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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was a good addition to the Narnia series, I’d say. It shows a different side of world of Narnia and answers some questions I had from the first (chronological) book. I found a few seasons very funny and Avaris was an interesting character. While I wish I had even more of her POV, I didn’t find Shasta’s all too grating. The world building is what I really praise this book for. I liked learning about names and the Tisroc and common horses and Archenland.
I found my time with this book a pleasant listen (as I enjoy it as an audiobook). I also thought Aslan being the same lion over and over was an fun touch. I’m guessing the part where he says that he is “myself” is a reference to how Jesus says that he is “I Am.” There’s probably a dozen more Bible references but I’m not the most caught up with that particular book compared to the past two books, the perspectives don’t jump as much and that’s both a positive and a negative for me. I wish more was written about Hwin and about the kingdom of Narnia.
I found my time with this book a pleasant listen (as I enjoy it as an audiobook).
Love the insights into the Pevensies reign in Narnia and how Alsan is portrayed in this book.
Reading this book and the Last Battle I was distressed at the language used to describe the Calmarines. The radio drama definitely excludes this much for the better.
Reading this book and the Last Battle I was distressed at the language used to describe the Calmarines. The radio drama definitely excludes this much for the better.
So far, this is my least favorite of the series. It honestly felt...pointless. I wish the focus had been on the Pevensie kids rather than two new characters that we had never met. It just plodded on and on. I actually started skimming it!
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really liked the story of The Horse and His Boy a lot. I liked all the characters and how their personalities and insecurities mingled with each other. I also loved the ways Aslan showed himself in this book. I didn’t quite enjoy this installment the second time around as much as I did the first, though, because of the problematic language and descriptions of the Calormenes. I changed my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars.
I am re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia. I don't have much memory of reading this book as a child. (It's actually possible that we didn't have this book when I was a kid.) It is one of the weaker books in the series, but still lovely to read more from this world.
It is just as entertaining as the rest of the books until now, if not more. But I seriously wonder if anyone would be as trusting as these kids. Of course, it is a better world, or I am too mistrustful of good strangers. But I wonder if I would ever tell my life story to someone I cannot see in the dark, as Shasta did.
Several witty and profound statements made the book more engaging than the others I read in the series. Here's one I loved the most.
Several witty and profound statements made the book more engaging than the others I read in the series. Here's one I loved the most.
"But one of the worst results of being a slave and being forced to do things is that when there is no-one to force you any more you find you have almost lost the power of forcing yourself."
3 stars
i didn’t really connect with this story as much as the others since it was quite disconnected from the original narnia world, with only glimpses of the magic that i grew to love. the whole story mainly takes place in calormen, journeying to narnia.
normally i really enjoy books where the characters are travelling along a long journey (like this one across the desert), but this one didn’t have the depth or interesting aspects during the journey that i usually love reading. it felt a little dragged out (surprising since the book itself is so short) and didn’t really feel like much was happening.
also, i wish the book focused more heavily on bree and shasta (prince cor btw how cute), since their dynamic was actually interesting. we have a talking war horse who abandoned his tarkaan and was taken from narnia as a baby, and then shasta who had a similar origin but ended up in conditions of more poverty and labour. their differences and relationship was something i wanted to see more of (opportunity would’ve been during the long journey) but it just didn’t happen. especially since this is a children’s story, i would’ve thought this was a story worth diving into but i suppose not.
also side not, even shastas relationship with aravis? we saw them disagreeing but hardly much of their growth. suddenly they grew up together and got married. i wanted to see more of them too.
however in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a bad book at all and i still had a fun time reading it despite it not really living up to my expectations. it didn’t have the magical spark of narnia that i usually feel, but it was entertaining enough. the battle talk and plotting was somewhat interesting and added suspense and a sense of urgency to the story, with shasta having to make it to archenland to warn the king there who turns out to be his dad anddd he has a twin brother (very cute)
another part i enjoyed, but i always enjoy this part, was of course aslan. seeing aslan coming and protecting shasta and friends throughout the story was heartwarming and his character always reminds me of religious stories i have grown up hearing (in particular aslan walking alongside shasta on his left while shasta walked towards narnia, protecting him from the edge without him even knowing).
little appreciation for hwin our girly horse damsel in distress but also such a powerful character. i wanted to give her a hug she tried so hard throughout the book to keep up with bree, a WAR HORSE, and keep everyone safe and think of plans and she always pulled through. cute character
overall, the story was just okay, i definitely think and hope the others will be better moving forward, since the previous 2 were more impressive for me
i didn’t really connect with this story as much as the others since it was quite disconnected from the original narnia world, with only glimpses of the magic that i grew to love. the whole story mainly takes place in calormen, journeying to narnia.
normally i really enjoy books where the characters are travelling along a long journey (like this one across the desert), but this one didn’t have the depth or interesting aspects during the journey that i usually love reading. it felt a little dragged out (surprising since the book itself is so short) and didn’t really feel like much was happening.
also, i wish the book focused more heavily on bree and shasta (prince cor btw how cute), since their dynamic was actually interesting. we have a talking war horse who abandoned his tarkaan and was taken from narnia as a baby, and then shasta who had a similar origin but ended up in conditions of more poverty and labour. their differences and relationship was something i wanted to see more of (opportunity would’ve been during the long journey) but it just didn’t happen. especially since this is a children’s story, i would’ve thought this was a story worth diving into but i suppose not.
also side not, even shastas relationship with aravis? we saw them disagreeing but hardly much of their growth. suddenly they grew up together and got married. i wanted to see more of them too.
however in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a bad book at all and i still had a fun time reading it despite it not really living up to my expectations. it didn’t have the magical spark of narnia that i usually feel, but it was entertaining enough. the battle talk and plotting was somewhat interesting and added suspense and a sense of urgency to the story, with shasta having to make it to archenland to warn the king there who turns out to be his dad anddd he has a twin brother (very cute)
another part i enjoyed, but i always enjoy this part, was of course aslan. seeing aslan coming and protecting shasta and friends throughout the story was heartwarming and his character always reminds me of religious stories i have grown up hearing (in particular aslan walking alongside shasta on his left while shasta walked towards narnia, protecting him from the edge without him even knowing).
little appreciation for hwin our girly horse damsel in distress but also such a powerful character. i wanted to give her a hug she tried so hard throughout the book to keep up with bree, a WAR HORSE, and keep everyone safe and think of plans and she always pulled through. cute character
overall, the story was just okay, i definitely think and hope the others will be better moving forward, since the previous 2 were more impressive for me