Category 11: A children’s classic published before 1980
The Chronicles of Narnia : The Last Battle
Author: C.S. Lewis
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: September 16 2002 (first published 1956)
Page count: 776 (whole omnibus), 103 (The Last Battle specifically)
Genres: fantasy, mythology
Page count: 776 (whole omnibus), 103 (The Last Battle specifically)
Genres: fantasy, mythology
Date read: August 27, 2018
Number of times read: 1
Format: paperback/audiobookSource: Chapters/Indigo/Waterloo Public Library
Summary
In the light of a huge roaring bonfire the last battle of Narnia is about to take place between King Tirian, aided resolutely by Jill and Eustace, and the cruel Calormenes, when the struggle between the forces of good and evil will finally be decided. But with doubt and confusion everywhere, will King Tirian be able to stand firm at Narnia's darkest hour? -- via Goodreads
The conclusion of the saga that began with The Magician's Nephew.
NARNIA...where you must say good-bye...and where the adventure begins again.
The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia when Narnia is stirred and upset. And Narnia is in trouble now: A false Aslan roams the land. Narnia's only hope is that Eustace and Jill, old friends to Narnia, will be able to find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land. Their task is a difficult one because, as the Centaur says, "The stars never lie, but Men and Beasts do." Who is the real Aslan and who is the imposter?
-- via Goodreads
The last battle is the greatest battle of all. Narnia... where lies breed fear... where loyalty is tested... where all hope seems lost. During the last days of Narnia, the land faces its fiercest challenge - not an invader from without but an enemy from within. Lies and treachery have taken root, and only the king and a small band of loyal followers can prevent the destruction of all they hold dear in this, the magnificent ending to the Chronicles of Narnia. -- via Goodreads
In the light of a huge roaring bonfire the last battle of Narnia is about to take place between King Tirian, aided resolutely by Jill and Eustace, and the cruel Calormenes, when the struggle between the forces of good and evil will finally be decided. But with doubt and confusion everywhere, will King Tirian be able to stand firm at Narnia's darkest hour? -- via Goodreads
The conclusion of the saga that began with The Magician's Nephew. NARNIA...where you must say good-bye...and where the adventure begins again. The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia when Narnia is stirred and upset. And Narnia is in trouble now: A false Aslan roams the land. Narnia's only hope is that Eustace and Jill, old friends to Narnia, will be able to find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land. Their task is a difficult one because, as the Centaur says, "The stars never lie, but Men and Beasts do." Who is the real Aslan and who is the imposter? -- via Goodreads
The last battle is the greatest battle of all. Narnia... where lies breed fear... where loyalty is tested... where all hope seems lost. During the last days of Narnia, the land faces its fiercest challenge - not an invader from without but an enemy from within. Lies and treachery have taken root, and only the king and a small band of loyal followers can prevent the destruction of all they hold dear in this, the magnificent ending to the Chronicles of Narnia. -- via Goodreads
Review
The reason you got the summaries for three different editions is that I am not happy with any one of them on their own as a summary for this book. This is a strange book so I suppose it makes sense that it has a strange summary that requires multiple versions. We're going from Norse mythology yesterday to Christian mythology with this one, anyone who knows anything about the Narnia series knows that it was a heavy-handed Christian allegory from start to finish. I as a reader can choose to ignore that and do when I read them, so it doesn't bother me in a way that it bothers a lot of readers. Maybe its because I do look at it as a mythology in the same way that I look at Norse and Roman and Celtic mythologies. I don't deny anyone their beliefs, but I don't personally believe them. I do believe that the stories having meaning and power though and that that is not nothing. Lewis doesn't hide the fact that this series is Christian fantasy he basically sticks it on a billboard with flashing lights. And The Last Battle adds trumpeting fanfare and fireworks to the show, it's that heavy-handed with its Christian allegory.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, I've read it about two to three dozen times over the years. And I've read The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy two or three times before. Other than that I don't remember reading any of the other Narnia books growing up and I kept meaning to as an adult but never got around to it. I decided to change that and made this year my year to read all seven of them finally. And so I did, obviously, or you wouldn't be reading this review. The allegory is not as thick in The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, or, The Silver Chair as it is in LWW, Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle. The middle four books read as much more fantasy.
I knew things about The Last Battle going into it just from the existence of pop culture. I knew about the Susan problem for example. I also knew what my mum had been telling me my whole life, that I wasn't missing out by not reading The Last Battle. She didn't enjoy it and she didn't think I would either. And she's not wholly wrong. There were a lot of parts of it that I didn't enjoy. For example, I really do feel like this book could be the trope named for rocks fall, everyone dies. If I had read this as a child I probably would have been traumatised by the way this book ended, or maybe I specifically wouldn't have been because I was a very strange child with some weird experiences around death. But we're talking the kind of ending here that traumatises normal children! Bambi and Dumbo's mother level stuff here guys! And it's not just the death, it's the way the death is treated and almost glorified. I also wasn't overly crazy about the whole fake Aslan prophet plot. It was very contrived and forced. I get it, Lewis wanted to get out of Narnia and stop writing these stories, but he could have and should have left it open-ended.
One thing I think was handled particularly well though was the characterisations of Eustace and Jill. I hated Eustace when he first showed up in Dawn Treader but by Last Battle, he'd really grown on me and he and Jill made a great team. I think Jill may be overall my second favourite character in the whole series, just behind Lucy who will always be number 1 to me. Although the characters in Horse and His Boy are pretty awesome too, I enjoyed that one immensely. This is about The Last Battle though so let's re-focus back on that. Tirian had potential but I don't think it was fully realised. The Calormenes were treated badly even for villains. But as usual, the setting of the book was stunning and wonderful.
As the final book in the series, it was kind of a deflating letdown. What final book in a series has let you down the most as a reader?
The reason you got the summaries for three different editions is that I am not happy with any one of them on their own as a summary for this book. This is a strange book so I suppose it makes sense that it has a strange summary that requires multiple versions. We're going from Norse mythology yesterday to Christian mythology with this one, anyone who knows anything about the Narnia series knows that it was a heavy-handed Christian allegory from start to finish. I as a reader can choose to ignore that and do when I read them, so it doesn't bother me in a way that it bothers a lot of readers. Maybe its because I do look at it as a mythology in the same way that I look at Norse and Roman and Celtic mythologies. I don't deny anyone their beliefs, but I don't personally believe them. I do believe that the stories having meaning and power though and that that is not nothing. Lewis doesn't hide the fact that this series is Christian fantasy he basically sticks it on a billboard with flashing lights. And The Last Battle adds trumpeting fanfare and fireworks to the show, it's that heavy-handed with its Christian allegory.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, I've read it about two to three dozen times over the years. And I've read The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy two or three times before. Other than that I don't remember reading any of the other Narnia books growing up and I kept meaning to as an adult but never got around to it. I decided to change that and made this year my year to read all seven of them finally. And so I did, obviously, or you wouldn't be reading this review. The allegory is not as thick in The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, or, The Silver Chair as it is in LWW, Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle. The middle four books read as much more fantasy.
I knew things about The Last Battle going into it just from the existence of pop culture. I knew about the Susan problem for example. I also knew what my mum had been telling me my whole life, that I wasn't missing out by not reading The Last Battle. She didn't enjoy it and she didn't think I would either. And she's not wholly wrong. There were a lot of parts of it that I didn't enjoy. For example, I really do feel like this book could be the trope named for rocks fall, everyone dies. If I had read this as a child I probably would have been traumatised by the way this book ended, or maybe I specifically wouldn't have been because I was a very strange child with some weird experiences around death. But we're talking the kind of ending here that traumatises normal children! Bambi and Dumbo's mother level stuff here guys! And it's not just the death, it's the way the death is treated and almost glorified. I also wasn't overly crazy about the whole fake Aslan prophet plot. It was very contrived and forced. I get it, Lewis wanted to get out of Narnia and stop writing these stories, but he could have and should have left it open-ended.
One thing I think was handled particularly well though was the characterisations of Eustace and Jill. I hated Eustace when he first showed up in Dawn Treader but by Last Battle, he'd really grown on me and he and Jill made a great team. I think Jill may be overall my second favourite character in the whole series, just behind Lucy who will always be number 1 to me. Although the characters in Horse and His Boy are pretty awesome too, I enjoyed that one immensely. This is about The Last Battle though so let's re-focus back on that. Tirian had potential but I don't think it was fully realised. The Calormenes were treated badly even for villains. But as usual, the setting of the book was stunning and wonderful.
As the final book in the series, it was kind of a deflating letdown. What final book in a series has let you down the most as a reader?
Overall Rating
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| 2.5 bolts |
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