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The Last Battle

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The world of Narnia is coming to an end. A false Aslan is abroad in the land, and the people (and beasts) struggle to follow what they think is the truth. Eustace and Jill, from The Silver Chair, are sent to Narnia to help the last king of that land rally his troops for the final battle.

This is the apocalyptic volume of The Chronicles of Narnia. If The Magician's Nephew speaks of a creation reminiscent of the book of Genesis, this book speaks of an end reminiscent of that foretold in the book of Revelation. Here, everything comes to an end, and the entire purpose of the existence of Narnia is finally explained by Aslan. The Christian references are unmistakable. Aslan, like the Biblical Christ in Revelation, triumphantly comes to bring an end to his world and save his people. Most of the material in this book is very Christian-like, all the way down to the separating of the creatures on the right and left hands of Aslan.

This, the final volume of the Chronicles, brings everything to a head. This book provides the so-called meaning of life, and gives validity and value to all of the good deeds the children have been trying to do since the first book. Here, the good have their reward. The descriptions in this book (especially the end) are absolutely beautiful, and the finale is nothing short of moving. Lewis, a master of Christian apology, succeeds here in bringing to life the Christian concept of the end of the world, and of the final rewards of the just. No part of the Chronicles of Narnia would be complete without the vision afforded by this, the final book.

This last book in "The Chronicles of Narnia" is another fast read, requiring only a few dedicated hours of page turning. It is vastly different from any of the other books, and is the one most laden with theology and imagery.

The ruler at the time is King Tirian, and he soon has his hands full. Lantern Waste is being destroyed, apparently in the name of Aslan, and along with Jewel the Unicorn, Tirian must get to the bottom of the mystery. Closer investigation reveals that men from Calormen are cutting down the Narnian forest, astonishingly being assisted by talking Narnian animals.

But there is treachery afoot, and a false prophet succeeds in confusing the living daylights out of the Narnians, until they no longer can distinguish wrong from right, or Aslan from Tash, the God of the Calormenes.

Eustace and Jill are again summoned to the rescue, returning one year after their last adventure, but in fact over two hundred years have passed in Narnia since "The Silver Chair".

The story rapidly advances, with the age old theme of good against evil. The most important physical place in the story is a stable, which has a lot more to it than is immediately evident. People who believe in a supreme being see amazing things within, non-believers see nothing at all. People and animals that pass through its humble door are rewarded according to their purity of heart, and are appropriately greeted by either Aslan or Tash.

The somewhat abrupt ending came as a surprise to me, especially after the joyous reunions and discovery of the true Narnia, even though there had been hints casually dropped along the way.

This is a fine book to end a wonderful series, a classic if ever there was one,

Amanda Richards, September 17, 2004

King Tirian of Narnia is thrilled to hear the rumors that, after a couple hundred years of silence, Aslan has returned to the country. But when he goes to investigate himself, he discovers that no one is allowed to see the Lion. In fact, an ape is speaking for Him. The new pronouncements are just as puzzling, including the enslavement of the talking animals. What is going on? His few allies include Eustace and Jill from our own world. But can they defeat this new evil?

This book is different from others in the series because the story starts in Narnia and then brings the characters from our world into theirs. But the differences don't stop there. This is a stirring conclusion of a great series. The symbolism is strong, and I find this book one of the most interesting of the series from that standpoint. The story is probably one of the fastest in the series, with so much intrigue and fighting going on, it's hard to put down, even on a reread. The ending leaves me with a feeling of euphoria mixed with just a little bit of melancholy because the series is over.

While the order the other books in the series are read doesn't matter as much, this one must be read at the end to fully appreciate it. It's a wonderful ending to a wonderful series. Don't miss it.

Most people are familiar with C. S. Lewis's _Chronicles of Narnia_ generally, and _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_ in particular. But the greatest book in the series is _The Last Battle_, not because it is the end, but because it is a beginning. The final chapters of the book are a beautiful and inspiring description of Heaven which have greatly influenced my own life. Further, Lewis the philosopher shines forth in tying Platonic Forms to Heaven. When Aslan's Country [=Heaven] turns out to be a _real_ Narnia, more real than that which the heroes and heroines have known, the latter is referred to as the "Shadow-lands" (used as the title for the movie about Lewis's marriage, and the biography upon which it was based). This is a reference to Plato, particularly the tenth book of _The Republic_, that the reality, made by God, is a spiritual model upon which the material copy is made. There are parallels in _The Last Battle_ to _Till We Have Faces_, Lewis's last and best novel, which was first published in the same year. Just as the other _Chronicles of Narnia_ carried biblical influence, _The Last Battle_ is an adaptation of the Book of Revelation which integrates later beliefs on the apocalypse, and also offers commentary on some contemporary issues of religion and society

"The Last Battle" is the seventh and final entry in C.S. Lewis' beloved and enduring Narnia Chronicles, and certainly is best read after first completing the other six books in the series. Narnia is faced with an apocalyptic crisis, as a false Aslan sets up rule in Narnia. The false Aslan is in fact a mere [] (Puzzle) dressed in a Lion's skin, and the real mastermind is the crafty ape who acts as his "mouthpiece" (Shift). But the faithful Narnians immediately realize something is not right: why does this Aslan not speak to them directly, why is his rule harsh, and why does he advocate an alliance with the Calormenes, the followers of Tash? As Eustace and Jill enter Narnia to assist the legitimate Narnian king Tirian in the battle against the false Aslan, the deception is slowly exposed. First posing as Aslan, the enemies of Narnia then speak about "Tashlan", and eventually about their true master "Tash". "There was no nonsense about `Tashlan' now" (p.160). The conflict between the friends and enemies of Narnia reaches a decisive battle, after which the faithful Narnians find themselves in the "true" Narnia - a home of eternal blessedness.

As with all the Narnia Chronicles, on the level of children the story functions as a perfectly comprehensible and exciting fantasy adventure, but on an adult level it imparts powerful spiritual truths about Christianity by means of numerous recognizable Biblical allusions. "The Last Battle" obviously represents the final conflicts leading up to the end of the world and the return of Christ, complete with signs predicting his coming. Appropriately it features an antichrist that "apes" the real Christ with its terrible result - "he had never dreamed that one of the results of an ape's setting up a false Aslan would be to stop people believing in the real one." (p.92). Behind the antichrist is the very real power of the devil: "People shouldn't call for demons unless they really mean what they say." (p.104) "The true Tash, whom they called on without knowledge or belief, has now come among us, and will avenge himself." (p.203) Complete with apocalyptic imagery of the sun going blood red (p.196), there is a final battle which ushers in eternal life, painted by Lewis in vivid colours. The suggestion of a kind of limited universalism as Aslan accepts the unbeliever Emeth's service to the false god Tash as service rendered to him (p.205) is particularly puzzling, but is a minor weakness. So too is the perplexion notion that "Susan ... is no longer a friend of Narnia" (p.169). The concept of Narnia as the "Shadowlands" in contrast to the true Narnia is more Platonic than Biblical, but still has some merit. But there are many memorable insights, such as the reference to Christ's birth: "a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world" (p.177).

But it is especially the delighful picture of the blessed afterlife that brings the Narnian Chronicles to a fitting and final climax. As King Tirian observes Jill in the afterlife: "It was Jill: but not Jill as he had last seen her, with her face all dirt and tears and an old drill dress half slipping off one shoulder. Now she looked cool and fresh, as fresh as if she had just come from bathing." (p167) The blessedness of eternal life is far greater than the best that this world offers: "If you had once eaten that fruit, all the nicest things in this world would taste like medicines after it. But I can't describe it. You can't find out what it is like unless you can get to that country and taste it for yourself." (p.172) As the unicorn Jewel says: "I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now." (p.213) Here the Narnian faithful are reunited with the memorable true Narnians from all the preceding Chronicles. But the center of this beautiful world is Aslan himself: "There stood his heart's desire, huge and real, the golden Lion, Aslan himself..." (p.183) The final paragraph marks a fitting and final end to the Narnian Chronicles: "And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this the end of all stories, and we can most truly say that they all live happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the coer and the title page: now at last they wre beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before." (p228) What more can be said?

As always, in all the upheavals and conflicts of Narnia, Aslan is the one constant, and it is his vital involvement that enables the children to complete their Narnian quest, just as it is Christ who inspires, comforts, guides, and saves in the real world. Narnia may exist only in Lewis imagination and ours, but these underlying truths about Christ ensure that a journey to Narnia is never without profit for the real world. Those who believe these very real spiritual truths about Jesus Christ know that like Narnia, the real world will also draw to an end and usher in the age of eternal life for true believers. "All worlds draw to an end, except Aslan's own country" (p.111) and those who know Him will indeed live forever.

Apocalyptic fiction has become a fashionable trend in the Christian market nowadays. Yet this book, published in 1957, proves one thing: Lewis was years ahead of his time. Although Jenkins and LaHaye are doing good detailing their fictional account of the end-of-the-world (Left Behind series), in what is taking them hundreds of pages, Lewis does in a short 200. Not that that is a bad thing, because each had different purposes. Since I'm reviewing Narnia, Narnia I will stay with.

Lewis, in his only end-of-the-world book, tells of how in the last days of Narnia, there are two animals living by the Great Cauldron. One is Puzzle, a lovable Donkey, and the other is an evil ape named Shift. Shift, thru manipulation and deception, tricks Puzzle into donning a lion skin, making a false Aslan. This is representative of the Anti-Christ. It is about how the real Aslan and the real Tash come again into Narnia, and the final show down.

The most stirringly majestic portion of the whole book is the last part, where the old Narnia passes away, and behold! the children and all good Narnians who love Aslan are called into Heaven, the New Narnia. This is the single most precious portion of any of Lewis's fiction. It drips of Heaven. The Power and Majesty of God on High is portrayed thru these pages. He goes thru judgement day (never mind this pre-mid-post trib stuff or debate), and then how the children react to being in heaven.

An interesting concept put forth by this book is a LIMITED universalism. Emeth, who is servant of Tash, a pagan god, is found in heaven. When Aslan comes and speaks to him, Emeth says he was not servant of Aslan but Tash. Aslan says that in reality he had been serving Aslan all along, and he knew Aslan, but to him Aslan was known as Tash. In other words, Emeth's perception or view was not the real Tash, who was an evil being, but the real Aslan. To an extent, I agree that this might be possible. I feel you can have a relationship with Jesus, but know him under a different name. That does NOT mean I believe all religions send you to heaven. You still have to know Jesus, and God.

The dwarves, who are in heaven, are to stubborn to let got of themselves. They perceive themselves in a horse stall (that is where the last of old Narnia is seen. It is night, and all these people in a great circle or waiting for Tashlan, which is the fusing of Tash and Aslan, exactly what the Anti-Christ is, and the children run into the tent or stall.) "The Dwarves are for the Dwarves!" This is pride. This is what it is like on earth. What to us seems distasteful, if we would really let go of our pride and let God be God, then in the end we would have ultimate joy. That is what Lewis is saying thru the Dwarves.

Lewis also uses classical philosophy to educate children. The old Narnia is called the Shadowlands, mere shadows of the More Real Heaven. This is straight from Plato. The values we hold dear, such as truth, valour, honour, etc, are manifestations of its essence. We practice truth and valour. That is a form of valour, a shadow. But the essence of valour, that is the real thing itself. Lewis uses this concept to help the Children better understand God. I came across this in this story when I was a child; I was astounded to realize it was Plato when I was in a philosophy class in college. That is why, in being a Christian, the more you act like the Christ the more Christ is in you and part of you. The more honour you show and love you show, the more Christ is you and you are him because Christ is the very ultimate of honour, and all the other vitures we hold dear. That is why God gave us the shadow of marriage, to help us understand the very real union between God and man. We become one with God, just as man and woman become one flesh in sexual intercourse. God is such an awesome God.

In the end, we have a powerful vision of Heaven. Although it is Narnia, the ending he detailed was as much our world as Narnia. His prose is fantastic. As far as C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" coming out in his fiction, this is his ultimate achievement in giving hope to the Christians on the afterlife. This is my favorite (from the Christian perspective) of the Narnia series. There is so much to learn and digest from this beautiful book. The heart of this achievement is that this is written for Children, and yet he packs so much meat into it without EVER coming across as condescending OR preachy. Truly one of the best.

(For adult fiction, Till We Have Faces is his best. Actually, I think that novel is his deepest novel, and his best).

The Last Battle is the last in the series of Narnia Chronicles by C. S. Lewis, and possibly one of the best of this fantastic series. While the Narnia books are normally recommended for children alone, I would challenge the label "Children's", because adults can just as easily enjoy it, though for somewhat different reasons. --In this, the last book of Narnia, evil has taken hold of the magical land. An ape and donkey duo has found a lion skin in the river, and is impersonating the great king of Narnia, Aslan the Lion. Frightened by this "return of the king" the talking animals of follow the psuedo lord's orders out of fear for their lives and afterlives. When the ape, under the name of Aslan, invites the cruel Calormen army into the land, the animals and other inhabitants of the magical world don't know where to turn.-- While children can most certainly enjoy the fantasy and adventure of this book, adults can also appriciate the message hidden in the wonderful tale of a magi

"The Last Battle" is the Narnian apocalypse. Like many stories based on the Biblical model of the end of the world, this book is often brutal and uncompromising, (which some people may find disappointing) but in the end very beautiful and satisfying. Think of the Bible's "Book of Revelation" meets George Orwell's "Animal Farm".

Shift the Ape is a manipulative sort of beast. For instance, he pushes his "best friend" Puzzle the Donkey around all the time, playing with his emotions and sense of reason to get him to do whatever Shift wants him to do. One day, they find an old lion skin washed up in Cauldron Pool. Shift has a horrid idea. He'll get Puzzle to wear the skin, and pretend to be Aslan, the Great Lion, the savior of Narnia. The other talking animals will revere them both, giving them anything they want. Puzzle is reluctant, but manipulated by Shift, he agrees. Shift sets himself up as "the mouthpiece of Aslan", guilt-tripping and scaring the talking animals to follow him, to make an alliance with the warmongering Calormen, to merge their gods as one, and to capture their king. It is an time of great destruction, confusion and deceit. Poor King Tirian, tied to a tree, prays to Aslan, to the real Aslan, for an end to all this trouble and turmoil. Will the Great Lion answer his prayer?

No matter what your preferred reading order "The Last Battle", the seventh written and the seventh chronologically, is definitely the last one you should read. There are many references to past books which you'll only really appreciate if you've read all the others in the series. There are also many characters from past books too! (Eustace and Jill from "The Silver Chair" being just two of them)

C.S. Lewis was a devoted Christian, and his faith shines through in all his written works. "The Last Battle" is no exception, in fact I'd say his faith is even more obvious here. There are many parallels you can draw between "The Last Battle" and the "Book of Revelation". Shift, for instance, seems to be the antichrist, or perhaps he is akin to "Babylon the Great", the harlot of Revelation 17. She, in Revelation, is drunk on the blood of the saints, and Shift in Narnia, is drunk on Calormen wine. Both are dressed in red (scarlet), and both are connected with blasphemies of their savior. It's worth reading both to compare. There's also some allegory regarding the nature of belief within the pages of "The Last Battle". In life there are some who believe the truth (King Tirian), while others are deceived by false truths, either through fear or by ignorance (the Talking Animals allied with Shift). There are some who don't believe in anything, either because they are in on relgious deceit for their own gain (like the Cat and the Tarkaan), or because they've seen the trickery of a false religion, and don't want to be tricked themselves (like the Dwarves). Whatever the belief, they all have consequences when the truth (the real Aslan) reveals itself.

It's not mentioned much, but "The Last Battle" was first released in 1956, the year of the Suez Crisis. This was a conflict that put the world on the brink of nuclear war. Though an Arab-Israeli conflict on the surface, most of the tensions were a result of the incompetence of then British Prime Minster Eden. Being a British citizen, this conflict can't have been far from C.S. Lewis' mind when he wrote this book. In my opinion, I think this background of world tension contributed a lot to the feel this book. The grim moments are grimmer here than in the rest of the series, the beautiful moments all the more beautiful, the truths more shocking. It's a book with definite emotional power. Even though it's "a story" for children, every time I read I get caught up in the hopes, the fears, the sorrows and the triumpths of the Narnians.

A fitting finale to a wonderful series, one of my favorites. Highly recommended.

I read through the entire Narnia series a long time ago, with the exception of "The Last Battle" - I now see I was missing a large part of the story.

Where do I begin? The book goes beyond comprehension, and brings a new light to allegorical fantasy. I think it especially good that C.S. Lewis injected allegory into children's literature, a thing that seems seldom done these days. This story is a delightful layout of the Book of Revelation in Narnian terms, with the final battle (meaning the end of Narnia as we have known it), and the renewal and creation of a brand new world, without pain or suffering: the heaven of Narnia.

No family or home should be without these great books. While their influence is obviously Christian, secular sections of society can also enjoy them since the author never talks about God or Christ directly, but uses imaginary creatures and words to replicate them into the world he created. With wonderful pros C.S. Lewis has communicated his feelings perfectly to the reader, both Christian and non.

Overall I would definitely rate "The Last Battle" as one of the best in the Narnia series. It still amazes me that these books are 50 years old and so timeless - here, here to C.S. Lewis!

Say what you will about the correct reading order of C. S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia", one thing is certain - "The Last Battle" needs to be read last. It is not simply because it was written and published last in the series, that it clears up all loose ends in the previous installments and leaves no possible room for any sequels, but because it will change your entire understanding and perception of the last six books. Do what you like with the other books' reading order, but trust me on this one: "The Last Battle" needs to be read *last*.

It has been over two hundred years in Narnia after the events in "The Silver Chair", when Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole saved Prince Rilian from imprisonment and restored him to his father and the throne. Now Rilian's descendant King Tirian enjoys the solitude of his hunting lodge with his best friend, Jewel the unicorn. But there is treachery in Narnia like nothing the country has ever faced before...

A dishonest ape named Shift has found a lion-skin and forced Puzzle the donkey to wear it. Now he lords over the Talking Beasts of the forest by pretending to be the mediator between them and the great Lord Aslan, who remains hidden in a stable and only emerges by the dim light of a campfire at night. Soon the game (which began as a way for Shift to obtain food without any effort) has gotten dangerously out of control. Convinced that Puzzle is the real Aslan, the Talking Animals are scared and confused at his changing attitudes toward them, and the Calormenes of the neighbouring empire have taken advantage of the situation by invading Narnia. Once Tirian is captured by his enemies, he remembers the great stories of the past in which children from another world appear to help Narnia in need, and appeals to the true Aslan for another such occurrence. Right on cue, Eustace and Jill appear to free the King and lend their aid to the free Narnians in fighting for their beloved homeland.

All of the books in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series contain Biblical allusions, but "The Last Battle" is easily the most allegorical considering it is best described as Narnia's Armageddon. To put it simply, this is the end of Narnia (and don't think that's a spoiler, as the very first sentence of this novel is: "In the last days of Narnia...") and as such, we have allegorical representations of the Antichrist, the false prophet, the fate of non-believers, Heaven, the Final Judgement, the Second Coming and the End of the World. It's a pretty hefty topic for a children's novel, and both the story and style of the book is weightier than any previous book in the series, with plenty of death, violence and tragedy. This creates an interesting paradox overall, considering "The Last Battle" is the most spiritual, the most controversial, the most disheartening and ultimately the most upbeat book in the series.

The Calormenes are called "darkies" throughout the story, and are indisputably the villains; what with their part to play in the destruction of Narnia and the worship of their pagan-god Tash, an element of one other books in the series ("The Horse and His Boy") that has raised accusations of racism. Yet Lewis makes what is perhaps an attempt to compensate late in the novel by introducing a young Calormene named Emeth, who is permitted to enter Aslan's country based on his virtue, even though he never believed nor followed Aslan in his lifetime; a thought that may appeal to many, though it does not exactly fit into Christian teachings. As always, the author's dogma is a little muddled, for in all of his books Lewis plays by his own rules, by his own sense of right and wrong - this ranges from previous attacks on vegetarians and co-ed schools to his own opinions on who deserves salvation and who doesn't.

This leads into the second major point of controversy within the book: the fate of Susan Pevensie, the onetime Queen of Narnia. To put it bluntly, she's not here and her siblings dismiss her as someone who is no longer a friend of Narnia. Why? What could have possibly caused her abandonment from Narnia and Aslan? Surely something truly terrible! Well, no actually. Lewis pinpoints the cause as Susan's interest in "nylons and lipstick" and an interest in "grownup things". A beloved major character is excluded from the final installment of the series on the grounds of puberty? What?! Her fate becomes even more tragic when further information is revealed over the new "situation" of her siblings and parents (readers will know what I`m talking about, and what it must mean for poor Susan). I was very young when I first read "The Last Battle", and I recall how upset I was at the treatment of Susan - it stands to reason that other children will feel the same.

Okay, those are my issues and now they're off my chest. On to better things. "The Last Battle" makes fantastic use of Lewis's poetical prose, and the book carries a sense of both bittersweetness and grandeur, particularly in the chapter "Night Falls on Narnia". Though Tirian is somewhat indistinguishable from Caspian and Rilian before him, his friendship with Jewel is immensely touching, as is his relationship with the children who come to his aid. Far from the squabbling duo in "The Silver Chair", Jill and Eustace acquit themselves excellently throughout "The Last Battle", reaching hero-status in their efforts to aid the falling Narnia.

"The Last Battle" is also Lewis at his most philosophical (perhaps it's no coincidence that Professor Kirke mentions Plato), as he explores metaphysics, the boundaries of belief, the relationship between the real and the unreal, the existence of life after death and the nature of God Himself; in some ways "The Last Battle" is more akin to Lewis's apologetic Christian writings, such as "Surprised By Joy" or "Mere Christianity" than any of the other Narnian books, in that Lewis uses it as a basis for many of his spiritual concepts and ideas. As mentioned, "The Last Battle" carries the most obvert Christian messages, particularly in a declaration Lucy makes toward the end of the novel. The stable door, which begins as a convenient holding-pen for the fake Aslan soon takes on new theological meaning, with a surprising symbolic connection to our own world.

Lewis makes excellent use of components introduced in his previous books, calling up the strange creatures and that Jill and Eustace discover in "The Silver Chair", the Narnian concept of stars explored in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", the magical transporting rings in "The Magician's Nephew", even the use of the phrase Son of Adam and Daughter of Eve that was used so long ago in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." It all culminates in a wonderful reunion at the conclusion of the book that may just brings tears to your eyes - especially when Lucy rediscovers her first and best Narnian friend.

Make no mistake, this is a fitting end for the trilogy and if the new movie franchise gets this far I'll be first in line for a ticket - but I'm removing a star in honour of Susan.