A warrior’s power lies not in his weapons but in his heart.

Batu is just an ordinary kid in present-day Almaty, worried about bullies, school, and his mom’s new baby…until the day he meets Aspara, the Golden Warrior. Aspara steps straight out of Batu’s notebook cover-and out of Kazakhstan’s past. Aspara has been waiting hundreds of years to be summoned to the human world and to finally get his chance to search for the Golden Cup, a magical talisman sent down from the heavens. When the Golden Cup was lost, Aspara watched as many of his friends and family were killed or disappeared.

Craving adventure and a sense of purpose, Batu sets out with Aspara and his own friends to find the Golden Cup, plunging them into an adventure through a world where myths come alive. But there are others looking for the Cup, and they’ll do anything to make sure the kids fail. Will Batu and his friends make it out alive (and make it home in time for dinner)?

Batu is tired of being bullied by Scorpion and Kaira but doesn’t quite know what to do about it. Then Aspara, the Golden Warrior, appears in his room and that is the start of Batu’s adventures. Along with his friends Sasha and Dana they join Aspara to search for the mythical Golden Cup traveling in alternate worlds that overlap our own.

While aimed at middle-grade readers, this adult found the story engrossing. Steeped in the folklore of pre-Soviet Kazakhstan and set in present-day Kazakstan, the authors do not gloss over the abuses of the Soviet era while introducing young Kazak readers to their heritage. Our young adventurers will be easy for readers to identify with as they find more confidence in themselves and learn the value of true friendship. Originally written in Russian in 2014 this translation will introduce a whole new group of readers to a wonderful world. Hopefully, the other two existing books will be translated into English and published in the US as I am eager to see where the next adventure takes Batu, Sasha, Dana and Kaira. Highly recommended for both young and adult readers. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon