TO RIDE THE GODS' OWN STALLION

Another robust, horsey historical tale from the author of I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade (1998), this one set in and around Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian Empire. Sold into slavery by his father to pay a debt, Soulai transfers his delight in making horses from clay to caring for the real things in the royal stables. Ti, a spirited, parti-colored stallion with markings thought to indicate a god's approval, becomes a particular favorite. Then Soulai's arrogant owner, young Prince Habasle, takes Ti out on a disastrous lion hunt. Returning with terrible wounds and a broken spirit, the horse becomes a link between the proud, ambitious, tough-minded prince and his sensitive, outraged slave. While Ti gradually regains his health and inner fire, Habasle and Soulai reluctantly learn to depend on each other as they face life-threatening challenges in the wild, and in the intrigue-rife palace. Both young people grow and develop considerably in the course of their shared adventures, becoming in the end not conventional friends but respectful associates, with qualities in common but very different paths to follow. It's gripping, vivid storytelling, and Ti is as strong a presence in the story as any of the human characters. (Fiction. 11-13)