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The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis


Myr

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This is a 7 book series.  It is also a complete classic, though most people are only familiar with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  (Book 1 in published order)

There has been a long debate amongst fans of what order you are supposed to read the books.  This single volume version puts the story in chronological order, instead of published order.  It makes a lot more sense this way.

The books Chronologically:

  1. The Magician's Nephew
  2. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
  3. The Horse and His Boy
  4. Prince Caspian
  5. Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  6. The Silver Chair
  7. The Last Battle

They are a pretty quick read and if you've never taken the time, they are well worth it.

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I love this series.  I have a boxed set, but haven't read it in ages.  I think I've read "The Horse and His Boy" the most because I was horse-obsessed as a kid (and as an adult too... lol).  

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The Horse and his Boy is my favorite too. :yes:

I recommend skipping The Last Battle because it's so sad and awful. :pinch: I wish I'd never read it. :( 

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2 hours ago, Timothy M. said:

The Last Battle

That is the hardest of the bunch to read, yes.

6 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

The Horse and His Boy

This was my favorite of the books when I was in 6th grade.

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I remember reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as a kid. It was one of my favourite stories and  probably the first book I couldn't put down. I never read any of the others but I would probably still enjoy them. Good choice.

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Several films have been made over these books, and some of them were actually very good. The old BBC TV series was fine for its time but I liked the 2005 movie with Tilde Swinson as the White Witch even better.

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5 hours ago, Dmrman said:

but The writer Intended it for some reason...????

 

There is quite a history in the 30's of two friendly writing rivals... Mr. C.S. Lewis and Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien.  They inspired and challenged each other.  Both of them had a desire to write the moral tenants of Christianity without propagandizing it.  The Chronicles of Narnia roughly parallel the Bible, actually.  The Magician's Nephew is the story of creation.  The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is the story of the resurrection.  The Horse and His Boy is a parable of sorts.  Prince Caspian is about the perseverance of faith.  Voyage of the Dawn Treader has a number of parables as well as the perseverance of faith (Reepicheep) and redemption (Eustance).  The Silver Chair is a parable.  And The Last Battle is the end and what comes next. 

 

All that is if you want some deeper meaning from the stories.  If you're just looking for something good to read, then this is worth the time.  

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18 minutes ago, Myr said:

There is quite a history in the 30's of two friendly writing rivals... Mr. C.S. Lewis and Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien.  They inspired and challenged each other.  Both of them had a desire to write the moral tenants of Christianity without propagandizing it.

I heard that about C.S. Lewis, but never about Tolkien. However, it does shed a new light on the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Granted, I still feel that a monkey with a keyboard is a better writer than Tolkien, it does make me want to take a deeper look.

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15 minutes ago, BHopper2 said:

better writer than Tolkien

Tolkien strikes me as too much of a world builder.  The stories drove me nuts because he'd spend far too much time on songs and languages and not do anything to move the story forward.  A Milieu story from Orson Scott Card's MICE quotient: http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2012/10/orson-scott-card-mice-quotient-how-to.html

Milieu stories typically drive modern folks crazy.

Example:

The excessively long starship opening sequences in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Alien, etc.  Parodied in Spaceballs.  Drawing it out to show scale and induce wonder.  Modern audiences don't have the attention span for that anymore. lol.  Doesn't matter if it is a book or a movie.

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Tolkien wanted to created languages. He mainly wrote his stories as a way of having someone speak those languages and explanations for the differences eg between high elvish and 'common' elvish.

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2 hours ago, Myr said:

Tolkien strikes me as too much of a world builder.  The stories drove me nuts because he'd spend far too much time on songs and languages and not do anything to move the story forward. 

I can agree with this. You mentioned Lewis and Tolkien being friends. I read an article that discussed how Tolkien's friends would beg him to shut up about his stories because he would drone on and on about them. LOL.

 

To be honest, I read the Hobbit, and can barely make it 10 pages into Fellowship, before I pass out. It's great for nights when my insomnia is really bad.

 

Back on topic. I'll take a look at these books. I've seen the movies but never had a chance to read the books.

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As Myr says, this series is a complete classic, and I remember vividly how I was captivated when I first read  the stories over forty years ago.

C S Lewis wrote a huge number of other books as well, mostly also with some aspect or theme of Christian theology. My dad gave me one called 'The Screwtape Letters' where a young demon is being coached by the devil in how to tempt humans into sin.

 

He wrote a science fiction trilogy, quite famous at the time, once again with big themes of religious theology running through them - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. I loved them but they are probably not the style for today's readers.

 

C S Lewis and J R R Tolkein were members, along with other Oxford University Dons, of a group called 'The Inklings' who gathered, for the most part, to read and review excerpts of as yet unpublished literary works.

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