Product Description

From the moment the battle-scarred horse Bucephalas, allows a prince and a runaway girl to sit on his back, he is bound to them for ever. The prince is the young Alexander, who he proudly carries into battle, blazing a trail to the very edge of the world in his master's search for glory and adventure. The girl, Charm, is a lowly stable girl, who brushes away the ghosts Bucephalas sees and forgives his arrogant ways. But unlike the golden Alexander, Charm has darker reasons to stay by his side. Through the eyes of the horse, history, mystery and adventure unfold.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #131972 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

About the Author
Katherine Roberts lives in Stroud. Her debut children's book, Song Quest, won the Branford Boase Award in 2000. Chicken House also published Crystal Mask and Dark Quetzal which make up The Echorium Sequence, and a stand-alone novel, Spellfall.

Customer Reviews

A Fabulous Read
This is simply the best book for young people I've read in ages - and I read lots! It is unusual, fresh, original and surprising.
The story of Alexander the Great is told through the eyes of his warhorse Bucephalas. The point of view alone makes this book stand out. Bucephalas is a wild, unmanageable stallion. Like his rider Alexander, he is determined to dominate his herd and be the strongest stallion.
The story follows Alexander's campaign from Macedonia all the way to Egypt and Greece, winning battles and dominating all the way. But Alexander begins to think he is invincible, and will not turn for home even once his army have had enough.
This is a long book, and a literary one, and requires a certain standard of reading ability. But it is well worth it. Prepare to be surprised and delighted.

Uncategorisable, excellent
If you are a reader who likes something different and quirky, this may well be a book that you love.

It's hard to categorise, so it's not for people who like their books neatly packaged and labelled. Is it fantasy? History? An animal story? A supernatural story? For adults? For young readers? It's all of these together, and it's superbly well done.

It could be classed as an historical novel, following the career of Alexander the Great. We see his development from an idealistic, adventurous boy to a man corrupted by power and half-mad. We get the dangerous political games, the battles, the heat and suffering of Alexander's never-ending campaigns and sieges. The historical background is vividly alive and accurate. I read avidly, gripped by it all. When I paused to think of the research, rewriting, concentration and sheer hard work that must have gone into making it so good, I felt quite weak and giddy.

The narrator is Alexander's favourite horse, Bucephalas - and I can imagine a lot of adults turning away at this point. A novel told by a horse! That's for children! But it actually gives the book a unique political insight. Bucephalas is a fierce stallion, and principally interested in controlling all the mares around him, and dominating all the other stallions. As far as he's concerned, this is exactly what all the generals, politicians and other humans around him are doing - they're dominating or being dominated. When Alexander has a political enemy executed, some of the human characters can't understand why. It's perfectly clear to Bucephalas. When two stallions contesting for leadership of a herd are at logger-heads, he says, the one not only has to kill the other, but make sure that all the other horses know it.

Half the mayhem going on in the world at the moment could be explained in exactly that way. But Homo Sapiens always thinks itself so wise and above the rest of the animal world, doesn't it, the stupid beast? As the book becomes sadder and crueller, this vision of the human race as just another herd animal becomes more and more telling.

There's a supernatural, fantastical element to the book as well. Bucephalas has always seen ghosts from his half-blind eye, but as the book becomes darker and more poignant (as Alexander become madder and more lethal), the ghosts become more numerous and insistently present. It's wonderfully well-handled and eerie.

Altogether, it's a book unlike any other I've read: and excellent. I recommend it.

Fantastic book - try it!
I loved this book and couldn't put it down!

It's written from the point of view of Alexander the Great's horse, and tells about the battles, adventures and history.

At first I didn't want to read this book - no way was I interested in a book about horses! But believe me this is a fantastic book that boys will enjoy too.

I thoroughly recommend this book for an exciting & different read.

Campbell, aged 11