Shasta is an all-around unhappy child. The man who he calls his father is of no relation to him, and treats him worse than most people would treat a stranger. Shasta is frequently beaten and never hugged, always punished and never praised. He is overworked, underfed, and has no idea what to do about it until a stranger comes riding up to his home on a magnificent horse. The stranger stays the night with Shasta's father, and Shasta overhears the two of them striking up a bargain- a bargain to sell Shasta to the stranger as a slave.
Unsure of what to do, Shasta begins talking to the horse, and much to his surprise, the horse talks back! It turns out that this horse, whose name is Bree, is one of the talking horses of Narnia, although he has been careful not to make that fact public up until now. The two of them talk at length, and after a time they decide that an escape is in order. And so, while their masters are asleep, The Horse and His Boy pack up what little belongings they have, and set out to test their fate on the open road, with Narnia as their final destination.
They have not been on the road for very long, however, when trouble comes in the form of several hungry lions. Forced to run for their lives from what sounds like an entire pack of lions on the hunt, Shasta and Bree are galloping through the night when they discover that they are not the only pair attempting to escape under the cover of darkness. They happen upon another horse and rider pair, and as luck would have it, this is also a talking horse. Aravis and Hwin join Shasta and Bree, and the four set out in search of new lives, not knowing what fortune awaits them along the road.
Clive Staples Lewis, Born in England, was an author, professor, theologian, and Christian apologist. As a professor, Lewis regularly interacted with fellow authors J.R.R. Tolkien and Louis Carroll. Along with his many theological works, Lewis wrote ten children's books - the seven novels which comprise the Chronicles of Narnia, and his Space trilogy.
"I've been reading Narnia in chronological order and this has been the best one so far! Even though some of the twists were easy to figure out before they were named, I found myself laughing, smiling and full of excitement as the story went on."
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Bryson (5 out of 5 stars)