Review
Title: The Search For Rasha
Author: Paul B. Skousen
Publisher: Izzard Ink
Genre: Fiction
Year Published: 2018
Number of Pages: 295
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 9781642280098
Price: $22.95
Reviewed by Trudy Thompson for the Association for Mormon Letters
This is author Paul Skousen’s third book in the popular trilogy, The Bassam Saga. The previous two volumes, “Bassam and the Seven Secret Scrolls” and “Zafir and the Seventh Scroll” introduced us to the tale of a young man named Bassam who has been chosen to accompany a family friend on a caravan trading journey in ancient times. Zafir, the chieftain of the caravan, had no son, so he begins training Bassam to become the leader of his trading empire when the time comes. He uses as his guide, the wisdom contained in seven highly valued scrolls that hold the secrets to wealth, power, prosperity, and so on.
Book three in this well researched and highly descriptive series opens with the kidnapping of Zafir’s beloved daughter Rasha. In the middle of the night a group of bandits has entered the village of Rekeem with the intention of holding her for ransom. They know that Zafir will sacrifice everything to get her back safely. What the covert group of bandits doesn’t know is that Zafir’s protégé, Basaam, has fallen deeply in love with Rasha, and will risk everything,including his own life, to rescue her.
After Bassam receives a communication from Rasha, stating that she has been taken away to a dark place, and that it would be the end of her life if he did not come for her in time, he sets out on an extremely dangerous and perilous journey. His trek takes him across Egypt, to the pyramids, to the Nilus River, and back again.
As he finds others who he can trust to aid and assist him in his journey, he also quickly realizes that not everyone is who they seem to be. As Basaam pursues his beloved’s
kidnappers, he finds himself being pursued and hunted also. The entire trek becomes a battle for life, as Basaam and his small entourage encounter wild beasts, killer fish, and bad men who will stop at nothing to make sure their evil and greedy plan is not thwarted in any way.
This was the first book I have read by Mr. Skousen. I was immediately drawn into the tale by the expertly crafted writing style of the author. His attention to the detail of the times, traditions, and culture of life in the Middle East and Far East in ancient times is second to none. The author’s knowledge comes not only from his travels to the area over the years, but also from a huge amount of research from a treasure trove of online resources and books and other writings. These resources, in part, are listed in the bibliography.
The book is a delightful blend of mystery, intrigue, love, action, adventure and a dose of humor. The writing is superb, the story is intriguing, the background is colorful, the characters well developed and interesting, and once again, the detailed descriptions of the life and times of the caravan traders will pull the reader in to this masterful and thoroughly researched historical fiction tale.
While I chose to do a bit of background research into what the other two previous volumes of this saga were about, it would not be necessary to do so in order to read this volume. This book stands as a page turner on its own.
I believe teenagers and up will enjoy “The Search For Rasha.” It would be a wonderful addition to any home library.