This is my favorite Narnia book so far (I'm reading this in publication order, so still two more books to go).

Unlike the other books, the main characters are not English children who visit Narnia, but natives of the secondary world. There is a cameo from some of the Pensieve children, in their roles as kings and queens of Narnia, and it is nice seeing them from an outside perspective.

I liked about this book how solid and standalone the story is. It's not a showcase for thinly veiled religious propaganda in the form of Aslan. That was a problem for me in the other books of the series. Aslan was too much of a deux ex machina, and the plot showcased him too much, at the expense of the storytelling. We still get Lewis' delightful storytelling style, but at the service of a better tale.

The story is an adventure with fairy tale elements, and a really solid story. ( )

Delightful

Once I started reading The Horse and His Boy, I got caught up by the drama of it. C.S. Lewis had a delightful writing style. ( )

Being a story within a story, this one confused me a little, until I was swept back onto my feet by the amazement and wonder of it all. ( )

[Reading in chronological order, #3]
Holy nose dive, Batman. Didn’t enjoy this at all. Partly because it’s boring. Mostly because it’s remote than a little racist. Hopefully it’s an anomaly on both accounts.

Alex Jennings narrated this in audio. ( )

Coming back to this series, I'm surprised by how much I really like it. "The Horse and His Boy" is a little parable which doesn't really connect with the rest of the Narnia series, but there's something about the imagery of this duo and their cross-country travels that really appealed to me as a child. I think it's rather lovely, really. ( )