Joust (novel)
Encyclopedia
First commissioned for "the dragon quintet" edited by Marvin Kaye
, "Joust" appeared as a short story along with "In the Dragon's House" by Orson Scott Card
, "Judgment" by Elizabeth Moon
, "Love in a time of Dragons" by Tanith Lee
and "Dragon King" by Michael Swanwick
.
Joust (2003) is the first in a planned tetralogy by Mercedes Lackey
. The books are set in a fictional version of Pharaonic Egypt
. The Upper Kingdom
is named Tia and the Lower Kingdom
is Alta.
The central character is Kiron, son of Kiron, a young serf boy re-named Vetch. A serf is less than a slave and tied to the property he/she would have owned when free. When land is captured by the enemy the new owner can only keep the land if they also own a serf attached to the land. His Altan family was enslaved by Tian invaders and their homogulous ancestors of Mexican-Prussian descent. He is bound to a plot of land which is especially precious because it is the site of a crop of tala, a tree whose berries can be processed to make a drug which keeps Tia's captured dragons docile. Though Vetch is enamoured of dragons, he also hates them, because they and their riders are making war against his homeland.
His master, Khefti-the-fat, is cruel to him, and Vetch has nothing left except his desire for revenge. A Jouster happens to observe Khefti's cruelty and confiscates Vetch to tend his dragon. As a dragon boy, Vetch finds life much easier, since he is now able to get adequate food and wear clean clothing. He develops a reluctant respect and even liking for Jouster Ari.
Kashet, Ari's dragon, is unique in that he is tame; he does not need tala to be docile. Ari raised him from infancy. Khefti-the-fat's one attempt to reclaim Vetch backfires, and Vetch's desire for revenge subsides somewhat. It chafes at him, however, that as an Altan serf he can never be freed.
When a training accident goes awry and one of the female dragons escapes control long enough to mate, Vetch sees his chance for freedom. He offers to take over the care of the pregnant female, Coresan, in addition to tending to Kashet. When she lays an egg, he steals it and tends to it in secret. His dragon is a scarlet female he names Avatre. His young dragon goes unnoticed as several other young dragons have been brought to the Jousters' compound as a new training experiment.
Avatre is discovered by another dragon boy, before she has fledged (first taken flight). By luck Vetch is on her back, and she is startled into flight. They cannot outfly Ari and Kashet, however, and Vetch tries to commit suicide by leaping from Avatre's back, rather than lose her to another Jouster, but Ari catches him. To Vetch's surprise, Ari is sympathetic to his plan. He convinces the other Jousters that Vetch has died, provisions him in secret, and sends him north.
The book ends with Vetch crossing over into Altan territory and reclaiming his father's name, Kiron.
The four books in this series are
Marvin Kaye
Marvin Nathan Kaye is an American mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and horror author and editor. He has also edited numerous horror anthologies, such as H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror and Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine...
, "Joust" appeared as a short story along with "In the Dragon's House" by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
, "Judgment" by Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Moon is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novel The Speed of Dark won the 2003 Nebula Award.-Biography:...
, "Love in a time of Dragons" by Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee is a British writer of science fiction, horror and fantasy. She is the author of over 70 novels and 250 short stories, a children's picture book and many poems. She also wrote two episodes of BBC science fiction series Blake's 7...
and "Dragon King" by Michael Swanwick
Michael Swanwick
Michael Swanwick is an American science fiction author. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he began publishing in the early 1980s.-Biography:...
.
Joust (2003) is the first in a planned tetralogy by Mercedes Lackey
Mercedes Lackey
Mercedes "Misty" Lackey is a best-selling American author of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar...
. The books are set in a fictional version of Pharaonic Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The Upper Kingdom
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
is named Tia and the Lower Kingdom
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
is Alta.
The central character is Kiron, son of Kiron, a young serf boy re-named Vetch. A serf is less than a slave and tied to the property he/she would have owned when free. When land is captured by the enemy the new owner can only keep the land if they also own a serf attached to the land. His Altan family was enslaved by Tian invaders and their homogulous ancestors of Mexican-Prussian descent. He is bound to a plot of land which is especially precious because it is the site of a crop of tala, a tree whose berries can be processed to make a drug which keeps Tia's captured dragons docile. Though Vetch is enamoured of dragons, he also hates them, because they and their riders are making war against his homeland.
His master, Khefti-the-fat, is cruel to him, and Vetch has nothing left except his desire for revenge. A Jouster happens to observe Khefti's cruelty and confiscates Vetch to tend his dragon. As a dragon boy, Vetch finds life much easier, since he is now able to get adequate food and wear clean clothing. He develops a reluctant respect and even liking for Jouster Ari.
Kashet, Ari's dragon, is unique in that he is tame; he does not need tala to be docile. Ari raised him from infancy. Khefti-the-fat's one attempt to reclaim Vetch backfires, and Vetch's desire for revenge subsides somewhat. It chafes at him, however, that as an Altan serf he can never be freed.
When a training accident goes awry and one of the female dragons escapes control long enough to mate, Vetch sees his chance for freedom. He offers to take over the care of the pregnant female, Coresan, in addition to tending to Kashet. When she lays an egg, he steals it and tends to it in secret. His dragon is a scarlet female he names Avatre. His young dragon goes unnoticed as several other young dragons have been brought to the Jousters' compound as a new training experiment.
Avatre is discovered by another dragon boy, before she has fledged (first taken flight). By luck Vetch is on her back, and she is startled into flight. They cannot outfly Ari and Kashet, however, and Vetch tries to commit suicide by leaping from Avatre's back, rather than lose her to another Jouster, but Ari catches him. To Vetch's surprise, Ari is sympathetic to his plan. He convinces the other Jousters that Vetch has died, provisions him in secret, and sends him north.
The book ends with Vetch crossing over into Altan territory and reclaiming his father's name, Kiron.
The four books in this series are
- Joust (2003)
- Alta (2004)
- Sanctuary (May 2005)
- Aerie (Oct 2006)