gothiccauntie's review against another edition
4.0
As this edition is an omnibus containing all of the Narnia books, I suppose this technically contains spoilers. Sorry about that. If it helps any, they're very minor spoilers. They hardly even count.
Moving on.
I rate this a four-star read even though I really didn't like all of the series. I give this series a rather high rating for the quality writing and the excellent continuity. This omnibus presents the books in chronological order rather than publishing order, which makes it much easier to keep track of the linear timeline than reading them individually (for sets are always organized by release order, so you'd have to sort out the chronology for yourself or look it up... either way, annoying and unnecessary, in this case).
Some of the books --such as The Magician's Nephew -- take the appearance of being merely interesting background, side information to entertain you beyond the Golden Age of Narnia (which is the Pevensie era of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), but actually tie together very well; primary focuses of one book become minor details of other books, briefly alluded to for the sake of testing your memory. Later, we learn that the protagonist of The Magician's Nephew is actually the old man who takes in the Pevensie children during the war. My favorite allusion of this sort was of The Horse and His Boy in The Silver Chair when they tell the story while sitting around a fire. It was not particularly important, but it was trivial and entertaining.
My favorite stories were the ones that involved the Pevensie children. Particularly when Eustace and Jill became the main characters, my interest started to wane because neither of them are particularly attractive characters as a primary focus. Though Jill is described as not being particularly cowardly, she spent most of her time complaining and crying...which while probably more realistic of a reaction to being plunged into a foreign world and torn from all of the luxuries that you have become accustomed to, is still rather annoying in a heroic adventure.
In short, I recommend the read. It was a little frustrating not following the same protagonist, but they're almost always familiar characters previously introduced as minor characters -- Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader becomes one of the main characters in The Silver Chair and The Last Battle, for example -- and nearly always offer you a glimpse of your old favorites in the new story. The narration style is reminiscent of telling a bed time story (the narrator really is talking at you, like a conversation or a fire-side story telling) rather than some omnipotent source who appears to be keeping a diary of everyone ever. What none of the characters learn, you never learn either -- though it's always side information that does not influence the overall plot.
Moving on.
I rate this a four-star read even though I really didn't like all of the series. I give this series a rather high rating for the quality writing and the excellent continuity. This omnibus presents the books in chronological order rather than publishing order, which makes it much easier to keep track of the linear timeline than reading them individually (for sets are always organized by release order, so you'd have to sort out the chronology for yourself or look it up... either way, annoying and unnecessary, in this case).
Some of the books --such as The Magician's Nephew -- take the appearance of being merely interesting background, side information to entertain you beyond the Golden Age of Narnia (which is the Pevensie era of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), but actually tie together very well; primary focuses of one book become minor details of other books, briefly alluded to for the sake of testing your memory. Later, we learn that the protagonist of The Magician's Nephew is actually the old man who takes in the Pevensie children during the war. My favorite allusion of this sort was of The Horse and His Boy in The Silver Chair when they tell the story while sitting around a fire. It was not particularly important, but it was trivial and entertaining.
My favorite stories were the ones that involved the Pevensie children. Particularly when Eustace and Jill became the main characters, my interest started to wane because neither of them are particularly attractive characters as a primary focus. Though Jill is described as not being particularly cowardly, she spent most of her time complaining and crying...which while probably more realistic of a reaction to being plunged into a foreign world and torn from all of the luxuries that you have become accustomed to, is still rather annoying in a heroic adventure.
In short, I recommend the read. It was a little frustrating not following the same protagonist, but they're almost always familiar characters previously introduced as minor characters -- Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader becomes one of the main characters in The Silver Chair and The Last Battle, for example -- and nearly always offer you a glimpse of your old favorites in the new story. The narration style is reminiscent of telling a bed time story (the narrator really is talking at you, like a conversation or a fire-side story telling) rather than some omnipotent source who appears to be keeping a diary of everyone ever. What none of the characters learn, you never learn either -- though it's always side information that does not influence the overall plot.
zolxem's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.5
thearbiter89's review against another edition
4.0
(Extracted from a 2006 blog post)
I have just finished The Chronicles of Narnia, which proves once again that to deny the truth of majority opinion where literature is concerned is ultimately fallacious (disregarding your opinions of the raw quality of the given material.). Narnia is ultimately a surprising tour de force, a true fantasist masterpiece in the style of a children’s fairy tale.
Narnia, is, of course, a piece of Christian literature, not so much a pure allegory as an exploration of an alternative moral reality. Lewis, the self-proclaimed reluctant convert, infuses his personal philosophies into the narrative, weaving the entire story – from the birth of Narnia to its ultimate destruction – and transcendence into a heavenlike paradise – into something so ultimately compelling to the penetrating reader (in this case myself, because I don’t treat the story like the children’s fairytale it ought to come across as) that it speaks to the depths of the soul. A Christian allegory, no less, but this time much easier to accept because it clothes the Christian message into something ultimately secular and independent of its original Christian trappings. (Not saying that the Christian message is bad, just that Narnia does not attempt to proselytize.) It’s almost as if the book considers morality not the reserve of Christians, but of everybody that ever mattered.
The Chronicles of Narnia is a simple, pure, beautiful, elegant and childlike tale of wonderment. Its utter simplicity is a precious gem in the world of dark, gritty fiction like God of Small Things and other gothic travesties. The abundance of deus ex machinas is not just indicative of its messianic bias and the Christian promise, but also of a world bereft of the caprice of the author’s vengeance. It is a comforting world of stunning beauty that speaks to the inner child of the most distant reader. It transcends its position as Christian apologist fiction and takes its place in the forefront of children’s literature, that lives forever unsullied in our minds long after the adult world embraces us. It has the most important quality any work of escapist literature could ever want to achieve: It gives us an unbearable yearning to be in that world, to experience its grandeur and sadness, to bask in the radiance of suns that never shone and never will, save in our hearts.
I have just finished The Chronicles of Narnia, which proves once again that to deny the truth of majority opinion where literature is concerned is ultimately fallacious (disregarding your opinions of the raw quality of the given material.). Narnia is ultimately a surprising tour de force, a true fantasist masterpiece in the style of a children’s fairy tale.
Narnia, is, of course, a piece of Christian literature, not so much a pure allegory as an exploration of an alternative moral reality. Lewis, the self-proclaimed reluctant convert, infuses his personal philosophies into the narrative, weaving the entire story – from the birth of Narnia to its ultimate destruction – and transcendence into a heavenlike paradise – into something so ultimately compelling to the penetrating reader (in this case myself, because I don’t treat the story like the children’s fairytale it ought to come across as) that it speaks to the depths of the soul. A Christian allegory, no less, but this time much easier to accept because it clothes the Christian message into something ultimately secular and independent of its original Christian trappings. (Not saying that the Christian message is bad, just that Narnia does not attempt to proselytize.) It’s almost as if the book considers morality not the reserve of Christians, but of everybody that ever mattered.
The Chronicles of Narnia is a simple, pure, beautiful, elegant and childlike tale of wonderment. Its utter simplicity is a precious gem in the world of dark, gritty fiction like God of Small Things and other gothic travesties. The abundance of deus ex machinas is not just indicative of its messianic bias and the Christian promise, but also of a world bereft of the caprice of the author’s vengeance. It is a comforting world of stunning beauty that speaks to the inner child of the most distant reader. It transcends its position as Christian apologist fiction and takes its place in the forefront of children’s literature, that lives forever unsullied in our minds long after the adult world embraces us. It has the most important quality any work of escapist literature could ever want to achieve: It gives us an unbearable yearning to be in that world, to experience its grandeur and sadness, to bask in the radiance of suns that never shone and never will, save in our hearts.
sandra_bwf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
raven_acres's review against another edition
Contains all 7 books, in the order they should be read.
nishanthjkumar's review against another edition
4.0
Very well done. Read it some time ago, when I was younger. Very absorbing and literarily rich.
bostianh's review against another edition
5.0
I first read the Chronicles in the 1990's and I read them again in 2005, reading them aloud to my students. I think they are books that will never be out of style, an amazing read. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is my favorite of the series, Prince Caspian was my least loved, and the rest I loved about equally.
thelibraryofemma's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
marie_maude's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5