Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || PinterestBooks like these make me nostalgic for childhood, when I would stay up way past my bedtime reading books with a flashlight, so utterly absorbed that it felt like I was physically unable to put the book down. Mercedes Lackey is an amazing fantasy author who is not afraid to write about serious subjects, strong women, and LGBT characters, and even though she's been around forever, not nearly enough people know about her or read her books.

*** 3.39 ***I just finished this enchanting first book in a trilogy and I am very interested in knowing what happens in the story. I like the writing and I love the world and the dragons. I really, really wish she had edited more heavily, it could have been at least a 100 pages shorter. Love the Egyptian influence and the hot sandy ecosystem in which the dragons feel most comfortable. As always, I love how well the author portraits the horrors of war. I also feel, and I can't believe I am saying...

As a dragon enthusiast I jumped for joy when I found this book on the bookshelf at my local bookstore. After I read it I couldn’t help but think that this was what a dragon book should be. Mercedes Lackey has always been one of my favorite fantasy writers and in this book she proves why she deserves all of the praise that she gets. Fans of Anne McGaffry’s Dragonriders of Pern series will not be disappointed in this book. Despite the fact that Joust revolves around dragonriders, referred to as Jo...

I'm going to call this a 3.5. This is a fun, easy to read book about a boy and dragons. Yes, there are some books out there with similar ideas, but pretty much every fantasy book out there is borrowing ideas or influenced by other authors.I found parts of the book to be a bit slow, but I liked Vetch and the dragons. I did think that Vetch said things that were way too grown-up sounding for a 10-12 year old kid though. For example, he said something to Ari like "If you don't talk about this you'r...

Joust drowns in its own self-righteousness.Vetch is honest, kind and humble, everyone else is lazy, incompetent and ignorant. But Vetch makes these snap decisions at first sight. He decides the other dragon boys don't like him so never attempts to say hello to them, yet it's their fault that they are not friends. Vetch assumes (again at first sight) that one of the overseers is concerned only with proving his status above others and will punish Vetch for any mistakes. The overseer never actually...

It's been so long since I first read this that I only had the vaguest ideas of what would happen and how, so this was a really fun re-read with my book club on Discord. I love Lackey's approach to dragons and their relationships with humans here, and the strong nods to Egyptian culture throughout are well done and enjoyed. I'm not sure when I'll have time to keep reading the series, but I know I need to since I never read the fourth book during my initial reading.

No rating. DNF at around 45%.I liked Mercedes Lackey’s other books well enough. This one was just not for me.

When I picked this up, I expected to really enjoy it. After all, I like Mercedes Lackey's writing, and it had been a long time since I had read any good dragon-focused fiction. Sadly, it seems as if Lackey lifted this story from one of my favorite series of all time- The Pit Dragon Trilogy by Jane Yolen. Although I will admit that the whole dragon and his boy theme is old as dirt, reading Joust was more like deja-vu than I ever could have imagined. Both stories take place in dry, arid locations

4.5 starsThis book made me realise something in particular I really enjoy in books; learning about things. I get it, I'm a big nerd even in my spare time. I thoroughly loved learning about caring for the dragons, saddling, buffing, etc. Will I ever get to meet a Dragon to carry it out? No! Would I be able to do it though? Probably!Thanks Mercedes Lackey

Notes:The writing did not translate 100% for audio format, but it was a great story and I loved getting back into a world with dragon riding. Which reminds me that I need to re-read Pern & finish that series.

I was something of a Mercedes Lackey fan when her earliest books came out -- not a fanatical fan by any means, but I read and sought out the subsequent Valdemar books as they came out. Somewhere along the way I moved on to other things, and the reviews on her later offerings didn't motivate me to return.I picked up Joust recently, in part because I was looking for a book of a certain length to read at a 10-12 pages a night from mid-August through September. This turned out to be an ideal book fo...

Vetch, a serf working for a terrible and abusive master, knows nothing but servitude until Jouster Ari comes along. Taking Vetch under his wing, he gives him no more work than he can handle, teaches him the ways of dragons, and trusts him with the care of his dragon, Kashet. Soon after, Vetch has dreams of raising a dragon of his own.I must address an issue here before I start my review. Many people see this series as comparable to The Pit Dragon Chronicles by Jane Yolen, and in many ways it is…...

I haven’t read that many Mercedes Lackey books, even though she’s one of the most popular and prolific fantasy writers today. I picked up Joust for $1 during a Borders closing sale. The plot follows Vetch, a young serf plucked from his cruel master’s yard to become a dragon boy to the jouster Ari and dragon Kashet. The world is Ancient Egypt with a little magic and a few flying serpents.The beginning is slow. Very slow. It takes 23 pages for Vetch to fetch a bucket of water. Of course, if someon...

An ancient Egyptian inspired setting with dragons. A slow burner, but I enjoyed it.

ReedIII Quick Review: I remain a true fan of McCaffrey's “Dragonriders of PERN” series. However, if you like light dragon fantasy this is excellent. Already checked out book 2 of this series.

Interesting if slowly paced dragon book with zero major female characters.

I liked Joust.This was my first read of Lackey's and I enjoined it well enough. The few characters (3-4) that were developed were three dimensional and real enough. The plot was good, if not fast paced, and the world building/dragon knowledge well thought through.What took this down from a five star?I could probably summarize this 373 page book in less than five plot points. It was definitely slow moving, and I can't help but feel it would have been better if it was a little hacked down and its

The care and feeding of dragons in ancient Egypt.This book was my first experience with the work of Mercedes Lackey. Joust is moderately enjoyable, in spite of the fact that very little actually happens in it. Presumably this is because the author is using the story to set up a larger series, but I would have preferred half as many words and twice as much conflict.That said, it is probably to the author's credit that she was able to drag me through 400+ pages of internal monologues. (The first 2...

For the first time ever, national best-selling legend Mercedes Lackey draws from her extensive knowlege of animals and her professional background as anavian expert-to create something truly special…The most exciting, authentic and believable portrayal of dragons ever imagined.It is a richly conceived, fully realized vision, inspired by the culture of ancient Egypt, the legends of Atlantis--and the science of animal behavior andbiology. This is how dragons would live, breed, hatch, hunt, and bon...

Wonderful book! My heart was breaking for Vetch several times and I was so happy when Ari saved him and took him to the compound to become a dragon-boy - which led to more heartbreak. *g*I like Vetch and Ari - the two main characters. I like that Ari understands how Vetch feels but still remains "the emeny". I love the Vetch POV but I still would have loved to have Ari's thoguhts on Vetch now and then.I like the idea of lazy (cat like) dragons and that they aren't tamed and therefore dangerous w...

I'm really not a huge fan of either dragons or Egyptology, so don't let that put you off reading this if you're not either. I really really enjoyed Joust... I liked the descriptions of Vetch's day to day life and his care of the dragons, and I liked learning about the dragons as Vetch did.I totally get why some reviewers complained that nothing happened in this book, but I didn't find this slow at all. I really liked the writing, the characters, and even the pace. It all felt well done and right...

I think the polite thing to say would be this series hasn't aged well, though I need some serious convincing that it was ever good. Generally poor and often repetitive writing with crappy yet seemingly acceptable gender politics. Were women ever mentioned without us being told how limited they are? I don't remember an instance.Edit:Oh shit! I thought this was at least 40 years older than it is. I didn't think someone who has Internet access and owns a refrigerator could seriously write this.Revi...

A good kids book I loved when I was younger. The series gets more sophisticated as it goes on, so I'd suggest for kids who are starting to get into YA or even are on the upper end, because the writing itself is superb. The worldbuild is intensely Egyptian, but enthralling and very well developed. The main protagonist isn't stupid, for once, which is amazing.The others in the series are much better (the third is the BEST, I've read it four or five times) but this one is the foundation and still...

New series by Ms. Lackey is awesome! I'm rating this a 3.5 but since I only round down, it's showing up as a three. I loved the attention to detail on showing how to take care of a dragon. The opposing forces are ominous. I know which side I'd pick. This book reminded me of Ms. McCaffrey's dragon singer series. When Menolly raised the fire dragons, this book is similar in several ways. Enjoyed it and can't wait for the next one.

Look, I'm a sucker for kids stealing dragons and raising them to be their lifelong devoted friends. That is a trope I will always, always adore. Joust does not disappoint, and has that signature rags-to-"riches" (where riches is a loving family and support structure) thematic content that Lackey is known best for.

I remember reading the original short story so was delighted to have the full book. A serf who is given an opportunity to improve his life and in doing so discovers a love of dragons. A love so strong that he decides to hatch his own, not really thinking about what he will do after that...

This was a very pleasant re-read, and it definitely helped get me out of my book funk. I liked the characters and the way the author did the world building, and I'm quickly jumping into book 2.

Trigger Warnings: genre typical violence, discussion of murder of enemy combatants as well as civilians, murder of a father in front of his son, discussion of butchering and sacrificing of animals, slavery and serfs and depictions of the abuse of those slaves and serfs, fatphobia.It's always weird reading a book I enjoyed years ago and seeing if it holds up. This is still one of my favorite Mercedes Lackey series I think (possibly because it's a limited series that doesn't get repetitive later o...

First time reading Mercedes Lackey, which is a little surprising considering my great interest in the fantasy genre. She has a lot of talent with this particular novel, and I look forward to pursuing the rest of this series. Let alone more of what else she has written.The writing is excellent, greatly detailed without the over-kill of details that detracts from a good read. The author gives the characters such as Vetch, Ari, Haraket so much spotlight that even minor characters develop a sense of...

I really enjoyed the idea of this book. The setting and the few characters that were delved into were interesting. However, and I don't blame the author for this, the book just went on and on and on. Thoughts and ideas were repeated over and over again, sometimes within a few pages of each other. We get it, you're mad. Stop TELLING me and start SHOWING me.Again, not the authors fault. It's on a quality editor to make sure this type of writing doesn't end up in a final draft.Does the writing get