and adventure. It’s fast-paced and filled with trials that push our heroes into further development.
October 21, 2023
Closer to 3.5 stars, mainly because it was a little young for me. That being said, not a bad book!
April 23, 2025
Quite enjoyable with some fun characters.
November 30, 2014
Dragons, magic, dwarves, seers, and interesting draconian creatures. My 11 year old son started reading this and since I am awed by dragons I joined in. We agreed that the beginning was engaging and wished that energy had continued throughout the story. The enmity and the confrontation between the red and silver dragon was exciting. The story that followed slowed down, but it was still entertaining.
A brother and his bold sister set out on a simple quest searching for the Silver Dragon’s pendant, one which is imbued with a piece of her soul. “It could be used to call her and cause her to grant one wish for the summoner…to guard it, she set three tests—a test of courage, a test of love, and a test of truth.”
Mudd surprised me with his unwavering faith and shocked me with his courage when he jumped off of a cliff into darkness, without hesitation. He believed wholeheartedly in the dragon’s tests. I admired his sister’s loyalty and trust in people’s innate goodness. She was also very independent and wanted so badly to be a warrior, so much that she had a hard time admitting she was anything else. The test of truth brought that to light. I thought it demonstrated how we are complex beings, we are not defined by just one thing in our life. Hiera looked in the mirror and saw herself as both a maiden and a ranger. Mudd’s realization was significant too. He had tried to fill a void by learning how to fix things rather than face the loss he had suffered from loved ones dying. He came to accept that confronting his broken heart and taking care of his emotional health was good for him, albeit difficult. In order to allow others into his life he needed to acknowledge he had been hurt. I liked the theme of accepting who you are.
Other themes were: working together makes solving life’s problems easier and can help protect others, the value of friendship, people who are selfish and want something from you may tell you what you want to hear making you become someone you don’t want to be, doing good has its rewards.
This book’s main dragon was red—vengeful and deceptive. I felt it did not have enough scene time to really get to know it. The silver dragon was more peaceful and enjoyed freedom high in the sky. I look forward to meeting the other dragons in the series.
A brother and his bold sister set out on a simple quest searching for the Silver Dragon’s pendant, one which is imbued with a piece of her soul. “It could be used to call her and cause her to grant one wish for the summoner…to guard it, she set three tests—a test of courage, a test of love, and a test of truth.”
Mudd surprised me with his unwavering faith and shocked me with his courage when he jumped off of a cliff into darkness, without hesitation. He believed wholeheartedly in the dragon’s tests. I admired his sister’s loyalty and trust in people’s innate goodness. She was also very independent and wanted so badly to be a warrior, so much that she had a hard time admitting she was anything else. The test of truth brought that to light. I thought it demonstrated how we are complex beings, we are not defined by just one thing in our life. Hiera looked in the mirror and saw herself as both a maiden and a ranger. Mudd’s realization was significant too. He had tried to fill a void by learning how to fix things rather than face the loss he had suffered from loved ones dying. He came to accept that confronting his broken heart and taking care of his emotional health was good for him, albeit difficult. In order to allow others into his life he needed to acknowledge he had been hurt. I liked the theme of accepting who you are.
Other themes were: working together makes solving life’s problems easier and can help protect others, the value of friendship, people who are selfish and want something from you may tell you what you want to hear making you become someone you don’t want to be, doing good has its rewards.
This book’s main dragon was red—vengeful and deceptive. I felt it did not have enough scene time to really get to know it. The silver dragon was more peaceful and enjoyed freedom high in the sky. I look forward to meeting the other dragons in the series.
November 13, 2015
Red Dragon Codex is a tale about a quest for multiple items, all because of a nasty red dragon named Redclaw. You see, Redclaw enjoys causing pain and suffering wherever she goes. She practically destroyed Potter's Mill and Greenhollow so that it would cause a chain of events that will eventually lead her to the silver dragon, whom she intends to kill. What a nasty piece of work Redclaw is.
The storyline in Red Dragon Codex is of the type that I really enjoy in a fantasy novel. The main character is on a good, old-fashioned quest. He has been done wrong and the only way to correct it is to find an object that will help him defeat the evil that is ravaging the land. There is a slight twist in this story in that there are multiple quests going on that are all intertwined with the main quest.
I really enjoyed the writing style of Rebecca Shelley and found the story to be completely entertaining. All of the characters were well-developed and I had no idea what was going to happen next. Sure, I knew eventually that they would have to come face to face with Redclaw, but I didn't know how it was going to happen. So, I say, well done on writing the first book in the Dragon Codex series. If the other books to follow are as good as this one, young readers will be hounding the book stores and waiting anxiously for the next book to come out.
Overall, Red Dragon Codex is a great young reader fantasy novel that is bound to leave kids salivating for more. With ten different type of dragons talked about in A Practical Guide to Dragons, there are nine more books about these dragons to follow. All I can say is that I quite enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what happens next in Bronze Dragon Codex. And since a bronze dragon is not of the evil type, I wonder what that will be like? At least he or she will not be destroying towns and killing people. I actually prefer good dragons to evil dragons.
I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.
The storyline in Red Dragon Codex is of the type that I really enjoy in a fantasy novel. The main character is on a good, old-fashioned quest. He has been done wrong and the only way to correct it is to find an object that will help him defeat the evil that is ravaging the land. There is a slight twist in this story in that there are multiple quests going on that are all intertwined with the main quest.
I really enjoyed the writing style of Rebecca Shelley and found the story to be completely entertaining. All of the characters were well-developed and I had no idea what was going to happen next. Sure, I knew eventually that they would have to come face to face with Redclaw, but I didn't know how it was going to happen. So, I say, well done on writing the first book in the Dragon Codex series. If the other books to follow are as good as this one, young readers will be hounding the book stores and waiting anxiously for the next book to come out.
Overall, Red Dragon Codex is a great young reader fantasy novel that is bound to leave kids salivating for more. With ten different type of dragons talked about in A Practical Guide to Dragons, there are nine more books about these dragons to follow. All I can say is that I quite enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what happens next in Bronze Dragon Codex. And since a bronze dragon is not of the evil type, I wonder what that will be like? At least he or she will not be destroying towns and killing people. I actually prefer good dragons to evil dragons.
I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.
January 3, 2026
My rating with partial stars would be 3.75.
Maybe it was just the disappointment of Bronze Dragon Codex that primed me to be impressed by this first entry, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The prose is just so much richer and more lively, and the characters have decent amounts of depth. It's a good example of middle grade fantasy!
Maybe this is just a gripe with Forgotten Realms lore in general, but in Bronze, I was bored by the one-note nature of draconians when I felt they could've been used for compelling horror. So imagine my delight upon discovering that arguably the most important character in this book is one!! It was really well foreshadowed in my opinion, and I love Sterling's narrative of defying Redclaw's compulsion. Despising the nature of his birth made his story read as almost a trans allegory to me, which made it all the more impactful to have it affirmed multiple times that he is a silver dragon.
I also just enjoyed how flawed Mudd was? He's a little adrenaline junkie, and he underestimates his sister in a sexist way and learns from it. I'm not sure how I feel about him discovering that Hector may be alive at the very end right after he learned to accept his death. But overall, he was engaging to read about. The other traveling cast maybe could've used a little more spotlight, but what we got was serviceable and fun.
Maybe it was just the disappointment of Bronze Dragon Codex that primed me to be impressed by this first entry, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The prose is just so much richer and more lively, and the characters have decent amounts of depth. It's a good example of middle grade fantasy!
Maybe this is just a gripe with Forgotten Realms lore in general, but in Bronze, I was bored by the one-note nature of draconians when I felt they could've been used for compelling horror. So imagine my delight upon discovering that arguably the most important character in this book is one!! It was really well foreshadowed in my opinion, and I love Sterling's narrative of defying Redclaw's compulsion. Despising the nature of his birth made his story read as almost a trans allegory to me, which made it all the more impactful to have it affirmed multiple times that he is a silver dragon.
I also just enjoyed how flawed Mudd was? He's a little adrenaline junkie, and he underestimates his sister in a sexist way and learns from it. I'm not sure how I feel about him discovering that Hector may be alive at the very end right after he learned to accept his death. But overall, he was engaging to read about. The other traveling cast maybe could've used a little more spotlight, but what we got was serviceable and fun.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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June 22, 2010When a Red Dragon attacks Mudd’s village and kidnaps the village seer, Mudd goes on a quest to find a pendant that will summon a Silver Dragon to aid in a rescue mission. Mudd is joined by his sister Hiera, a dwarf named Drakecutter, Iroden, and the warrior Kirak. Red Dragon Codex is more a fun fantasy adventure than a scary story, but with plenty of mystery, battles, and monsters, it is an entertaining read. Red Dragon Codex is the first book in the companion series to A Practical Guide to Dragons. Note for teachers and school library media specialists: Red Dragon Codex contains a number of “teachable moments,” making it a candidate for use in character education. A discussion guide may be available upon publication, at mirrorstonebooks.com. Red Dragon Codex engaging fantasy story makes it a good book to reach reluctant readers. Recommended for school and public libraries. For ages 8-12
Contains: fantasy violence
Contains: fantasy violence
April 10, 2008
This book was written by my writer friend, Rebecca Shelley. I just picked this up at her book launch party the other day. Thus far, it's a fun little fantasy. This one was written for young readers, ages 8 to 10. From what I've read so far, they should enjoy the action. Plenty of dragony meanness, plenty of character drama, and, yes, a death toll. It's good to see that there are still moments of tough sledding, even in a story designed for the younger kids.
This is a good little book. Good packaging, good value, fun read. Rebecca did a great job, and I'm proud of her.
This is a good little book. Good packaging, good value, fun read. Rebecca did a great job, and I'm proud of her.
December 27, 2009
I picked this book up on a whim when it came to the library. I'm so glad I did! The story reminds me of a junior version of "The Hobbit". Following a band of interesting characters who can carry the story all on their own, you get to travel to interesting places and creative creatures. Following the main character, Mudd, you join them on their quest to find the dragon pendant and defeat the evil red dragon. Meant for preteen/teen readers, this book will appeal to any fantasy style fans. A great book for anyone's fantasy collection.
July 28, 2009
The Dragon Codex is quite a story. In the beginning things seem to go a bit fast but you catch on and the book isn't very long. I like how the author describes the nature of dragons and how their differet from one another by their color. I finished the book in a few days but I wish it was longer. I'm thinking it's one of my favorite books I've read and I'll be sure to read the other books of R.D. Henham (Henham funny name don't you think) a great writer.
December 8, 2011
I read this book, & loved it. It really sunk a black hole into your heart, but it had a bit of romance, with many fight sense, & a bit of magic. The author did a great gob describing the dragon's. Every thing he put into the book was used. He also did a good gob defining the carters personalities, how they acted how they felt about the other carters, I say a 5 star book, but do not recommend to all.
July 19, 2014
I read most of this series when I was a preteen and obsessed with dragons (well, that part didn't go away :) ). Ran across it in the library today and just couldn't resist. So nostalgic. :) Fun characters, clean, easy read. One of my favorite parts is when Hiera is faced with two mirrors, showing the girl side and the tomboy side, and can't walk through either, and finally, to get past, she has to accept BOTH parts of her and walk through them both at once. And I love Kirak.
January 24, 2016
I read this book when I was a pre-teen and liked it a lot. It revolves around a boy named Mudd and his sister who go off on a quest to rescue the village seer from the evil red dragon, Redclaw. Along the way, they meet a few other characters who decide to tag along on their quest for one reason or another (not giving any spoilers).
This story is great for 9-15 year-olds who want a well-paced adventure filled with magic, dragons, dwarves, elves, humor, and danger lurking right around the corner.
This story is great for 9-15 year-olds who want a well-paced adventure filled with magic, dragons, dwarves, elves, humor, and danger lurking right around the corner.
February 17, 2016
All in all, this book was okay. The moment I saw the word ranger in it, I checked the back of the book and sure enough, it was owned by Dungeons and Dragons. It is kind of a standard adventure. One thing I did not like is that the main character is a rogue. Why a rogue?!? I bet it is the most used main character in all of fantasy. The adventure was pretty straightforward, but it was still good. Overall, good enough to read the next, but not to rave about this one.
September 28, 2016
A delightful book that I believe will be fun for the middle-school age child, but also a joy to parents who love to read to kids of all ages. With a style that "tastes" of Judy Blume, which is unusual for the normal fantasy story, it's witty, cute, full of adventure and action without getting too "gross" for younger children, and doesn't leave out anything that most readers expect of a sword-and-sorcery story. Beautiful cover, reads fast, and several unexpected surprises right to the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews