The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia, #3) (Narnia)

by C. S. Lewis

Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

This enthralling adaptation of one of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia blends drama, fantasy and humour. To escape the clutches of the evil warlord Rabadash, the horse, Bree and the boy, Shasta, run away together from the cruel land of Calormen. When they discover that Rabadash has plans to invade Narnia and neighbouring Archenland, they race ahead to warn the people of Narnia. The play can be very simply staged.

• ISBN10: 0027576701
• ISBN13: 9780027576702
• Publish Date: 31 December 1954
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 November 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan
• Format: Paperback
• Language: English

Reviews

[mitabird]

3.5 stars

[Danielle Renee Wallace]

Absolutely loved this book! I was hooked right from the beginning. If you're looking for a good fantasy, this is one for sure.

[thepunktheory]

As I mentioned above, this story does not directly tell the story of any of the Pevensie kids. I rather enjoyed having things mixed up a bit as this book allows you to find out more about the native people instead. This book is actually one of my favourites as the plot is rather different from the rest. It feels like an oriental fairy-tale and is really an interesting read.
It's nice that for a change the main characters seem to have a real purpose for doing things instead of simply stumbling in by chance, as the Pevensie kid's do in the other books.

All in all this novel seems more thought through than several of Lewis' other books. The story is a bit more intricate and I have to say this may be my favourite book in The Chronicles of Narnia.

[clq]

Having read the Narnia-books before, when I was very young, I've been re-reading them in published order. This is the fifth of the seven books. Save for the Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, this is my favourite books of the chronicles so far. It reads like a fairy-tale, and I found myself mentally reading it out loud to myself rather than just reading it. Sure, it is a little childish at times, but I still found this book to be very enjoyable, even at 23.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

I read The Horse and His Boy a few years ago and remember thinking that this installment did nothing to add to The Chronicle's storyline. After rereading it, I realized how wrong I was. Shasta and his horse Bree travel from Tashbaan to Narnia almost like someone immigrating to the United States in hopes of a better life. On his way, he meets Aravis and her horse Hwin who tag-along for the ride and meet many other colorful characters along their way.

I finished The Horse and His Boy a month ago and find writing this review to be akin to a student forgetting half of what they learned during summer vacation. Therefore excuse any lapses.

The first time I read this (and this time too) I went in very begrudgingly, how could a story without the children of Narnia be any good? It was told from a different point of view that's why. It was like Disney's Aladdin, minus Robin Williams as the Genie. My point being that through the Aravis and Shasta we see how the other half live, and was just as exciting as Lucy stepping through the Wardrobe. In this installment, the Pensive children make cameos which I felt kept the story cohesive, mainly showing Susan as a self-absorbed valley girl, {and later her ass is saved by Shasta}.

Even though, I enjoyed The Horse and His Boy, I almost gave up at the beginning, I thought it was so damn slow, despite the Famous Mr. Ed, but I kept at it and while I don't think it is one of my favorites I'm glad I stuck with it, the adventures of The Horse and His Boy are an exciting journey through the land of Narnia.

[angelarenea9]

I liked this book; it was a lot better in the context of the series than it is as an individual book. There was a lot of running to somewhere or from someone/something and not a whole lot of story. But the story that was there did not disappoint. I look forward to the next book!