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The Dragon Nimbus #3
The Loneliest Magician
Forbidden to use the dragon magic that is their only defense against their enemies, the people of Commune place their hopes in the hands of untested young magician Yaakke, who can discover his true identity from the dragons
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
5 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
About the author
Irene Radford
127 books135 followersAlso uses C.F. Bentley, Phyllis Irene Radford, Julia Verne St. John, Rachel Atwood, Phyllis Ames, P. Irene Radford and P.R. Frost.
Irene has been writing stories ever since she figured out what a pencil was for. Combining a love for Medieval history and a fascination with paranormal, Irene concentrated on fantasy writing.
In her spare time, Irene enjoys lacemaking and is a long time member of an international guild. Check out THE LONELIEST MAGICIAN, The Dragon Nimbus #3 for an exploration of her favorite obsession. A piece of magic lace is the obvious patch for a dragon wing. She has published numerous magazine articles about the history and technique of lacemaking as well as self publishing two lacemaker's fairy tales with lace patterns that can be made up to illustrate the stories. When she isn't writing or making lace she enjoys exploring the back roads and many museums of the Pacific Northwest.
For many years Irene was active in Ballet du Lac, a semi-pro ballet company. She taught ballet to youngsters in her local community school program. At the same time she led a Cub Scout pack and frequently found her home the preferred playground in the neighborhood for many more children than she thought possible.
Irene has held many full and part time jobs from Insurance underwriter to assistant curator of a museum to clerk in a fabric store. Writing is now her “day job.”
Two years ago, Irene took up fencing as research for GUARDIAN OF THE FREEDOM, Merlin’s Descendants #5. She figured one quarter would give her some vocabulary and a feel for a weapon in her hand. But that wasn’t enough to write realistic battles on the Ottoman frontier or convincing duels. So she signed up for another quarter. And another. Now she’s addicted and needs to add fencing to more of her books and let her subjects range further afield.
A native Oregonian living in Oregon, Irene is a member of an endangered species. As a service brat, she lived in a number of cities throughout the country until returning to Oregon in time to graduate from Tigard High School. She earned a B.A. in history from Lewis and Clark College, where she met her husband, Tim. Historical research has remained a lifelong passion and finally became a part of her job with the historical fantasy series Merlin’s Descendants.
Irene and her husband currently make their home in Welches, Oregon where they share their back yard with deer, coyotes, bear (check the pictures), raccoons and too many bird species to mention.
Irene has been writing stories ever since she figured out what a pencil was for. Combining a love for Medieval history and a fascination with paranormal, Irene concentrated on fantasy writing.
In her spare time, Irene enjoys lacemaking and is a long time member of an international guild. Check out THE LONELIEST MAGICIAN, The Dragon Nimbus #3 for an exploration of her favorite obsession. A piece of magic lace is the obvious patch for a dragon wing. She has published numerous magazine articles about the history and technique of lacemaking as well as self publishing two lacemaker's fairy tales with lace patterns that can be made up to illustrate the stories. When she isn't writing or making lace she enjoys exploring the back roads and many museums of the Pacific Northwest.
For many years Irene was active in Ballet du Lac, a semi-pro ballet company. She taught ballet to youngsters in her local community school program. At the same time she led a Cub Scout pack and frequently found her home the preferred playground in the neighborhood for many more children than she thought possible.
Irene has held many full and part time jobs from Insurance underwriter to assistant curator of a museum to clerk in a fabric store. Writing is now her “day job.”
Two years ago, Irene took up fencing as research for GUARDIAN OF THE FREEDOM, Merlin’s Descendants #5. She figured one quarter would give her some vocabulary and a feel for a weapon in her hand. But that wasn’t enough to write realistic battles on the Ottoman frontier or convincing duels. So she signed up for another quarter. And another. Now she’s addicted and needs to add fencing to more of her books and let her subjects range further afield.
A native Oregonian living in Oregon, Irene is a member of an endangered species. As a service brat, she lived in a number of cities throughout the country until returning to Oregon in time to graduate from Tigard High School. She earned a B.A. in history from Lewis and Clark College, where she met her husband, Tim. Historical research has remained a lifelong passion and finally became a part of her job with the historical fantasy series Merlin’s Descendants.
Irene and her husband currently make their home in Welches, Oregon where they share their back yard with deer, coyotes, bear (check the pictures), raccoons and too many bird species to mention.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 11, 2022
First of all, the title of this book is so emo.
I am going off of memory here, so I may make a few mistakes. I read these books as a teenager and even then with my somewhat indiscriminate taste, the same bad taste that made me devour David Eddings Belgariad novels, and Raymond Feist's Magician novels and (Lord help me) Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Novels long after I ought to have stopped.. Even then I knew these books were ridiculous but I still devoured them like candy. They were cheesy but they were sort of fun in a way.
Anyway, Irene Radford's writing improved somewhat in this one, I thought, compared to the first two books in the series. The stupid naming conventions were still there though: like adding extra vowels to an otherwise commonplace names. (Ex: there was a character, I swear, named "Fraaank", for cripe's sake). At least this book didn't focus on a tedious love triangle and arranged royal marriage romance like the first two books in the series did.
I am going off of memory here, so I may make a few mistakes. I read these books as a teenager and even then with my somewhat indiscriminate taste, the same bad taste that made me devour David Eddings Belgariad novels, and Raymond Feist's Magician novels and (Lord help me) Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Novels long after I ought to have stopped.. Even then I knew these books were ridiculous but I still devoured them like candy. They were cheesy but they were sort of fun in a way.
Anyway, Irene Radford's writing improved somewhat in this one, I thought, compared to the first two books in the series. The stupid naming conventions were still there though: like adding extra vowels to an otherwise commonplace names. (Ex: there was a character, I swear, named "Fraaank", for cripe's sake). At least this book didn't focus on a tedious love triangle and arranged royal marriage romance like the first two books in the series did.
October 10, 2019
7/10
The Loneliest Magician is somewhat predictable but there are enough surprises along the way to keep things interesting, and it has a bit of a rushed ending. It was meant to wrap up the first arc in the series, but Radford later wrote a 4th book that picks up right after this one.
The Loneliest Magician is somewhat predictable but there are enough surprises along the way to keep things interesting, and it has a bit of a rushed ending. It was meant to wrap up the first arc in the series, but Radford later wrote a 4th book that picks up right after this one.
September 21, 2014
Of the first three books in this series, so far this one is the best written. I liked the story of the first book a little better in general, but having more maturity in the writing and less of the campy childishness of the first two books really made a difference in how much I enjoyed this one. This book had more of a sense of adventure to it than the second book did, also.
It's still predictable. There finally was a small element of mystery that wasn't blurted out and fully explained by one character or another, which was a nice change, but for everything else, I never felt the need to be concerned.
Some of the conflict goes back to that childishness that made the first two books feel clunky. There are characters who otherwise seem to be rational, logical people, but then they get into situations in which they immediately go for the worst case scenario without thinking it through first. They act pouty, like children who hadn't gotten their way.
Not bad, overall. I'd like to see Radford mature her writing enough that her villains stop feeling so cliche, but she's made some improvements over the course of these three books, which is good.
It's still predictable. There finally was a small element of mystery that wasn't blurted out and fully explained by one character or another, which was a nice change, but for everything else, I never felt the need to be concerned.
Some of the conflict goes back to that childishness that made the first two books feel clunky. There are characters who otherwise seem to be rational, logical people, but then they get into situations in which they immediately go for the worst case scenario without thinking it through first. They act pouty, like children who hadn't gotten their way.
Not bad, overall. I'd like to see Radford mature her writing enough that her villains stop feeling so cliche, but she's made some improvements over the course of these three books, which is good.
May 25, 2012
I had to track down this third volume in the Dragon Nimbus series in a few different used book stores, but I have to say of the three books in the series, this is the strongest. It really is a relief that each book in the series is improving! After my disappointment in the first book, The Glass Dragon, I was quite worried about the remainder of the series.
And though this is the best of the three, it is certainly not without flaws. Like the remainder of the series, Radford’s grasp on timeline and consecutive actions is tenuous at best. But, at least each book continues to fill in more and more details about the world that she has created. It definitely does not qualify as an “epic fantasy” but at least the series has become more entertaining.
And though this is the best of the three, it is certainly not without flaws. Like the remainder of the series, Radford’s grasp on timeline and consecutive actions is tenuous at best. But, at least each book continues to fill in more and more details about the world that she has created. It definitely does not qualify as an “epic fantasy” but at least the series has become more entertaining.
April 2, 2015
This book was kind of hard to follow sometimes because it had so many plots, but eventually they all came together. The biggest jolt I had was the 3 year gap in the middle which I found quite odd and sort of unnecessary. The characters really grew in this book.
February 21, 2011
2.5 stars
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November 17, 2010Not as good as the first two. Still worth reading
May 28, 2021
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
April 26, 2014
Better of the three. Good series.
July 10, 2015
# in the series....I'm hooked :)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews