The Last Battle

 The final installment of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. 

Narnia is in trouble. King Tirian has come across an Ape who says he has Aslan in a Stable and that Aslan will now be telling everyone what to do through his new voice the Ape. For many of the Talking Animals, things seem off, but what are they supposed to do? Aslan says so, right? King Tirian is captured by the speaker for Aslan and the Calormenes that are working with the Ape--while many of the Talking Animals are beings sent to work as beasts of burden. As he's tied to a tree, suddenly Jill and Eustace are in Narnia again. Jill and Eustace were meeting with the Pevensie's, Professor Digory, and Mrs. Polly,  at Professor Digory's house when they saw the King calling for their aid. Jill and Eustace help him escape and sneak toward the Stable where "Aslan" is housed. Only to find that "Aslan," or "Tashlan" as the confusion really sets in, is actually a Donkey named Puzzle who was pushed into pretending to be Aslan for the Apes gain. But now how do the children and the King inform everyone that it was fake. Talking Beasts and other Narnians don't believe what they're being told, because they've already been deceived once. "We are for ourselves," they say. How are they going to fix this? 

This was a very interesting book. At times it made me sad that there was such confusion, which is very similar to today. People get deceived by some form of false prophet who are only in it for their own greedy ambitions. It also goes to show how different people face the same religious confusions. Some get swayed, some keep their faith and question what's being given to them because it doesn't make sense, others leave entirely and refuse to believe anything. It's not just the talking beasts who get swayed or the dwarves who give up or all the Calormere's who are trying to deceive them, but there are people in each group that are in each belief system too. I also like how Tash, when he is present, listens to Aslan instantly and when he's told to leave "with his prey" and practically vanished. It was a small thing, but I appreciated it.

I also enjoyed that all the characters from previous books made appearances, though most of that wasn't until the end.  It made my son very happy. The fact that one of the Pevensie's wasn't there at the end makes you think too. 

This book is probably my favorite book in the series, which is saying something because there are some really good books in this series. (There are some that aren't so great, but still makes the series good.) 

Happy Reading! 

The Silver Chair

Book 6 in the Chronicles of Narnia follows Eustace and a school mate of his named Jill into Narnia in order to help find King Caspian X's son who has gone missing and has been missing or the last decade or so. 

Jill gets instructions from Aslan to help find Prince Rilian. But Jill and Eustace don't follow the instructions at times very well and are forced go about things in round about ways. They travel on owls backs, brave the cold, run from giants, and find themselves in the deep, dark hollows of the earth with the help of a new friend. 

It is an interesting story about how important it is to follow the instructions we are give. Aslan gave them specific instructions that they needed to remember--though sometimes forgot--and although they didn't often go down the path Aslan originally intended for them, other ways were provided to get their objectives accomplished. Just like God does for us. 

It isn't particularly my favorite book in the series, but it is a good read that expands the Narnian world with a good moral. 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

 I've come to the conclusion that this is my favorite Narnia book so far. 

Edmund and Lucy are now living with their aunt, uncle, and cousin and not liking it at all. Eustace, their cousin, is an annoying know-it-all who believes science is everything and any form of imagination proves you are an idiot. So when they the three of them find themselves in Narnia on Prince Caspian X's ship, The Dawn Treader, Eustace's world is thrown to a loop. Talking mice are completely nonsensical. Caspian is on a mission to find seven lost Lords who were friends of his fathers who sailed passed the known islands and haven't been seen or heard from in many, many years. They have adventures with slavers, dragons, golden lakes, invisible people, islands covered in darkness, and a pursuit to the farthest reaches of the world. 

I think it is my favorite because I've liked all these characters best. Peter and Susan are alright, but Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian have been my favorites, bring in Eustace's change of character throughout the adventure and they have a good, fun set of people to read about while the strangest things happen around them. 

I also really enjoyed the adventures of the different islands in the book too. Great imagination was brought to all of these islands  and the adventures found on them. I liked that it also didn't feel rushed or have this great need for a "mighty battle" at the end. It wasn't about the battles (which the movie did add) it was about the Journey and the things that you learn on your way. 

I didn't like the things they did in the movie to change it. Adding green mist, finding swords, the ever present "my kingship was better than your kingship" is SO annoying. It's been present in the last two movie adaptations and I hate it. I'm okay with them being friends and not having this need to one up another when they are all kings and queens and that's okay. In the books, the children realized that they wouldn't be staying and Caspian would be the one in charge, and it was okay. Narnia isn't their world even though they ruled it for some time, but their turn has passed. In the movies, none of that is the case. I understand needing a turmoil for characters to "grow out of" or what not, but to have the same thing over and over again gets annoying. Edmund didn't feel he needed to "take Peter's place" in the book because he was a King himself. He didn't need to encroach on his brother's anything because he had his own. He was King of Narnia like Caspian is King of Narnia. That bickering is just stupid  and the fact they pulled up up again made it more annoying. 

The book, however, was fantastic. As I said, my favorite so far. 

The Horse and His Boy

 Book 3 (in chronological order) of the Chronicles of Narnia focuses not so much on the four children (adults in this book as they are still Kings and Queens of Narnia and haven't made it back to England yet), but on a boy named Shasta, a Tarkeena (daughter of a noble) named Aravis and two talking horses named Bree and Hwen. 

Bree comes to meet Shasta when Bree's owner, a Tarkeen, asks to buy Shasta from his "father" to work as a servant or slave in his house. Shasta overhears that he isn't the son of the fisherman whom he'd believed to be his father. He is too fair skinned to be of Calormen and must actually have come from the north. So upon finding that the Tarkeen's horse can talk and is actually from Narnia, one of the barbarian lands to the North, they make plans to escape and run away to the north so they won't be slaves anymore, but free horse and boy. 

In their travels they bump into a Tarkeena and her talking horse who are also looking for a way north so then she doesn't have to marry the ancient Vizier to the Tizrok (their emperor-sultan-type person.) In order for them all to get into the northern countries, they have to pass through the capital, where Shasta gets mistaken as a visiting dignitary--meeting King Edmond and Queen Susan along the way--and must find a way to escape with his friends. 

There are may little adventures throughout this story, and, like the other two books, it made reading it to my son really easy. Chapters were long enough to fill about 20 to 30 minutes before we had to head off to school or for a good bed time adventure. 

I liked Shasta and the other characters. I wish there was more of Aravis and Hwen, and that their parts in the story were more full. Bree's character arch was good, especially toward the end. Corin was an interesting character and it would be interesting to have had more about the royal connections he has. I do think that Rabadash was a bit Ridiculous, haha, he seemed somewhat unbelievable in his manners toward Queen Susan and his whining. Adults who whine irritate me. 

It was nice to see King Edmond, Queen Susan, and Queen Lucy. I liked the fact that Lucy went out to war as well. I feel like that is something that C.S. Lewis did well before many others did. My knowledge in how often women went to war is stories of the past is rather limited, but from what I have read it's not something that was done often. Even "staying with the archers" wasn't something I aware happened often. 

It was interesting to find that so many other types of people (not just the Narnians) are there on this world. It wasn't something I realized was the case until this book. Calormen does have a very "stereotyped" Arabain culture. I realize throughout history (and probably through modernity too), it is what people pulled to in order to have something be exotic. I also realize that this book was published quite a while ago (though not that far ago). I was saddened by, what I felt, was a lack of imagination. I love world building and this seemed somewhat like a let down. 

Aslan is always there and made my son happy to have Him back. It was a good instructional point for me to have with my son, because Aslan represents Jesus Christ/God. And to start to have the conversation of "Jesus is always with you and watching and will help lead you to where you're supposed to be and sometimes you won't come out unscathed" was good. Hooray for morals of the story. 

Over all, I enjoyed the story. Slow at parts, somewhat predictable, but it was nice good. 

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

 The second official book of the Chronicles of Narnia and the one that most people know. 

During the Bombing of London, the Pevensie children are sent to live at old Professor Digory Kirke (the Magician's Nephew). In his home in the country, Lucy finds a wardrobe and in the back of it is Narnia instead of the back of the wardrobe. Narnia, a whole new world covered in a thick layer of snow. Finding a lamp post and a faun. Once her siblings find their way in they find there is more than they thought. A witch is hunting them so they can't fulfill a prophecy and Aslan, the Mighty Lion, is coming back to face the witch. 

I enjoy this story, though sometimes the way C.S. Lewis writes can be hard some times and doesn't flow as "nicely" as the more modern writers do. But that just comes with the times. 

I love the metaphor for the Atonement of Christ. In explaining what was happening to my son and the parallels between Jesus and Aslan, I think it helped him better understand what Christ had done for us. I also like that at the end the all become Kings and Queens. Not one of them is subservient to another, just like I believe will be the case after Christ returns. I also enjoy how playful Aslan is with the children, and that the witch is absolutely terrified of him (which wasn't the case in the movie). 

The Magician's Nephew

The first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Having never read these books, I found them quiet interesting and I wasn't opposed to the Christian metaphors. 

Two children become friends over the summer and decide to go exploring in the attic crawl space between the townhouses. Instead of going to the empty house, they find themselves entering into Digory's uncles study who gives them magical rings. Being tricked by his uncle, they find themselves in the world in between worlds. Before finding their way back to their own world, they find their way to another. A dead world where the only people "living" are sleeping. They wake one woman, the most beautiful  and terrifying  of them all and she comes back with them to London. Jadis, Witch Queen, in the middle of London. Digory and Polly were able to get her back to the place between worlds  and found themselves in a new world that was just created by Aslan the Lion. Narnia is created and Jadis is terrified. 

Knowing that this is a metaphor for Jesus Christ and Satan and even the Garden of Eden, I liked it. The beginning of the story was very different from what I expected and the similarities were not so in your face to be hideously obnoxious. 

There were times that were rather humorous and the fact that I could read a chapter to my son within 20 minutes to a half hour makes for good bedtime stories. 

This is one that I might not be super excited to jump into again, but I'm ready for the rest of the series.