Black Stallion Books In Order

Publication Order of The Black Stallion Books

The Black Stallion book series is a wonderful series of young adult, children’s books, classics, and fiction novels. It is written by a noteworthy & bestselling American writer named Walter Farley. The series is comprised of a total of 20 books released between 1941 and 1983. Walter’s son, Steven Farley, continued the series after his death and has added four titles to the original series so far. The title character of this series depicted in the form of a Black Stallion named the Black or Shetan. Each of the books of this series revolves around the prized stallion and his owner named Alec Ramsay. The Black is shown as an Arab stallion and was owned by a Sheikh before he came into the possession of Alec Ramsay. In the later books, Walter has described the Black’s backstory. After releasing the first book in 1941 and introducing the Black, Walter wrote the subsequent books based on the 3 main offspring of the stallion: Satan, Bonfire, and Black Minx. While the first two are colts, the third one is shown as a filly.

The later novels also feature a second stallion named Flame, which is an Island Stallion. Flame is considered as the only equal of the Black. After introducing Flame, Walter described his separate storyline until the two stallions meet and proceed with the rest of the series together. The first 2 novels of the series and Steven Farley’s The Young Black Stallion have been adapted into movies having the same titles as the respective novels. The NY Times has described the Black as the most popular fictional horse of the century. The novels that Steven Farley has written in this series are meant for younger readers and his first book describes the early years of the Black. Some of the essential human characters created by Walter Farley for the series include Alexander ‘Alec’ Ramsay, Charles Volence, Henry Dailey, Steve Duncan, Pitch, Abu Ja’Kub ben Ishak, Abd-al-Rahman, Raj, Tabari, Pam Athena, Ibn al Khaldun, and Mr. & Mrs. Ramsay. A wide range of horses is also depicted in the books that include Napoleon, Satana, Zitadah, Shetan, Bonfire, Sagar, Black Minx, Wintertime, Flame, Casey, Johar, Eclipse, Sun Raider, Cyclone, The Ghost, Black Sand, and Black Pepper.

Alec Ramsay is depicted as a young man having a passion for horses. He goes on to have a close bond with Shetan that he believes no human can understand or explain, not even himself. Henry Dailey is a retired trainer of racehorses and one of the close friends of Alec Ramsay. He is also a forgotten legend jockey. The career of Henry gets revived after he teams up with Alec for training Shetan. Later, he trains many other horses of Alec’s horse-farm. Charles Volance is mentioned as Sun Raider’s owner, who accompanies Henry and Alex on their first visit to Saudi Arabia. Mr & Mrs Ramsay are the supportive parents of Alec. They help Alec in running the business affairs of his horse farm called Hopeful Farm. Mr. Ramsay is shown as being more prominent that Mrs Ramsay. He is tall and has a good body structure. Mrs Ramsay is kind-hearted and plump.

In the movie adaptation, Mr Ramsay accompanies his son on his ship journey to Arabia and dies due to drowning. Mrs Ramsay’s movie adaptation role is shown as having a slightly rough personality. Steve Duncan is a young man and a horse lover. He is the first one to discover Flame. He trains & races the red stallion. Steve meets Alec Ramsay in a later book and shares a complex friendship with him because of being competitors. Also, Steve seems a little bit jealous of him. His character is easily annoyed and slightly unhappy. Alec Ramsay tries to bond well with Steve Duncan, but his strange personality doesn’t let them stay on good terms for long.

Pitch is a long-time friend of Steve. He is an archaeologist and has a comparable personality with Henry’s is a few ways. Alec sees Pitch as a less happy and more tired person. Abu Ja’Kub ben Ishak is depicted as a Sheikh. He is the original owner & breeder of Shetan. Abu gets killed after getting thrown by Shetan during one of the trainings. Tabari is the beautiful daughter of Abu Ishak’s daughter. She also forms a complex friendship with Alec. After giving away Shetan to Alec as per her dying father’s wish, Tabari is left with her Nejdi horse called Johar. Pam Athena works as a jockey and trainer at Hopeful Farm. She indulges in a romantic relationship with Alec, but later dies in a car crash. The character of Pam Athena is based on the daughter of Walter Farley, who also died in a tragic accident.

The debut book of The Black Stallion series written by author Walter Farley is entitled ‘The Black Stallion’. It was originally released by Random House in 1941. The book is set on Long Island, New York, and introduces the characters of Alec Ramsay, Tabari, Shetan, Abu Ishak, etc. Initially, Alec is introduced as a teenaged boy. He returns from India and comes across a wild black stallion named Shetan when he visits Arabia. He gets the ownership of Shetan and loads him on a ship to take him to his homeland. After Alec’s ship sinks, the pair gets stranded on a remote desert island. They depend on one another for their survival and form a deep trust. Their love and trust makes them establish a strong friendship with a close emotional bond that last lifelong. Following their rescue from the island, Alec Ramsay befriends Henry Dailey and asks him to train Shetan. Henry recognizes that Shetan is of a superior breed and joins Alec to train him for an upcoming race. In his first race, Shetan enters as a mystery participant due to the lack of popularity and goes on to defeat the reigning champions, Cyclone & Sun Raider.

The second installment of the series is called ‘The Black Stallion Returns’. It was published in 1945. This book continues to show the adventures of Shetan. The novel opens by a discovery that lets Alec know that a couple of men are looking to snatch Shetan from him. One of the men claims to be the rightful owner of the champion horse and the other one tries to kill him. Later, a chieftain from Arabia succeeds in proving his ownership and takes Shetan away. Alec doesn’t lose hope and strives to get his beloved horse back. He follows Shetan to Arabia and fights against an evil to win back the ownership of his horse.