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.
This book was the one that turned things around for my non-reader Charlie. He was eight when he first read it and WOW, it just opened up a whole new world for him. I agree it was simple; but a perfect start for non-readers!
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