Beast Quest 14 – Skor the Winged Stallion

Adam Blade's Beast Quest Skor the Winged Stallion is a fantasy adventure for 7 year olds about a flying horse that no sword can hurt for long.

What happens

Tom and his friend Elenna are deep in Gorgonia, the Dark Wizard Malvel's own kingdom. It's a horrible place, with sludgy brown rivers and dead trees. They've only just won their last fight and Tom's arm is still bandaged. Then their friend the wizard Aduro appears as a face in the river with a warning. The next Beast is called Skor, and danger will come "from both earth and air".

Epos, a good Beast from Avantia, is trapped somewhere in a rain forest. Tom and Elenna have to reach her before it's too late.

Getting there is half the adventure. Tom nearly goes over a cliff and is saved by his foot catching in the stirrup. Delicious-looking berries turn out to be poisoned. And the only way across the gorge is a rope bridge that turns out to be made of hair (yuck!). Guess what happens when an eagle starts pecking at it?

Then comes Skor himself. A towering black stallion with golden hooves, purple wings and eyes that throw out sparks. Every time Tom cuts him, the wound closes up again. How do you beat a Beast like that?

Elenna is brilliant here. She's terrified of heights and crosses that bridge anyway. She's also a crack shot with a bow, and she deals with Seth, a sneering boy working for Malvel, with a well-aimed branch.

Tom and Elenna have already faced thirteen Beasts by now, so this isn't the place to start the series. But it's classic Beast Quest. Short chapters, a cliffhanger at the end of nearly every one and a big battle to finish. If your reader is already hooked on Tom's quests, they'll race through it.

Just so you know, there are a few darker moments for this shelf. The prologue mentions two rebels who were torn apart by a Beast, and a good Beast lies injured with a broken wing. Nothing is dwelt on, but a sensitive child might want a grown-up nearby.

What to read next

If they want to see where Tom first met the phoenix, go back to Epos the Winged Flame, where he has to free her from Malvel's spell beside a volcano that's started to smoke.