Reviews - The Silver Chair

3.35k reviews for:

This is the first book without any Pevensie included. (I’m reading them in release date order, not chronological.)

That being said, I think this was my least favorite entry so far, just barely sitting below Prince Caspian.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding being expanded even more from Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Getting a peak into the culture of Narnian giants was appreciated. And I love the concept of the Marsh-wiggles. I even appreciated seeing some trolls & exploring the underground of the “earthmen.”

The main problem for me is that the characters just weren’t there. Trumpkin & Caspian were both very short-lived narratively. Eustace & Jill were both quite one dimensional (despite Eustace having one of my favorite character arcs in the previous book). The best character by far was Puddleglum who stole the show hands down!

The biblical imagery wasn’t as much in the forefront of this one, other than in the second chapter where Aslan sends them on their mission & in the last chapter where they meet him again. That was a big disappointment for me, although I know many people disagree on that point.

As far as the story these first few books have created, I’m enjoying them all to varying degrees & I still appreciate what Lewis started in the early days of this genre. Some of the stories & prose has not aged well, but his brilliance is timeless!

ashleybuhrke's review against another edition

2.0

DNF

I was gonna trudge through this one until I noticed there’s SEVEN books and not SIX like I THOUGHT! WHY.DID.NO.ONE.TELL.ME?!

I can’t do it. I never picked up the Narnia books because they never interested me. But I was always curious - and although I did not enjoy the last 5 books and what little I got through with this one, I 100% do not regret reading them. I will never wonder if I was missing out....

I don’t like the characters. At all. Not one. And I can’t get passed serious Aslan having - basically - cuddle parties with Lucy. I don’t care if he’s a giant puddy tat, it weirds me out.

I am not for Narnia.

irisraerah's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

trips__'s review against another edition

1.5

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

ash_proctor's review against another edition

4.0

Definitely not as meaningful of a story than the others, but it was definitely engaging, especially since this was the book I remembered the least. It was sad yet satisfying being able to see Caspian’s story come full circle.