Caspian X is the first seafaring Narnian King in generations. After King Edmund and Queen Lucy (along with their older siblings, High King Peter and Queen Susan) helped Caspian win his throne from Miraz the Usurper, they departed. When they returned a decade later with their cousin Eustace in tow, they discovered a world wherein Narnia was entering a second golden age; Caspian acquitted himself well of the office for which he was born and, when he felt it safe to leave the nation in the hands of his regent, departed for the East, with a mission to find the seven Narnian lords that his uncle sent away to keep them from his throne.

More anthology than single story, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is more about the personal growth of the characters (chiefly Eustace, the newcomer) than about the defeat of a domineering villain. We also get a chance to learn more about who King Caspian is, as well as seeing the type of people Edmund and Lucy have become since their last adventure in Narnia.

Exciting and fun from beginning to end, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a book that explores people amid adventure, and excels at it.