The Black Stallion Returns

Our rating: ***

This book opens dramatically when someone tries to kill the Black, then, while Henry and Alec are still trying to figure out who would want to kill the Black, Abu Já Kub ben Ishak arrives and proves that he is the owner of the Black, finally taking the Black to his home in Arabia. Alec, separated from the Black for what seems to be forever, jumps at the chance to travel to Arabia, in the hope of seeing the Black one last time.

This is the second book in the Black Stallion series. These books are not long reads, in fact, at one point when I was first reading them, I actually read six of them in one day. (Of course, I didn’t have anything else to do.) I enjoy them, and The Black Stallion Returns is very fun. It’s tense in some places, thrilling in others, and yes, occasionally predictable. (But is there a problem with that? At least it’s not “form-written”!) There is some violence. I take that back. There is quite a bit of violence, but it’s not told in a gross way at all. It has almost everything. A great horse (obviously), a really bad badguy, life or death situations. It even has an old feud! A great sequel to a great book.

Son of the Black Stallion

Our rating: ***

When Alec Ramsey receives the Black’s son from Abu Ja’ Kub ben Ishak, he can’t wait to begin training the young colt for racing, with the help of Henry Dailey, his trainer for the Black. But the colt proves to be more fiery and vicious than his father, with a strong killer instinct. Will Alec and Henry be able to tame the colt and fulfill Alec’s dream of a great racer?

A pretty good horse book with some heart-pounding races. On the whole, the story pacing is fairly consistent, although some parts seemed a bit slow.