Search - Joust (Dragon Jousters, Bk 1)

Well-Written Book. The world it focuses on could be ancient egypt with dragons. It focuses on one boy's life as a serf and what ensues. Good read for older kids or adults.

Another unique world created by Mercedes Lackey. This book tells the tale of Vetch, an Altan serf whose family farm has been usurped by the conquering nation of Tia. Vetch is freed from an existance worse than that of a slave by a dragon-riding Jouster, who takes him on as his new dragon boy. Vetch learns much of his care for the dragon, and also dragon lore from his jouster, including the secret of how to tame the dragons so they do not need the drug tala to make them subdued. Vetch plans to use his new-found knowledge to tame his own dragon. If he can, he might be able to escape his Tian masters.

While I typically love books written by Lackey, I thought this one was only ok. I didn't think it is bad, but definately not up to her usual standards. Very detailed explainations, however I did not feel as connected to the characters as I am in her other stories. Still could be a good recommendation for a vacation read.

This was the first story by Mercedes Lackey that I had ever read, and I have to say that it was a very fascinating and heartfelt story that seemed to do well in keeping the plot line rolling. The characters were described in a manner that really made you feel like they could be real people, and that's a hard thing to find in some stories.

An another great book from Laskey.......but if you don´t like reading her 500 kingdom books you might not like this series.I read this book well in spain and it was a nice break from understanding spainish

Orphan gets the oportunity to help raise a dragon

good book. not her best work, but an excellent story

I haven't read one book of Mercedes Lackey's that I haven't loved. I'm excited about getting the rest of this series.

I really enjoyed this book. Now I have to find the rest in the series!

This is the first in the "The Dragon Jousters" series. As usual Mercedes Lackey writes a great story. Recommend it to all.

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?