"The Horse and His Boy" - Book Review

Recently I reviewed this book for school and thought to share my thoughts on it on my blog. Their are tons of spoilers, so if you plan on reading this book, please read no further!
When Shasta hears his dad talking to a Tarkeen about selling his son to him, Shasta runs off with the Tarkeen’s horse, Bree, who tells him he is a Talking horse from Narnia and that he wishes to return there, where he was kidnapped when was a foal. So, the two embark on a journey to “Narnia and the North!”


While on their journey lions chase them and they notice that someone else is riding right beside them in the dark, who are also being chased by the lions. Once the coast is clear the horses stop to find out who the opposing rider is. Hwin, the mare whom was riding beside Bree, speaks first, explaining that she is a Talking horse from Narnia as well. Her master, Aravis, introuduces herself and explains that she is a Tarkheena running away from home. She explains that she was going to be forced to marry the Grand Vizier (whom was nearly sixty years old) by her father and she devised a plan to leave and run for Narnia. As the four tell their stories, they all agree that they should make the journey together.

But difficulties arise when they reach the city of Tashbaan. There Shasta is mistaken for Prince Corin by King Edmund, who is visiting Tashbaan with his sister Queen Susan, because the Prince Rabadash, also the Tisrocs son, is in love with her. King Edmund takes him to their chambers and asks him to lie down, believing him to be tired and ill. Shasta, not daring to speak up, hears of their plans to leave during the night, because Susan believes Rabadash to be rude and conceited, and shows no wish of marrying him. While the others go and dine, Shasta is left on the couch to rest and eat. While in thought, Prince Corin appears through the window, and explains that he has been into some mischief and is all right now. Shasta then leaves for the Tombs of the Ancient Kings, the place where he and the other three planned to meet if they were, by chance, separated.

What he doesn’t know is that meanwhile, her grand friend Lasaraleen, who insists on taking Aravis with her, spots Aravis. When they get to Lasaraleen’s residence, Aravis eventually gets Lasaraleen to keep quiet so she can tell her story and what a mess she is in. She can’t be seen by anyone whom knows her, because they will make her go back home to be married to the Grand Vizier. Although Lasaraleen does not understand why Aravis shouldn’t want to marry him, she agrees to help her get out of Tashbaan safely the next night.

They plan to go through the garden and then Aravis can run to the Tombs of the Ancient Kings, where Lasaraleen had a servant take the two horses and wait for Aravis. On their way down, they see men approaching. Noticing at once that this is the Tisroc, Lasaraleen rushes Aravis into an old meeting hall, and the place they least expected the Tisroc to visit. But he does visit it to hold a secret meeting with his son, Prince Rabadash, and the Grand Vizier.

Prince Rabadash is furious because Queen Susan has run off without marrying him. He devises a plan to have 200 horses and men and raid Anvard, which is on their route to Narnia, and then go to Narnia and kidnap the queen. The Tisroc agrees, with the conditions that he plays dumb when he hears of the raid on Anvard, and that his son is rebellious and young, and likely to do things of the sort.

Once the three men have left, the girls get up and Aravis makes it to the tombs, where she pays the servant for keeping the horses. They then meet Shasta there as well, who has had a few frights of his own during the night he spent alone at the tombs.

They try their best to make their way to Anvard, but on the way are chased by a lion. Bree and Shasta are in the front, with Hwin and Aravis behind. Shasta looks back to see that the lion is closing in on Hwin, and he tries to tell Bree to stop, but Bree doesn’t, and he is forced to jump off. Just as he does this, the lion takes two or three strikes at Aravis’ back.

The Hermit of the Southern March takes them in, and takes care of Aravis, telling Shasta to go warn King Lune of Anvard of the ambush about to take place.

He meets the King and his army and tells them of the trouble near at hand. The king gives him a horse and they ride to Anvard. But Shasta, not exactly knowing how to guide a horse gets left behind after a while and is on his own. He notices breathing beside him and finally, believing this to be a ghost speaks up. He discovers that this is a lion and for a moment is panic stricken, until the lion tells him that he is the one who chased them the first night of their journey, and that he is the cat who was with him at the tombs, and that he was the one who chased them on their way to Anvard. The lion then disappears.

Shasta now finds himself in Narnia and meets three dwarves who take him in. The next day, at the dwarfs’ home, a Narnian army rides up and Prince Corin is with them! Prince Corin is having it out with a dwarf, whom is sworn to care for him, because he wants to be in battle. Finally spraining the dwarf’s ankle, he sees Shasta and the two of them put on armor and fall to the back of the army, as not to be caught.

The battle takes place, leaving Rabadash with a defeat. After the battle, Prince Corin runs up with Shasta at his side, to his father Lune, and tells him all about Shasta. The king then explains that these two look so alike because they are twins. At birth, Shasta, or Cor as his real name is, is abducted and stolen away to Calormen, where a man takes him in and raises him, more for the work then for the sake of having a son.

Meantime, Aravis and the horses have a brief visit from a lion as well, and learn all about why the lion was chasing them. To keep them going faster for one thing, and the other is to strike Aravis, who needed to know the pain that she caused her stepmothers servant to receive by drugging her in the night-so she could escape-and that causing her to sleep in, receiving the whip as punishment.

So, Prince Cor goes back to the Southern March to tell all to Aravis and the horses. After everything is explained and apologies made, Cor invites Aravis to come and live with them at Anvard.

Near the end of the book, Prince Rabadash has a visit by Aslan, the lion, and is turned into a donkey, for not keeping quiet. Aslan explains that all of this can undone if he goes to the Autumn Festival in Tashbaan and gets up before all of the people, who once respected him, and then he shall be turned back into a man.

Prince Cor receives the throne once he is an adult and marries Aravis. Bree and Hwin both marry, but not to each other, and so ends the tale of the Horse and His Boy.



  I completely enjoyed this book! It was adventurous, fun, and humorous. I am giving it 5 out of 5 stars!