Dragon Mage

~ 7th Novel in the Magic Series by Andre Norton

(Series aka) The Magic Sequence

Written by Jean Rabe

dragon.mage

 

Synopsis ~

Write-up from the front flap of the 2008 dustjacket ~

SOMETIMES MAGIC RUNS IN THE FAMILY.
This is what Shy discovers when she is transported from her dull, boring existence in Slades Corners, Wisconsin, to the exotic and magical realm of ancient Babylon.
It all started with an enchanted dragon puzzle that had belonged to her father. In solving the puzzle, she summoned the spell that her father had used so many years ago.
Now she is part of the past and must accept her legacy as a servant of the dragon and savior of her world. She must become the Dragon Mage and defeat a dark wizard with a strange insight into the essence of dragon magic.
But to accomplish this feat she is going to need some help from someone who has wielded these powers before her...even if he doesn’t know it, know her, or possess the maturity to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
This classic tale in Andre Norton’s Magic series is based on an outline finished by the legendary grandmaster just prior to her death and completed by Jean Rabe according to Norton’s wishes.

 

Write-up from the back of Paperback edition ~

Shilo realizes that she is lucky to be taken in by her grandparents after her father dies - but a bedroom above an antique store in Slade's Corners, Wisconsin is not exactly the place a teenage girl wants to be.
One day while going through boxes of her father's boyhood stuff, she comes upon a rare old set of dragon puzzles ... all of which are missing pieces.
Shy discovers that by mixing and matching the different sets she can complete a single dragon puzzle that combines all of the others. Upon doing so she is whisked away to ancient Babylon where she must continue the duties of her father's legacy as a servant to the dragon and a savior of the world.


Write-ups from a fan ~

Sequel to "Dragon Magic" - An orphan girl is totally bored with her existence in Slades Corner, Wisconsin, living with her grandparents. Then one day, while exploring the attic of her grandparents' antique store's attic, she discovers a jigsaw puzzle that had belonged to her father - a puzzle with pictures of four dragons on the front. There seems to pieces missing, but she tries to put it together anyway, only it turns out what she's putting together used to be the back side of the puzzle. When it's all together, she finds herself in ancient Babylon where she must rescue a "good" dragon's eggs from an evil sorcerer who is using them as a gateway for a whole bunch of demons that will ultimately destroy the Earth. ~ SL

 

Jean Rabe teams up with Andre on this exciting sequel to Andre's classic Dragon Magic. Sigmund Dortmund has passed away at the age of 49. Shilo his 15-year-old daughter is forced to live with her grandparents in a tiny town in Wisconsin. She hates the place. One night, she hears a spooky voice that leads her upstairs to the attic and a large trunk containing all of her father's childhood memorabilia and toys. Among these treasures is the puzzle from Dragon Magic. Her grandmother claims that there are pieces missing and it should probably be tossed. She takes it back to her room and slides it under her bed. Later that evening, she feels compelled to work the puzzle. Since some pieces are missing, she uses parts of all four dragons to build a completely different dragon. She is then transported to Babylon of over 2500 years ago. She wanders around but can't understand the language. A young priest of Shamesh leads her around. She runs into The King's second-in-command, a wealthy man who speaks English. She has a bad feeling about this character and, along with the priest, escapes him and his soldiers. She meets Ulbanu an enormous dragon who has brought her here to save the world and her four eggs which were stolen and are somewhere in Babylon. Magically, she suddenly can speak the local language. Shilo and the priest meet two more 11-year-old boys the dragon has brought from the future to aid them in the quest--Kim and Sigmund (her father) from Dragon Magic. How are they going to find the eggs and spirit them out of the city without running afoul of the guards who are keeping a tight watch? Will Shilo's magical gift of manipulating matter be sufficient to counteract all of the evil plans of the villain who turns out to be a familiar face to the boys? Can Shilo cope with her father being four years younger than herself? Enjoy. ~ PG

 

Reviews ~

Review by Publishers Weekly ~ Nov. 09, 2007

Based on a concept discussed between Norton and Rabe before Norton's death in 2005, this long-delayed sequel honors the classic elements of Norton's 1972 young adult fantasy Dragon Magic while taking on a decidedly modern air. Shilo's ordinary teenage life has been shaken up by her father's death. Now living with her grandparents in the backwoods of Wisconsin, Shilo rummages in the attic one night and finds a wooden picture puzzle with four dragons on the cover that belonged to her father. When she completes the puzzle, Shilo finds herself transported to ancient Babylon, where a dragon entreats her to help save its eggs and keep the earth from being overrun by demons. Rabe (The Finest Creation) has built on Norton's estimable groundwork to produce an action-packed, satisfying young adult story that will be very accessible to modern teens as well as now-grown fans of the original Magic books.

 

Dedications and Acknowledgements ~

I am grateful to Bill Fawcett, who encouraged me to write this book and who packaged this project, and to Sue Stewart, for taking such wonderful care of Andre while the two of us schemed on this tale.
Thanks to Brian Thomsen, my wonderful editor, who managed - as always - to make my tale a better one.
And to Tom Doherty, my publisher, for saying yes to Dragon Mage.
Special thanks to John Helfers, who graciously and generously lent his eyes to the first draft of this manuscript and taught me a thing or three about old baseball players, potatoes, and Mesopotamian stew.

 

Bibliography of English Editions ~

  • Excerpt in - Return to Quag Keep (2008) Published by TOR, PB, 0-765-35152-8, $6.99, 304pg ~ cover by Justin Sweet
  • (2008) Published by TOR, HC, 0-765-31659-2, 978-0-765-31659-2, $24.95 US $27.95 Canadian, 304pg ~ cover by Tristan Elwell
  • (2009) Published by TOR, PB, 0-765-35577-9, 978-0-765-35577-5, $7.99 US $9.99 Canadian, 320pg ~ cover by Tristan Elwell
  • (2013) Published by TOR, DM, 1-466-84598-8, 978-1-466-84598-5, $7.99, 247pgs. ~ cover by Tristan Elwell
  • (2018) Published by Worldbuilders Press, DM, no ISBN, $3.99, 218pg ~ cover by Matt Forsyth?

For information on editions currently available visit the Book Store

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/series-of-a-master/the-magic-sequence/284-dragon-mage#sigProId7be881fa65

 

 

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