We made it to the end of the Chronicles of Narnia!
My opinion is that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the best of the 7, and that’s partly because Lewis admits he only intended to write the first book. The others were almost all written one at a time, with the thought that each would be the final book.
Some end up being better than others, and a few of them feel like they could have been omitted entirely.
But, overall, the series starts and ends well.
Where the previous book, The Magician’s Nephew, focuses on the creation of Narnia, The Last Battle focuses on the destruction of Narnia.
The entire series has religious undertones – some of the books being more obvious than others in their religious messages – but I don’t feel that any of the previous books are as blatantly religious as The Last Battle.
We’re talking end of days, God vs. Satan, believers losing their faith, non-believers finding their faith, God counting all good works as good works done to Him, and ultimately death & heaven.
The Last Battle deals with some dark, serious topics, and it seems weird to look back at The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and see how lighthearted of an adventure it is. Sure, book 1 has its own connection to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, but the adventure is pretty fun overall.
The Last Battle is a lot more serious, and, while I’m not sure if children would pick up on all the religious comparisons, they should be pretty obvious to an adult.
Denver Nay Blogs 