The Horse and His Boy

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story, but not the best of the series
Review: "The Horse and His Boy" is set in the time of Narnia when our heroes from "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" are ruling Narnia. However, they are somewhat peripheral characters though, of course, Aslan is an ever-present force flowing through the world. This tale is set purely in the imaginary world - we have no journey from our world, no references back to it ... except that the lands we travel in are remarkably familiar.

The tale follows Shasta, a young boy living in the land of Calormene who overhears his "father" selling him into slavery and decides to run away. He discovers a talking horse Bree and escapes, only to run into some lions who force him together with a young girl, Aravis, who is also escaping - from an arranged marriage on another talking horse, Hwin. In classic CS Lewis moralizing, Aravis is the proud one who needs to be brought down a peg or two while Shasta is the down-trodden servant who seems destined for greater things.

The beginning of this book felt pretty slow to me. I also felt that the world Lewis was drawing upon for Calormene was too close to India / Persia for the rather obvious 'this is a worse place than Narnia which has Aslan a.k.a Christ'. Slavery, forced marriages, etc. all existed at one point around the world but the obvious parallels make it a little hard to stomach in today's world.

After a while, though, the story drags us in and such feelings disappear. Shavis is taken by a party from Narnia who mistake him for their missing prince (we obviously know what to expect as a resolution there!) while Aravis overhears a terrible plot by the Calormene's to invade Narnia and a neighboring country in revenge for a snub by Queen Susan on one of the princes (by not marrying him).

They escape and attempt to stave off the attack, finding a mysterious hermit along the way to help and, once again, being attacked by a lion.

It goes without saying that everything is resolved beautifully; those who need to be put in their place are, those who should be rewarded are and the world of Narnia lives for another wonderful tale. If you are going to read all of the Narnia chronicles (and if not, why not?!) then this one is well worth while. But if you only read a few of them, there are better ones out there.

Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous
Review: This story is probably my favorite from the whole series and Focus on the Family does it full justice and then some. From the squalor of Shasta's house to the plush luxury of the palaces of Tashbaan to the blinding desert to the beautiful sparkling land of Narnia this dramatization brings it all alive, and contrary to another reviewer, I do not think it presents a false or pernicious view of Islamic peoples (on the contrary, based on a reference from "The Last Battle" Lewis must have been much more tolerant than many people I know). The Tashbaan settings and people do give an impression of Oriental lushness in a colorful way and one must remember that this is a purely imaginary realm.

The acting is superb (notably by the horses and the two children and the "real" prince-listen for his voice as Digory in "The Magician's Nephew"), and the sound and music are perfect. I highly recommend this as well as the rest of the series. Bravo Focus!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!
Review: The Horse and His Boy is the third book in the series The Chronicles of Narnia, and is written by a great author, C.S. Lewis. This is one of the best in the series, and centers around two talking horses and a boy that have been kidnapped and taken away from the land of Narnia, and a young girl that runs away from an arranged marriage. Exciting, fast paced, and descriptive, this book is one of the best in the series... and all of the books in the series are great.

Rating:
Summary: One of the bottom favorites
Review: Book 3 in a series of 7.

The story begins as Shasta, this books's main hero is about to be sold but he escapes, meets up with a talking horse he names Bree, then they meet Hwin and Aravis, a tough talking girl. Shasta mistakenly is taken for the prince since they both look alike(kind of like Man in the Iron Mask or Prince and the Pauper) and they hear that Rabadash is planning to attack one of the towns so it's up to Shasta and his friends(sort of) to help.

This book, although a good read, was rather uneventful. Not a lot happens. Couple things here and there but they save it for the end. Read this to complete the story but I thought it wasn't that great but not bad either

Rating:
Summary: The Horse and His Boy
Review: I personally feel that this ia an awsome book. With very captivating writing and descriptive details. I give it three stars because he could have left out some of the conversations if you can call them conversations between Shasta(Cor)and Arvis. In the end he could have went into detail about Cor and Arvis' life together.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This is my most favorite of the Narnia series (on CD) so far! As you've probably found, Harper Audio has "The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe", and also "The Magician's Nephew" available on CD. Two other Narnia books are slated for this fall, and the last two won't be ready till next year (I called). I am an adult and got these for my daughter, but I've enjoyed this one particularly because of the very interesting VOICES the reader puts into it... I find myself going through the day thinking of talking as an evil "Talkeen" (sorry, not having read the book, I don't know the spelling!), thinking like a talking horse, etc. Oh what fun! And now my reading aloud to my daughter is taking off, because I'm realizing that ONE person can make so many sounds if they try! Yes, this is definitely one of my most favorites!

Please notice (because I had to search amazon backward and forward to figure this out), the picture is correct and the description is not on this. (the description says it's a cassette, but the picture shows CD, and when you order it, the cd is in fact what you get)

Rating:
Summary: A side adventure in the land of Narnia
Review: This is the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, at least third chronologically. It was actually the fifth book published. This novel is different from many of the other ones in that it does not contain the visit of a child from our world to the land of Narnia. Instead, it is the story of two children and two horses, all of whom are trying to flee the land of Calormen and seek true freedom in Narnia, where there are no human slaves and talking animals can do as they wish. This adventure includes Lucy, Edmund, and Susan from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, but they are not main characters.

This book serves, more than anything, to enrich the world of Narnia. The story does not play a major part in the history of Narnia, but it does nevertheless describe another aspect of the civilization, and this does much to make Narnia a much more believable land. The Narnia of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, for example, is a fantastic world without much depth, but books like this one serve to provide details and descriptions of the country that enrich the idea of Narnia.

The adversaries in this book, the Calormenes, are roughly the equivalent of Saracen pagans. They believe in an obscure and militant god, chant aphorisms in the form of poetry to one another, enslave one another, and believe in a dictatorship as opposed to a free government. The fact that they wear turbans, fight with scimitars, and live in the desert contributes to the Saracen comparison. The Calormenes do not believe in Aslan (who is a Christ figure), or, if they do believe in him, they think he is some sort of sorcerer. The battle at the end of the book seems to be a clash not unlike the crusades, in which one set of ideals fights against another.

The Chronicles of Narnia are some of the best fantasy novels ever written. They are also great allegories of Christianity. Everyone, children and adults alike, should experience the Chronicles firsthand.

Rating:
Summary: A Horse Stealing a Boy!
Review: The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis is about a boy named Shasta who is raised by a fisherman. A royal Tarkaan wants to buy Shasta, and he is astonished to hear the Tarkaan's war horse talk. Shasta and Bree (the horse) set out for Narnia and the north. In their adventures Shasta discovers his true father.

I liked this book because it is very adventurous and has cliffhangers at the end of every chapter.

C. S. Lewis probably wrote this book because he wanted children to have a bigger imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Mirroring an old tragic tale.
Review: I'm sure C.S. Lewis, with his extensive knowledge of mythology, had some idea he was reversing an old tragic tale into a wonderful story of success despite the odds...and his main characters' frequent cooperation with them. Unlike other books that are heavy-handed in Establishing Parallels, you just get a great story with many revealing moments. Perhaps young children won't get it all, but I know this book grew on me.

While most of Lewis's other Narnia books focus on life in Narnia, here we get a glimpse of Calormen, the large rival country to the south, and of Archenland, smaller but allied to Narnia. Shasta, who has lighter skin than most natives, overhears that a Tarkaan(Calormen lord) wishes to buy him from his father, who confesses Shasta is a foundling. There's nowhere to escape, so he talks to a horse, who surprisingly talks back.

And that's where the story title comes from. Bree, the horse, has greater knowledge of the world but shows a streak of vanity. Shasta himself shows disbelief that a horse could be in a position to condescend. Later on they meet two more unlikely companions, the princess Aravis and her talking horse, and everyone has a reason to feel superior to the other three. This all is established quickly, and fortunately needs and engenders little preaching.

When they make it to the Tarkaan capital city of Tashbaan rather wonderfully puts squalor beside splendor, and people who've read the previous books will note the appearance of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, now wisened monarchs with advisors. Shasta gets unintentionally swapped with a boy who looks very much like him, and Aravis, backed into a corner for fear of being discovered, hears about a treacherous plan to take over Narnia. The monarchs and their country are in trouble and only a single messenger can bring critical news in time.

Lewis gave a small side order of theological allusion with each book, which you can still quite enjoy while ignoring or even disliking allusion--or theology. Here the issue of two cultures with different gods is resolved with drama and then a farce--one underlying theme is how the ways pride can cause irrational behavior, with one character getting the worst of it, and avoiding the melodramatic Pride-Makes-Dead-Bodies-Pile-Up easy-out of lesser authors who can't otherwise decide what to do with their characters near the end of the book. But pride, which Lewis explored in his nonfiction works, winds up affecting all of the main characters and even contributes to the funny occasionally-squabbling-ever-after ending.

In fact the whole book uses subtle humor: the Calormenes' lofty talk that needs taking down a peg, Aravis talking with a childhood friend she realizes is too stupid for her now, a king playing a groveling courtier and his foolhardy son off each other, or one of the four companions humbly and unwittingly neutralizing another's proclamations. This makes it more than a trek on a horse with a few obligatory life-threatening incidents.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Adventure Story for Kids
Review: The Horse and His Boy is about a boy named Shasta who lives with his mean, grumpy father who makes him do chores. One day Shasta finds out the man is not really his father and meets a talking horse from Narnia which was stolen. The horse's name is Bree. Bree and Shasta decided to ride for freedom and try to get to Narnia, where they will be safe. Along the way, they meet a girl named Aravis who is also trying to escape to Narnia on a talking horse named Hwin. They all decide to travel to Narnia together and have many adventures along the way. I liked this book because it is exciting and has many unexpected turns on every page. I think this is a great book and you should read it.
--Andrew P.