I started reading "The Chronicles of Narnia" series as adult. I had read "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" as a child, but wanted to read the entire series in chronological order. I loved the first book, "The Magician's Nephew", which was written as a prequel. Then "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" was of course outstanding. Next I read this book, "The Horse and His Boy." Eh. Not as good, and frankly boring. It has Aslan and Narnia in it, but it isn't very connected to the first two books. I decided to plod onto the the next book in the series, "Prince Caspian", with low expectations. But the magic came back. I love it! There has been controversy regarding which order a person should read the seven books in "The Chronicles of Narnia". Based on the four books I've read so far, my suggestion is to skip "The Horse and His Boy" altogether, or read it last if you must. I'd hate for it to be a stumbling block that could deter someone from continuing on to the other better books. Just my opinion!