'The Renegade Dragon' disappoints both as a novel and a story. Radford's writing is painfully stilted at points. A case in point 'We must not destroy this world called Kardia Hodos as my people destroyed Terra' (p. 3) I understand why Radford put that in, she's trying to relay information to the reader, but that's just awful. There are several other instances which lamentably I didn't jot down.

Radford's universe in one where the people on this planet are apparently descended from human settlers. Radford uses abbreviations for modern amenities. Electricity = 'tricity. Remotes = 'motes. Subsititute kardia for earth in every form (ie. kardiaquakes). It's not very imaginative.

Perhaps the book's most egregious error is in a machines=bad slant. Radford spends the entire book telling how humankind started a virulent plague which wipes out huge numbers of people, all because of technology. Now the kind people of Kardia Hodos must stay free of technology so they won't die as well. It's ridiculous. The only way the good people can stay free of the disease is from a tree called 'Tambootie'. It sounds like a word a 5-year-old could invent.

Couple this with cardboard characters (characters named Scarface, Hunchback, and Red Beetle are not surprisingly evil) and you've got the makings for a disappointing read.

Intriguingly, this is the second DAW book to come out in December that had a character named Scarface and used 'ley' to tap into magical powers.

Irene Radford blends words and imagery together into this wonderfully delightful book. The third book of the Dragon Nimbus History is just as fascinating as the ones preceeding it. The use of different names for places fits in wonderfully with the plot, like for instance "Terra" referring to "Earth". I do wish that in the next book, Nimbulan will get his magic back.

After reading the first three books in this series, I expected the fourth to be just as good as the last three. It surprised me, though.

First off, Jaylor and Brevelan-who were basically the main characters in the first three books-were barely mentioned. They were only included when Darville or Jack needed advice on a problem. Marcus and Robb who were secondary characters in the third book suddenly became the main characters. Secondly, the book also left a lot of unanswered questions. What exactly happens with Jack and Katrina? Do the ever discover Lyman's secret? What happens with the situation in SeLennica? Or right in Coronnan with Darville and Mikka? The book ended abruptly, with no epilogue to even tell you what would happen in the lives of her main characters. It seemed to me that this book was hurridly finished, with no care or thought given to how the character's lives who many followed so faithfully in the first three books were affected after Marcus and Robb and the old monastary. Foes were still left alive, if not sane, and as I stated before, many question as to the lives of Jaylor, Brevelyn, Jack, Katrina, Darville, Mikka, and all the others remain to be answered. I hope and expect a fifth book in this series. So, to all the readers who have so diligently followed the series as I have, I warn them not to get their hopes up to high, because this book does not live up to its predessors.

That's not to say that this one was horrible. I just did not find it quite as interesting as the others. This book mostly revolves around Marcus and Robb. Senior Magician Jaylor had sent the two young journeyman on a mission to bring the dragons of Coronnan back to the kingdom. On their journey, the two magicians are trapped by a spell set to protect a jealous ghost's treasure. Back in the kingdom, Jack is sworn to free the Queen from the cat personality that has been sharing her body and to take his love, Katrina, back to her home land of SeLenicca. While I did not find this book to be as interesting as the other three, it continues the story of the dragons of Coronnan. I'm sure it's a necessary part in the ongoing series, and the ending was rather satisfying.

I found this book to be a big disapointment. To be honest, I found the other books in the series were o.k., not great but not bad. The author's use of magic is all over the place with no rhyme or reason. Her more interesting characters, Brevelan, Jaylor, Rejiia, et al. are either just mentioned or are relegated to cameo roles. The two magicians in the book took forever to figure out how to break the spell...I knew how within the first page or two. She should have wrapped up the series with the Lonliest Magician.