Entries Categorized as 'Incredibook!'

The Horse and His Boy

Our rating: *****

When Shasta, a slave in Calormen tries to escape to Narnia, he is shown the way by a Narnian horse, Breehy-Hinny-Brinny-Hoohy-Hah. Bree for short. Traveling with them are Aravis and her horse, Hwin. On their way, Shasta is mistaken for a runaway prince, and Aravis uncovers a plot against Narnia and its neighbor, Archenland. In the race to save Archenland, Shasta and Aravis must cross the desert and alert King Lune to the threat of invasion.

This is one of my favorite Narnia books. I like it a little better than The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe, but not as well as The Magician’s Nephew and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Plenty of action, enough tense moments to allow you to enjoy it, (but not enough to scare you silly) and some great characters.

Mariel of Redwall

Our rating: *****

Mariel is a mouse who was captured by an evil searat named Gabool, who throws her into the sea. She survives the waves, but can’t remember who she is. Eventually, Mariel remembers Gabool’s cruelty and decides to go back and make him pay for killing her father. Joined by Dandin the mouse, Tarquin the hare and Durry the hedgehog, Mariel sets off. However, all is not quiet back at Redwall, as a boatload of Gabool’s evil hoard wash up on the shores of Mossflower…

This book sets the stage for all the books to come in many ways:

  • The Abbey babes are called Dibbuns for the first time
  • The first Badger Lord to have dreams of the future
  • Hares patrol Mossflower first in this book
  • First (but definitely not the last!) time we have searats abroad on the sea

This is a must read for any Redwall fan. Also, don’t miss The Bellmaker, the sequel to Mariel of Redwall.

Taggerung

Our rating: *****

The evil Juskarath clan of rats, ferrets, stoats, foxes and weasels kidnap a baby otter from Redwall, believing him to be their Taggerung, a great warrior destined to lead them. But as Tagg grows, he begins to realize that the cruel, merciless ways of the clan are not for him. He leaves the clan and sets out on a quest to discover the place that he dreams of: Redwall Abbey. Meanwhile, back at Redwall, Tagg’s sister, Mhera, is faced by an increasingly confusing set of riddles.

A great Redwall book. Brian Jacques is very skilled at coming up with riddles and this is one of the best books to prove that. Taggerung makes for a very interesting main character, too. Definitely a must-read for all Redwall fans.

The Bellmaker

Our rating: *****

Dandin and Mariel’s wanderings have taken them to a place called Southsward. The squirrel king, Gael, has been treacherously conquered by the foxwolf, Urgan Nagru, and his mate, Silvamord. Martin the Warrior tells Joseph the Bellmaker to go aid Mariel and Dandin in their fight to save Southsward.

With old and new friends, this is one of my favorites.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Our rating: *****

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are four English children who are sent to live with an old professor during World War II. When Lucy finds a world called Narnia, where animals can talk, in a magic wardrobe, nobody believes her. Then all four children hide in the wardrobe from the house’s grumpy mistress and find that Narnia is real. Now they must join Aslan, the son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea, to drive the White Witch from Narnia and put the rightful rulers on the throne.

This book is a favorite of mine. I like it as much when I read it now as I did when it was read to me. Narnia is something that never gets old, but as you get older you enjoy it even more. The characters and places are very real and well described. Once you read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, you will feel that you must read the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia.