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zenithharpink's review against another edition
3.0
Given that Flame was a part of this story, and I've pretty much hated all of the Flame/Island Stallion stories, this was pretty good. I really hope we're done with this branch of the series though.
I absolutely could not stand Steve. He was a little more likable in his other books, but he was a whiny, immature ass in this book. I couldn't understand why Alec wanted to be his friend or put any effort into helping the jerk.
The main redeeming quality of this book are the horse races - Farley is SO GIFTED in writing a compelling horserace. I can't help but be hypnotized each time he casts his spell.
I recommend to fans of the series, or those looking for a fun read about horse racing. The horse racing is phenomenal, if you can get back Steve as a character.
I absolutely could not stand Steve. He was a little more likable in his other books, but he was a whiny, immature ass in this book. I couldn't understand why Alec wanted to be his friend or put any effort into helping the jerk.
The main redeeming quality of this book are the horse races - Farley is SO GIFTED in writing a compelling horserace. I can't help but be hypnotized each time he casts his spell.
I recommend to fans of the series, or those looking for a fun read about horse racing. The horse racing is phenomenal, if you can get back Steve as a character.
birdkeeperklink's review against another edition
1.0
The Black Stallion Challenged! is really not a good book, not if you've read any of the Island Stallion sub-series. In those books, Steve is a good, nice kid who loves his horse, just like Alec. But suddenly, when the two meet up, Steve becomes a snotty, arrogant jerk with anger problems. Just like in The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt, any time Alec meets up with another boy who loves a horse, he becomes a saint. This is not an enjoyable thing to read.
Also, Farley doesn't really clear up the issue of whether Flame or The Black is faster. He leaves you with the implication that The Black is a nose-bob faster, but never really comes out and definitively says (most likely trying not to make any Flame fans angry). It would have been a little easier to take if he'd had The Black a narrow but clear winner.
Also, Farley doesn't really clear up the issue of whether Flame or The Black is faster. He leaves you with the implication that The Black is a nose-bob faster, but never really comes out and definitively says (most likely trying not to make any Flame fans angry). It would have been a little easier to take if he'd had The Black a narrow but clear winner.
lauren_shilling's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
4.75
This series is a childhood favorite, and I reread it every year! Love it! This one is honestly great, however I was a little annoyed by Steve's character in this book. I love him so much in his own books, and he just felt a little different in this one, and some of the things he said/did didn't fully feel like the Steve I loved reading about in the other Island Stallion books. Alec, however, was fantastic as always!!
satyridae's review
3.0
Oh, Henry, you cranky old geezer! Oh, Steve, you hot-headed young punk! Oh, Alec, you wise-beyond-your-years paragon! Oh, Flame, you wild and unreliable stallion full of beauty and heart! Oh, Black, there aren't any words big enough for you, you are Horse Incarnate.
Which is to say, yes, more of the same, but who can quibble with races like these?
Which is to say, yes, more of the same, but who can quibble with races like these?
skjam's review
3.0
Alec Ramsay and his faithful trainer Henry Dailey are wintering in Hialeah, Florida, where they hope to race their prize horse, the Black Stallion. Provided, of course, that the Black has fully recovered from the hoof injury he received some months back. One day Alec receives a piece of fan mail asking for his help. It seems that young Steve Duncan has a horse he’d like to race, a stallion named Flame…if he can convince the racetrack officials to let him.
Unbeknownst to Alec or Steve, Flame and the Black have met before, and feel a strong rivalry towards each other. Plus, Steve needs to make a lot of money very quickly, in order to save Flame’s island home. The stage is set for a thrilling match between the two great stallions!
This is the sixteenth in the Stallion series penned by Walter Farley, and the last that’s a straight-up horse racing story. There’s some time compression involved; the first book, The Black Stallion, clearly takes place in 1940 when it was written, and this volume takes place in 1964, but the Black is most assuredly not twenty-four years older.
However, the main attraction of the series is less the plausibility of the setting (one book had aliens!) and more the detailed descriptions of horse care and racing, and Mr. Farley delivers well in this volume. (Some details are different–the rules of horse racing have changed since the 1960s, let alone the 1940s.) The final race in particular is exciting as the outcome is in doubt until the horses pass the finish line.
The Stallion series is nominally children’s books, so I should mention that there is an operation on an injured horse that may be too intense a scene for sensitive readers. Several characters smoke; one specifically mentions that he neither smokes nor drinks alcohol for his health. I am told there’s period racism and sexism in some of the volumes, but this one manages to avoid that.
The book starts slowly; a one-page letter gets stretched over an entire chapter in a manner that does not build suspense in the mind of anyone who read the back cover copy. A couple of scenes stuff a lot of telling about the personalities of supporting characters in, rather than showing by their actions. And to be honest, Alec, Henry and Steve are not deep characters. (Steve’s a bit more of a hothead here than in his solo appearances.)
But all of that pales compared to the exciting race scenes and the bond between the riders and their horses. The hardback edition with illustrations by Angie Draper may be hard to find, but there are inexpensive paperback reprints which you can probably get through interlibrary loan. Recommended to young horse lovers and horse lovers young at heart.
Unbeknownst to Alec or Steve, Flame and the Black have met before, and feel a strong rivalry towards each other. Plus, Steve needs to make a lot of money very quickly, in order to save Flame’s island home. The stage is set for a thrilling match between the two great stallions!
This is the sixteenth in the Stallion series penned by Walter Farley, and the last that’s a straight-up horse racing story. There’s some time compression involved; the first book, The Black Stallion, clearly takes place in 1940 when it was written, and this volume takes place in 1964, but the Black is most assuredly not twenty-four years older.
However, the main attraction of the series is less the plausibility of the setting (one book had aliens!) and more the detailed descriptions of horse care and racing, and Mr. Farley delivers well in this volume. (Some details are different–the rules of horse racing have changed since the 1960s, let alone the 1940s.) The final race in particular is exciting as the outcome is in doubt until the horses pass the finish line.
The Stallion series is nominally children’s books, so I should mention that there is an operation on an injured horse that may be too intense a scene for sensitive readers. Several characters smoke; one specifically mentions that he neither smokes nor drinks alcohol for his health. I am told there’s period racism and sexism in some of the volumes, but this one manages to avoid that.
The book starts slowly; a one-page letter gets stretched over an entire chapter in a manner that does not build suspense in the mind of anyone who read the back cover copy. A couple of scenes stuff a lot of telling about the personalities of supporting characters in, rather than showing by their actions. And to be honest, Alec, Henry and Steve are not deep characters. (Steve’s a bit more of a hothead here than in his solo appearances.)
But all of that pales compared to the exciting race scenes and the bond between the riders and their horses. The hardback edition with illustrations by Angie Draper may be hard to find, but there are inexpensive paperback reprints which you can probably get through interlibrary loan. Recommended to young horse lovers and horse lovers young at heart.