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samuraipoet 's review for:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
by C.S. Lewis
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's an outlier among the Narnia books, as it doesn't really have a very strong main narrative. The last of the 3 most recent Narnia movies really struggled to adapt this as a result. There IS a sensible rational for the titular ocean voyage around which the story is organized. It's mainly there as a plot device to get the ship sailing, and doesn't have a terrible lot to do with the actual proceedings - and that's fine.
In all the scattershot adventures the crew of the Dawn Treader, I do think that character development gets little attention - with the notable exception of Reepicheep - who shines very brightly - and to a much lesser extent Eustace, who at least has a character arc, even if it's a rather abrupt one. Caspian, Drinian and Rynelf are so flavorless as to be completely interchangeable. I can't bring myself to give this anything less than 5 stars, but I think comparatively, it may be the 4 star book among the other entries in the series.
Random observations.
- I don't love the Dufflepuds. I'm not sure they've aged as well as everything else.
- Again, I love Reepicheep and his beautiful soul.
- As an adult, I found the adventure of the dark island very affecting. It really stands out in the context of everything else in the series - it's genuinely frightening and raw.
In all the scattershot adventures the crew of the Dawn Treader, I do think that character development gets little attention - with the notable exception of Reepicheep - who shines very brightly - and to a much lesser extent Eustace, who at least has a character arc, even if it's a rather abrupt one. Caspian, Drinian and Rynelf are so flavorless as to be completely interchangeable. I can't bring myself to give this anything less than 5 stars, but I think comparatively, it may be the 4 star book among the other entries in the series.
Random observations.
- I don't love the Dufflepuds. I'm not sure they've aged as well as everything else.
- Again, I love Reepicheep and his beautiful soul.
- As an adult, I found the adventure of the dark island very affecting. It really stands out in the context of everything else in the series - it's genuinely frightening and raw.