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The Dragon Nimbus Histories #1-2

The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Thye Dragon's Touchstone / The Last Battlemage

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This brand-new omnibus is the second 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

Volume II includes the first two novels in The Dragon Nimbus History
The Dragon's Touchstone and The Last Battlemage

Volume III includes the last two novels in The Dragon Nimbus History
The Renegade Dragon and The Wizard's Treasure


The Dragon's Touchstone :
Three hundred years before the time of The Glass Dragon , Coronnan is a kingdom at war with itself, magic is wild, and magicians uncontrolled, each working separately for his own goal. At the height of this age of chaos, the dragons decide to intervene, making their presence known to the mortals through the healer Myrilandel.

The Last Battlemage :
Nimbulan, the last Battlemage and the founder of the school for Communal Magic, is seeking to create a permanent protection for the kingdom of Coronnan, a spell-crafted border to keep enemies out. His search for the key to this magic leads him to terrifying discovery—the dragons, the guardians of magics, are in terrible danger.


Want more Dragon novels? Look for The Star Gods trilogy and the new Children of the Dragon Nimbus series!


A letter from the author, Irene

Welcome to the world where dragons are real and magic works. If you are new to the Dragon Nimbus, pull up a chair and join us as we revel in tales that have touched my heart more than anything else I've written under any pen name. If you are returning after an absence, I am very happy to have you back.

This is a world that began with a Christmas gift of a blown-glass dragon. The dragon sat proudly on the knick-knack shelf for several months, loved and admired, reluctantly dusted, and totally inert. Then one night at dinner, my son remarked, "You know, Mom, I think dragons are born all dark, like that little pewter dragon, then they get more silvery as they grow up until they are as clear as glass." The dragon came to life for me.

Out of that chance remark came first one book, then three, five, seven, and finally ten. I built a career on these books and loved every minute of the process. These characters still live in my mind many years after they jumped into their stories and dragged me along with them.

Many thanks to DAW Books and my editor Sheila Gilbert for reviving The Dragon Nimbus a lucky thirteen years after they first debuted.

With these omnibus volumes, you can read about the dragons with crystal fur that directs your eye elsewhere yet defies you to look anywhere else. Wonderful dragons full of wit and wisdom. Magic abounds. Magicians and mundanes alike learn about their world and special life lessons as they explore dragon lore past and present. The books will be presented in the order in which they were written, and the order that makes the most sense of the entwined tales.

So, sit back and enjoy with me. And may reading take you soaring with Dragons.

714 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

3 people are currently reading
107 people want to read

About the author

Irene Radford

127 books135 followers
Also 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.

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Profile Image for Tawny Molina.
103 reviews7 followers
May 14, 2021
These books were great! Both novels in this omnibus edition of Irene Radford's books were well written and well displayed in this paper back. While part of a series these two stories can be read on their own and are certainly worth the read.

Radford's original use of dragons, in this case being sentient creatures that give live births as opposed to laying eggs was the original selling point that lead me to pick up these tales. I can not wait to go back and read other works.
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