Review: _The Loneliest Magician_ by Irene Radford

One young woman is sold into slavery with a talent for making lace. A young magician loses his memory and magic from a traumatic event. The kingdom of Coronnan needs the dragons to return to stabilize the magic while a group of fanatics wants to kill all magic users. These are a few of the events in The Loneliest Magician by Irene Radford the third book of the Dragon Nimbus series. This book is very entertaining because of its plot, characters and magic the author uses.

The plot of this book has plenty of action and twists to keep the reader hooked. Characters are spread out over two kingdoms. There are wars, quests and political intrigues. Coronnan’s queen cannot produce an heir to the throne due to a magic problem and that leads to civil strife. Magic users are being persecuted by a cult of fanatics that want to kill all mages. The king suffers from a wound through his link to the dragons and they are not in the kingdom. All of these elements blend into a suspenseful tale that keeps you turning the pages until the end.

Another aspect that makes the book interesting is the sympathetic characters. Yaakke is a young mage sent on a quest to find the dragons and restore them to Coronnan. He has not reached his full power yet. His quest leads him into a dangerous confrontation with a powerful sorceress, which leaves him trapped in slavery. Readers will feel for him in his struggles. They will feel for Katrina too. She is a lace maker in a rival kingdom being torn apart by an insane king. Katrina watches her family get slowly destroyed and ends up in slavery too. Her struggle to get free brings her growth in courage and love. Other characters provide strong support and interesting problems for the main ones to solve.

Finally, Ms. Radford uses an interesting variety of magics to make the story more entertaining. Magic users have an assortment of types to draw on for spells. Mages in Coronnan are supposed to gather magic from the dragons. Some of the mages like Yaakke can draw on ley lines for energy. Women mages use music and are healers. The dangerous mages use human sacrifice, sex and an addicting drug for magic, which drives the user insane. Ms. Radford weaves these magics into her story deftly to keep it exciting and interesting.

The Loneliest Magician by Irene Radford is an entertaining addition to the Dragon Nimbus series. This third book in the series is made interesting and engaging through its plot, characters and the types of magic the author uses for her mages. Ms. Radford writes appealing books that keeps readers hooked and excited until the end. There are other books set in the world of Kardia Hodos that readers will enjoy too.