Customer Reviews

Alta

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read both Alta and Joust (Volume 1 of this series) over the weekend. So I obviously enjoyed the books! I think that some of the other reviewers have fairly characterized the books as a little light (for young readers), but that doesn't mean they're not a fun read.

Alta picks up almost exactly where Joust ended (give or take a couple of months). Vetch is getting ready to leave the desert and enter his homeland of Alta. He gets some final advice from the "Mouth" of the desert nomads that he should start thinking of himself as a dragon rider instead of a serf or he'll lose his dragon. So right from the start Vetch becomes Kiron.

The novel is all about his first year or so in Alta. The dust cover would have you believe that he faced all kinds of difficulties, but in truth his reception is pretty smooth.

The story is fairly linear without too many twists and turns. No great surprises. The characters are pretty interesting, but they're not too fleshed out. There's eight boys who make up Kiron's finding squad, and although you're introduced to each, they don't all really come alive in the story.

The violence and challenges that Kiron faces are about the level of a Harry Potter book (i.e. you're never really worried that anything too bad will happen to Kiron or that he won't ultimately succeed).

Overall though I'd like to stress that this is a fun enjoyable read. Fairly light perhaps, but every novel you read doesn't need to be ultra dense with all kinds of political maneuvering.

You don't absolutely have to read the first book (Joust), but you'll have a much greater appreciation for the relationship between Kiron and Avatare if you do. Plus it will give you a lot of beneficial background.

I've always liked books that went into the day to day details of life in a fantasy world, so I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, Joust. It was a little fluffy -- despite all the obstacles in Vetch/Kiron's path, there was rarely any sense that he was in danger. Still, I could read about the care and feeding of dragons without getting bored for quite a long time, so an afternoon with this book was not ill-spent.

The sequel Alta is more of the same. All those worries at the end of the Joust about what Kiron's reception might be when he flits back into Alta with a dragon? Waved away. Before you know it, the teenager is in charge of training a whole clutch of dragons with the remarkable new philosophy of actually taming them from birth rather than drugging them into submission. We're to believe that up till now there has only been one other person in the two warring countries who's willing to go to the bother, which seems absurd, given that the tamed dragons are exponentially easier to control and handle. I don't think I'm giving away much if I say that of course Kiron is right about everything. This book is not exactly tense and exciting. It's hard to fear the bumbling Magi, who can be scared away when a gay man swishes at them. Even the inevitable scene where Kiron ends up opposing Ari in battle doesn't get my pulse moving. We're two-thirds of the way through the trilogy and I've never even been slightly worried about Kiron's fate.

But I've still enjoyed the dragons, and that's what I came for, so I am not unhappy with the books. I do have some stylistic issues: it's classic Lackey, so if you don't enjoy her Valdemar books chances are slim that you'll like this one. The font of the book is highly distracting, and I wish Lackey would rein in the italics already... but heck, dragons. They're portrayed as moderately intelligent animals (I'd like a little less "hmm, I think they're a little less smart than a really bright dog, they act rather like hawks, or maybe like horses crossed with..." etc etc analysis in the text -- just show us how they act, and we'll decide how smart they are), and much to my relief they don't talk, not even to the girl who has the "gift of animal speech." I did enjoy more of the human characters this time around, though there were at times simply too many names to keep straight with all the humans and dragons populating the story. It doesn't help when you've got Kalen, Kaleth, and Kiron in the same room.

Backstory is amply provided, but it would still make sense to read Joust first. Or you may want to check out Jane Yolen's Pit Dragon trilogy -- or at least the first book of it -- for a quite similar and rather better-done story. But if you're into tame dragons, new books don't come along every day, and this is a decent place to get your fix.

The war between Tia and Alta continues because of the Jousters and their dragons, the first line of offense on the borders. Although Tia has more Jousters and dragons Alta has the magi which sends bad weather into Tia so that the dragons cannot fly. Kiron, a former serf made dragon boy to jouster Ari and his dragon Keshet discovers that he is the only one who besides Ari who does not have to drug his dragon to get him to obey him. In a daring move, Kiron steals an egg, empresses the dragonet when it hatches, trains it and flies back to Alta to try to end the war.

He believes he can show the Altan Jousters a better way of fighting with the undrugged cooperation of their dragons even though his country men have less trained jousters. Kiron is accepted on to Altan training grounds and has eight youngsters impress their dragons and the nine become one wing united in their love for their dragons. There is a powerful shadow group in Alta who doesn?t want the war to end and will use horrific methods to achieve their goals. Kiron and his followers must prepare for the day that the enemy will want the Jousters dead.

In JOUST, the prequel to ALTA, readers are shown the culture of Tia and how the ongoing war affects the conquerors, the serfs and the Jousters. ALTA shares the viewpoint from the other side and how one escaped serf gives hope and a plan of action to the demoralized Jousters. Mercedes Lackey, one of the great fantasists of our time, writes a coming of age story that is memorable and enjoyable.

Harriet Klausner

Alta is the second novel in this series, following Joust. In the previous volume, Vetch the Atlan serf dragon boy had stolen an egg, hid it in an unused pen, and, after it hatched, raised the dragonet in secret. When she flew for the first time, she headed for the hills with Vetch onboard. They outran all of the Tian Jouster pursuers except his friend Ari, who actually helped them to escape, paying the Bedu in gold to guide them through the desert to Alta.

In this novel, Vetch reaches Alta and is no longer a serf to the Tians, but is instead Kiron, son of Kiron, a Jouster in training. As he and Avatre near Alta City, they rescue a noble girl from an irate river horse, but Kiron is badly injured and blacks out. Upon awakening, he finds himself in the home of the noble Lord Ya-Tiren. Both he and his daughter, Aken-ten, express their gratitude for his timely rescue; in fact, Aken-ten has been tending him while he was unconscious. Later, her brother Orest visits to express his gratitude as well.

Aken-ten is a Nestling Winged-One, a priestess in training and a possessor of certain talents, including the ability to speak the Silent Speech with animals. She and Avatre have become friends while he recovered from his wounds. Kiron is very interested in her ability to actually communicate with his dragon.

Orest is very fascinated with Avatre. Although the traditional approach to taming a dragon fails to interest him, the thought of actually bonding to a dragon excites him. This idea also appeals to several of his friends and Lord Khumun-thetus, the Jouster in charge of training, becomes intrigued enough with the possibilities to form a new unit to pursue the training practices used to raise Avatre.

In this story, Kiron begins to suspect something is wrong in Alta. The Magi are too powerful and they have begun to use the Winged-Ones as sources of power to perform their magic. Moreover, the Great Ones who rule Alta are living too long, apparently with magical aid from the Magi.

One of the new Jousters in Kiron's training unit is Toroth, who is one of the twin heirs to the throne. Toroth knows much more about the Magi and their assumption of power. Moreover, he and his twin, Kaleth, have plans to restore the power to the Great Ones when they gain the thrones. Soon the entire unit becomes part of Tototh's conspiracy against the Magi.

This story relates Kiron's growing reputation among the Altan Jousters and the developing respect for his unit, both boys and dragonets. It also tells of the blooming friendship between Kiron and Aken-ten, which is slowly turning to love. And it shows the tremendous potentiality of a unit of alert, trained and willing dragons.

The story expands into a tale of politics and corrupted power. Kiron finds himself with great responsibilities and willing associates, but very little ability to influence the situation. He and his friends resort to cunning, aided by the hubris of his enemies.

As with most of the author's solo efforts, this novel is very linear: everything is seen through the eyes of Kiron. Moreover, it is short compared to the mega-novels that are so popular nowadays. This short length does have some detrimental effects on character development, but it also reduces the amount of background material used for such development. However, Kiron isn't always the center of the action; the other characters -- particularly Aken-ten -- contribute greatly to the story and plot development. Overall, the straightforward style and fast pace of this novel should interest young readers as well as older ones such as myself.

Highly recommended for Lackey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of ancient civilizations, political intrigue, daring adventure, and crafty magic.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Like Joust, there is a simplicity in Alta which I like. Yet Alta's plot leaves much to be desired. Is it because Alta is the second book in a trilogy ? Kiron's acceptance among his people is just too easily and conveniently done. And why the girl, Aket-ten ?! From Lackey's over the top detailed description of her amazing talents and courage, she is the hero of the story, not Kiron, not the prince, not the dragons. Aket-ten being the only one capable of speaking to and understanding dragons just does not seem right. This implies that the bonding between dragon and his/her human companion right from the beginning is not as significant as we were led to believe. I like the ideal of the bonding and Aket-ten's empathy with the dragons is simply irrelevant and irritating. Nothing against a heroine, eventhough the character Aket-ten seems contrived, but from Joust I was led to believe and still prefer both Kiron and Ari to have centre stage. Ari is admirable and an interesting character and I am disappointed that Lackey has ignored him in Alta, except for the confrontation with Kiron, which sadly turn out to be an anti-climax. I expected much more from Lackey's imagination and I hope she will deliver in the third installment.

I couldn't wait until this book came out! i really liked Joust and i have read a lot of Lackey's books including the valdemar series which i really recomend. Anyway, Alta is a wonderful and exciting book that lives up to its predecessor Joust and i can't wait for the third one! The story is told well with twists and turns that i loved. The other characters are also very lovable and believable. Kiron, formerly Vetch, has found his place among the Altans and being only the second man to raise a dragon from birth he tries to teach the other Altan jousters what he knows and form and new type of jousters, those that raise their dragons from birth. As he does this he learns that there are always two stories to a war and that evil exists on both sides. i Highly recomend this book to anyone who has read Joust they will really enjoy it!

Definately a great follow up to Joust, and added some much needed breath to a series lacking in characters or opposing forces. Lackey came through as always by defining likeable and well developed personalities, but still needs to learn how to better define emotion, and when too much emotion is just too much.

I recommend you read this as well as joust but wait until the next book is closer coming to read this one, the ending is definately a cliffhanger, surely an unitened one but I'll expect she'll recover.

The follow up to Lackey's excellent "Joust", "Alta" follows young Vetch *now Kiron* as he returns with his dragon to his homeland. Now a young man and the second of only 2 men to ever hatch and raise a dragon to ride, Kiron discovers that Alta is not the shining land of hope that filled his dreams of freedom. As he works to build a name for himself with the Altan Jousters, he discovers a conspiracy among the wizards who advise the Altan rulers. Who is really running the show and what do they gain by the generations long war with Tia? Follow Kiron and Avatre as they begin to come into their own and struggle to save the land of his birth. Buy This Book!!

The story opens with Vetch - now called Kiron traveling across the last of the desert into his homeland of Alta with one of only two tame dragons in the world. There is some interesting details on how he managed to survive across the desert and some descriptions on the differences between Alta and Tia that are good enough to keep a reader's attention.

The book starts to go downhill the moment Lacky introduces the character Aket-ten.

It is as if in many ways Kiron is shoved aside so that this special character can take the main stage. We continue to read from Kiron's point of view, but Aket-ten, who is young, pretty and speaks to animals is soon coming up with all of the good ideas.

Honestly, I don't know how she does it all! Not only is she the only `Winged One' with enough common sense to say no and run away when the evil Magi take her powers, but she is soon running around with her own jousting dragon ( a dragon that is, naturally beautiful and more intelligent than the others).

By itself, there is nothing wrong with that, but this world that Lackey built is not exactly a gender-equal world, and as the plot unfolds and the Aket-ten character sliters in it just gets more and more ridiculous. Especially since she is supposed to be the daughter of a noble - and no other women step forward but her. She is completely accepted without any interesting conflict by the rest of the men in an extremely male driven socity.

Later on, it turns out that she is the only one who can control all of the dragons, then it is she who comes up with the idea to help free the untamed dragons. Of course, at the end she is the one who helps save the day.

There are a lot more examples, but I don't want to ruin it for the people who wish to read it. I just found myself extremely disappointed that this Mary-Sue is the real one who ended up running the show when the entire first book was spent on Vetch.

The bad guys were just pathetic. Someone else mentioned this, but how is it that a fearsome bad Magi can literally tuck tail and run when he gets his eyes batted at by another male healer? Haven't they slowly sucked the life out of a hundred people before this? Couldn't he have, you know, blasted him or done something evil if he was bothered that much and was without so much pity?

So overall, I was fairly disappointed with this book. It didn't have any of the magic that I enjoyed with the first part of this series. It felt like a vehicle for a Mary-Sue and the plot was just about nil until the end.

The only real action was found at the end where you finally - after two books about dragon jousters--see some dragon's jousting! This is short lived almost as if the author found herself bored with the idea and directed her characters away from the fighting almost as soon as it broke out.

Last thing I'll say is that this book needs editing. Badly.

In a lot of ways, it seemed almost as if I was reading a rough draft of a novel. Things would be stated and restated several times in the same paragraph. Characters changed the spelling of names and overall the entire plot felt unfinished.

This is not a book I will be recommending.

The first book in this quartet (Joust) was decent enough to make me move onto the second. It definitely had its flaws (Vetch is angry, hungry, and worth less than a slave...got it the first thousand times, thanks) but it had its intriguing moments.

Then the second book. The flaws from the first book which were bearable start getting worse.
Vetch...erm, I mean, Kiron, I guess...simply never comes into his own as a character. He's just like every other abused, abandoned youth that Lackey ever wrote, except even more lackluster. What makes it a problem, though, is that he's supported by mostly equally lackluster characters. The eight boys from his "wing" are basically stereotypes...shy, lazy, handsome, humorous (dopey, grumpy, sleepy, sneezy, doc...). They're tolerable, though. It's Aket-ten, the female protagonist, who is really irritating. She's one of those tough know-it-all characters who occasionally gets weepy, but that's ALL she is. She's front and center far too much to be so bland. The only characters with personalities are the dragons.

When your characters are iffy, you need a good world and/or a good plot instead. Unfortunately, the world is basically just a blatant rip-off of ancient Egypt, completely with tongue-twister names that exhibit how much Lackey DOESN'T know about the culture. I had hoped at first that Alta and Tia represented the Upper and Lower Kingdoms of ancient Egypt, but that hope didn't last long and was completely crushed during Alta. I don't like lots and lots of discription, but why do we only get the barest explanation of the buildings and cities? Art and architecture were HUGE in ancient cultures, such as Egypt. Others might be fooled, but I'm not convinced that Lackey did her homework right.
And the plot...Do I really need to say it? Yep, you guessed it, abused, uneducated youth from the farthest reaches of Bass Ackwards goes to save his country armed with only his completely unbelievable wisdom and intelligence. How is it that Kiron can think of these great (and generally obvious) ideas that never even crossed the minds of experienced dragon riders? Because honestly, if it doesn't involve dragons or thwarting the Magi (INVENT. NEW. NAMES.) Kiron just isn't all that bright.

A quick word on the typos in this book...I am not one of those anal retentive people who gets off on combing a book for every single last little glitch. However, there were typos in this one for which there is simply no excuse: NAMES! For the longest time I couldn't figure out if Menet-Ka's dragon was Bethulan or Bethlan, because it went back and forth between the two so often, sometimes several times in a paragraph. And if I had a dollar for every time Gan was spelled Can...Come on! These are the names of your heroes here! Of all things to mispell, character names (especially the heroes) are just sad.
Alta does have its moments, due largely to the dragonets. They're so cute, even I want one. Even though it would probably eat my cats and my guinea pig. They're also most of the reason I've moved onto the 3rd book, but if things don't pick up, I don't think I'll make it to number four.