The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis

Advantages: Great for children and even contains valuable moral lessons
Disadvantages: Narrative style sometimes makes it a trial to read for adults

...finished posting my reviews of the Pern Trilogy (yeah I know there're 20 more in the series but I haven't read them yet!!), I thought I'd move onto another classic fantasy series - CS Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia". I shall be reviewing them in the recommended reading order proposed by Lewis himself, not the chronological sequence in which they were written. This being the case, we start with: THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW ---------------------------------------- ...
...according to the timeline of the 7 books in the Narnia series. It does not exclusively deal with the land of Narnia but in the process of the story shows us how Narnia was created and how a gateway came into existence between that land and ours. The main characters here are Polly and Digory, two children who start exploring near home and end up in a whole new world via the crafty machinations of Digory's evil Uncle Andrew, who has discovered a magical ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting Story, An introduction to Narnia
Disadvantages: A little to simplistic and repetitve for adults

For a while back in the 80s a Sunday afternoon meant the entire family sitting down to watch the TV series of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (and later on Prince Caspian). Having loved this series my parents took myself and my sister to see the new film over Christmas (a dissapointment compared to the TV series!) and I decided it was about time I read the books and so purchased the set of seven books that make up The Chronicles of Narnia. The ...
...it is not the first book that Lewis wrote, however it is the first in his recommended reading order so it seemed the best place to start. The story is set around the two main characters, two children called Polly and Digory. The two become friends and begin exploring the connecting attics of their houses only to stumble accross, the occupied, study of Digory's eccentric uncle. For his uncle this is the perfect opportunity to test his new invention, ... Read review

Advantages: Tells the story of how the lion, the witch and the wardrobe came into being
Disadvantages: None

...of Narnia they automatically think The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, well for me it is always Magicians Nephew that comes first. (in more ways than one) Written in 1955, five years after LWW, it is the prequel to one of the most popular childrens books. And to me it is one of the most magical books I have ever read (and I have read a lot of magical books). So if you have ever wondered why the wardrobe worked, or how it got to be in the Professors ...
...then this is the book for you. And if you don’t know the story of LWW then shame on you! It is illustrated by Pauline Baynes, who has a knack of bringing the characters to life in the most beautiful ways. It is set in the days when horse drawn carriages were used instead of cars, people had servants and children generally did as they were told! A young boy called Digory has to move to London with his sick mother, to stay with his maiden Aunt Letty ... Read review

Advantages: An excellent background, written with immense skill
Disadvantages: Only a minor criticism, but characterisation isn't terribly thorough

*In the right place, eventually ...* We often resolve to read a book, or a series, and spend years and years doing anything but, except occasionally recalling the promise and re-etching the mental note. In my case, the seven books in question are those which form The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S.Lewis' legendary series centred on the mythical land of the title. It probably shouldn't have taken the recent film of the second book* to finally push me ...
...the back of the bookshelves, but it did, and ultimately I'm glad it did. When so much around us now seems to be increasingly secular, or in Philip Pullman's case, strongly atheist, it's refreshing to read something which makes no apologies for its clear Christian influences and allusions. However, this isn't by any means the main recommendation for this book, or the series in general - it's simply an excellent fantasy tale. In this first installment, ... Read review

Advantages: Great read for younger children
Disadvantages: Very Narative

...felt that it really described the land of Narnia very good, what I really don't understand is why film companies do not bother converting this book into a film, it's worth putting up, because although the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is most commonly known, lots of people asks how did Narnia become Narnia? And why is there a witch in Narnia? Why is there a Lamppost there? And why is it a wardrobe that brings them to the wardrobe? I personally ...
...I went onto the internet one night, when these questions were enormously bugging me, and I found that the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was not the first book. Instead The Magician's Nephew was. So On another day I set out to find the book, I'm not saying it was easy to find but it wasn't hard either. I bought it home and began reading it straight away; I was enormously interested to find out these answers. Anyway, there are 2 main characters, ... Read review

Advantages: Gives an insight to the backstory to the rest of the series
Disadvantages: Is clearly written for very young children

...as a child! I have so far read the first four (in chronological order, supposedly how Lewis wanted them to be read). These are "The Magician's Nephew", "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe", "The Horse And His Boy" and "Prince Caspian". I am now about Eight chapters through the fifth ("The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader"). It was a joy to read "Lion" after seeing it many times over the years, as i'm sure it will be for "Dawn Treader" and "Silver Chair" but reading "The Magician's Nephew" and "The Horse And His Boy" has been a pleasure because these are completely new stories to me in the same world of Narnia that i grew up loving! The Magician's Nephew follows Digory and Polly, two young children who find their way in to Digory's uncles study. They soon find that the uncle is a magician who has made some magic rings that will transport the wearer... Read review

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Advantages: Sets the scene for all that is to come without sacrificing the story
Disadvantages: Possibly not as dramatic as some of the others in the series

...The Magician's Nephew is the first of the seven books which make up the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, although it was written after the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (TLWW), so it might properly be described as its prequel. It is important for the way in which it describes the creation of Narnia, setting the scene for TLWW and for the read across with the Last Battle, the final story of the seven. PLOT SUMMARY The story opens in London some time before the First World War, although reading back from references in later books, it is not unreasonable to put it towards the end of the reign of Queen Victoria. The young Digory Kirke is living with his uncle and aunt in London, his ill mother is also there, while his father is working out in India. His mother's worsening health is a source of great anguish to him, which... Read review

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Advantages: The first half holds up well compared to the best of the series...
Disadvantages: ... but the second half is too slow and loses the narrative drive...

...to an end my reviews of The Chronicles of Narnia! More information about the series: In order of writing: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950) Prince Caspian (1951) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) The Silver Chair (1953) The Horse and His Boy (1954) The Magician's Nephew (1955) The Last Battle (1956) In C S Lewis' Recommended Reading Order: The Magician's Nephew The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe The Horse and His Boy Prince Caspian The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair The Last Battle My favourites, from most to least: The Silver Chair [5 stars] The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (though the two are so close it's very hard to choose!) [5 stars] The Horse and His Boy [5 stars] The Magician's Nephew [4 stars] The Last Battle [4 stars] The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe [3 stars] Prince Caspian [3... Read review

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