Joust: Joust #1

I own the entire collection of Lackey's books based on Valdemar, and I never thought she would write anything to rival the herald books. When I read Joust, I was thrilled that I loved it just as much as her Valdemar books. I read cover-to-cover as soon as I got it and loved every second of it. The world she creates is fascinating, and her dragon lore is awesome. I love the entire story and I couldn't wait for the second book to arrive!! It is a wonderful read and I recommend it to everyone, whether you are already a Lackey fan, or you think you might like to be one!!

Mercedes Lackey has created another wonderful world. Its desert setting is worlds away from Valdemar. Vetch, the young protagonist, has been through very difficult times. He has seen his father placed in an impossible situation and die, his mother grandmother, and sisters taken away, and himself turned into a serf, the lowest of the low. He is starved, beaten, and subjected to cruel working and living conditions. When a Jouster rescues him and makes him a dragon boy, his hard-learned lessons of perserverance and hiding his emotions combine with his sterling work ethic and intelligence to earn him a measure of respect in his new profession. His new master is as different from his peers as Vetch is from the freeborn dragon boys. They strike up a comaraderie, with the care of the dragon as its basis.The dragons here are unlike Anne McCaffery's. They come in different colors and are not ranked as rigorously in status. They are--perhaps--not intelligent and do not speak mind-to-mind as the Pern dragons or Lackey's other creations, the Companions. Vetch learns why his master's dragon is unique and, given a chance when an unplanned mating between dragons results in eggs, cares for an egg. He raises the dragon and trains it on the sly. When he is discovered, he seizes his opportunity to escape and try to return to his native country.I very much enjoyed this new series and am eagerly looking forward to the next one. It doesn't look as if this world has as much potential for expansion as the Valdemar books have, but we'll have to wait and see. Lackey uses her considerable abilities to create a unique world and populate it with people both ordinary and extraordinary. You definitely won't be wasting your time reading this book.

Joust is a fantasy novel about a boy and a dragon. Vetch is an Altan and when the Tians conquer his part of Alta, his father's land is given to a Tian family. The soldiers who evict his family also kill his father and cause brain damage to his sister. Then, the surviving, conscious members of the family are informed that they are serfs, property of the Great King and bound to the land.When Khefti-the-fat wants to gain possession of part of the property formerly owned by Vetch's family, he must also take possession of one of the family itself since the lands go with the serfs, so he chooses Vetch. Khefti works Vetch much harder than his apprentices, for they are Tian and can return home if their family agrees, and harder even than his slaves, for they are worth money, because Vetch is worthless to him alive. Khefti cannot sell him, but Vetch wonders if Khefti can keep the land without any serfs if his current serf dies.Vetch is fetching water to the cistern that serves the tala fields when a man takes away his water bucket, drinks part of it, and pours the rest over his head. Vetch is very angry, but his anger turns to terror when Khefti comes with his whip to punish him for losing the water. At first Khefti does not see the stranger, but after two slashes of the whip, the man brings himself to Khefti's attention by holding back the third slash. While initially angry, Khefti starts to grovel as soon as he sees the stranger, for he is a Jouster, a dragon rider for the Great King of Tia.The Jouster, Ari, requisitions Vetch for the Great King's service as his dragon boy and flies away with him on Kashet, the dragon, leaving behind a very angry Khefti. After one day as Ari's dragon boy, Vetch realizes that life will be much less difficult for him in this job and that Ari is an exceptional master compared to the other Jousters. As he grows to know more about Ari, Vetch begins to lose his hatred of this particular Tian. Moreover, he is gaining respect for a few others in the dragon corps, but he stills hates Tia itself. Nevertheless, he works ardently for the welfare of his master and his dragon, earning his place among the dragon boys.The reason Ari is different is that he has raised Kashet from the egg, thus automatically becoming a Jouster. No other dragon has been trained in this way and Kashet is much more cooperative than the other dragons, especially with Ari, but also with Vetch himself, and to lesser extent with Haraket, the Overseer of the Dragon tenders and another man Vetch learns to respect. Vetch decides to emulate Ari and raise his own dragon from the egg. Knowing that a serf will never be allowed to be a Jouster, he will have to hide all such activities even from Ari, but various events make such secrecy less difficult, possibly due to intervention by the Altan gods.This story is set in a world much like ancient Egypt; even the names of gods and places are phonetically similar to Egyptian names. Tia is much like the Upper

I finished Joust in one sitting and enjoy every moment of it. The world Lackey has created is rich and her descriptons of her dragons and their habits loving, vivid and magical. Her young protagonist, Vetch, is immensely likeable and Ari, the secondary character is just as charming. Nowadays, alot of so called epic fantasies seek for heavy plots and too many characters which I find hard to follow after a while and even frustrating at times. Joust has a simple plot but it possesses all the merits of a captivating fantasy. Joust proves that a fantasy does not need to be convoluted with myriad plots and sub-plots to keep a reader hooked. I look forward to more from Vetch, now named Kiron, Ari and their dragons. Lackey, please don't let us wait too long.

The kingdoms of Tia and Alta are at war while at the present time the Tians are winning because they have better Jousters who know how to use their dragons as a tool of war. Much of Altan has become part of the Tian empire and Vetch, who was once a farmer's son, is now a serf, lower than a slave, belonging to a master who treats him very badly. When the Jouster Ari sees Vetch's owner whip him, he takes him away to the Jouster compound and makes him his dragon boy.Vetch now cares for Ari's dragon Kashet who he comes to love. He has plenty of food and a fair workload but he never forgets for one moment that he is a serf with no rights. Although he comes to care Ari and a few other people in the compound, he can't stomach what the Tians are doing to his people. He wants his freedom and embarks on a course of action that will achieve that goal if he doesn't get caught.Mercedes Lackey always writes a terrific story and this first installment in her new series is absolutely mesmerizing. Readers will feel for the protagonist who is only a ten-year-old child yet wise beyond his years. Once he sets a goal for himself, he sees it through no matter the risks. JOUST is a fantasy tale that will appeal to Anne McCaffrey's Pern fans as well as anyone who loves an adorable dragon.Harriet Klausner