Alta

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: I couldn't wait until this book came out! i really liked Joust and i have read a lot of Lackey's books including the valdemar series which i really recomend. Anyway, Alta is a wonderful and exciting book that lives up to its predecessor Joust and i can't wait for the third one! The story is told well with twists and turns that i loved. The other characters are also very lovable and believable. Kiron, formerly Vetch, has found his place among the Altans and being only the second man to raise a dragon from birth he tries to teach the other Altan jousters what he knows and form and new type of jousters, those that raise their dragons from birth. As he does this he learns that there are always two stories to a war and that evil exists on both sides. i Highly recomend this book to anyone who has read Joust they will really enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: Alta, by Mercedes Lackey
Review: I highly recommend Alta to those who enjoy fantasy novels, especially if you like them to have some historical similarities with the real world. I had always said that books Mercedes Lackey wrote to be the second novel of a trilogy were not as strong as the first and third books. Somehow, the plot points that were unique to those novels would get lost amid the need to set the stage for the final battle(s).

Not only was the internal plot for this one excellent, the second book was by far better than the first, Joust. I enjoyed both, but Alta pulled me in more and fascinated me. The series contains dragons, and I was pleased by the approach Lackey took to the bonding and training process specifically because it seemed so much more accurate scientifically than what the Anne McCaffrey books had. I'm a big fan of McCaffrey, too, but I think as I have aged, I have grown to appreciate the subtle blending of reality and fantasy. This series is a great showcase for the knowledge and experience that Mercedes Lackey has gained through the bird training and rehabilitation she and her husband have invested much of their time in.

Another point in Lackey's favor: you don't get- nor do I believe you need- all of the historical background that would fill the first chapter or so of McCaffrey's book in order to understand the current storyline.

Of note- there was a bit of build up in <i>Joust</i> regarding Kiron's angst over returning to his homeland and the potential for a cold-reception. I found it pleasing and somewhat more lifelike that the worry was baseless once he was there. Some might think that it was wiped-away and should have received more attention, but frankly, that's been done to death. Besides, my experience in life have shown me that often, that which I fear the most has the least ultimate impact on a situation. Life is full of moments in which something "bigger than my/your petty problems" comes up and we are forced to stop worrying about what might hurt us so that we may focus on what is more important to the community we are living in.

Overall, this was a great read, and free of many of the editorial errors I had been noticing recently in this genre. DAW Books and Luna Books (where Lackey's 'The Fairy Godmother' was published) seems to hire well and/or understand that a multitude of errors will pull a reader out of the world their authors worked so hard to create.

Rating:
Summary: WANTING MORE!!!
Review: I loved this book! Read Joust and couldn't wait for the next one! Then Alta arrived! There is some closure to this story, but I am still left wanted to read more about Ari and Kiran and their lovely, fabulous dragons!!!

I felt the ending was a little rushed.... Not sure what could make it better, but maybe it just comes from me wanting more story. Will eagerly grab up any other books that are written for this series! THANK YOU MERCEDES LACKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Not too deep, but enjoyable
Review: I read both Alta and Joust (Volume 1 of this series) over the weekend. So I obviously enjoyed the books! I think that some of the other reviewers have fairly characterized the books as a little light (for young readers), but that doesn't mean they're not a fun read.

Alta picks up almost exactly where Joust ended (give or take a couple of months). Vetch is getting ready to leave the desert and enter his homeland of Alta. He gets some final advice from the "Mouth" of the desert nomads that he should start thinking of himself as a dragon rider instead of a serf or he'll lose his dragon. So right from the start Vetch becomes Kiron.

The novel is all about his first year or so in Alta. The dust cover would have you believe that he faced all kinds of difficulties, but in truth his reception is pretty smooth.

The story is fairly linear without too many twists and turns. No great surprises. The characters are pretty interesting, but they're not too fleshed out. There's eight boys who make up Kiron's finding squad, and although you're introduced to each, they don't all really come alive in the story.

The violence and challenges that Kiron faces are about the level of a Harry Potter book (i.e. you're never really worried that anything too bad will happen to Kiron or that he won't ultimately succeed).

Overall though I'd like to stress that this is a fun enjoyable read. Fairly light perhaps, but every novel you read doesn't need to be ultra dense with all kinds of political maneuvering.

You don't absolutely have to read the first book (Joust), but you'll have a much greater appreciation for the relationship between Kiron and Avatare if you do. Plus it will give you a lot of beneficial background.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but too simplistic
Review: I was really looking forward to this book and so it was a huge disappointment to find it not half as good as Joust. I had a hard time getting into the first half, maybe because I just didn't like the characters as much as I did in Joust. Also it seemed different somehow. Almost as if it was trying to be a Harry Potter book or something. I don't know. This reader was disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: What happened?
Review: I was really looking forward to this book and so it was a huge disappointment to find it not half as good as Joust. I had a hard time getting into the first half, maybe because I just didn't like the characters as much as I did in Joust. Also it seemed different somehow. Almost as if it was trying to be a Harry Potter book or something. I don't know. This reader was disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Fun, but simple
Review: I've always liked books that went into the day to day details of life in a fantasy world, so I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, Joust. It was a little fluffy -- despite all the obstacles in Vetch/Kiron's path, there was rarely any sense that he was in danger. Still, I could read about the care and feeding of dragons without getting bored for quite a long time, so an afternoon with this book was not ill-spent.

The sequel Alta is more of the same. All those worries at the end of the Joust about what Kiron's reception might be when he flits back into Alta with a dragon? Waved away. Before you know it, the teenager is in charge of training a whole clutch of dragons with the remarkable new philosophy of actually taming them from birth rather than drugging them into submission. We're to believe that up till now there has only been one other person in the two warring countries who's willing to go to the bother, which seems absurd, given that the tamed dragons are exponentially easier to control and handle. I don't think I'm giving away much if I say that of course Kiron is right about everything. This book is not exactly tense and exciting. It's hard to fear the bumbling Magi, who can be scared away when a gay man swishes at them. Even the inevitable scene where Kiron ends up opposing Ari in battle doesn't get my pulse moving. We're two-thirds of the way through the trilogy and I've never even been slightly worried about Kiron's fate.

But I've still enjoyed the dragons, and that's what I came for, so I am not unhappy with the books. I do have some stylistic issues: it's classic Lackey, so if you don't enjoy her Valdemar books chances are slim that you'll like this one. The font of the book is highly distracting, and I wish Lackey would rein in the italics already... but heck, dragons. They're portrayed as moderately intelligent animals (I'd like a little less "hmm, I think they're a little less smart than a really bright dog, they act rather like hawks, or maybe like horses crossed with..." etc etc analysis in the text -- just show us how they act, and we'll decide how smart they are), and much to my relief they don't talk, not even to the girl who has the "gift of animal speech." I did enjoy more of the human characters this time around, though there were at times simply too many names to keep straight with all the humans and dragons populating the story. It doesn't help when you've got Kalen, Kaleth, and Kiron in the same room.

Backstory is amply provided, but it would still make sense to read Joust first. Or you may want to check out Jane Yolen's Pit Dragon trilogy -- or at least the first book of it -- for a quite similar and rather better-done story. But if you're into tame dragons, new books don't come along every day, and this is a decent place to get your fix.

Rating:
Summary: ALTA
Review: Joust was great. The sequel, Alta, was even better. Unlike many writers, Mercedes Lackey developed her characters (especially Vetch a.k.a. Kiron)over the space of a year or more instead of an instantaneous, overnight miracle. She covered all of the bases of a growing adolescent: first and enduring love, first death of a friend, battles fought, and a mature adult who had the self-confidence and self-esteem developed through life's hardships to emerge as a true leader of himself and others, someone who could choose to do the right thing even though it meant hardship and battles. I liked the way she managed the relationship between Ari and Kiron as well as the connection between the twin princes. She showed that respect has to be earned - it cannot be ordered or bullied into being. The magi were an excellent example of how a group can use its power to abuse others - consistent with the workings of political, religious, and special interest groups - and how many such groups end up destroying themselves. Because of my monetary situation I will have to wait until it comes out in paperback to purchase it. It is a book well worth having in one's personal library. Thank you Mercedes Lackey.

Rating:
Summary: I expected better!
Review: Like Joust, there is a simplicity in Alta which I like. Yet Alta's plot leaves much to be desired. Is it because Alta is the second book in a trilogy ? Kiron's acceptance among his people is just too easily and conveniently done. And why the girl, Aket-ten ?! From Lackey's over the top detailed description of her amazing talents and courage, she is the hero of the story, not Kiron, not the prince, not the dragons. Aket-ten being the only one capable of speaking to and understanding dragons just does not seem right. This implies that the bonding between dragon and his/her human companion right from the beginning is not as significant as we were led to believe. I like the ideal of the bonding and Aket-ten's empathy with the dragons is simply irrelevant and irritating. Nothing against a heroine, eventhough the character Aket-ten seems contrived, but from Joust I was led to believe and still prefer both Kiron and Ari to have centre stage. Ari is admirable and an interesting character and I am disappointed that Lackey has ignored him in Alta, except for the confrontation with Kiron, which sadly turn out to be an anti-climax. I expected much more from Lackey's imagination and I hope she will deliver in the third installment.

Rating:
Summary: Alta Delivers As Promised....
Review: The follow up to Lackey's excellent "Joust", "Alta" follows young Vetch *now Kiron* as he returns with his dragon to his homeland. Now a young man and the second of only 2 men to ever hatch and raise a dragon to ride, Kiron discovers that Alta is not the shining land of hope that filled his dreams of freedom. As he works to build a name for himself with the Altan Jousters, he discovers a conspiracy among the wizards who advise the Altan rulers. Who is really running the show and what do they gain by the generations long war with Tia? Follow Kiron and Avatre as they begin to come into their own and struggle to save the land of his birth. Buy This Book!!