The Last Battle ("The Chronicles of Narnia")

Let me suppose that you have read no Narnia books at all and are thinking whether to read them yourself or give them to a child - then I'll say that I cannot recommend them more but read them in order and after you have finished the Silver Chair go back and reread your favourites because if you are like me this book will entirely spoil your enjoyment of Narnia. I won't say any more to you because I hate spoilers.

But if you have read this book read on for my opinion on it. (I apologies for any inaccuracies as I have only read it once and refuse to even open it again)

How could he? He creates a wonderful world and makes it feel real and you care about the characters and then he tells you "Oh this is just a shadow world, which is merely a pale imitation of the real one" so why did we bother reading the rest of the books? It wasn't even real.
I understand about the Christian allegory and I think it works well in the other books; you can either ignore it or have fun spotting it but this! it felt like the allegory was the whole point of the thing, he was practically preaching to me and slyly too, I can handle preaching when it is up front and obvious I can even respect it although I do not like it. Why did he not just write a children's bible or something?

Before I finish I just want to say that this is the opinion of a child, the disillusionment of a child, which has fermented in a corner of my brain since then, and also that this one star review is perhaps a higher commendation to the other books than enthusiastic five star reviews would be as it was because of my love for those that I hated this so much.

One thing that I think is inexcusable though is Susan - she gets into makeup etc. and so she gets denied paradise? That does not feel like good Christianity to me.

A fitting end (0/0 people found this helpful)

I thought that this book was a very fitting end to the chronicles. I wouldn't exactly say it was as much of a kids book as the others. There was a few pages that I had to read twice to make sure I knew what was going on as bits of it are quite jumpy but all in all I like the ending. I think the series was very powerful and a lot of authors fumble endings to single novels and less powerful series's so I think Mr Lewis done not too bad at all. In fact. I can't really think of a better way it could have ended. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that I felt The Magicians Nephew was a better book so this needed less stars than that. Other wise I'd give it 4 and a half if I could

The Last Battle (1/1 people found this helpful)

This final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series thankfully returns to the early splendour of "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe". After "The Silver Chair", which seemed a little flat compared to other books in the series, "The Final Battle" restores some of the magic that made the first few novels so enjoyable and successful.

Lewis does well in beginning the novel from the point of view of the Narnians, specifically the last King of Narnia, instead of the from the childrens' perspective. We begin to see a particularly brave story develop from who is essentially a Christian author: A false Aslan has begun corrupting Narnia from within, who eventually comes under the thrall of the vicious realm adjacent to Narnia. Considering the powerful although admittedly insipid themes that Lewis is fond of, it seems a brave move to take his allegory so far. As a child the danger must read very real, and as an adult it is interesting to see the mythology of Lewis' realm with his potentially fully drawn.

Cracking characters and a smooth, compelling storyline make this one of the best of the series, as good as "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" and a fantastic, thrilling and emotional end to the book series.

8.5/10

What a shame (0/3 people found this helpful)

Having read all of the books except this one, i had very high expectations for it after falling in love with each book in it's own way. I really enjoyed the story till the very end which completely ruined the whole book, he could of ended the series in so many good ways but choose the worst ending possible leaving Susan all alone-HARSH!

Aptly named - listen to the other stories first. (6/6 people found this helpful)

The final in the series of "Narnia" stories, The Last Battle works on the same two levels as the other stories. On the one hand, we have a an adventure story about children in a strange and magical world, and on the other we have a treatise on ethics and religion.

Lewis' world of adventure and magic is charming, vividly described and exhilarating. As with the other books in the series, this is fundamentally a human story of drama and pathos, where children are finding adventure and heroism. As a child, I was as enthalled with this story as with any of his others - real favourites. Even so, I found this to be the darkest and in many ways the most challenging of his works. Now, as an adult, I see this very much as a work to be a passionate statement of religious belief, which is skillfully articulated though uncompromising in the position it takes.

The work is really in two parts. The longer, first part, has an interesting opening in which a rather selfish and thoughtless creature sets in motion a chain of events that culminates in the destruction of a sacred forest and ultimately in a breakdown of social order. There follows revolt and warfare wrapped up with fragmentation and subversion of the previously unassailable cult of Aslan. The second part involves the transportation of the children and their friends to the land of Aslan and much discussion of their love of Aslan and much discussion of the wonder and beauty of Aslan's kingdom.

Clearly, Aslan represents God. The narrative part of the story has much to do with the nature of good and evil, and the difference between doing wrong innocently and doing wrong maliciously. Interestingly, it follows a strong thread through the nature of propaganda, the subversion of a worthy cause, and the uncontrollable chaos of politics. Slightly worrying are the casting of an apparently Middle-Eastern kingdom as devil-worshippers, the general feeling that the British class system is alive and well in Narnia, and the slightly mysogenistic criticism of Susan who as a young woman "has reached the silliest time of her life and wants to stay there for as long as possible". I think we can forgive this slight transgressions of political correctness in view of the time in which the novel were written; the "green" views concerning the cutting down of woodland and (horrors!) the march of civilisation would find, though, some resonance today.

The Christian element of the book is very firmly stated, especially in the second part, which is more or less a description of the Second Coming and the End of the World! Heavy stuff for a children's book! However, it works surprisingly well and a child will enjoy the story and probably find the sub-text at least posing some questions for them.

Technically the production is excellent, as might be expected from the BBC. It is the right length, seems to be unabridged (though I have not checked) and the voices and sound effects fit together nicely without being overdone.

I would recommend this, but not before you have read (or listened to) The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe plus a couple of the other works in the series.

The Last Battle ("The Chronicles of Narnia")

C. S. Lewis

Reader Reviews:

How could he? (0/0 people found this helpful)

A fitting end (0/0 people found this helpful)

The Last Battle (1/1 people found this helpful)

What a shame (0/3 people found this helpful)

Aptly named - listen to the other stories first. (6/6 people found this helpful)

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