Joust - Mercedes Lackey

Vetch is an Altan serf owned by a Tian master. His family once owned the farm on which he now lives as a serf. When the Tian army came, they killed his father and took the farm. Then they parcelled out the land to their own people, along with all the remaining members of Vetch's family, as Tian law states that no one may own land that does not own a serf who was originally tied to that land. However there are no Tian laws governing the treatment ...
...existence, overworked and practically starved, until the day one of Tian's dragonriders, known as Jousters, lands at the farm in search of refreshment. Seeing the master's unnecessarily harsh treatment of Vetch, he decides to appropriate the boy to become his new dragonboy.

Vetch finds himself thrust into a new life caring for the dragon of Tian's most well known Jouster - Ari. He discovers that even an enemy can be human. He also ... more

Vetch is an Altan serf owned by a Tian master. His family once owned the farm on which he now lives as a serf. When the Tian army came, they killed his father and took the farm. Then they parcelled out the land to their own people, along with all the remaining members of Vetch's family, as Tian law states that no one may own land that does not own a serf who was originally tied to that land. However there are no Tian laws governing the treatment of such serfs.

Vetch has a miserable existence, overworked and practically starved, until the day one of Tian's dragonriders, known as Jousters, lands at the farm in search of refreshment. Seeing the master's unnecessarily harsh treatment of Vetch, he decides to appropriate the boy to become his new dragonboy.

Vetch finds himself thrust into a new life caring for the dragon of Tian's most well known Jouster - Ari. He discovers that even an enemy can be human. He also learns how to raise and care for baby dragons and starts planning to turn the theory into practice to gain a dragon of his own.

Another wonderful story from one of my favourite authors. A new world and new characters with all the passion, colour and life that you would expect from this writer.

There are many levels to this tale. There is the sweeping drama and adventure of a struggle against the odds. There is the story of a boy growing up owned and surrounded by his enemies. There is the tale of a man, who fights for his country and yet has no real love for the acclaim he receives for doing so. This is a story with layer upon layer woven together so skilfully that you can lose yourself in the narrative without realising that you are also absorbing many lessons on life.

I am a mad fan of all things dragon related, and also a big fan of the author having read a large proportion of her back catalogue, so I was predisposed to like the book before I read it. Fortunately I was not disappointed. She has a knack of creating very real seeming characters and settings. In her own words this world is a mixture of Egyptian and Atlantean mythos, and you can see those influences coming through in the descriptions of the locations, and the power structures used.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stories about dragons and anyone who likes mythological stories. If you've got books by Anne McCafferey or Marion Zimmer Bradley on your shelves then give this one a try.

I think my copy came from Amazon, where it's going for £4.23 at the moment. You should also be able to find it at Waterstones. 

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