The Last Battle: Book 7 in the Chronicles of Narnia [Paperback]

C. S. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1976

Collier mass market edition of the Last battle. 184 pages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Collier books (1976)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FSSOX2
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #711,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE LAST BATTLE by C. S. Lewis, February 17, 2011

By 

thepaxdomini "The Book Review" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Battle: Book 7 in the Chronicles of Narnia (Paperback)

The Last Battle (1956) is a children's fantasy novel, the seventh and final in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. It won the 1956 Carnegie Medal. Almost single-handedly, Tirian, the last king of Narnia, must deal with the rise of a false Aslan and a surprise Calormene invasion.

The Last Battle is a grim and bleak tale unlike any other in the series, as things start badly and get progressively worse in a hurry. Lewis handles this well, particularly by capturing the feelings of his characters, particularly their despair, and as a result, the book is suspenseful and gripping. The book's finale, both as part of this story and the series as a whole, is nothing short of magnificent: it is an emotionally and spiritually powerful finish. The book's final paragraph, which captures the heart of the true hope of Christianity, may bring tears to the eyes.

Lewis's prominent theme here is the danger of false religion, and he deals with it from the points of view of the unbelieving perpetrators as well as the unwitting victims. The biblical imagery is strong here (for those who have a deep familiarity with the contents of the Bible, it may be the strongest in the series). The false Aslan's politics and dealings evoke any number of biblical images, ranging from Old Testament prophets to Revelation imagery. Certainly The Last Battle is the most philosophically and theologically interesting book in the series (which is why it's also the most controversial).

The book is not without a couple of small problems. Lewis's involved narrator sometimes feels out of place given the direness of the story. Lewis also skips over a little more of the story's behind-the-scenes developments than he might have - we do go from a lone crafty ape to a full-blown Calormene invasion rather quickly. But these are minor issues that do not detract from the story significantly.

Some readers have complained that in The Last Battle, Lewis "undoes" all his previous stories. This could not be more wrong (do you "undo" a game when you finish it and put the pieces back in the box?). Rather, Lewis brings them all full circle: The Last Battle culminates with the fulfillment and consummation of Narnia and all its stories.

As with The Horse and His Boy, some readers have also alleged racism here. While the dark-skinned, "Arab" Calormen are the villains of the piece, they are never portrayed as inherently evil (as in The Horse and His Boy, some are good and some are bad). Similarly, Lewis has been accused of being anti-Islam in his writing, for no other reason that I can see except that Islam is the religion of many Arabs. Certainly the Calormene religion bears no resemblance to Islam to the very limited extent to which Lewis goes into it; with its bloody god Tash and its human sacrifice, it's far more reminiscent of the ancient worship of Chemosh or Molech. Anyone seriously maintaining these accusations is inferring quite a bit more than Lewis has put into the text.

The Last Battle is a triumph, a phenomenal story and a beautiful conclusion to the series.