Like many people who once were kids, I love The Chronicles of Narnia. Perhaps unlike many people who once were kids, The Horse and His Boy is my favorite of the seven tales C. S. Lewis wrote for kids.
The Horse and His Boy feels the most out of place of the books in Narnia. It’s set in the same universe, but it’s hard to know that at first. It has wonderful mystery — a boy who feels out of place with his father, who discovers that his father is not, in fact, his father. It has lions and knights and caves and escapes and battles. It is, in a word, magnificent.
I think part of my love for The Horse and His Boy is rooted in how I discovered it. I had read the beginning the first time I read through the series, but I didn’t finish it. I wanted to get back to the Pevensies.
Then, finally, some time later, I came back to it. I wasn’t immersed in the rest of the series. It was magical. I felt Shasta’s longing for something better. I loved Bree. I loved when it becomes apparent that the story is set in the universe of the rest of the Narnia stories. It gives me chills thinking about it.
If you’ve never read The Horse and His Boy, or even if you just haven’t read it for a while, it’s a great read. You should go check it out. Now.