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The Chronicles of Narnia Movie Tie-in Edition (adult)

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In the first half of the twentieth century, two drinking buddies wrote vastly different fantasy series -- one was the classic "Lord of the Rings," and the other was the "Narnia" series. Both men had a shaping influence on the fantasy genre, and were the first of the widely-read fantasy writers.

Many years later, C.S. Lewis is still a classic, much-read author, and his books are about to hit the big screen, with "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" debuting in December. So, consider it time to dust off the Chronicles and reread the adventures in the alternate world of Narnia.

"The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" opens as four children (Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter) are being shipped to the English countryside at the beginning of World War II. While exploring the vast house where they are staying, Lucy accidently ventures into a winter-locked world called Narnia, which is ruled over by the evil White Witch. The god-king Aslan is about to return -- but the Witch quickly gets a hold on Edmund's soul.

"Prince Caspian" takes place long after the events of "Lion" (though in our world, only a short time has passed). Young Prince Caspian escapes his uncle's castle when his life is threatened, and he finds refuge with the hidden races of Narnia -- dwarves, talking animals, dryads, centaurs and many others. And to help Caspian regain the throne, the two kings and two queens of Narnia are called back...

"Voyage of the Dawn Treader" begins when Edmund, Lucy and their obnoxious cousin Eustace are sucked through a painting into Narnia, where their pal Caspian is now king of Narnia (and an adult to boot). Caspian is heading toward the end of the world to find several knights who were banished, and vanished into the perilous islands along the sea.

"The Silver Chair" heads into slightly darker territory when Eustace returns to boarding school. He and outcast girl Jill Pole are drawn into Narnia, where Jill must perform a task to redeem herself for a stupid act. She must find the dying Caspian's son Rilian, who vanished many years before. The search will send the two children across Narnia with the pessimistic Puddleglum, to carnivorous Giants, creepy underground creatures, and an enemy worse than they could have imagined...

"Horse and His Boy" shoots back in time to the middle of "Lion." Shasta lives with the man he thinks to be his father in a hovel by the sea, but when a Calormene warrior purchases him, he escapes with the man's talking horse, Bree. He meets the escaping noblewoman Aravis (who also has a talking horse), and the two are planning to escape to Narnia and freedom. But in the capital city, there is a conspiracy brewing against the visiting Narnian kings and queens...

"Magician's Nephew" clears up many of the questions about Narnia, Aslan and the White Witch. Digory and Polly end up in very serious trouble when they encounter Digory's weird, slightly nutty uncle, a magician who has created magical rings that send the user to other worlds. The two kids end up in the "wood between the worlds," and venture into a dying land where they set loose the evil Queen Jadis -- who follows them to the newborn world of Narnia.

"The Last Battle" is definitely the end of the series, where Narnia decays slowly into the final battle between good and evil. Humans are destroying the trees and killing the dryads, and a false Aslan is appearing to mislead the inhabitants of Narnia. Old and new friends will band together as the true Aslan prepares to lead them to a new land.

If you don't like allegory (religious or otherwise), then steer clear of the Chronicles. While Lewis's beliefs are presented in a more complicated and subtle manner in his other fictional works, here the parallels to basic Christian beliefs are very obvious. Reportedly even Tolkien, one of Lewis's best pals, found the allegory annoying.

But if you can get past the slightly ham-handed treatment, it's a fantastic read. Lewis reshapes typical mythical elements like dwarves, nymphs, talking animals, centaurs and wicked witches into shape in his invented world. And Narnia is an inviting place -- it isn't always fun or pleasant, but there is always the feeling that the good guys will ultimately (if not immediately) come out on top.

Lewis's writing can become a bit precious at times, in the tradition of many British authors writing for children. But he puts plenty of detail and mystery in his stories, sprinkling them with little mysteries and questions that are explained as the story goes on. Where did the lamppost come from, for example? Why are there humans in Narnia? Where did Reepicheep go? All questions, more or less, are answered.

While not quite as well known as his pal Tolkien's work, C.S. Lewis's Narnia series still a fun and dramatic fantasy story. For a bit more insight into the origins of fantasy as we know it, check out "The Chronicles of Narnia."

I love The Chronicles of Narnia and have read them 20+ times since second grade. However, they are children's books, plain and simple. They can be enjoyed by someone older, of course, but they are by no means the battle-filled sagas that the new movie makes them out to be. Comparing them to Tolkein is just downright ridiculous: Lord of the Rings is a complex, violent, vocabulary-laden epic. Narnia is a beautiful and charming dream. My loyalty to Narnia as the first chapter books I ever read is immense and I would reccommend them as required reading for any child, but I don't want anyone to buy this series expecting an adult fantasy and find to their dissappointment the pure, truly magical world that is Narnia.

Without a doubt, C.S. Lewis' wonderful children's fantasies, collectively known as "The Chronicles of Narnia," deserve the numerous accolades they have received over the years. When Disney and Walden Media produced the film version of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," a number of new editions of the Chronicles were released in book form. The books were published individually and in omnibus editions such as this one. Some were collected in the order they were originally written whereas others were gathered in a more chronological order to enhance the reader's experience. This particular edition follows the latter scheme.

The first tale we encounter is "The Magician's Nephew." Newcomers will quickly recognize that there is no Lucy, Edmund, Peter or Susan in this particular story. This is essentially the "creation story" of Narnia seen through the eyes of young Digory and Polly. From there we are given "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," which introduces us formally to the four children so many of us already know so well. After that, "The Horse and His Boy" focuses on Shasta, Bree, Aravis and Hwin, among others. The four children are there also, but not the central characters of the tale. "Prince Caspian" is next, bringing Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy back to the forefront on a wonderful adventure that is now soon to be a major motion picture. After that, Edmund and Lucy, along with their cousin, Eustace Scrubb, join "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," in which Caspian travels to the end of the world looking for the domain of Aslan. "The Silver Chair" introduces us to Prince Rilian, Puddleglum, and Glimfeather, as well as revives a once thought dead enemy. "The Last Battle" is exactly that, the end of a wonderful collection of tales. It lets us know what happens to just about everybody who ever makes an appearance in any of the tales, including the wonderful Reepicheep, a mouse who's giant heart more than made up for his small stature.

All of these stories are excellent to read to children as well as for adults to explore. The good characters will easily win you over and the wicked ones, especially the White Witch and Tash, will make you cringe at moments.

Some of the tales can be rather violent, with multiple deaths that are vividly described. There are also very obvious allusions to the Bible, especially the New Testament. These are most evident, in my opinion, in "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," "Prince Caspian" and "The Last Battle." These Christian overtones are excellent triggers for children to begin studying the Bible. If you are a Christian, I highly recommend using these tales in that manner. If you are not a Christian, do not let the Christian aspect of these stories deter you. They are wonderful regardless of this.

Overall, I highly recommend these stories. My personal favorite is "Prince Caspian," with "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" a close second. Whether you read them in the order presented here or in the order they were originally published, check these tales out.

For those older readers of Narnia, here are some of my own thoughts on which order to read the Chronicles. For those new to Narnia, you may be unaware that there are two orders of reading the series; one, chronologically by publication order, and the other by Narnia's chronologically progression. The first is is numbered as thus: THE LION, THE WITCH, & THE WARDOBE, PRINCE CASPIAN, VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, THE SILVER CHAIR, THE HORSE AND HIS BOY, THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW, and THE LAST BATTLE. With this omnibus edition of Narnia, one of fantasy's most popular series has, of course, been ordered as Narnia is now published, with MN as the opening book and LAST BATTLE as the ending book. With two publication orders of Narnia, many people question which to read. For several reasons, I recommend the first publication order to be read first, the internal chronology second..

If one reads the history of Narnia as strictly that, one is much more likely to lose the truths Lewis was trying to impart. When one reads The Lion, if they had not read Magician's Nephew, they will be unaware of where the Lamp-Post came. Lion is essential a story about Edmond coming into the salvation of God. It creates a real sense of wonder, a wonder that would be diluted with knowledge of its creation. It's a mystery, an account. You become less concerned with the book in context of the whole series, and more concerned with the book in context of the book. Some things you might miss or not pay much attention to because you have already taken into account in context of the story's chronology, and not examined what Lewis was trying to say through this. Also, you get to follow the characters throughout the books, which is lost in the new order. The four Pevensies are in Books I and II, then only the two younger are in III, along with a new character, a cousin named Eustace. Then they can no longer go on, and Eustace and Jill Pole is in Book IV. This is lost in the new order. Also, you can see Lewis's growth as a writer, getting more and more realistic in characterization as each book was written. Of course, when he was writing these he was already a phenomenal writer: but this provided room for more growth, and he developed his already great gift even more so.

Also, as Paul Ford points out in his excellent Companion to Narnia, the old order is reflective of Biblical history. God's people are in bondage to the Egyptians, and he frees them. But the wine and groan, and in the end many die in the wilderness. Then they go into Babylon, and hear all these creation stories. After this, they go and record their own history. Lewis, after trying to write a creation story, found he could not, and went on telling other stories of Narnia. Only after coming more and more into the spirit of the series, after a good deal of history had been written, could he go back and finish Magician. To quote the preface, Ford says the original order allows "the reader to experience something experience something truer than even Lewis intended: the primordial necessity of passing first thru redemption, then into a reinterpretation of one's own story, and finally allowing the future to take its providence course". And how true that is. How many times can one understand what God is doing in your life until you come to know him? When you come to the salvation and knowledge of Christ, after some time elapses you can go back and examine your life, and can see where God's hand was on you, guiding you to that place where you met Christ. And in so doing, you come to trust God in a deeper sense, and as he took care of your past, he will also take care of your future. Of course, this was not intentional on Lewis's part, but it shows when God gives someone a gift, that person can reach people in such a way as to be totally beyond the person, and directly pointing to God. This aspect truly points to Jesus Christ and the "great Emperor Beyond the See."

Of course, there is a balance. They are stories, and should be enjoyed as such. Through these stories, Lewis gives children and adults alike truth. However, if you overanalyze them, you are losing the spirit of the series. One must first enjoy them as stories, and not go dissecting them without reading them simply for stories. That is why the chronological order also has its merits. Ironically, however, it is better balanced to read it in original order for reasons cited above, also because you can take each story on its own, appreciating both the story and the symbolism. Without the interconnecting theme of history behind it, you are forced to look more at what the story is and what it is saying as to what the Chronicles is saying as a whole. That is one side. That is not balanced. Then, go back and read the stories in chronological order. That makes you appreciate the series as a whole.

In conclusion, each has its merits, and without each it they are not balanced. But for first time readers, read it in the original order. You will get more out of it. That is the most balanced way to read and appreciate the stories. Afterward, go back and read in chronological order. Then you will have a balanced and complete view of Lewis's fabulous and God-given Chronicles of Narnia.

*The Movie tie-in publication is a rather standard fare book as far as printing quality and durability of the book goes. The cover is pretty ugly and rather cheesy, but then I never liked movie covers on books anyway, especially when the books in question are so highly regarded by fans and critics.

My kids and I watched the movie and it was interesting to compare it with the book. We liked the bouth, but in the book are more details.

I first read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe When I was a kid in school. I remember reading the book and loving it. Time passed and I forgot about the book, until the movie was released. Since watching the movie I have gotten The Chronicles of Narnia (the complete set). I've read the Magician's Nephew and loved it (sson to be starting the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe). This collection of books is great for anyone to read whether they be age 5 to 105. The writing is great and easy to understand. The character's are wonderful and there's certain to be one that soon becomes your favorite (or not so favorite). The great thing about these books is that there's something for everyone to enjoy, humor, suspence, mystery, action, adventre, love, hate etc. These books are truely a classic, bound to be enjoyed for generations to come.

I like this book. I would've given it four stars, but I found the book of "The Horse and His Boy" so incredibly boring. I was entertained enough by the writing style to read it all the way through, but it wasn't really that interesting a read. I *love* CS Lewis' writing style. My dad says it may be hard for people these days to comprehend it, but I comprehend it just fine. The way he writes is so fluid that I can see how things look myself in my head. The movie really didn't do the books any justice. For one thing, in "The Magician's Nephew," it's stated that colour in Narnia is alot more sharper. I'd imagine it would look technicolour to us. The movie...the colour throughout the movie is sharp, crisp and clear, and that's not how I would've done it. I would've done a similar to Wizard of Oz thing, and have a duller coloured England (maybe similar to the effect they did in The Ring?) only to have a technicolour Narnia.

Anyway, the only other book I didn't like was Prince Caspian cause that was slightly boring. It kept me entertained enough though. Also, keep in mind that I'm 19, so I'm defidently not the target audience, which might have something to do with why I was bored with "A Horse and His Boy" and "Prince Caspian."

This book presents the Chronicles of Narnia in the order of which CS Lewis preferred. First comes "The Magician's Nephew," which sets up the story of how the White Witch comes to Narnia, and how Narnia is made.

Then there's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," about how the Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund & Lucy) overthrow the White Witch and become Kings and Queens of Narnia.

Followed by "A Horse and His Boy," which was a complicated tale of a boy named Shasta who was stolen away when he was a baby, and had a mean adopted father who took care of him. Shasta runs away with a horse named Bree, and manages to save a country in Narnia (I forget which one, and I can't be bothered to look it up) from attack, and then gets a huge surprise from the royal family after. It sounds interesting, but it really didn't interest me. I get the feeling it would interest younger children though. I think I'm just too old for that tale to entertain me.

Next comes "Prince Caspian," in which Caspian saves Narnia from the rule of his Uncle who was forcing the trees to go to sleep, and attempting to make the talking animals dumb. This book tells how Caspian comes to be King of Narnia. True King, and not Fake!King, like his Uncle. The Pevensie children come to help him overthrow his uncle.

Followed by "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," in which the younger Pevensie children and their brat of a cousin, Eustance, get drawn into a painting of the Dawn Treader. I'm not sure how they are called back to Narnia, and I don't believe the book says. But anyways, they are, and they go to the East, to the end of the world (for Narnia is flat, apparently), and it tells of their adventures with Caspian and his crew discovering new lands. It's actually rather interesting, quite a good read.

Next is "The Silver Chair," which I have yet to read, so I'm not sure what that's about. And following that is "The Last Battle," which I also have yet to read. I'll try to remember to come back and edit this review once I have read them both.

My eldest niece, a budding bibliophile, asked for the Chronicles of Narnia for Christmas last year. She shares a house with two adults, two sisters, and one chew-happy puppy. Although she may later choose to collect the individual stories in separate books, this one-volume format allowed her to read each story without the hassle of lost and/or destroyed individual books. The only drawback is the cover, a movie tie-in, which is a bit cheesy.

Recommended format for young Narnia fans!

The actual book was well constructed and journeyed with me all over California and Mexico. Being paperback it was a lot easier to read while travelling.

The writing is similar to The Hobbit. A great fantasy adventure that is worth reading several times. This is a must read if you enjoyed Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. C.S. Lewis really nailed the environments of these books (the names of the talking animals are also great). I really enjoyed reading this series (in order) and look forward to reading them to my son when he comes of age.

WE HAVE READ THIS BOOK BEFORE AND KNOW IT TO BE A GOOD BOOK. IT WAS SENT TO OUR SON AND HE REALLY ENJOYED IT.