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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
The chronicles of Narnia series was the seed that bloomed into a life long love of reading.
This author, these characters, will always stay with me.
I re-read this series while on vacation and I loved it just as I did as a child.
Everything is a little better with the Pevensie's, but even I was happy to see Eustace.
I still give this book 5 stars even though the last couple of books are not as good as the Pevensie era
This author, these characters, will always stay with me.
I re-read this series while on vacation and I loved it just as I did as a child.
Everything is a little better with the Pevensie's, but even I was happy to see Eustace.
I still give this book 5 stars even though the last couple of books are not as good as the Pevensie era
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
non ci sono parole per descrivere quanto sia brutto questo libro
Twenty years ago, I read The Last Battle as a wide-eyed evangelical young adult. Returning to it now—as a post-evangelical Christian who still loves Lewis but wrestles with his blind spots—I’m struck by how much darker, weirder, and more theologically daring this book is than I remembered. It’s a story about the end of the world and the limits of religion.
Narnia’s final days begin with a donkey and a monkey pulling a Wag the Dog-style hoax: the ape Shift dresses the donkey Puzzle in a lion skin and declares him “Aslan,” using this fake god to exploit Narnians for labor and loot. King Tirian, the last ruler of Narnia, teams up with Eustace and Jill (from The Silver Chair) to fight the corruption. But it’s too late—Narnia collapses into chaos, battles erupt, and the world literally ends.
The Pevensie siblings (except Susan) return to witness Narnia’s judgment. We later learn that they all died in a train accident. Hello! How did I miss this 20 years ago? Aslan appears, the stars fall, and the land is consumed by fire and flood—only to be reborn as New Narnia, a richer, more vibrant version of the old. The children (minus Susan, again) enter this eternal kingdom, where even a devoted follower of the false god Tash is welcomed by Aslan, who declares: “All the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me” (more on that later).
Twenty years ago, I thought little of Susan's fate. Lewis writes her off as “no longer a friend of Narnia” which is at least in part explained by saying that she’s “interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations.” Ope.
This isn’t just dated—it’s theologically mistaken. The message seems to be: Girls who like girly things can’t be spiritual. It’s a cheap shot that undermines Lewis’ usual nuance, and it picks up on prior examples that diminish the spiritual vitality of feminine characters.
For all its flaws, The Last Battle shines in its vision of the New Narnia—Lewis’ proxy for the New Heavens and New Earth. The descriptions are breathtaking:
“The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more.”
This isn’t just heaven-as-reward; it’s creation renewed, echoing Romans 8:21. Even the dwarfs’ tragic refusal to see the joy around them (“The dwarfs are for the dwarfs!”) feels painfully human—a warning against spiritual myopia.
Here’s where Lewis gets radical. The Calormene warrior Emeth, a lifelong devotee of the false god Tash, finds himself in Aslan’s country. When he fears judgment, Aslan tells him:
“I take to me the services which thou hast done to [Tash]… if any man swear by [Tash] and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn.”
This is Christocentric inclusivism in narrative form:
Exclusivism: Only explicit Aslan-followers enter New Narnia.
Pluralism: All paths (Tash, Aslan) lead equally to salvation.
Lewis’ Third Way: Inclusivism—Tash-followers can be saved through Aslan, even unknowingly.
It’s a stunning repudiation of tribal religion—one that theological evangelicalism (as opposed to white Christian evangelicalism) still needs to hear.
The Last Battle is a paradox: a book about divine grace that denies it to Susan; a critique of religious corruption that sometimes embodies it. Yet its vision of the New Narnia—and Aslan’s shocking mercy—redeems its shortcomings.
Narnia’s final days begin with a donkey and a monkey pulling a Wag the Dog-style hoax: the ape Shift dresses the donkey Puzzle in a lion skin and declares him “Aslan,” using this fake god to exploit Narnians for labor and loot. King Tirian, the last ruler of Narnia, teams up with Eustace and Jill (from The Silver Chair) to fight the corruption. But it’s too late—Narnia collapses into chaos, battles erupt, and the world literally ends.
The Pevensie siblings (except Susan) return to witness Narnia’s judgment. We later learn that they all died in a train accident. Hello! How did I miss this 20 years ago? Aslan appears, the stars fall, and the land is consumed by fire and flood—only to be reborn as New Narnia, a richer, more vibrant version of the old. The children (minus Susan, again) enter this eternal kingdom, where even a devoted follower of the false god Tash is welcomed by Aslan, who declares: “All the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me” (more on that later).
Twenty years ago, I thought little of Susan's fate. Lewis writes her off as “no longer a friend of Narnia” which is at least in part explained by saying that she’s “interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations.” Ope.
This isn’t just dated—it’s theologically mistaken. The message seems to be: Girls who like girly things can’t be spiritual. It’s a cheap shot that undermines Lewis’ usual nuance, and it picks up on prior examples that diminish the spiritual vitality of feminine characters.
For all its flaws, The Last Battle shines in its vision of the New Narnia—Lewis’ proxy for the New Heavens and New Earth. The descriptions are breathtaking:
“The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more.”
This isn’t just heaven-as-reward; it’s creation renewed, echoing Romans 8:21. Even the dwarfs’ tragic refusal to see the joy around them (“The dwarfs are for the dwarfs!”) feels painfully human—a warning against spiritual myopia.
Here’s where Lewis gets radical. The Calormene warrior Emeth, a lifelong devotee of the false god Tash, finds himself in Aslan’s country. When he fears judgment, Aslan tells him:
“I take to me the services which thou hast done to [Tash]… if any man swear by [Tash] and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn.”
This is Christocentric inclusivism in narrative form:
Exclusivism: Only explicit Aslan-followers enter New Narnia.
Pluralism: All paths (Tash, Aslan) lead equally to salvation.
Lewis’ Third Way: Inclusivism—Tash-followers can be saved through Aslan, even unknowingly.
It’s a stunning repudiation of tribal religion—one that theological evangelicalism (as opposed to white Christian evangelicalism) still needs to hear.
The Last Battle is a paradox: a book about divine grace that denies it to Susan; a critique of religious corruption that sometimes embodies it. Yet its vision of the New Narnia—and Aslan’s shocking mercy—redeems its shortcomings.
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-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
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced