The boy’s name is first recognized as Shasta, before he finds out that he is indeed a Prince of Archenland, the self governing kingdom beside the wondrous Narnia. This intense, quick-paced novel is wonderfully crafted by Clive Staples Lewis, usually known as C. S. Lewis.

Many characters are involved in this book, with perhaps the main character as Shasta. Shasta is an ordinary boy (he believes) who is trying to live and go on with his life as a fisherman’s servant, more like a slave. Shasta is a role model in this book due to the fact that he is completely honest, thus never wanting to steel if he can avoid it. Another important character in The Horse and His Boy is most likely the second name in the title; the horse. The horse is originally a talking beast from Narnia, who was kidnapped as a foal and sent to be a warhorse in the Calormen Army. He later finds himself with a runaway boy, who is also trying to pursue his dream: to leave the Tashbaan Empire and live free in Narnia, the North.

The setting of this book is not as it may seem in the beginning. Shasta does in fact live in the desert, but not in the desert you and I are used to. This book is set in not a world of or own, but of another, new world with magical talking creatures and giants and huge chariots. There is no particular time period, because time, as described in the seven books about Narnia, may be one century to one second in Narnia, or vise-versa.

Many subjects interfere with the plot of this book, but the over-whelming objective is to reach Narnia, to become a free Narnia ruled by no cruel Empire or Savage Tisroc, as the Calormene call them. The side objectives is to save Anvard, the Capitol of Archenland, from being over-ruled by the Prince Rabadash, the fierce prince of Calormen.

Perhaps the moral of this story is actually a lesson. This book is always talking about how tyrants should be brought down by all means necessary, for the good of all mankind. With out just one person ruling all of one land, the power should be ruled down to the very lowest of peasants, who would usually have the best ideas in mind for everyone to benefit from. With this in mind, people could stop to think about how they could help out our would today.

The conclusion of this story is of a happy one. In the end, after Prince Rabadash is defeated with his men at the gates of Archenland, Shasta meets King Lune and discovers that he is indeed the son of him, making Shasta Prince Cor, and the future Kind of Archenland. To say the least, everything is resolved and everyone is happy.

Finishing this book was actually rather painful, because I knew that after I had finished this book once, it would never be the same the next time I read it. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes a heart-warming tale of magical creatures and great knights. This would also be a great read for anyone who has read the other six tales about Narnia in The Chronicles of Narnia.