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The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #5)
The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #5)
C.S. Lewis | 1995 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
7.9 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
Firstly, is this the third Narnia book, or is it the fifth?

The answer to that is whether you go by chronological setting (in which case it's the third), or by publication date (it's the fifth).

This is also a story that I didn't remember reading as a child; however, when I was recently re-reading it I was finding plot elements to be a little-bit-more-familiar than I was otherwise expecting: perhaps I did, and had just forgotten.

Unlike [b: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353029077s/100915.jpg|4790821], this does not follow the Pevensie children, but rather the journey of a young boy named Shasta who discovers he was adopted and is running away to Narnia when his adoptive father is about to sell him into slavery; running away alongside/with the help of the talking horse Bree. Along the way they fall in with a girl named Aravis and her talking horse Hwin, who are also making the same escape.

While I've heard arguments recently that, in this book, CS Lewis is displaying his own racist xenophobia ('fair and white ... accursed but beautiful Barbarians'), personally I think that is reading too much into what is simply intended to be a children's Arabian Nights esque fairytale
  
The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)
The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)
C.S. Lewis | 1955 | Children, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
7.5 (24 Ratings)
Book Rating
Chronologically the first Narnia book, this was actually the last book written in the series, and goes back to how the magical land of Narnia (going by publication date, first visited in [b: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353029077s/100915.jpg|4790821]) came to be.

As such, who says that the concept of prequels is a new invention??

Personally, I think I approached this from the wrong perspective: when I hear the word 'magician' mentioned (as in the title of the book) I tend to think either of the likes of Paul Daniels, or (going by literature) of Gandalf the Grey/White.

That, however, is not how the magician is portrayed here: rather than a benevolent, kindly old character, we instead have a selfish, greedy older man, who is responsible for sending the two children protagonists (Digory and Polly) into the magical woods between the worlds, and eventually into the land that will become Narnia.

If I'm honest, it's also not a story that I was overly familiar with: sure, I'd read (as a kid) that more famous previously mentioned entry and (more recently) have even watched a few of the movies, but this one? Not so much.
  
GK
Grail Knight: (Outlaw Chronicles, #5)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Book number 5 in Angus Donald's 'The Outlaw Chronicles' series, and by now the pattern is well established in that all the stories are split into sections, with each section presented as the elderly Alan Dale recalling his younger days spent with that (now) most-famous of all English outlaws: Robin Hood himself.

At the start of this, Alan is newly married and enjoying life in his new manor with his wife. It's not long, however, before he is thrust back into action when word comes that The Knights Templar are holding himself responsible for gold stolen (by Robin, in a previous novel - possibly [b:King's Man|943289|King's Man (Viking, #3)|Tim Severin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328870438s/943289.jpg|928226]) as it was his promissary note that Robin copied and forged.

Following the burning down of his manor, and with the failing health of his wife who is carrying his unborn child, Alan, Robin and a bunch of assorted misfit companions go off in search of that most medieval of all legends: the Holy Grail itself. In Alan's case, he hopes it can save his wife; in Robin's case: well, he's just after the money!

Another solid entry, even if (to my mind) none have been as strong as [b:Outlaw|17333533|Outlaw|Ted Dekker|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364009572s/17333533.jpg|24064806].
  
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David McK (3562 KP) rated T2: Infiltrator in Books

Jan 30, 2019 (Updated Sep 27, 2020)  
T2: Infiltrator
T2: Infiltrator
S.M. Stirling | 2002 | Film & TV
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was first released back in 2002, so 11 years after the film (which was 1991), but only a single year before 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'. I think I remember reading at the time that it closely followed elements of the plot of the (then) proposed third movie: re-reading this, it is interesting to see how many of those elements actually made it into the movie, or even into 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' TV show (all of which are now no longer considered canon).

This (obviously!) follows the events of T2, with the Connors hiding out in Paraguay after having ended (or so they think!) the Skynet threat. Of course, this proves not to be the case, with a 'master terminator' (the Infiltrator if the title) sent back in time (again) to make sure that Cyberdyne's work carries on. This 'master terminator' takes the form of a female - T3, anyone? - and is actually a human hybrid rather than a machine in her own right (so, basically, a cyborg), so that she is better able to infiltrate the humans she hunts (in the future, and in the present). In this respect, she's probably closer to the original vision of the Terminators as somebody you could walk past in the street, rather than the hulking Arnie of the movies!