Customer Reviews

The Dragon Jousters #1 Joust

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Huzzah for Mercedes Lackey!! Joust is a cracking good beginning to a new series from this established fantasy writer. In it she takes on a new world *a great adaptation of Ancient Egyptian blended with her own ideas* and focuses on the great war between two nations: Tia and Alta. The book's protagonist, Vetch, is a young Altan serf who is taken from his master and made to serve the Tian Jousters, soldiers who ride great dragons into aerial combat against Alta. Vetch's new master, Jouster Ari, is the only dragon soldier in either country to have hatched and raised his own dragon. During his time with Ari, Vetch comes to appreciate the strength and beauty of the dragons and manages to steal an egg to raise on his own. He also learns that not all Tians are the "Great Enemy" of Alta and must come to terms with what his life will have to be once his dragon hatches. Lackey shines with this new series and with fresh material and characters I cannot wait to see what further adventures Vetch has in store for him. Buy This Book!!!

but this was good enough.

As a fan of Mercedes Lackey, I was slightly disappointed with this book. Slightly is the key word- it still earns four stars [if there were half stars, it would have been given three and a half].

I love the way this author writes, it's easy to get into and her books often seem to come to life. This book, however, isn't the same. The story wasn't as intriguing as I'm used to, so it took a little longer to finish it.

At the end, I just had a feeling of, "this is it? This is what she was building up to?". If you're a fan of Lackey, the book is worth picking up and adding to your collection. If this is where you're starting.. I hope it doesn't turn anyone away. There are better books [such as Take a Thief] that would keep you with her.

Joust is the first book I have read by Mercedes Lackey. If you like dragon stories, you'll love this one. The cover art initially attracted me to the book. The story kept me reading. Vetch, a young abused serf turned dragon boy, takes care of a jouster and his dragon and during that time, learns a lot about dragons. Ari, the jouster, hatched Kashet the dragon from an egg and tamed him from birth. Now Vetch wants to do the same thing. He gets his chance when he steals an egg from Coresan, another dragon in the jousters' compound. Much of the story revolves around how Vetch pulls off taking care of the egg and later raising his dragon without anyone knowing.

I've always shied away from Lackey's novels in the past. I hate to admit it, but the cover art just really puts me off. But a moment of weakness in a checkout line provoked me into buying this one. Hmm...It had me hooked at first, but halfway through the novel the story line just fell apart. I love a good underdog-makes-good story, but her plot devices required too much of a leap of faith at times; the largest being an eleven year old dragon drudge hiding a newly hatched and RAPIDLY growing dragon under the noses of a strict dragon culture. Nope, didn't work for me. Aside from the fact that a book buddy caught me reading it and teased me unmercifully for days, I just might see what the Valdemar (sp?) fuss is all about.

It was a treat to see Mercedes Lackey leave the familiar world of Valdemar and venture into new territory. The world she has created for her new series has an Egyptian feel, which gives it a unique flavor. Much of the action follows the standard fantasy conventions, but the characters are well drawn, particularly the narrator Vetch.

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the sequel.

I have been really disappointed in many of Ms. Lackey's more recent books. Too many of them seem contrived--just "money books" that she knows will sell on the basis of her name. This book is just more of the same. I didn't feel that it was original or fresh or even that well written. I am particularly tired of the excessive use of italics in all of her works. People rarely think or talk in italics. Some of the best books I've ever read are by this author. This just makes her later works all the more disappointing.

If you're into dragons you'll love this book, Mercedes Lackey sets up a whole new world and provides a colorful amount of details putting a realistic spin on things. Once you get started you can't put it down.

As the first book I've read by Mercedes Lackey, I'm not too impressed. First, as some others mentioned, the action is incredibly slow with way too much description bogging it down. Some of it would actually be interesting if the author didn't launch every five paragraphs into a comparison to Vetch's former life with Khefti. Most readers understand after the first few pages that Khefti is the stereotypical cruel master. Enough said.

I enjoyed a few of the moments when the book showed some of the character's memories of his family, but then it would simply lapse back into Khefti, who, after ten pages, seemed rather trivial. Throughout the book I felt that the main character should just get over it and MOVE ON. The idea of the dragons is interesting, but it could be done with less cliche and in about 50 less pages.

This is a disappointing product by Lackey who has written some interesting books in the past. It is very slow, as if she has decided to write a five book series and does not want to put too much into any one book.

I enjoyed the story very much but I'm concerned by how closely it paralles Yolan's Dragon's blood. I'm sure it wasn't deliberate and I look forward to a sequel. I didn't see much comparison with McCaffrey's dragons at all. The similarities between this one and Dragon's blood are basically that a bond servent / slave steals a dragons egg and raises it to adulthood to gain his freedom. In Dragons Blood the dragons are used for arena fighting and in Joust they are used for airial combat in a war.