Prince Caspian (Narnia) [BARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)

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.

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.