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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
medium-paced
I read the first five books of this series when I was younger but for some reason never touched the last two. I put off getting round to them for ages because I guess I always wanted more of the series to read so I was actually really excited to get back into the world again when I finally picked this one up. Clearly, as you can probably tell from my rating, I was left disappointed.
In this book we're back with Eustace Scrubb, a character who was kind of okay when paired with Lucy and Edmund but alone, just plain dull. We're introduced to a new main character, Jill who seems to be nothing but an easy self-insert. And we're introduced to a new cynical mentor, a "marsh-wiggle" named "Puddlegum" who was probably the most entertaining part of the book but still fell short of every other Narnian character featured previously.
We follow Eustace and Jill back to Narnia where they meet Aslan and are told their quest. They pick up their mentor, Puddlegum and the rest of the book is just them travelling with a few misfortunes they have to overcome. In fairness, there is a chance I would've loved this book as a kid. It's a simple adventure plot but not a bad one. I just had higher hopes as an adult reading it but maybe I'm just blinded by nostalgia. If the characters were more developed, I think it would've changed the feel of the book by a long way but with a simple story and bland characters, there's just nothing exciting about it. I have hope for The Last Battle as I've been told the Pevensies return but I think I'll stick by the belief the very first books will always hold the most Narnian atmosphere which is, after all, the thing that made me love these books.
In this book we're back with Eustace Scrubb, a character who was kind of okay when paired with Lucy and Edmund but alone, just plain dull. We're introduced to a new main character, Jill who seems to be nothing but an easy self-insert. And we're introduced to a new cynical mentor, a "marsh-wiggle" named "Puddlegum" who was probably the most entertaining part of the book but still fell short of every other Narnian character featured previously.
We follow Eustace and Jill back to Narnia where they meet Aslan and are told their quest. They pick up their mentor, Puddlegum and the rest of the book is just them travelling with a few misfortunes they have to overcome. In fairness, there is a chance I would've loved this book as a kid. It's a simple adventure plot but not a bad one. I just had higher hopes as an adult reading it but maybe I'm just blinded by nostalgia. If the characters were more developed, I think it would've changed the feel of the book by a long way but with a simple story and bland characters, there's just nothing exciting about it. I have hope for The Last Battle as I've been told the Pevensies return but I think I'll stick by the belief the very first books will always hold the most Narnian atmosphere which is, after all, the thing that made me love these books.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just feel so underwhelmed by everything, I lost interest at a certain point, but I managed to power through and read the Silver Chair. This one, although with less religious references than previous novel, is riddled with plot holes and with events that occur just so it could fill a number of pages.
Once again we have a son of Adam and a daughter of Eve trying to bring the rightful king back into Narnia. The two are bullied in school and although it is not okay to bully, the fact that at the end, when they return, they beat up their bullies because Aslan gave them the power was just so retarded.
The witch sequence made no sense. Why would you try to explain to a person who was trying to convince you that the sun was not real what the sun is? Also, there are so many plot holes here that I need to take a deep breath or else I will lower the rating to two stars. Still: Where did she come from? Why did she want to rule Narnia? Why did she kidnap the prince? Why would she need the prince when she has an army already? Why did she turn into a snake? The answer to all these questions will disappoint many: because she is evil and the story says so.
I hate saying my boyfriend is right, my boyfriend who knows nothing about Narnia, who does not read fiction, but he was right to an extent: Although now I will forever have this bitter taste in my mouth whenever I think of Narnia, I can look at this journey from 12 year old to 27 year old and see how innocent I was, how much I have grown and how I can see even the smallest hint of allegory into this. Religious allegories are just too much into your face, too much forcing you to see how awesome lion Jesus Aslan is, how he is always right and those who are not on Aslan's side are evil people. This is not ok, and simply because Lewis forces this idea that christianity is the only religion that is right and the others are evil is just toxic and a very aggressive form of discrimination.
After all this, with the journey almost over, do I still recommend the books? Sadly, no. They encourage an almost cult like mindset towards God and Jesus and this is not something you want your child to think when talking about spiritual belief.
Once again we have a son of Adam and a daughter of Eve trying to bring the rightful king back into Narnia. The two are bullied in school and although it is not okay to bully, the fact that at the end, when they return, they beat up their bullies because Aslan gave them the power was just so retarded.
The witch sequence made no sense. Why would you try to explain to a person who was trying to convince you that the sun was not real what the sun is? Also, there are so many plot holes here that I need to take a deep breath or else I will lower the rating to two stars. Still: Where did she come from? Why did she want to rule Narnia? Why did she kidnap the prince? Why would she need the prince when she has an army already? Why did she turn into a snake? The answer to all these questions will disappoint many: because she is evil and the story says so.
I hate saying my boyfriend is right, my boyfriend who knows nothing about Narnia, who does not read fiction, but he was right to an extent: Although now I will forever have this bitter taste in my mouth whenever I think of Narnia, I can look at this journey from 12 year old to 27 year old and see how innocent I was, how much I have grown and how I can see even the smallest hint of allegory into this. Religious allegories are just too much into your face, too much forcing you to see how awesome lion Jesus Aslan is, how he is always right and those who are not on Aslan's side are evil people. This is not ok, and simply because Lewis forces this idea that christianity is the only religion that is right and the others are evil is just toxic and a very aggressive form of discrimination.
After all this, with the journey almost over, do I still recommend the books? Sadly, no. They encourage an almost cult like mindset towards God and Jesus and this is not something you want your child to think when talking about spiritual belief.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a great one! I think it’s pretty equal with Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but the characters were less familiar so it lacked all that character building and development that made the last one so good. That being said, I like the Eustace and Jill duo more than the Pevensies. They are less perfect and their mannerisms more realistic which makes them more fun to read. It was nice to see the return of some previous characters like Caspian and Trumpkin. I also liked the new characters and species that were introduced, especially Puddleglum, who was a great mixture of guardian and comic relief. I finished this one in almost one sitting, listening to the audiobook while doing a puzzle.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No