BOOK REPORT NO. 2                                                          ADRIAN CHENG

                                                                                                FEB. 28, 2006

The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy is a novel by C.S. Lewis and was illustrated by Pauline Baynes.  It was published in 1954.

SETTING

The Horse and His Boy first takes place in Calormen during the Golden Ages when Peter and his brother and sisters were rulers of Narnia. The Golden Age was a time long ago. Narnia is a make-believe land with talking animals and magic spells.  It is on the great eastern ocean and is a land of lush green, surrounded by mountains.  The weather is mostly beautiful, like in spring time.

CHARACTERS

Rabadash – Rabadash is the Prince of Calormen and the son of a Tisroc. He is greedy,      stubborn and impatient man with a flammable anger anyone would have feared.  Rabadash is the antagonist of the story. His expression is always angry so he looks like a man who wants to fight.  He wears Indian style clothes and fancy alturban on his head.  He is always well-armed with a long razor-sharp sword at his side.

Shasta – Shasta is a boy kidnapped from Narnia, and raised by Arsheesh, a Calormene fishman, before Bree escapes with him to Narnia.  He is the protagonist of the story.  Shasta has a courageous spirit because he puts others in front of himself.  He has not had the priviledge to be educated.  Shasta is a very determined person who keeps going even when there are problems.  He is in his teens, is fair-skinned and has blond hair.

Bree – Bree is a horse kidnapped from Narnia as a young foal.  He is a free horse who supports Shasta on his journey to freedom.  Bree had a nose as smooth as sabin and strangly, he could talk.

SYNOPSIS

In the beginning of the story, The Horse and His Boy, Shasta, the protagonist, discovers that his is not the son of Arsheesh who is a poor fisherman.  Therefore, Shasta decides to run away with Bree to Narnia in order to escape from being sold by his adopted father.  He rides north and meets a girl called Aravis who also has a talking horse named Hwin.

Aravis and Shasta and the two talking horses have to travel through Tashbaan, the capital cith of Calormen.  Shasta is mistaken for Prince Coren; however the real Prince Coren meets Shasta and tells him to escape.  Aravis also meets Lasaraleen, her rich friend. When helping her escape they end up in the room of Tisroc.  They overhear that Tisroc plans to attack Narnia with the help of Rabadash by going through Archenland.

Shasta, Aravis and the horses escape the city and cross a dry desert in order to warn the Narnians and the Archenlanders that the Colormenes are going to attack.  They are also being chased by a lion.  Luckily, when Aravas receives ten scratches, they got to rest at the Hermit of the Southern Marsh’s home, except Shasta who continues his journey.

Finally, Shasta is able to warn the Archenland army so that they can defeat the Calormenes.  The King discovers that Shasta is really Coren his long lost son.  The King rejoices Aravis and Corin end up living in Archenland happily ever after.

OPINION

I like The Horse and His Boy very much because it was filled with action and adventure.  I also really liked that it continues from the series, C.S. Liwis, such as The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe.  The main character of The Horse and His Boy is a young, courageous boy who I admire and would like to meet someday.  In addition, the talking animals were a creative way to show how they felt about the action going on in the story.

I would recommend this book to other readers aged seven and above.  Even adults who like fantasy can enjoy this story!  I am looking forward to reading, Prince Caspian, in the future.

MISCELLANEOUS

C.S. Lewis has written a few novels for children. The seven books of The Chronicles of Narnia were his only works for children.  The seven books in all are:-

The Magician’s Nephew

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

However, C.S. Lewis has written many books for adults on the subject of Christianity and faith.  One of his most famous books is called The Screw tap Letters.  Recently, one of his books, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been made into a film.  C.S. Lewis definitely has written timeless classics that will be enjoyed for many years to come.