This isn't really the final book, since she then went back and wrote a fourth one, but since the threat of wild horses couldn't entice me to continue reading once I found a good stopping place, I might as well use this as my conclusion. It was, after all, only meant to be a trilogy.She finally ended most of the tedium of dragon care, what was fascinating in the beginning soon felt like I really did own a dragon. The reader was present for every feeding, at least we were spared the shoveling of d...

This is the third book in the Dragon Jouster's series that began with Joust and continued in Alta, and you should read those first. I'm a fan generally of Lackey's books, particularly her Valdemar series, and I think these are among the best of her books I've read. The series is centered on Kiron (in the first book known as Vetch) and I like his arc throughout the books, as well as the magical land, reminiscent of Ancient Egypt, in which this is set--and the dragons of course. They're not talkin...

I never read the first or second book in the series, but WOW. I really should. The writing was phenomenal. The characters really came to life and jumped out at you. The story was slow and steady until the end, but it was fantastic nonetheless. It turns out you don't need crazy things happening all the time to keep a story entertaining! Who would've thought. 😉

I just enjoyed these books. And I still have one more to go.

I wanted to know what happened. I did not enjoy the ride.

Not terrible, but not a great read either. I didn't really feel any real connection to any of the characters and never really worried if things would turn out okay for them. Even with the evil mages and two warring countries there was never any doubt in my mind that everyone wouldn't survive. If the author gave the characters real challenges to face and didn't make everything happen so conveniently I might have been more invested in the story. I feel this series is aimed at a younger audience; i...

wing-leader Kiron, the former serf known as Vetch and a disparate group of refugees from the countries of Alta and Tia flee to the desert to a hidden refuge that the gods have uncovered and named Sanctuary. In Sanctuary Kiron and a small cadre of Jousters are safe from the evil Magi who are draining Alta and Tia of their "gifted ones." Kiron and the Jousters with their magnificent dragons who have as much personality as the human characters must learn to coexist in a land of extremes. They know

A nice, classic ending to a story (even though there's a fourth).I enjoyed this one about as much as the others, if not a wee bit more, because this one actually had some action spread throughout. Things were actually happening instead of the day-by-day development of the plot. I still think the characters handled everything a little too well without much of a struggle, getting things right on the first try pretty much all the time, and suffering just about never, but by now I'm not on this boat...

Finally, we get some actual high stakes and threats to our main characters! And we get out of the training grounds for a bit! There were some cool things that happened off page that I wish we could have seen (view spoiler)[ Journey through a desert to find a mysterious legendary hidden city! Sounds cool but all we get is “Hey, I’m off to find the city” and then “Hey, I found it. When you get this message come meet me.” (hide spoiler)] Still not a huge fan of the love interest but it’s not a hug...

Kiron only superficially resembles the slave that he used to be. He leads the dragon riders and has turned from fighting one war between nations to fighting another more dangerous and important war between right and wrong. I bet he did not see this when he first escaped from Tia, but he certainly is man enough to step and do what is right. Kiron has a lot in common with the dragon riders of Pern - they all understand duty and guardianship, regardless of the cost.

With this book, the series has gotten rather more epic in scale, with characters hoping to set up a new united kingdom. Mostly I liked this book. It was a quick read and entertaining. The thing that annoyed me the most is that the gods want our characters to succeed and do various things that conveniently help them.

The third in the series, this book is best read after the first two, but I think there's enough context without. This book ends in a reasonably satisfying manner to not require book 4, but there's good wrap-up in 4 if you feel you just need more.The various groups gather to finish what was started.

Following the adventures of Kiron the Dragon Jouster as he and his friends set up their refuge in the desert and their saving of those the Mages of Alta would use in their quest for eternal youth and power

This addition to the series wasn’t bad, but felt too long. The plot could’ve been tightened up to enhance the dramatic tension. I consider this a rare miss in the body of Lackey’s work (although that still makes it a decent read).

I like the books Mercedes lackey writes, she is good at creating a believable world and people to populate it. This series starts off very strong though I do feel that it falls off a bit as it progresses. It is truly readable and enjoyable.

Full review here:https://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/...I've enjoyed this reread, but I find it really doesn't have as much emotional depth as some of her other works. On the other hand, it hold attention quite well, so I can't complain.

The third book in the series is an lovely tale of people coming together, definitely something the world needs more of.

Another great addition to the "Joust" series.

A very satisfying tale that brings the series to a good point.

I really enjoyed this series. It was fun and light and had interesting characters. The only thing I would have liked was to go back to kirons family at the end - to find his mother and sisters.

This got a little too close to Pern, but it still has a distinctive Misty touch.

It was an okay story line which lacked substance but a great Disney like story.

This one was very slow and I had trouble finishing it.

The storyline is getting better and more exciting, though some parts are still boring.

A solid conclusion to the main plotline of the series.

This could have easily been the last in the series, everything gets all tied up at the end. Not sure where the next book will go.

I like this series but, clearly she had to churn this out very quickly. It repeats a lot of the 2nd book and doesn't add much new info and misses out one some items that would need to be taken care of if whole cities move to the desert and try to work together to build a new nation. Also, there are editing errors with names. This is why authors should work hard to avoid having too many characters with the same lettered names who are always working together. ie. Karen and Kate with their do Kit.

The bad guys are doing even more bad things in Alta and have gotten influence in Tia.The good guys have setup camp/HQ in Sanctuary.Aket-ten and Kiron become an official item.Less world building than books #1 & 2. The usual number of editing mistakes -- at one point the wrong jouster is identified as a baker's son, for example.

ReedIII Quick Review: Good continuation story of comfortable characters with no real surprises. Continues the simple world of Lackey's dragon fantasy series. I will take a break before reading novel 4 of 4.

I loved this book! It is by far the best of the Dragon Jousters trilogy. The characters continue to grow, the plot matures, there is non-stop action and emotion, and -- DRAGONS! Oh, yes, and it’s clean. Brava, Ms. Lackey!