From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10–This is a marvelous book, and much of its strength relates directly to its nonhuman narrator. Alexander the Great's horse, Bucephalas, is always ready to fight if another stallion challenges his position as herd leader; he dominates dung to establish his priority; he whinnies affectionately to his mares, and, occasionally, breaks free to make a foal with one. More importantly, he brings a somewhat nonjudgmental viewpoint to the life and activity of Alexander, screening the conqueror through a horse's norms rather than those of a human being. This viewpoint allows Roberts to narrate extremely harsh incidents of battle or execution as examples of the way a dominant stallion maintains control of his herd. For some readers, the most interesting side of the animal might be his ability, shared with the other horses in the book, to see ghosts, both human and equine. It serves to heighten the tension in several sections. A human viewpoint is provided through Bucephalas's groom, Charmeia, and the three share a horse bond that links them until Alexander and Bucephalas die. Charmeia's consistently kind and tender heart is an effective counterweight to Alexander's almost manic approach to life. Roberts has clearly done her research. Her Alexander is complex, driven, alternately coldly ambitious and warmly generous: arguably both hero and criminal.
I Am the Great Horse is a rich, rewarding, and propulsive read that deserves a wide audience.
–Coop Renner, Hillside Elementary, El Paso, TX Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Part historical fiction, part fantasy, this action-packed war novel tells the story of Alexander the Great from the viewpoint of his beloved horse, Bucephalus, who carries the conquering hero from Greece and Persia to India around 330 BCE. Bucephalus can understand human behavior and speech, and what he does not witness, he picks up from "groom-gossip." Some readers will be intrigued by the personal relationships between the conqueror and his friends and enemies, but the action is thrilling, as horse and rider tear into battle and nearly always win. It all comes together in the loving bond between Alexander, his horse, and his groom, Charm, who hides many secrets: Who raped her mother? With echoes of today's conflicts, she questions what Alexander calls his "liberation" of the peoples he conquers, the massacre, the mutilation, and the torture. The
Iliad is constantly invoked, but more than the epic struggle, what is best here is the horse that "sees things that men do not."
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
