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Lisa of Troy's Reviews > The Horse and His Boy
The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)
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Lame.
Shasta is running away when he meets a Talking Horse named Bree. Bree and Shasta then run into another talking horse and rider pair, Hwin and Aravis. Will they gain the freedom they so desperately seek?
The Horse and His Boy was completely off-brand and boring. In The Magician's Nephew and then The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, my favorite parts were all of the little barbs that the Queen would throw out. However, in The Horse and His Boy, the Queen was not featured, and there wasn't any humor to take her place. For most of The Horse and His Boy, the pair is trying to run away. This book felt very, very similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Lewis and Tolkien first met in 1926 and eventually formed a friendship serving as each other's first readers. The Hobbit by Tolkien was first published in 1937 which mentions Arkenstone whereas The Chronicles of Narnia was published in the 1950's which mentions Archenland. To be completely honest, I did not enjoy The Lord of the Rings so I did not enjoy The Horse and His Boy.
Additionally, Aslan was doling out punishments, and there were not very many illustrations. The Magician's Nephew had a very clever ending, but The Horse and His Boy had an unremarkable, forgettable one. Here is hoping that the last two books are better!
Overall, The Horse and His Boy did not live up to The Chronicles of Narnia saga.
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
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Shasta is running away when he meets a Talking Horse named Bree. Bree and Shasta then run into another talking horse and rider pair, Hwin and Aravis. Will they gain the freedom they so desperately seek?
The Horse and His Boy was completely off-brand and boring. In The Magician's Nephew and then The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, my favorite parts were all of the little barbs that the Queen would throw out. However, in The Horse and His Boy, the Queen was not featured, and there wasn't any humor to take her place. For most of The Horse and His Boy, the pair is trying to run away. This book felt very, very similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Lewis and Tolkien first met in 1926 and eventually formed a friendship serving as each other's first readers. The Hobbit by Tolkien was first published in 1937 which mentions Arkenstone whereas The Chronicles of Narnia was published in the 1950's which mentions Archenland. To be completely honest, I did not enjoy The Lord of the Rings so I did not enjoy The Horse and His Boy.
Additionally, Aslan was doling out punishments, and there were not very many illustrations. The Magician's Nephew had a very clever ending, but The Horse and His Boy had an unremarkable, forgettable one. Here is hoping that the last two books are better!
Overall, The Horse and His Boy did not live up to The Chronicles of Narnia saga.
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Insta My Bookstore at Pango
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Reading Progress
September 14, 2021
–
Started Reading
September 14, 2021
– Shelved
September 14, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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Sep 17, 2021 12:34PM
I just love this review, Lisa. Right on.
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I don’t remember this one. Based on your review, I can see why.
I haven't read any of the Narnia books....I won't be reading the one LOL
Bob (aka Bobby Lee) wrote: "I just love this review, Lisa. Right on."Thanks, Bob!
Nancy wrote: "I don’t remember this one. Based on your review, I can see why."Thanks, Nancy! You are right! This is the least memorable out of the series so far.
Barbara wrote: "I haven't read any of the Narnia books....I won't be reading the one LOL"My favorite was the first one, The Magician's Nephew.
"This book felt very, very similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings"You're not imagining that.
Lewis and Tolkien, and some other friends, were part of a writing club called The Inklings where they read aloud their books in process. This is where Lewis would have first heard material from The Lord of the Rings. People who know both Rings and Narnia well have noted material that Lewis ripped off from Tolkien.
Meanwhile, Tolkien thought Narnia was rubbish. He disdained allegory. In his forward to the second edition of the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien wrote...
"As for any inner meaning or ‘message,’ it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical…. I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence."
Great review, Lisa. Good pick up on the similarities! :) Love that Tolkien quote, Michael, though I don't entirely share his disdain for allegory. It can, at times, be all too cryptic and presume a great deal of prerequisite knowledge to pick up on which can be alienating for a lot of readers.
I always thought that "The Horse and his Boy" was removed from the traditional Narnian timeline. Apart from meeting up with the children, now kings and queens, there was very little connection.But looking back it was still a good story.
The Horse and His Boy wasn’t my favorite either. Out of the Narnia books my favorites were The Magicians Nephew, The Lion Witch And The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Last Battle.
Although yes, it is mostly them "running away" I think that there are some good lessons and messages found within the story that could be good for readers to read about. But I respect your opinion nonetheless. Some people prefer more fast paced stories and some people prefer stories with a deeper meaning. :)
IT'S NOT LAME LISA OF TROY
Yes. This was the most accurate review. I had the SAME EXACT experience
