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chantreistleer's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
wllwschrm's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
abbyedwards07's review against another edition
4.0
It is a great book and I love the name narnia. It is one of the best books I've ever read!
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
4.0
My aunt gave me this set of books when I was pretty young and all they did was collect dust on my bookshelves. I just never had the inclination to read them even though they were there. I wasn’t big into fantasy until very recently so that might explain why Narnia never really drew my interest.
Then, when I did get into fantasy, it became one of those series that “you just have to read” because it’s the epitome of fantasy reading and writing. Terry Pratchett was in there but he was knocked off my list pretty quickly. I just wasn’t all that impressed with his work and found his books kind of redundant. Door stoppers scare me so I’ve never touched Lord of the Rings and even now the story doesn’t interest me. I couldn’t even sit through the first movie. How am I supposed to get through those books? I wasn’t too impressed with Neil Gaiman’s Stardust but Anansi Boys made me see just why he’s a god among fantasy enthusiasts.
But who could mention fantasy without mentioning The Chrnoicles of Narnia? I found The Last Battle first, on the bargain bookshelves at Barnes and Noble and picked it up. Then someone so aptly put it, I can't rightly read the last book of the series without reading the other six. Duh. So during one of my many visits to B&N, I snagged the first in the series which I always thought to be The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The emphasis is always on that book so for someone not familiar with the series, it’s the natural thought to think.
But no. So The Magician’s Nephew it was. I honestly had no idea what to expect. I’d never seen reviews of Narnia and it’s written qualities, just come across people that raved about how amazing they are and how the movie doesn’t do it justice. Ironically enough, I do own the movie thanks to my mom. I watched it only after I started reading the series.
After reading this book, I’ve realized that, after all these years, I’ve missed something great. Nephew is a book told in the voice of an old Victorian fairy tale (much more successfully done than Stardust, I think) and the development of the story is simplistic yet infinitely deep all at once. We’re not given explicit, paragraphs upon paragraphs, of detail to pound into our heads of just what it is we’re reading. Everything’s concise. The dialogue is a bit overdone but I’m chalking that one up to the obvious style the story has. For that it fits perfectly.
I'm barely at the halfway point of the Narnia series and I can already see why it’s garnered so much love over the years it’s been out. C.S. Lewis has captured a timeless piece of art in this book and I’m jonsing to read more. The Screwtape Letters has nothing on Narnia (despite the fact that they’re not even in the same realm of existence).
The characters are defined in the simplest terms and most Victorian of definitions (hats off to The Breakfast Club) and yet, as I was reading, they were nothing short of three dimensional. I could hear the Lion’s song as he was singing it and imagine perfectly the mark of dark juice around the Witch’s mouth after she ate that apple. And there was none of the flowery prose or superfluous words. How come more fantasy writers don’t attempt to take after Lewis instead of Tolkien? What is it about Tolkien that renders such imitation and what about Lewis that authors decide to just let lie?
A story without the fat but complete with all the trimmings. The only thing I was yearning for at the end was more of the series. More Narnia. Sure, the head-hopping got confusing for a couple of nanoseconds but other than that, I don’t see any room for any other kind of criticism. No wonder people are such enduring fans of these books.
I loved this book so much that I asked for the series for Christmas. And I received. I love my mom. I'm just about halfway through Prince Caspian now.
Then, when I did get into fantasy, it became one of those series that “you just have to read” because it’s the epitome of fantasy reading and writing. Terry Pratchett was in there but he was knocked off my list pretty quickly. I just wasn’t all that impressed with his work and found his books kind of redundant. Door stoppers scare me so I’ve never touched Lord of the Rings and even now the story doesn’t interest me. I couldn’t even sit through the first movie. How am I supposed to get through those books? I wasn’t too impressed with Neil Gaiman’s Stardust but Anansi Boys made me see just why he’s a god among fantasy enthusiasts.
But who could mention fantasy without mentioning The Chrnoicles of Narnia? I found The Last Battle first, on the bargain bookshelves at Barnes and Noble and picked it up. Then someone so aptly put it, I can't rightly read the last book of the series without reading the other six. Duh. So during one of my many visits to B&N, I snagged the first in the series which I always thought to be The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The emphasis is always on that book so for someone not familiar with the series, it’s the natural thought to think.
But no. So The Magician’s Nephew it was. I honestly had no idea what to expect. I’d never seen reviews of Narnia and it’s written qualities, just come across people that raved about how amazing they are and how the movie doesn’t do it justice. Ironically enough, I do own the movie thanks to my mom. I watched it only after I started reading the series.
After reading this book, I’ve realized that, after all these years, I’ve missed something great. Nephew is a book told in the voice of an old Victorian fairy tale (much more successfully done than Stardust, I think) and the development of the story is simplistic yet infinitely deep all at once. We’re not given explicit, paragraphs upon paragraphs, of detail to pound into our heads of just what it is we’re reading. Everything’s concise. The dialogue is a bit overdone but I’m chalking that one up to the obvious style the story has. For that it fits perfectly.
I'm barely at the halfway point of the Narnia series and I can already see why it’s garnered so much love over the years it’s been out. C.S. Lewis has captured a timeless piece of art in this book and I’m jonsing to read more. The Screwtape Letters has nothing on Narnia (despite the fact that they’re not even in the same realm of existence).
The characters are defined in the simplest terms and most Victorian of definitions (hats off to The Breakfast Club) and yet, as I was reading, they were nothing short of three dimensional. I could hear the Lion’s song as he was singing it and imagine perfectly the mark of dark juice around the Witch’s mouth after she ate that apple. And there was none of the flowery prose or superfluous words. How come more fantasy writers don’t attempt to take after Lewis instead of Tolkien? What is it about Tolkien that renders such imitation and what about Lewis that authors decide to just let lie?
A story without the fat but complete with all the trimmings. The only thing I was yearning for at the end was more of the series. More Narnia. Sure, the head-hopping got confusing for a couple of nanoseconds but other than that, I don’t see any room for any other kind of criticism. No wonder people are such enduring fans of these books.
I loved this book so much that I asked for the series for Christmas. And I received. I love my mom. I'm just about halfway through Prince Caspian now.
abbybooks's review against another edition
4.0
It is a great book and I love the name narnia. It is one of the best books I've ever read!
peer105's review
4.0
How critical can one be while reviewing a children’s book as compared to material for adults? Especially when said children’s book has played a large part in the reviewer’s own life. Can one be objective? Or does nostalgia take over?
Ever since I was a kid, this book was one I was fascinated with the most in all of the Chronicles of Narnia books. It’s not my favorite, but it’s pretty damn near the top for me. And that’s a personal preference, because this book offers parallel universes and the creation of worlds. Things that fascinate me to the core.
The thing that has always stood out the most (with the same picture that has stayed in my head for 20 years) is the Wood between the Worlds. A world that serves as a sort of nexuspoint for all universes out there. I dig the hell out of that! (I mean, The Dark Tower *is* my favorite book series)
What I like about this book are the two characters Digory and Polly. I’ve always gravitated more to them than the four siblings of the sequel. And I still do so today. Uncle Andrew is a nasty, vile man who I can’t help but love. (I’m a sucker for the bad guys)
These books often get flack for being too Christian, which is kind of crazy to me. Do these same people also feel the Bible is too Christian? The themes of Christianity are there for a reason (otherwise the author wouldn’t have included it) and you are free to agree or disagree to them. But thinking these books are terrible because they deal with theology is rather stupid in my opinion.
Anyway, Lewis’ writing does something here which I would otherwise find almost offensive. Maybe it’s the story, the nostalgia, the rather warm prose, or some other reason that’s at this point beyond me, but here I just don’t mind it. I’m talking of the narrator. It really reads somewhat like an ordinary grandfather telling you a bedtime story. Sometimes hurried and sometimes not even clear in the descriptions. Let me paraphrase the narrator: “I can’t even describe it to you.”
A sentence like that would normally be met with a response along the lines of, “well you’re the writer, do your freaking job!” But, I just don’t mind it here at all. And that’s a testament to how Lewis nailed writing this book.
I love seeing the creation of Narnia. I loved the backstory of Jadis. I loved seeing some parallels with Tolkien’s Silmarillion (having just read that prior to this). I loved Charn (I wish we had gotten more of that!!) and I loved this cute little story. It’s never sad, even when bad things happen. It makes one happy.
I gave this a four star rating because I thought it was ‘great’ and not ‘amazing’ (that’s how I differentiate between 5 and 4 stars). I could nitpick some things, but really… why would I?
Ever since I was a kid, this book was one I was fascinated with the most in all of the Chronicles of Narnia books. It’s not my favorite, but it’s pretty damn near the top for me. And that’s a personal preference, because this book offers parallel universes and the creation of worlds. Things that fascinate me to the core.
The thing that has always stood out the most (with the same picture that has stayed in my head for 20 years) is the Wood between the Worlds. A world that serves as a sort of nexuspoint for all universes out there. I dig the hell out of that! (I mean, The Dark Tower *is* my favorite book series)
What I like about this book are the two characters Digory and Polly. I’ve always gravitated more to them than the four siblings of the sequel. And I still do so today. Uncle Andrew is a nasty, vile man who I can’t help but love. (I’m a sucker for the bad guys)
These books often get flack for being too Christian, which is kind of crazy to me. Do these same people also feel the Bible is too Christian? The themes of Christianity are there for a reason (otherwise the author wouldn’t have included it) and you are free to agree or disagree to them. But thinking these books are terrible because they deal with theology is rather stupid in my opinion.
Anyway, Lewis’ writing does something here which I would otherwise find almost offensive. Maybe it’s the story, the nostalgia, the rather warm prose, or some other reason that’s at this point beyond me, but here I just don’t mind it. I’m talking of the narrator. It really reads somewhat like an ordinary grandfather telling you a bedtime story. Sometimes hurried and sometimes not even clear in the descriptions. Let me paraphrase the narrator: “I can’t even describe it to you.”
A sentence like that would normally be met with a response along the lines of, “well you’re the writer, do your freaking job!” But, I just don’t mind it here at all. And that’s a testament to how Lewis nailed writing this book.
I love seeing the creation of Narnia. I loved the backstory of Jadis. I loved seeing some parallels with Tolkien’s Silmarillion (having just read that prior to this). I loved Charn (I wish we had gotten more of that!!) and I loved this cute little story. It’s never sad, even when bad things happen. It makes one happy.
I gave this a four star rating because I thought it was ‘great’ and not ‘amazing’ (that’s how I differentiate between 5 and 4 stars). I could nitpick some things, but really… why would I?
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