Joust (The Dragon Jousters, Book 1) [Paperback]

Mercedes Lackey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2004

National best-selling fantasy author Mercedes Lackey creates a vivid, dynamic fusion of the cultures of ancient Egypt and legendary Atlantis with the most exciting and believable portrayal of dragons ever imagined. The first book in this thrilling new series introduces us to a young slave who dreams of becoming a jouster-one of the few warriors who can actually ride a flying dragon. And so, in secret, he begins to raise his own dragon...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this elegant, compelling fantasy from the prolific author of the Valdemar series (Arrows Fall, etc.), Lackey combines meticulously detailed dragon lore with emotionally intense, realistic human characters. In the arid desert country of Tia, the Altan serf Vetch has to scramble after whatever crumbs are left over after the servants, the slaves and the animals have been fed, while doing the work of three or four full-grown boys. Being hungry is hard enough to take at the best of times, but being a hungry, growing boy, sorely overworked during the dry season when even the beasts of burden are sheltered against the cruel sun, is intolerable. By chance (or the will of the gods), this dreadful situation comes to the notice of one who can change it. Jouster Ari, a dragon rider and a warrior of the Great King of Tia, dislikes cruelty to animals, men and even to mere serfs. In a neat turn of events, Vetch becomes Ari's dragon boy and the caretaker of Ari's dragon, Kashet. What follows is a detailed look at the lives of Tia's dragons, their dragon riders and those who care for them. This uplifting tale, which contains a valuable lesson or two on the virtues of hard work, is a must-read for dragon lovers in particular and for fantasy fans in general.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Hunger, anger, and hatred are constants for young Vetch, rendered a brutally mistreated and overworked serf by the Tian conquest of his homeland. But everything improves when a Tian jouster requisitions Vetch to become the first serf ever to be a dragon boy. His training is intense, and his duty clear-cut: to tend his jouster, Ari, and his dragon, Kashet. He discovers that, because Ari himself had hatched Kashet, the dragon is different from others that have been captured live in the wild and must be drugged to be made tractable. Vetch finds he really likes and understands dragons, and soon he becomes the best dragon boy of all. He still harbors anger, however, toward the Tian invasion. Could he, perhaps, hatch a dragon, and then escape to help his people? In Vetch's world, Lackey gives us a wonderfully visualized society, similar in terrain, climate, religion, and the differing circumstances of slave, serf, and free person to ancient Egypt. Moreover, she fills the book with well-limned characterizations and convincing, detailed dragon lore to make up a whole in which Vetch's coming-of-age becomes an integral part. Fans of McCaffrey's Pern will love it, but they won't be the only ones who do. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: DAW (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756401534
• ISBN-13: 978-0756401535
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > Lackey, Mercedes

More About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is the acclaimed author of over fifty novels and many works of short fiction. In her "spare" time she is also a professional lyricist and a licensed wild bird rehabilitator. Mercedes lives in Oklahoma with her husband and frequent collaborator, artist Larry Dixon, and their flock of parrots.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mercedes Lackey is back, March 31, 2003

By 

Kyla M. Cathey (Galt, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joust (Hardcover)

While I loved Lackey's earlier books, I've been very disappointed with some of her more recent novels. I hadn't planned on buying this one, but after reading the first two chapters online, I couldn't wait to read this novel, and continuing in this tradition, from the moment I opened the package I couldn't put the book down.

While Joust has some of the elements that have irritated me in her other works (she breaks up action scenes with backstory that could easily wait for a page or two, among other things), it also has most of the elements that I loved from her other novels. I immediately adored Vetch and found myself going through his dilemmas with him. Khefti was a believable and fun-to-hate villain. Ari's soul-searching is very realistically written. The list goes on and on.

Anyone who loves Mercedes Lackey will love her newest book. Those who, like me, have been disappointed by her recently will most likely find themselves entranced by Joust. It's a wonderful novel and I hope that she continues in this better vein.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Dragons!, May 29, 2003

By 

Ranger Xenos "rangerxenos" (Connecticut United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joust (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I'm a fan of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, and this looked like it might be in that vein. I was not disappointed. The dragons themselves were characters along with the more traditonal human ones, something that Lackey shares with McCaffrey.

This is the first of Mercedes Lackey's books that I've read, and I was really impressed with her attention to characters and details. I'm assuming that this is the first in a new series, as the book ends leaving the reader wanting to know more about Vetch (or Kiron) and his dragon Avartre. I'm looking forward to further adventures.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Wonderful, March 25, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Joust (Hardcover)

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.