Search - Alta (Dragon Jousters, Bk 2)

A fast pase read. This is better then the first as you learn more about the live of a Dragon Jouster and the war between them.

The second in the series, this book was better than the first, seemingly more mature. Vetch, now Kiron, has entered his homeland of Alta, though it is not the haven he expected. He tells his story of how he raised his tame dragon and escaped from Tia. Kiron makes new friends and begins training a new wing of Jousters who will raise dragons from the egg. Meanwhile, he begins to discover that something is terribly wrong in Alta, and the more he learns, the more his concern grows. Read to find out how Kiron and his new friends plan to thwart the enemies within Alta.

Young Vetch, former serf turned dragon boy, and his hand-reared dragon, Avarte, escape from Tia and cross the deadly desert to Altan-controlled lands. Back among his own people, Vetch becomes indispensable because he knows how to tame newly hatched dragons, which then don't need to be drugged into submission. All is not well with the Altans, however. The Magi, who work their will on the world, have great powers they use to prolong the war that is raging for their own benefit. There's plenty of dragon lore as Vetch, now known as Kiron, teaches a close-knit cadre of young jousters how to bond with dragonets and train them for combat in the hope of ending the war.

Although I did enjoy the first book, this one was a bit better, as it was more action packed with Vetch finally out of serfdom and back in his own country.

I enjoyed the political intrigue in this story and how they made it so that even though Vetch is home, things are still unfinished and it isn't just the other country causing the problems.

--Aileene

As in her other series, Mercedes Lackey has created compelling characters in an richly detailed "other world" society. While predictable, the story is also satisfying, and it raises some deep questions about the nature of leadership, the role of the army, and the causes of war. Book II moves the reader from Tia to Alta,which is losing the war between them due to the superiority of the Tian dragon jousters. Vetch intervenes to create a new kind of jouster corps with very different ideas of war and peace.

A True Meredith Lackey adventure about a young man and his dragon.*****