| Vetch was still alive because he was simply too stubborn to die. He refused to show any emotion to his master, Khefti-the-Fat, even when he was beaten and starved. As an Altan serf, Vetch had no rights among the conquerers, the Tians. He had watched the Tian army murder his father and then his whole family enslaved and separated.
Vetch had little or no hope that his life would improve, but he felt that it was unfair that one of the famed Jousters, warriors who rode dragons, had to make his life a little more miserable. After hauling a heavy bucket of water for a long distance, the Jouster had taken the bucket and dumped the water over his head before Vetch could stop him. Of course, Khefti blamed Vetch for not watering the tala plants and started to beat him, as usual. But the Jouster was not a typical Tian and felt pity for Vetch. The Jouster, Ari, needed a dragon boy to tend to his dragon, Kashet. And so Vetch's whole life was changed in an instant as he was taken to the dragon compound and taught how to tend to the great dragons of the Tian army. Vetch found, to his surprise, that he liked the dragons and the dragons seemed to respond to his care. If Vetch had to be a serf, this was the best place to be, but Vetch still dreamed of freedom and hatched a daring plan to escape from his captors... I simply loved this book. Vetch was such an engaging and wonderful character that I was really rooting for him the whole time. The secondary characters were also wonderful and I suffered along with Ari as he tried to reconcile his honor with his orders, the great overseer Haraket, the falconer Baken and so many others. I thought that the world this book was set in was quite fascinating and was reminiscent of ancient Babylonia and Egypt. The dragons were different than other dragons in that they were definitely animals and incapable of thinking for themselves, but they could learn some affection for their masters if shown kindness and love. My only complaint with the book is that it was not edited very well and there are quite a few grammatical errors, nothing that detracts from the story, but the editor did not do a good job. Still, I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series to see what happened to all of these new friends I have found! | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past Coming of age Yes Youngster becomes - great warrior Adversaries are… - dragon buddy Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book GIANT monster(s) Yes Descript. of chases or violence - 10 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10 % Main Character Identity: - Male Profession/status: Age: - a teen If magical mental powers: - can talk to animals Main Adversary Identity: - society How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount Setting Terrain Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times Takes place on Earth? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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