Dragons: Lexicon Triumvirate

DRAGONS: LEXICON TRIUMVIRATE by Kenneth Che-Tew Eng
Category: Fantasy
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/1/05
Publisher: DNA Press
Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan
Rating: 4 Stars

Dennagon is a dragon sentry of Drakemight. His life is dedicated to a search for knowledge. Only Dennagon doesn’t take the
easy path to enlightenment. Unlike most of the other dragons, he refuses to consume the information-filled black orbs. Instead,
he seeks out facts directly from books and the world around him. This sounds fine on its surface, except that Drakemight’s
king, Drekkenoth, is secretly using the black orbs to corrupt his people. Now all that stands between him and world
domination is Dennagon, with his untainted soul.

The adventure really begins when a band of anti-Drekkenoth dissidents tell Dennagon that they must find the Lexicon, which is
the source of all pure knowledge. Dennagon is intrigued by the notion that such an item could exist, but wary of the ragtag
collection of traitors who are offering to help him find it.

DRAGONS: LEXICON TRIUMVIRATE is a book that’s got it all. It has the fantasy elements of a kingdom run by dragons,
who are engaged in an ongoing war with humans. It has science fiction in the form of time-travel and mechanized fighting
dragons. It has arguments about assorted topics in the field of physics, including the nature of time and space. It has wild fight
scenes among dragons, mechanized dragons, and other assorted creatures, including dinosaurs (time-travel, remember?) and
hydras. It has corrupt government conspiracies. Like I said, this book has it all.

And having it all is exactly what I didn’t like about DRAGONS: LEXICON TRIUMVIRATE. Perhaps my world view is too
narrow because I don’t want a book that includes everything. I found myself exhausted every time I started reading. There
were just too many genres represented. The writing style was also a challenge. Instead of saying something simple like,
“‘Surrender or die,’ his captor ordered,” this book says, “‘Surrender or be annihilated,’ were the conditions of the
dominating party.” (p. 167). And I was always annoyed when the characters slipped into discussions of obscure topics in
physics.

While I was not a fan of how this story was told, I can definitely see how it would appeal to other readers. Some people who
aren’t as narrow minded as I am would probably really enjoy the creative mixture of science fiction and fantasy elements. For
those readers, this would doubtless be a real hit. And for those who enjoy theoretical discussions of the problems of time-
travel, DRAGONS: LEXICON TRIUMVIRATE offers a great deal of food for thought.