“The Horse and His Boy” by C.S.Lewis

Book Review | 4/5 stars | Genre – Fantasy adventure

The third book in C.S.Lewis’ famous series. This was normally where I gave up, for some reason when I was younger I found it hard to read this series the whole way through. Now that I’ve jumped this weird hurdle I can move on to readingt he series to completion.

Bree, the horse, has been kidnapped from Narnia and longs to return there. Shasta, on the verge of being sold into slavery, decides to run away with him in search of the home he’s always dreamed of. But the journey is full of surprises and fraught with dangers, and when the companions uncover a treasonous plot, it also becomes a race against time… (synopsis from Goodreads)

Initial reaction…

I’m firstly going to say that I’m annoyed with myself that I haven’t read this book sooner. I really enjoyed reading this book; it was such a wonderful mini-story within the world of Narnia. I will say that it hasn’t been my favourite in the series, not living up to the expectations of the first two, however it was still emotional yet engaging and entertaining to read.

Favourite moments…

• Ties into main story: This may possibly have been the reason I didn’t continue readin this book when I was younger. But I thought it was clever how this story still wove into the main adventure. It chronologically fits into the section when Lucy, Edmund, Peter & Susan are older and ruling the land of Narnia. Why this put me off when I was younger I’ll never know, but I definitely learnt my lesson this time around.
• Sassy Horse: Now, I love a sassy talking animal. This book is full of interactions between the Horse, Bree, and the Boy, Shashta; their conversation is witty and hilarious at times. I never thought I’d enjoy a horse orientated story, but this book helped me change my mind. I also really agree with Horses being sarcastic and pompous characters.
• Garden of Eden references: Again, I’m not a religious person, but it does interest me seeing how this story draws parallels from the Bible, creating characters that mimic those from the bible and uses their stories to influence the story in each book.

In conclusion…

Yet again, I have really enjoyed reading this series. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two books, mainly as I didn’t enjoy that it moves away from the main story; but is still entertaining enough as a stand alone plotline that eventually weaves into the main story. I do hope that these characters pop up again in another book. Lets see what the rest of the books have to offer!