Fantasy

Background

The last book of the Narnia Series is the Last Battle. It is the seventh novel in the series and was published in 1956. The story starts many years after the last visit to Narnia with King Tirian now leading the country. There has been peace throughout the years and no one has seen Aslan for so long… Narnia is fooled by a false Aslan and is soon overrun by enemies. The Last Battle is indeed the last battle for Narnia.

My Thoughts

So much Christian symbology… Aslan even sets up the analogy of Christ and Satan when he sets himself opposite of Tash. It really was an odd story when you back away from it. The notion all the Narnians could get so worked up over a false prophet… There is precedent enough in  history I suppose. Still, it seemed too easy. They were too trusting…

I enjoyed some of the off moments such as when Aslan demonstrates the dwarves wouldn’t allow themselves to be helped. Also the description of Susan, to paraphrase, ‘she was in such a hurry to get to the silliest part of life and then tries to stay there as long as possible.’

My Recommendation

A fun story and a good read.

Background

The Silver Chair was published in 1953 and Decades have passed in Narnia since the Voyage of the Dawn Treader and now King Caspian is an old man. Eustace Scrubb, now in boarding school and having learned not to be such a selfish jerk, finds his way back to Narnia with his school mate Jill Pole. They quickly find themselves on a quest with a “marshwiggle” named Puddleglum.

My Thoughts

The marshwiggle character was interesting. Why not make up your own creature and put him in the middle of everything. Part mud, part Eeyore, part superhero, Puddleglum is interesting to say the least. He would be a much more fun character if it wasn’t for his worldview. I found I couldn’t connect with the humans very well as neither were that likable.

The story seemed to have a lot of inspiration from Jack and the Beanstalk. (There is a whole giant section…) The whole story seemed to meander around. When we finally meet the missing Prince, the story seems to go very quickly.

Recommendations

Though I enjoyed it more than the last and it was still a good read, it is not my favorite.

Background

A Horse and His Boy was written after several of the Narnia books were released and chronologically occurs after The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is largely the tail of Shasta, a boy who is raised as a slave and ends up on an adventure.

My Thoughts

I quite enjoyed this book though it wasn’t the epic which was The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I also hadn’t read it before or at least I didn’t remember it… It was like reading a new book either way and I really enjoyed it.

It is a quick read and it took a while to get moving. However, it had a lot of C.S. Lewis hallmarks; the horse was arrogant and humbled toward the end, the boy thought he was nothing but turned out to be the lost prince and later the king and so on… It had plenty of the archetypal stories we love to hear.

Recommendations

Great book. I would recommend it to anyone and my boys are reading it now.

Background

CS Lewis’s classic “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” came out in 1950 and has been a classic and required reading in schools all over the world. It has reached every medium (written, video, audio, theater) and has even sunk into the mainstream culture.

My thoughts

Loved it! It was even better than I remembered though it has been a number of years. I listened to it as an audiobook read by Michael York which was fantastic. Particularly after the last read I was so happy to have a short fun novel.

The first time I read this story was in 3rd grade which would put me at about 8 to 9 years old. I didn’t understand the strong Christian overtones or really even think about what was being said. It was a good story and that’s all I cared about.

It is still a good story but the allegories are very apparent. The sinless sacrifice, the humiliation before such, the rumor of his return and so on. It is my understanding that CS Lewis denied it being intentional but it seems pretty heavy handed when you read it.

Recommendation

I really enjoyed the story and will be coming back. I would recommend it to just about anyone. In fact, it is on the shelf in my living room if you need a copy….

The Book

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a follow on to the very popular Harry Potter series of books. It isn’t really much more than a list of creatures from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

My Comments

The last book I read was such a downer, I wanted to read something a little more lighthearted. One can never go wrong with J.K. Rowling! While the topic was tiresome after plowing through cover to cover, there was always a bit of her playful humor in the pages. I particularly loved the introduction.

I read the wrong Harry Potter series at least 4 times during a particularly hard year in graduate school. The books I was assigned were dense reading so I found myself wanting something light and silly. These books always fit that bill and were always a pleasure to read. I’m glad to say this book was no different.

Recommendation

It’s a good book and I had a great time reading it. However, I don’t know if that would be true of many others. Read the Harry Potter standard works before you try this. That will make it all make more sense…