Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Must Read Children's Fantasy Books for Christmas - The Chronicles of Narnia (3) - The Horse and His Boy

Reviews
 

This is the third book in the Narnia series - if read in chronological order. This is a fun children's book that takes us back to the wonderful land of Narnia. Peter is still on the throne and Aslan is around. Shasta is an orphan, running away from a fisherman's life, helped by Bree, a horse from Narnia, also running away. On their adventures they are pushed together with Aravis and her horse and they see all types of adventure on their bid to get to Narnia - including lions, deserts and war.

I really enjoyed this book. Lewis is a great writer, engaging his audience. This is a book primarily aimed at children, and it is easy to see why they are popular, however as an adult I also enjoyed this book, and recommend it to adults too.

The characters were great. Aslan is still based loosely on God and this could be seen through the way he guided the children and his other actions. He is still my favourite character, however I loved Aravis, a strong willed girl who took no nonsense and Shasta as he grew up and became noble.

The whole book was engaging and fun. It was exciting and easy to get into. Short and sweet, a book well worth reading.

8/10

K. Leversuch

---

Such a good book, very adventurous about a boy and a girl running away together and meeting up along the way both with different stories and backgrounds.... riding on horses that talk venturing towards narnia...

Its such a great book so different from the rest but still captures the magic that all the books hold.

I recommend it for anyone who enjoys other NARNIAN BOOKS/ADVENTURE/HAPPY ENDINGS/moments of happiness and moments of slight fear (not enough fear to scare anyone)
Ms. S. E. Marriott

---

Chronologically the third book in the Narnia series, set between the penultimate and last chapters of the previous book, but published fifth in the series, this story can stand alone, making only one passing reference to events in the previous books which might confuse young readers. It's a humourously written but fairly standard fairy tale of a journey, people growing up, and a lost prince. In this context, even ignoring the rest of the Narnia series, such fairy-tale staples as talking animals make perfect sense. And - mirabile dictu there's no preaching at all! I'm not quite so keen on this as on the previous two books in the series, but it's still worth owning.
D. R. Cantrell

---

"The Horse and his boy" has everything that a good old-fashioned story should have: thrills and spills, magic, humour and beautiful descriptive writing.

The tale itself, although part of the Narnia Saga, could easily be read with no knowledge of the preceding books. It has a mythic feel about it and some wonderfully evocative writing. Some passages are rather difficult due to the archaic language and it is probably better read aloud to younger children. The characters are well-drawn and very believable: Aravis in particular is a super role-model for girls and unusual in a book from the 1950s.

As to the criticisms of "racism", I would take these with a pinch of salt. If you are particularly anti-Christian for whatever reason, or extremely PC, then stay away from C.S Lewis's work.
Secret Spi

---

Fifth book printed, third book chronologically.

I began re-reading the Narnia series after coming across a beautiful boxed set of all seven novels. Mainly this was out of nostalgia, as these were favourites when I was young, and I was interested to see how they held up as adults. I found them all to be written very clearly with provocative descriptive prose, and narrative that often draws the reader immediately into the story.

"The Horse and His Boy" stands out from the rest of the series, having little or nothing to do with any of the other characters. The great Aslan makes a few appearances, and his scarcity accentuates the presence that Lewis no doubt felt strongly in his heart. As a total atheist and condemner of religious analogies, even I felt a touch of wonder at each of his appearance!

The story is sound despite being removed from the over-arcing story of the Chronicles. The main character and his companion horse are well drawn and interesting. The features of the countries outside Narnia are bright and interesting, particularly if you've read the other books in the series. The book manages to carry its own weight, which some of the sequels to "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" fail to do. An achievement, and worth picking up!

David Brookes

---