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The Dragon Nimbus #1-3
The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume I
This brand-new omnibus is the first in a series collecting Irene Radford's acclaimed Dragon novels.
Volume I includes the complete trilogy of The Dragon Nimbus :
The Glass Dragon , The Perfect Princess , and The Lonliest Magician
The Glass Dragon :
In a realm that has always been protected by its magicians, a kingdom whose ruler's life and power is inextricably linked with that of the dragons, a time of crisis has arrived. Someone is killing the dragons, and as their numbers diminish, magic is fading from the kingdom of Coronnan. The kingdom's unlikely saviors are a young wizard whose magic is completely unorthodox and an equally young witchwoman who has been befriended by the last of the dragons.
The Perfect Princess :
Though rogue magic has long been banned in Coronnan, the loss of dragon magic has opened the way for masters of these forbidden spells to wreak havoc on the kingdom. Only if Prince Darville can tame the forces of magic and rescue the spell-trapped princess who is fated to be his bride, does he have any chance to save crown, kingdom, and dragons.
The Loneliest Magician :
As war rages between the armies of Coronnan and SeLenicca, an equally desperate campaign is being fought between the Commune, which uses dragon magic, and the coven, which draws its power from an older, darker source. The only hope of saving Coronnan, the king, and the Commune lies in finding the dragons and bringing them back. A young orphan is being called by the dragons, lured with the promise of discovering his true identity. Can an untested youth venture into the heart of the enemy's stronghold and find the means to set the dragons free?
Want more Dragon novels? Look for The Star Gods trilogy and the new Children of the Dragon Nimbus series!
Volume I includes the complete trilogy of The Dragon Nimbus :
The Glass Dragon , The Perfect Princess , and The Lonliest Magician
The Glass Dragon :
In a realm that has always been protected by its magicians, a kingdom whose ruler's life and power is inextricably linked with that of the dragons, a time of crisis has arrived. Someone is killing the dragons, and as their numbers diminish, magic is fading from the kingdom of Coronnan. The kingdom's unlikely saviors are a young wizard whose magic is completely unorthodox and an equally young witchwoman who has been befriended by the last of the dragons.
The Perfect Princess :
Though rogue magic has long been banned in Coronnan, the loss of dragon magic has opened the way for masters of these forbidden spells to wreak havoc on the kingdom. Only if Prince Darville can tame the forces of magic and rescue the spell-trapped princess who is fated to be his bride, does he have any chance to save crown, kingdom, and dragons.
The Loneliest Magician :
As war rages between the armies of Coronnan and SeLenicca, an equally desperate campaign is being fought between the Commune, which uses dragon magic, and the coven, which draws its power from an older, darker source. The only hope of saving Coronnan, the king, and the Commune lies in finding the dragons and bringing them back. A young orphan is being called by the dragons, lured with the promise of discovering his true identity. Can an untested youth venture into the heart of the enemy's stronghold and find the means to set the dragons free?
Want more Dragon novels? Look for The Star Gods trilogy and the new Children of the Dragon Nimbus series!
992 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 2, 2007
21 people are currently reading
204 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 16, 2017
Note: I only read the first book in this bindup, The Glass Dragon.
There were some good things about this book, but for the most part, I didn't enjoy reading it. The writing style left much to be desired in that it used random sentences that weren't needed, and I don't know what was up with giving the animals actual dialogue like "miaurrrr" and "growwwrrr" instead of saying that she meowed, or roared, or whatever.
Also, this had the biggest case of Insta-love I've ever seen in adult fantasy. AND there was a bunch of 'I'm an independent woman I don't need no man, but oh wait, I need a man so that I won't be heartbroken!' stuff.
And let's not forget the fact that everything that happens is among the most predictable fantasy tropes ever.
There were some good things about this book, but for the most part, I didn't enjoy reading it. The writing style left much to be desired in that it used random sentences that weren't needed, and I don't know what was up with giving the animals actual dialogue like "miaurrrr" and "growwwrrr" instead of saying that she meowed, or roared, or whatever.
Also, this had the biggest case of Insta-love I've ever seen in adult fantasy. AND there was a bunch of 'I'm an independent woman I don't need no man, but oh wait, I need a man so that I won't be heartbroken!' stuff.
And let's not forget the fact that everything that happens is among the most predictable fantasy tropes ever.
April 4, 2013
Not the best book, but certainly not the worst I've read. The world is well thought out and detailed. The individual books themselves work well in this collective edition, but I can't imagine trying to read them singularly, or waiting on the next to be published. The individual books are small and I feel the story would come off choppy that way. Either way, a good read for fantasy fans, but it will not compare to the wonders created by the more popular authors.
May 23, 2019
I kept making fun of this book to a coworker. I read through the first one almost glad to see a passage from the stuffy politics of the castle. I liked the thought of magic coming from dragons and the world we were introduced to was nice...until we meet our female lead. Love happened too fast, they somehow had threesome sex starting while two of them were sad their friend was nearly gone from a drug OD, and it took a woman who was afraid but proud to be on her own and flipped her into loving two men she barely knows to letting that all collapse over the responsibilities one of the men had to his name. Then, from what I read of the second book, we seem to pick up where we left off except there is a big time skip and she's pregnant and knows who the father is and the evil guy wants to control her feelings through her fetus. And the cat is now the spurred man's love interest as if he wasn't devastated from the rejection from the love of his life a few months (maybe?) ago.
I bought this back in 2012 and it had been sitting on my shelf. If I had read it when I bought it, it may have gone over better because I was in a different state of mind. I was slightly disappointed to find I had not purchased a trilogy when I looked up the book here but I kept reading. Tried to get over horny-man and over-emotional-woman. Perhaps I am too spoiled with strong female leads as of late. Or at least plots that I can't see a mile away. (The threesome was the only thing to come out of left field for me.)
It maybe your cup of tea but it is not mine. I will skim and put it in a donation library.
Edit: Skimming through, the third book seemed to have a decent plot. I wasn't invested enough by the first one and a half to give it a chance. Sorry, Jack. Glad you found your family though.
I bought this back in 2012 and it had been sitting on my shelf. If I had read it when I bought it, it may have gone over better because I was in a different state of mind. I was slightly disappointed to find I had not purchased a trilogy when I looked up the book here but I kept reading. Tried to get over horny-man and over-emotional-woman. Perhaps I am too spoiled with strong female leads as of late. Or at least plots that I can't see a mile away. (The threesome was the only thing to come out of left field for me.)
It maybe your cup of tea but it is not mine. I will skim and put it in a donation library.
Edit: Skimming through, the third book seemed to have a decent plot. I wasn't invested enough by the first one and a half to give it a chance. Sorry, Jack. Glad you found your family though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2021
Really, the main idea at the start was rather interesting, but when halfway through the series magic is outlawed, creating some strain for the characters, since almost every single main is capable of magic to some degree or another, the series really starts to stumble. It also becomes much harder to read when you realize that A and B meet, and almost instantly, and despite ample reasons not to, fall head over heels with one another. And then B's wolf is actually a prince? And together A, B, and C (former wolf) form a ménage à trois. But that doesn't pan out, so instead the prince (who was a wolf, and then he was a man boning the woman who used to care for him) starts to bone the CAT that also belonged to the woman who cared for him. Over complicated and grossly simplified romance relationships make this series a no go for anyone looking for proper romantic interactions between characters. And that doesn't begin to touch on the extremely weakly made magic system. Magic comes from the dragons. Check. There is no magic that doesn't come from the dragons. Okay? Except for the FUCK TONS of magic that has always existed outside of the dragons control, and was originally employed to make dragon magic usable in the first place. And somehow, despite the fact that this magic is literally EVERYWHERE (in the ground, in the air, in the water) everyone manages to forget that it even exists, and also have no clue on how to use it. Then lets move to the well established idea that only men can use magic. This is fact: no women can use magic. Except, of course, for all of the women who can use magic, and use it well. (Feeling lost by that one? Don't worry, the author makes no attempt to explain, so you can continue to enjoy that feeling of confusion indefinitely.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2013
It's been a long time since I read this book, but I remember that I really, really didn't like it.
I reviewed it (in German) here: http://www.phantastik-couch.de/irene-...
"Irene Radfords „Der Prüfstein der Drachen“ greift auf ein sehr einfaches Rezept zurück: Drachen, gute und schlechte Magie, Zauberer, Hexen und kriegerische Lords sind die Zutaten, welche die Autorin zu ihrem Roman vermengt. Aus solchen Themen sind schon große Erzählungen entstanden. Doch hier mangelt es an den nötigen Feinheiten, die Gewürze stimmen nicht, und der Romanauflauf schmeckt schal nach Resteverwertung.
(...)
„Wo bin ich?“ fragte sie den Sonnenstrahl.
Das fragt sich der Leser auch so manches mal, denn nicht immer sind die Aufenthaltsorte der Hauptfiguren feststellbar. Es scheint, als ob die Autorin die logische Struktur ihrer Kapitel nicht wirklich im Griff hat. Personen tauchen unerklärlicherweise an Orten auf, an denen sie nicht wirklich sein können, Ungenauigkeiten in logischen Anschlüssen häufen sich. Dies vermittelt unweigerlich den Eindruck, dass hier etwas sehr schnell produziert wurde und dem Lektorat so einiges entgangen ist.
(...)
Der Prüfstein der Drachen“; basiert auf schwachen Schurken und überaus emotionalen Helden. Die Bilder und Metaphern, die Irene Radford für die Gefühle ihrer Helden findet, liegen hart an der Schmerzgrenze des Kitsches. Nur an wenigen Stellen gelingen ihr dann doch einmal Bilder von großer Schönheit. Leider geschieht dies viel zu selten, um die schale Mischung des restlichen Romans aufzufangen."
I reviewed it (in German) here: http://www.phantastik-couch.de/irene-...
"Irene Radfords „Der Prüfstein der Drachen“ greift auf ein sehr einfaches Rezept zurück: Drachen, gute und schlechte Magie, Zauberer, Hexen und kriegerische Lords sind die Zutaten, welche die Autorin zu ihrem Roman vermengt. Aus solchen Themen sind schon große Erzählungen entstanden. Doch hier mangelt es an den nötigen Feinheiten, die Gewürze stimmen nicht, und der Romanauflauf schmeckt schal nach Resteverwertung.
(...)
„Wo bin ich?“ fragte sie den Sonnenstrahl.
Das fragt sich der Leser auch so manches mal, denn nicht immer sind die Aufenthaltsorte der Hauptfiguren feststellbar. Es scheint, als ob die Autorin die logische Struktur ihrer Kapitel nicht wirklich im Griff hat. Personen tauchen unerklärlicherweise an Orten auf, an denen sie nicht wirklich sein können, Ungenauigkeiten in logischen Anschlüssen häufen sich. Dies vermittelt unweigerlich den Eindruck, dass hier etwas sehr schnell produziert wurde und dem Lektorat so einiges entgangen ist.
(...)
Der Prüfstein der Drachen“; basiert auf schwachen Schurken und überaus emotionalen Helden. Die Bilder und Metaphern, die Irene Radford für die Gefühle ihrer Helden findet, liegen hart an der Schmerzgrenze des Kitsches. Nur an wenigen Stellen gelingen ihr dann doch einmal Bilder von großer Schönheit. Leider geschieht dies viel zu selten, um die schale Mischung des restlichen Romans aufzufangen."
April 6, 2012
I was ready to give this book one star, until the end, when I realized I'd probably invest in the sequels because i wanted to know what happened. So that's something. Otherwise, it's pretty bad. I mean, it has magic and dragons, which is usually the recipe of a book I'll enjoy, but the characters are pretty shallow. For instance, it takes about one or two pages for an abused woman who lives alone and hates men to fall in love with a strange man who wanders to her house. This is how most of the main characters pair off.
And I'm not against a good sex scene, but the nudity and sex in the book were... badly written and unnecessary. It left me feeling like... "oh, wait, why are her boobs falling out now?" or "oh, he has an erection again? I don't see how that's relevant..." It seemed a little like it was trying too hard to be a teenage boy's fantasy, what with the dragons, sex, and magic.
But hey, like I said, I finished it, and I'll probably read more of them... if they're not too pricey. It was easy reading and there ARE magic and dragons!
And I'm not against a good sex scene, but the nudity and sex in the book were... badly written and unnecessary. It left me feeling like... "oh, wait, why are her boobs falling out now?" or "oh, he has an erection again? I don't see how that's relevant..." It seemed a little like it was trying too hard to be a teenage boy's fantasy, what with the dragons, sex, and magic.
But hey, like I said, I finished it, and I'll probably read more of them... if they're not too pricey. It was easy reading and there ARE magic and dragons!
December 8, 2012
It was great to see the omnibus version of these books.
I fell for Jaylor and the universe hard when Glass Dragon came out, and the omnibus came out it was perfect for sharing the love with friends.
The cover could be better, but the stories are what count.
For those who have read Irene Radford before this contains the first three Coronnan books, "The Glass Dragon", "The Perfect Princess", and "The Loneliest Magician".
A new book in the series with the Children of "Roy", Jaylor and Brevelan is set for early 2013; The Silent Dragon
I fell for Jaylor and the universe hard when Glass Dragon came out, and the omnibus came out it was perfect for sharing the love with friends.
The cover could be better, but the stories are what count.
For those who have read Irene Radford before this contains the first three Coronnan books, "The Glass Dragon", "The Perfect Princess", and "The Loneliest Magician".
A new book in the series with the Children of "Roy", Jaylor and Brevelan is set for early 2013; The Silent Dragon
September 24, 2014
I don't understand all the negative reviews this book has gotten. I really enjoyed it. Maybe I haven't read as widely as other reviewers, but I found the world to be unique. Initially I was just happy to find it wasn't another rip-off of Tolkien! The characters didn't seem shallow, the action was paced pretty well, and the intros of new characters didn't seem forced. Of course the stars were the dragons, who were majestic, omniscient, & mysterious. There was never a moment when I wasn't eager to read the next page. I was even late back to work a few times!
July 21, 2013
I hate to not finish a book or I probably would not have finished this one. I would have one starred it except I reserve one star ratings for books I never finish at all. The Mercedes Lackey dragon novels are much much better portrayals of this fantasy theme, these are poor imitations that drag the reader along hoping for better more spell binding rhythm. Took me two weeks plus to finish because I kept putting it down, a good book seldom lasts me more than a couple of days.
April 8, 2015
This was an enjoyable read. I didn't read it straight through but enjoyed coming back to it each time. It has its flaws (particularly unjustified shifts in character and the typical fantasy crime of excessive description). However, it kept me reading to see what would happen. I found the last one, The Loneliest Magician, the least accomplished and the least plausible. Though I'm glad to have taken this sojourn into Radford's world, I don't feel compelled to seek out more of her books.
July 20, 2012
Can't adequately describe how terrible the writing is. I had to confirm on the web that this was not written by a child and I'm still not particularly convinced it wasn't. This reads like an incredibly poor mash-up of several fairy tales. Not a singular idea in this book is original, no surprises, no funny moments, just tedious cringe-worthy writing.
March 23, 2013
As others have related it wasn't really very well written at all but the characters were interesting enough that I wanted to finish it and read the final book in the series. I may one day read the other prequel series set in this world but am in no rush for that.
November 20, 2010
Good for escapism reading. Maybe not the best writing but I enjoyed it enough to read all 3 books included in this collection and probably will keep an eye out for the 2nd volume.
April 25, 2014
Not too bad. A little long. The ending was strange; left a few things unresolved. Though I was THRILLED when i finished it, I enjoyed it!
July 5, 2014
Absolutely loved it- had a few nights of reading late! I couldn't put it down!
September 27, 2011
i loved the story, but it ended in a horribly taunting cliff hanger to ride off into prequels...
April 11, 2019
The first three novels in Irene Radford's highly popular Dragon Nimbus universe. Set in a world where dragons and magic are closely linked, the kingdom of Coronnan faces a terrible crisis. For someone is waging a deadly campaign to seize the crown of Coronnan.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews