"Merzapamed, Prince of Dore," by Marty Farnsworth and Romeo Eshalom, Dog Ear Publishing, $14.95, 180 pages
Surprisingly, this retold Assyrian/Chaldean folktale reads easily and has a good deal of drama in it.
It's a little bit more mythology than you'd first expect but it still comes across as a simple, pertinent story where good triumphs over evil.
Originally told by one of the Assyrian master storytellers to his family, it was translated by his son, Romeo Eshalom, and written by Marty Farnsworth, a Mormon in the Arizona Peoria Arizona Stake who loves telling a good story.
It starts with a contest on horseback between the Neecola, the King of Dore, and his son Jappath.
King Neecola wants Jappath to find a wife and provide him with grandchildren.
Jappath wants to focus on learning wisdom from his father. He believes he has plenty of time.
His life takes an interesting and unexpected turn, however, when he wanders into a forest looking for food. He is attacked by those who promise to help him and he ends up in a kingdom where winged, female warriors rule.
(It feels a little like the plot of "The Lion King" for a while as Jappath leaves the kingdom only to return to find it under siege and on the verge of collapse.)
His memory clouded when he returns, Jappath knows things he cannot explain and has talents he doesn't remember developing. He quickly recognizes that it is up to him to save Dore.
And while he believes he's only been away a few days, time has passed differently for those left in Dore. It appears he's been gone for years.
The unraveling of this story as he figures out who is plotting to take down his father's kingdom and who Princess Zayna is to him is fascinating.
There's plenty of intrigue and heart and life here. There are shady characters and characters whose pride gets in the way of good choices.
There's action and love, wizardry, deception and challenge.
The pacing is good. The characters are well developed. The story seems to matter.
The resolution is satisfying.
At the end, there's also a promise of more to come. (Farnsworth says he's in the middle of writing the second of what will be a three-book set.)
Let's have it and soon.
e-mail: haddoc@desnews.com