Don't be fooled into thinking this is just another Black Beauty tale. It most
certainly isn't. Bucephalus has attitude and brings a fierce quality to the
story that Black Beauty never had. It is more along the lines of 'Spirit:
Stallion Of The Cimarron'.
If this horse had to have a human equivalent I'd
say he was Rambo.
'I Am The Great Horse' is based on Alexander the Great
told through the eyes of his warhorse. Historically this books is pretty sound
and accurate and you can totally immerse yourself in the pages of the book as if
you are there. Katherine Roberts has clearly put a great amount fo effort into
her research and it totally pays off.
The narrator is Bucephalus,
Alexander's favourite horse. Bucephalas is famous for being a wild and fierce
stallion and totally unrideable, the only person who is known to be able to ride
him is Alexander. When Bucephalus is not leading Alexander's army into battle,
he is preoccupied with dominating the other stallions and mares, believing
himself to be leader. He even tries to dominate humans.
Bucephalus is a
reflection of the society of the day - dominate or be dominated, for this reason
Alexander and Bucephalus are very similar, they both want to be the strongest,
they both want to be leader.
At times the book is funny, sometimes it is
rude and sometimes horrific. Told through the eyes of a horse it makes the
history of Ancient Greece and Alexander The Great more unusual and totally
different to anything else you could read.
This book isn't just a
children's book. Adults, particularly horse lovers, will get a huge amount of
enjoyment out of this book.
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