Sunday, January 13, 2013

Book Review: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

The Chronicles of Narnia The Chronicles of Narnia.
Book Summary: The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, is one of the very few sets of books that should be read three times: in childhood, early adulthood, and late in life. In brief, four children travel repeatedly to a world in which they are far more than mere children and everything is far more than it seems. Richly told, populated with fascinating characters, perfectly realized in detail of world and pacing of plot, the story is infused throughout with the timeless issues of good and evil, faith and hope. This edition includes all seven volumes.

The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
 Book 1: The Magician's Nephew.

Book Summary:When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew's magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagined.
Hurtled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world they encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London when she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #2)Book 2: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Book Summary: When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy took their first steps into the world behind the magic wardrobe, little do they realise what adventures are about to unfold. And as the story of Narnia begins to unfold, so to does a classic tale that has enchanted readers of all ages for over half a century.
This stunning version of the classic The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, illustrated by Christian Burningham, comes with a special recording of the story which features a full production and specially composed music which transports the listener straight to the heart of Narnia. An absolute must for Narnia fans, and an excellent way of introducing the magical story to a new generation of readers. 
The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)Book 3: The Horse and His Boy.
Book Summary: Shasta is a young boy living in Calormene with a cruel man who claims to be his father. One night he overhears his "father" offering to sell him as a slave, so Shasta makes a break and sets out for the North. He meets Bree, a talking horse who becomes his companion. On their way they encounter Aravis, a high-born girl escaping an arranged marriage, and her talking horse. Despite their differences the children and horses learn to work together to reach the freedom they long for. In the meantime, they uncover a Calormene plot to conquer Narnia.

Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia, #4)Book 4: Prince Caspian.
Book Summary: A prince fights for his crown. Narnia... where animals talk... where trees walk... here a battle is about to begin. A prince denied his rightful throne gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world.


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #5)Book 5: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Book Summary: The Dawn Treader is the first ship Narnia has seen in centuries. King Caspian has built it for his voyage to find the seven lords, good men whom his evil uncle Miraz banished when he usurped the throne. The journey takes Edmund, Lucy, and their cousin Eustace to the Eastern Islands, beyond the Silver Sea, toward Aslan's country at the End of the World. Enter this enchanted world countless times in The Chronicles of Narnia.


The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)Book 6: The Silver Chair.
Book Summary: Jill and Eustace must rescue the Prince from the evil Witch.
NARNIA...where owls are wise, where some of the giants like to snack on humans, where a prince is put under an evil spell...and where the adventure begins.

Eustace and Jill escape from the bullies at school through a strange door in the wall, which, for once, is unlocked. It leads to the open moor...or does it? Once again Aslan has a task for the children, and Narnia needs them. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, they pursue the quest that brings them face and face with the evil Watch. She must be defeated if Prince Rillian is to be saved.


The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia, #7)Book 7: The Last Battle.
Book Summary: 
Many Narnian years have passed since Eustace and Jill helped ensure the Royal line. But when they are jerked back violently into this strangest of lands they find the present King in danger and Narnia facing its darkest hour. With Eustace and Jill at his side, the King, the noble unicorn Jewel and a few remaining loyal subjects must stand fast against the powers of evil and darkness and fight the Last Battle to decide the future of this once glorious kingdom.

Liana's Summary: (Whole series) The Chronicles of Narnia is a book series that have helped make up many childhoods and undoubtedly, still will, in the future. Aslan, the great Lion himself, has created this world inhabited with magical creatures such as Talking Beasts, Fauns, Dryads and etc, and CS Lewis takes you through Narnia's beginning to Narnia's end in these seven volumes, each with a different time period and different heroes.

Rate(1-10): (Whole series) 9.

Okay, anyways, I decided to write a review for the whole series because I felt that a review for every single book would be pretty short, which is why this post is pretty long. Sort of like how I thought (and still think, btw) that each book is pretty short but when all put together is 1400+ pages.

I wanted to read this series before I got too old and when it wouldn't appeal to me anymore. This isn't my usual genre at all but I still wanted to read it. A lot of my friends have read this series when they were like, in 4th grade. But the thing is, I didn't like to read in 4th grade (Gasp). And I just can't get by without reading Narnia in my whole entire life.

So I picked up The Magician's Nephew and started reading.

And I just entered this magical world. Okay. So maybe this series was written especially for kids, (there are some really descriptive pictures, too) but after I read it, I feel like adults would like it as well. See, this reminds me of Harry Potter. Appeals to all ages, both boys or girls. CS Lewis is truly amazing.

His writing is really old fashioned (especially since he died before my mom was even born), since he's so old and stuff. And I would just laugh at some strange sounding old-fashioned phrases out of nowhere. LOL.

The world of Narnia is unforgettable and it has a special place in my, and no doubt many others', hearts. Just like Harry Potter.

Out of all the books here, I think my favorite has got to be the second one. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I loved it. And I loved the movie as well. Let's see.

The Magician's Nephew- Was the first one. Where Narnia all started. The main characters were Digory and Polly.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe- Digory is old by now, and Susan, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy found out about Narnia. Like I said, it's my favorite out of the 7 and is the most interesting, in my opinion.
The Horse and His Boy- Takes place in Narnia's neighboring country. Didn't really like this one, but it was okay.
Prince Caspian- Is about Prince Caspian, LOL. Telmarines are now the main inhabitants of Narnia, but Caspian brings all the indigenous creatures back.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader- About Prince Caspian as well. On a boat and on some adventures. I liked this one. Gotta be my 4th favorite.
The Silver Chair- My 3rd favorite. Um. Yeah, it's basically about a silver chair and Caspian's son. It had a good storyline plot.
The Last Battle- What a conclusion. I just wanted to cry, omg. It was so fabulously written. But I'm sort of confused at what Aslan was explaining at the end. But oh well.

And in the movies of book 2, book 4, and book 5, I only watched 2 and 4 but didn't watch 5 yet. Well, I've gotta watch 5 then. Soon. LOL. They changed it a bit in the movie for Prince Caspian with hints of romance. I was like FKSJDFKLJDSJ:DS YES but then Caspian married someone else in the book. And I was dismayed. Even if the romance didn't happen in the book. omg. I'm just rambling now.

Character Discussions-

Aslan- He's the most important character in this whole entire series, okay. Now I know which lion it is that roars in the beginning of those movies. After meeting Aslan in this series, I just love lions that much more. Aslan is the opposite of a tyrant. He treats his people as equals. Okay he's a little too fair and just and calm all the time. He's always calm. Lol. Even at times of great peril he's always calm and knows what to do. He's in all 7 books, from the beginning of Narnia to the 'end' of Narnia. So he's like, really old. He's actually the creator of Narnia. In the first book, he showed up a lot, in the second, he showed up a lot. In the third book, he barely showed up, in the 4th book, he was barely there at all. In the 5th, he showed up, like, once. In the 6th, once. In the 7th, once. It's kind of like he becomes a rarer and rarer sight in every century that passes by in Narnia. Speaking of centuries, Narnia and our world has different time zones. Which just made it so much more interesting.
Digory- He was there when it all started, when Aslan created Narnia. He was actually pretty foolish in the beginning but that's how little boys are. But he's actually pretty smart! And wise, too. He became a professor!
Polly- She was Digory's travel companion. She reminds me a lot of Jill, but braver.
Peter- He's the oldest sibling out of him, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, and I find that he can be really mean and  discouraging sometimes but he's still a caring big brother.
Susan- I liked her in the beginning but she changed a lot and I've decided that I don't like her growing-up adolescence girl phase.
Edmund- Isn't he an interesting character. So at first I hated his guts and then I didn't really care if he lived or died and then I ended up loving him. Traitors can change.
Lucy- She's lucky. Out of the 4 siblings, she sees Aslan the most. She's the youngest of the 4, and she's the one with enough courage and curiosity to have found out about Narnia in the first place.
Tumnus- The Faun that showed Lucy around. I think it was all because of him that the 4 siblings became kings and queens of Narnia anyway, but then again it's all Aslan's will. Yes, Tumnus is now my favorite faun ever. Sorry, Grover. LOL. I've always shipped Tumnus and Lucy. I don't care if he's a faun. They're too cute.
Shasta-I don't even know what to say about him, lol. He seems like a normal boy, which just makes the fact that he's a hero seem even more amazing.
Bree- My favorite horse in this whole series. Bree is fantabulous. He makes me think that he's related to Strawberry in the first book. Maybe he is.
Aravis- She seemed really bratty and conceited at first, but yeah, I ended up liking her. Her and Shasta are super cute, too.
Caspian- YES I LOVE PRINCE CASPIAN HE CHANGED EVERYTHING AND IN THE MOVIE HE WAS BEN BARNES SO THAT MADE ME LOVE HIM MORE-- wait but he argued with Peter that one time BUT I STILL LOVE CASPIAN MORE LOL
Trumpkin- He helped Caspian so much just wow
Eustace- He seemed like a little brat at first but I think he learned his lesson by visiting Narnia.
Repicheep-He tells you that, no matter what size you are, or what you look like, anything is accomplishable as long as you're loyal and passionate. The best mouse character ever.
Jill- SHE IS SO GIRLY LOL HER AND EUSTACE MAKE A CUTE COUPLE. She was foolish at times.
Jewel- Unicorns are fabulous. And I don't care if he's a boy unicorn named Jewel. Jewel is fabulous.
Puddleglum- He's a truly loyal Narnian. A good character!
I feel like this whole thing is an allegory about loyalty, friendship, bravery, etc. Once again, I definitely think it constructed many childhoods.

Yeah. Quotes. From all books. lol.

"Now my fool of a sister can't get at you!"




"I wanted two children. You see, I'm in the middle of a great experiment."




"..such a very attractive young lady as yourself."


That's pedoriffic. LOL.

"So I knocked him down again."




"You shall not always be an Ass."


That's too funny. LOL.

"..not fairy tales."




"..no such person as Aslan."




"Let me go. Let me go back. I don't like it."




"You were only an ass, but I was a traitor."


It's okay Edmund. Everyone loves you now.

"I am going with Reepicheep to see the world's end."


NO CASPIAN YOU CAN'T

".. you and your brother will never come back to Narnia."




"Caspian married..."


HE AIN'T SUPPOSED TO BE MARRIED. NOOOOOOOO

"His name unfortunately was Eustace Scrubb,.."


Hi Eustace. :D

"Dam' good of you,"


HEY GIRL, LANGUAGE. LITTLE KIDS BE READING THIS.

"Aslan. Aslan, Aslan!"




"Here, hold hands."


AW CUTIES LOL

"..gone hurtling to the depths."




"Caspian the Tenth,"




"..was evil."


Duh.

"Gay," said Puddleglum with a deep sigh. "That's what we've got to be. Gay."


Puddleglum is so wise. Lol.

"You will pretend to be Aslan.."




"Aslan himself."




"He is not a tame lion."


YOU'RE USING THAT PHRASE WRONG NONONO

"..that the hissing letter S is the part of a whisper most likely to be heard."


SO SMART

"It was Eustace."


ERMAGERD
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And that's it! Now I've joined the Narnia fandom, lol.
What did you think of this review? (;

2 comments:

  1. HI!
    I nominated you for a liebster blog award.. you can check it out here http://bookgeekspeaks.blogspot.com/2013/01/liebster-award.html

    Amber @ bookgeekspeaks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Liana,

    I nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award. Here is the link:
    http://booktasticlovers.blogspot.com/2013/01/liebster-blog-award-questions-and-facts.html

    Answer my 11 questions, write 11 facts about youself, and write 11 questions for your nominees. No tag backs.

    ReplyDelete

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