On Narnia

So ends a month in Narnia.  It's hard not to enjoy the seven tales told by renowned author C.S. Lewis about a magical world where animals talk, creatures of myth abound, and the great lion Aslan rules.  This was my third time (at least) reading through them, and they have a place on my shelf as something I'll revisit time and time again.  This time, however, I read them in chronological order, which differed from the published order as follows:

Chronological Order:

The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle


Published Order:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle

I rated all of them a solid 'A' or 'A-', and they all contribute something.  Still, I have preferences:

My Favorites (from most to least):

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Prince Caspian
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy


Movies:

Three live action movies were adapted from the series:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

They were . . . okay.  The first was the best, and they got progressively worse.  'Tis often the way with movies . . . stick with the books.  I hear they're making another movie; we'll see how that goes.

One cartoon movie was released:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

It was pretty good, though dated (it's 37 years old).


Thoughts:

In a word, the books are edifying for all ages.  Profound, amusing, enjoyable, heartwarming, instructive . . . there's a lot of good here.  Lewis does a good job communicating truths through story.  Aslan- the lion who clearly symbolizes Jesus- was exceptionally well done.  Other characters were also good for different reasons; my favorites were Reepicheep (the brave mouse) and Puddleglum (the Marsh-wiggle).  Lots more information about characters, themes, and other things can be found on the Narnia wiki page.  The movies are okay to good, also edifying, but don't quite equal the power of the written.  The bottom line: if you have a chance, check out the books.  The volumes are short and can be read in a day or two (three if you're taking your time).

Series Rating: A