Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A tale of awakening, November 2, 2000
All of the stories in C.S. Lewis' excellent Chronicles of Narnia series are told in distinctly different ways. Prince Caspian could justifiably be said to be like an epic poem told in prose. It shares many qualities with other epics; most notably its beginning coming in the middle of the action. Prince Caspian, like other epics, contains a climactic battle. However, Prince Caspian (like all great epics) is not simply a book about battles. The great themes of Prince Caspian are those of awakenings, renewal and restoration.As the book opens, the Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) are suddenly called back to the magical land of Narnia from a British rail station. They return to find that the land of Narnia is suffering from the oppression of the evil Telmarine King Miraz who rules with an iron fist. The king's nephew, (and son of the murdered rightful king) Caspian, has discovered the truth about Narnia and has fled the palace in fear of his life. In his flight, Caspian encounters some "old Narnians" who used to live freely before the Telmarines came to rule Narnia. Under the Telmarines, the old Narnians have been facing extermination. After initial mistrust, the old Narnians agree to stand with Caspian in an attempt to reclaim his rightful throne from his uncle and to save those that are left of the old Narnians from certain death. A struggle then ensues. It is in the middle of this struggle that the Pevensies are called back to Narnia, where they once ruled as Kings and Queens. They encounter Caspian's loyal friend Trumpkin the dwarf. Trumpkin relates Caspian's story to them. The children agree to help Caspian. Together, the dwarf and the children set off to come to Caspian's aid. It is on this journey that the Pevensies and Trumpkin learn the old lesson that "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) Forced to take a different route back to Caspian's camp than the one Trumpkin took from it, the children and the dwarf become confused and lost. They strive to the utmost limits of their human strength and find that it is not enough. It is in the darkest hour of this struggle that Lucy thinks she sees something on the horizon...a Lion. What follows is a test of Faith for all involved. Lucy, being the youngest of the children and possessing the most "child-like" faith, overcomes her doubts. She is then visited by the Great Lion Himself, Aslan (Lewis' allegorical representation of Jesus). In one of my favorite scenes in all of the Narnia books, Aslan and Lucy discuss the lack of faith shown by the others and what must be done: "Now child," said Aslan, when they had left the trees behind them, "I will wait here. Go and wake the others and tell them to follow. If they will not, then you at least must follow me alone." This piece of dialogue is one of the reasons why Lewis is one of my favorite authors. In the span of three sentences in a children's book, Lewis captures the essence of Christ's universal call to be His disciples. Another amazing thing about Lewis (and another reason why he's a favorite author of mine)...is that the book grows progressively more spellbinding and instructive from that point in the story on. Prince Caspian is, like many of Lewis' books, a whole education crammed into a tiny little package--all told in a warm and humorous way. I encourage you to get a copy today. Then read it. There is a lot to be learned from this book.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Narnia's Battle for a New King, October 25, 2001
"The Return to Narnia!" Those who have read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (Book 1 in the original ordering) know that those four words can invoke a rousing and passionate symphony that only those who believe in Narnia can hear. It is somewhat disconcerting, therefore, when the story opens with a rather clumsy squeak. The four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, find themselves unceremoniously _yanked_ back to Narnia after one Earth year and many Narnian centuries of being away. There is no party to welcome them, only apples growing wild to feed them, and only the ruins of a castle to shelter them. As the children have been gone for so long, some backtracking is necessary before their heroic adventures can begin. As he did in all the books in "The Chronicles of Narnia", C.S. Lewis gives us a bit of Narnian history that puts the present events in perspective and is genuinely fun to read. This History lesson begins with the Telmarine invasion after the Golden Age of Narnia and ends with the battle between Prince Caspian and his evil uncle Miraz. It's a lesson so absorbing and believable that it makes Narnia seem more real than, say, Bavaria. The political intrigue sprinkled throughout the book is a fine bonus. What I liked most about "Prince Caspian" was the chance to see the two Kings and two Queens of Cair Paravel in action. Their adventures and their characters were given very little space or elaboration at the end of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"; so I was glad to be able to really see them as their royal Narnian selves. (Now that I've read further, I can say that "The Horse and His Boy" is even better for this purpose. After reading "Prince Caspian", I discovered why King Peter was dubbed Magnificent; and after reading "The Horse and His Boy", I learned why Queen Susan was called Gentle; King Edmund, Just; and Queen Lucy, Valiant.) And what would Narnia be without Aslan? (I LOVE THIS LION!) In "Prince Caspian", the major lesson that he imparts is that we must have faith and follow him, even when we may appear foolish to others. If we keep insisting that we can find the way by ourselves, then we only get lost. There are other morals throughout the book, most of them woven into the story, such as King Peter's courage in challenging Miraz to a "clean wager of battle" (read: one-on-one combat), "to prevent the effusion of blood" (read: the blood of his innocent subjects). Lewis can moralize better than any other children's writer I know. "Prince Caspian" is not to blame for being the second book in the series--therefore, the sequel that can't help but be slightly disappointing. Though I gave it four stars for the bumpy linkages in the plot, child readers will, if asked, say it deserves five.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
To the rescue.., September 2, 2004
Continuing through the Chronicles of Narnia, "Prince Caspian" is the fourth novel chronologically, and the second published. Because of the order in which the books were written, this book takes up where "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" left off, with the four Pevensies being called back to Narnia by magic, one year later in their time, but eons later in Narnian time.
In the blink of an eye, the children are transported from a train platform, (not Platform 9 ¾), into the forests of Narnia, soon discovering the ruins of Cair Paravel, where they once ruled as Kings and Queens. After eating enough apples to keep the doctor away for a very long time, they rescue a Dwarf from certain peril, and begin another fascinating adventure together.
The present King Miraz is doing his best to stifle the stories of old Narnia, where animals talk, and Naiads and Dryads and Dwarfs and Fauns were a part of daily life, and becomes highly upset when he discovers that his nephew Caspian has been drinking up the folklore, thanks to his devoted nurse, who of course gets the boot shortly after that. Unbeknownst to Miraz, the new tutor is also a closet Narnia believer, who begins his "Introduction to Narnia 101" and helps Caspian to escape impending doom.
Learning that his usurping Uncle Miraz is up to no good, Caspian flees for his life, where by good fortune he is saved by some of the same Narnian creatures he has been dying to encounter. Having established his right to the throne of Narnia, King Caspian begins his first great adventure by getting acquainted with talking animals, dwarfs and other Narnians. Inspired by the great Centaur Glenstorm, a council of war is quickly organized, to make plans for an overthrow of the present government.
Unfortunately, before he can warm up to the job, his runaway horse inadvertently gives the game away, and rather too soon, war breaks out. With the magical mound known as Aslan's How as their command center, in the midst of the mysterious woods, the battle does not go well, due to inexperience.
Playing his last hole card, King Caspian blows the magical horn, and sure enough, without a moment to spare, help arrives via the Pevensies, former Kings and Queens of Narnia, "located" by Trumpkin, the rescued dwarf. Getting there however, was almost another adventure altogether, with boys who don't ask for directions, and don't listen to good advice. With the appearance of Aslan, and their faith duly restored, they reach their destination late but safely.
The boys are tasked with straightening things out, and issue a challenge to Miraz, to duel for the right to rule. Circumstances then lead to a great and glorious battle, while the girls team up with Aslan to do some back-up work, right some wrongs, and perform a miracle or two. (This part happens very quickly, as if the author was trying to push in as much magic as possible in the closing pages.)
Another exciting episode in the Chronicles of Narnia, but there's more to come.
Amanda Richards, September 2, 2004
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