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sophiesapphire's review against another edition
4.0
This was my childhood - and I have my sister to thank for that. She read them in school, and I followed suit. Saw the first Narnia film before I started to read these. And I am glad I did, I love these stories! My favourite is "Prince Caspian".
It was a great way to be introduced to the fantasy world (and to mythology with Greek Fauns and Dryads, and Northern European giants and dwarves) at a young age as these stories were full of all kinds of creatures and adventures. You can tell Lewis and Tolkien were friends as they have similar themes and vibes (and of course draw from Christianity to tell their stories), though possess very different writing styles altogether.
I rate it 4 stars only because some of the books I remember did not grip my attention the same way others did ("The Horse and His Boy" & "The Silver Chair") and not as descriptive as I'd like now. Forever grateful for these chronicles though.
It was a great way to be introduced to the fantasy world (and to mythology with Greek Fauns and Dryads, and Northern European giants and dwarves) at a young age as these stories were full of all kinds of creatures and adventures. You can tell Lewis and Tolkien were friends as they have similar themes and vibes (and of course draw from Christianity to tell their stories), though possess very different writing styles altogether.
I rate it 4 stars only because some of the books I remember did not grip my attention the same way others did ("The Horse and His Boy" & "The Silver Chair") and not as descriptive as I'd like now. Forever grateful for these chronicles though.
luxile's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Une lecture divertissante. J'ai beaucoup apprécié les premiers tomes mais l'histoire se fatigue au fur et à mesure. Je conseillerais de ne pas lire le dernier tome si vous avez du mal avec les métaphores religieuses bien lourdes et moralisatrices. Notons également le racisme et la misogynie, plus ou moins présents selon les tomes, mais particulièrement visibles dans le dernier ...
heather667's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Grief, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Animal death, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
casspro's review against another edition
5.0
Instead of paying attention in pre-calculus class, I was reading this under the desk. I believe that shows where my priorities lie.
honey_stardust_13's review against another edition
5.0
It a great fantasy series that everyone should read.
nestasbff's review against another edition
4.0
4 ⭐️ |
yeah i don’t remember absolutely anything.
giving it 4 ⭐️ because i was like 10 when i read it and at that time i HATED reading books and i had to like something about this in order to read them all
yeah i don’t remember absolutely anything.
giving it 4 ⭐️ because i was like 10 when i read it and at that time i HATED reading books and i had to like something about this in order to read them all
bhall237's review against another edition
3.0
"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.”
The Magician’s Nephew
Chronologically the start of the series, this was a fun little journey into how Narnia came to be. It’s not the best origins story, nor did I really grasp what was going on through most of it, but I enjoyed seeing how The White Witch and Aslan came to be. I think it’s interesting that this is really the only time we see Narnia spill over into the real world, and because it’s an origin story, there’s not much repercussions in the real world for the nor in the world of Narnia. Everyone seemed a little too goofy in the story, particularly The White Witch. I think the story just doesn’t work over all because it’s not much comes back and future stories besides the infamous lamp post. Besides that, this is an easily forgettable story that isn’t necessarily required to enjoy the overall story of Narnia. 2/5.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The most famous in the series without a doubt, I was shocked by how much I did not enjoy this book. This will be a reoccurring theme later on in the series as it departs from these themes, but this book was too heavy handed and it’s Christian allegories. I am all for using religion as an allegory for stories, as long as it is tastefully done and not overbearing. In retrospect, I’m able to clarify this simply as while the other books are inspired by and encourage personal beliefs, this book is specifically referencing Christianity. This is why I think this book fails and other books work much better. Whereas this book will blatantly copy books of the Bible, other books will take elements from books in the Bible to teach a lesson that isn’t blatantly stated but shown through the actions of the many characters we follow. The reason I don’t think this book works as well as others is that everything is stated through the context of Aslan, where other books are through the context of the characters. Still a very well written book that is a classic for a reason, I would rank this amongst the lower in the series due to my complaints listed above. 2/5.
The Horse and His Boy
This was a big turning point in the series for me because I did not expect to immediately be thrown into a new world with new characters right after finishing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I was all for it. One over arcing same I will say that Lewis perfectly captures and his first seen here is his ability to just pick random people in the world of Narnia at random point in time and just tell a beautiful story that has such deep themes and allegories. I honestly can’t say that I remember too much about this story in particular, but I loved the overall story of rags to riches, one that is scene often and literature and film, but one that just works exceptionally well here in the world of Narnia. It’s very interesting that Lewis chose to show the golden age of Narnia through the perspective of a poor boy who comes from nothing but through his actions becomes a king. It’s something I was not expecting to read, but found myself very invested in and wanting to see how Lewis tied it in to the over arching themes and story of Narnia. Overall a very well done story that was a big turning point in my enjoyment in the series. 2/5.
Prince Caspian
Returning back to the four Pevensie children, this is a much welcomed return to form that I very much enjoyed. The big theme in this story was keeping your faith even in times of danger and temptation, and while a very good allegory for Christianity, what makes this story work so well is that it can be applied to a multitude of ideologies, religious or not. It’s in these later stories that I find Louis works much better because his stories don’t become heavy-handed reimagining‘s of biblical stories, they are truly epic fantasy stories that include allegories for religion, being whatever you believe in. I adored seeing Lucy fare so strongly against everyone in this book, with her being seen as the child previously, but her being shown as the strongest here in terms of faith. All four characters truly shine in their own ways throughout the book, something that wasn’t really done in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I don’t think it’s perfect, far from it, but this is a great step in providing fantastic character arcs and incredible imagery that left me wanting more. And much more came, and was delivered, in the next book. 4/5.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
This is without a doubt my favorite in the series and a favorite book of mine now just because of how truly epic it is in terms of a fantasy scale. Holy shit, I was not expecting this level of depth from a Narnia book, and after finishing this book, I wish the others were this well fleshed out and explored. Following the story Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and Reepicheep, we follow our characters through their respective highest and lowest points they find themselves in. Characters being sucked into another world through a painting, a secret society who believes in the old world hidden within the New World, the incredible character arc of Eustace, Aslan telling Lucy and Edmond that they can never returned to Narnia, traveling to the end of the fucking world! There is so much in this book that is done right and so little that has done wrong that this can be viewed as nothing less than the best in the series. I cannot express how much I recommend this book both as a stand-alone and as a piece of the 7 piece puzzle that is the Narnia books. This Lewis at his best, and I can’t begin to express just how much I adore this book. 5/5.
The Silver Chair
This was a disappointment coming off of the high that was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This book started out so strong, and even ended very strongly, but is that in between that I just didn’t connect with as well to as other books in the series that I love. I loved following Eustace and newcomer Jill, and to see Caspian as an old withered man was right up my alley from beginning to end, but there was just something missing in this book that I can’t necessarily put my finger on. I think what I loved so much about Dawn Treader was that for the most part, the characters were on their own and didn’t have much influence or direction from Aslan, where in this book, they are directly given a task from Aslan and our reminder multiple times throughout the book of their task. Overall, I did really enjoy this book, especially the chapters in which Jill and Eustace actually interact with and rescue Prince Rilian, which wow. The gaslighting from the Green Lady in which Jill, Eustace, and everyone around them is put under a spell, I was holding my breath throughout all of these chapters. But besides that, there was just something missing throughout that I can’t quite put my finger on. 3/5.
The Last Battle
Oh this one was great. I love that Lewis likely unintentionally criticized his own religion by creating a story of blindly following orders and religious indoctrination. How to say the story was frustrating to read is an understatement. The immediate chapters are so bleak and depressing that you question if you want to continue to the end. But, if you can power through that, you’ll find a rather standard tale of Jill and Eustace saving the day for Narnia. For the most part, and that is until the last few chapters. The end of the series that all has led up to and, to be honest, I didn’t mind it. I think I vaguely knew going in how the story ended, so having that in context throughout the series subconsciously in the back of my mind, it didn’t disappoint me like I’ve heard from so many others. It was rather tender and heartwarming to know that everyone got a happy ending (apparently except for Susan). Was it perfect? Far from it, But it also wasn’t a disastrous monstrosity that is not even bad in my opinion, just not the ending one would expect. 3/5.
With a series as legendary and renowned as this one, I was shocked by what I truly loved and what I truly didn’t. I was shocked that what most of the audience loves, I didn’t necessarily, and vice versa. I think the series started out rather weak, hit a peek in the middle, and fell down to being weak towards the end. But win this series hits its high, it is fantastic literature that can only be found in that of the classics by the best of the best. An overall good decent series that offers something for just about anyone. My ranking for the series goes as follows:
1. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Silver Chair
4. The Last Battle
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Horse and His Boy
The Magician’s Nephew
Chronologically the start of the series, this was a fun little journey into how Narnia came to be. It’s not the best origins story, nor did I really grasp what was going on through most of it, but I enjoyed seeing how The White Witch and Aslan came to be. I think it’s interesting that this is really the only time we see Narnia spill over into the real world, and because it’s an origin story, there’s not much repercussions in the real world for the nor in the world of Narnia. Everyone seemed a little too goofy in the story, particularly The White Witch. I think the story just doesn’t work over all because it’s not much comes back and future stories besides the infamous lamp post. Besides that, this is an easily forgettable story that isn’t necessarily required to enjoy the overall story of Narnia. 2/5.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The most famous in the series without a doubt, I was shocked by how much I did not enjoy this book. This will be a reoccurring theme later on in the series as it departs from these themes, but this book was too heavy handed and it’s Christian allegories. I am all for using religion as an allegory for stories, as long as it is tastefully done and not overbearing. In retrospect, I’m able to clarify this simply as while the other books are inspired by and encourage personal beliefs, this book is specifically referencing Christianity. This is why I think this book fails and other books work much better. Whereas this book will blatantly copy books of the Bible, other books will take elements from books in the Bible to teach a lesson that isn’t blatantly stated but shown through the actions of the many characters we follow. The reason I don’t think this book works as well as others is that everything is stated through the context of Aslan, where other books are through the context of the characters. Still a very well written book that is a classic for a reason, I would rank this amongst the lower in the series due to my complaints listed above. 2/5.
The Horse and His Boy
This was a big turning point in the series for me because I did not expect to immediately be thrown into a new world with new characters right after finishing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I was all for it. One over arcing same I will say that Lewis perfectly captures and his first seen here is his ability to just pick random people in the world of Narnia at random point in time and just tell a beautiful story that has such deep themes and allegories. I honestly can’t say that I remember too much about this story in particular, but I loved the overall story of rags to riches, one that is scene often and literature and film, but one that just works exceptionally well here in the world of Narnia. It’s very interesting that Lewis chose to show the golden age of Narnia through the perspective of a poor boy who comes from nothing but through his actions becomes a king. It’s something I was not expecting to read, but found myself very invested in and wanting to see how Lewis tied it in to the over arching themes and story of Narnia. Overall a very well done story that was a big turning point in my enjoyment in the series. 2/5.
Prince Caspian
Returning back to the four Pevensie children, this is a much welcomed return to form that I very much enjoyed. The big theme in this story was keeping your faith even in times of danger and temptation, and while a very good allegory for Christianity, what makes this story work so well is that it can be applied to a multitude of ideologies, religious or not. It’s in these later stories that I find Louis works much better because his stories don’t become heavy-handed reimagining‘s of biblical stories, they are truly epic fantasy stories that include allegories for religion, being whatever you believe in. I adored seeing Lucy fare so strongly against everyone in this book, with her being seen as the child previously, but her being shown as the strongest here in terms of faith. All four characters truly shine in their own ways throughout the book, something that wasn’t really done in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I don’t think it’s perfect, far from it, but this is a great step in providing fantastic character arcs and incredible imagery that left me wanting more. And much more came, and was delivered, in the next book. 4/5.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
This is without a doubt my favorite in the series and a favorite book of mine now just because of how truly epic it is in terms of a fantasy scale. Holy shit, I was not expecting this level of depth from a Narnia book, and after finishing this book, I wish the others were this well fleshed out and explored. Following the story Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and Reepicheep, we follow our characters through their respective highest and lowest points they find themselves in. Characters being sucked into another world through a painting, a secret society who believes in the old world hidden within the New World, the incredible character arc of Eustace, Aslan telling Lucy and Edmond that they can never returned to Narnia, traveling to the end of the fucking world! There is so much in this book that is done right and so little that has done wrong that this can be viewed as nothing less than the best in the series. I cannot express how much I recommend this book both as a stand-alone and as a piece of the 7 piece puzzle that is the Narnia books. This Lewis at his best, and I can’t begin to express just how much I adore this book. 5/5.
The Silver Chair
This was a disappointment coming off of the high that was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This book started out so strong, and even ended very strongly, but is that in between that I just didn’t connect with as well to as other books in the series that I love. I loved following Eustace and newcomer Jill, and to see Caspian as an old withered man was right up my alley from beginning to end, but there was just something missing in this book that I can’t necessarily put my finger on. I think what I loved so much about Dawn Treader was that for the most part, the characters were on their own and didn’t have much influence or direction from Aslan, where in this book, they are directly given a task from Aslan and our reminder multiple times throughout the book of their task. Overall, I did really enjoy this book, especially the chapters in which Jill and Eustace actually interact with and rescue Prince Rilian, which wow. The gaslighting from the Green Lady in which Jill, Eustace, and everyone around them is put under a spell, I was holding my breath throughout all of these chapters. But besides that, there was just something missing throughout that I can’t quite put my finger on. 3/5.
The Last Battle
Oh this one was great. I love that Lewis likely unintentionally criticized his own religion by creating a story of blindly following orders and religious indoctrination. How to say the story was frustrating to read is an understatement. The immediate chapters are so bleak and depressing that you question if you want to continue to the end. But, if you can power through that, you’ll find a rather standard tale of Jill and Eustace saving the day for Narnia. For the most part, and that is until the last few chapters. The end of the series that all has led up to and, to be honest, I didn’t mind it. I think I vaguely knew going in how the story ended, so having that in context throughout the series subconsciously in the back of my mind, it didn’t disappoint me like I’ve heard from so many others. It was rather tender and heartwarming to know that everyone got a happy ending (apparently except for Susan). Was it perfect? Far from it, But it also wasn’t a disastrous monstrosity that is not even bad in my opinion, just not the ending one would expect. 3/5.
With a series as legendary and renowned as this one, I was shocked by what I truly loved and what I truly didn’t. I was shocked that what most of the audience loves, I didn’t necessarily, and vice versa. I think the series started out rather weak, hit a peek in the middle, and fell down to being weak towards the end. But win this series hits its high, it is fantastic literature that can only be found in that of the classics by the best of the best. An overall good decent series that offers something for just about anyone. My ranking for the series goes as follows:
1. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Silver Chair
4. The Last Battle
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Horse and His Boy