The Dragon Jousters

Joust
By Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books, distributed by Penguin Group, 2003

Alta
By Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books, distributed by Penguin Group, 2004

Sanctuary
By Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books, distributed by Penguin Group, 2005

Having been a recently-converted fan of Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar series, I was already aware of her talent for spinning fully realized characters and complex, believable fantasy worlds not that far removed from our own. So when I discovered Joust, which not only sported Lackey's name on the cover but bore the image of -- what else? -- a dragon, I had to investigate. And when I discovered Joust had not only a sequel, but a third book in the series, I was hooked.

Joust tells the story of two nations with similar cultures (both are strongly reminiscent of ancient Egypt) that are nonetheless at war -- the desert nation of Tia and the delta nation of Alta. While soldiers battle it out on the land and jousters aboard dragons take to the skies, a young Altan serf boy named Vetch is caught in the middle, serving as a dragon boy in the Jouster's compound of Tia. With the unwitting aid of the heroic but brooding Tian Jouster Ari, he learns the secret of taming dragons in order to aid his beleaguered home country.

But as the series continues in Alta and Sanctuary, it becomes clear that this is far more than a war between two nations. In Alta Vetch learns that a powerful group of sorcerers known as the Magi are behind the war... and seek to profit from it in hideous ways. And Vetch must use his knowledge of taming jousting dragons to save Alta not only from the army of Tia, but from the treachery of the Magi.

Lackey's books may seem slow-moving to one used to the quick pace and rousing adventures of other fantasy novels, but I particularly relished the world Lackey painted around me with her words. Nuances of culture, religion, and daily life were so vividly constructed that I found myself fully believing this world existed. Even the magic at work is so matter-of-factly described that it's completely believable. And the dragons, though not the supernatural beasts of other fantasy works, are more than just animals -- each has his or her own distinct personality, enough to set them apart as characters in their own right.

If you have yet to read a Mercedes Lackey novel, I suggest The Dragon Jousters as a good take-off point. If you're already familiar with Lackey from Heralds of Valdemar or other works/series, then I fully recommend the non-Valdemarian tales of Vetch and his comrades. And if you finish these books and want more -- as I did -- then keep a sharp eye out for the fourth book, Aerie, due out this October!