Your favorite Chronicle of Narnia?

Cafe Society
1

I think they’re all equally good; I don’t think there was ever a JTS moment. I even like The Last Battle (so there). But my personal favorite is The Magician’s Nephew.

On the face of it, it’s the least Narnian, of course. But if you read them in publication order, then in a way, it’s the most, since it explains so much. And I love all the elements of it. London in 1900! Mad Uncle Andrew! The ruins of Charn, Jadis in all her glory, the creation of Narnia, the First Joke! And one of my favorite bits in the whole series (spoiler just in case):

[spoiler]“Well, you see, sir, I’m a married man,” said the Cabby. “If my wife was here neither of us would ever want to go back to London, I reckon. We’re both country folks really.”

Aslan threw back his shaggy head, opened his mouth, and uttered a long single note; not very loud, but full of power. Polly’s heart jumped in her body when she heard it. She felt sure that it was a call, and that anyone who heard that call would want to obey it and (what’s more) would be able to obey it, however many worlds and ages lay between. And so, though she was filled with wonder, she was not really astonished or shocked when all of a sudden a young woman with a kind, honest face stepped out of nowhere and stood beside her. Polly knew at once that it was the Cabby’s wife, fetched out of our world not by any tiresome magic Rings, but quickly, simply, and sweetly as a bird flies to its nest. The young woman had apparently been in the middle of a washing day, for she wore an apron, her sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, and there were soapsuds on her hands. If she had had time to put on her good clothes (her best hat had imitation cherries on it), she would have looked dreadful; as it was she looked rather nice.[/spoiler]

So what’s your favorite? I’ve noticed that many people have Dawn Treader for theirs. LWW seems to be the second favorite. And if anyone happens not to despise LB, by all means, say so!

2

Count me as another who liked Voyage of The Dawn Treader best.

I should go back and read them again (It’s been about 25 years, so my memory is probably faulty. I’ll get a set for my son when he gets older), but I think the reason it appealed most to my pre-teen self is that it’s episodic: each island stands alone as a self-contained story, and each of those stories was pretty gripping.

3

Yeah, I thought everyone liked Dawn Treader best. My second favorite, though, would have to be the first* one.
*The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, should there be any doubt.

4

I don’t have any special favorite, but I really liked the way Lewis tied everything together between tales by inventing backstories. For example, I doubt that he knew what the source of the magic wood was going to be for the Wardrobe when he wrote the first book, but it was explained in The Magician’s Nephew.

5

I thought about the question before opening the thread, and decided that my favorite is also The Magician’s Nephew.

I still have the boxed paperback set I got in for Christmas in 5th grade, in the original order, of course. I’ve been reading the books to my son, off and on, for the last year or so. We should get back into it after I finish reading him The Hobbit.

6

I liked The Magician’s Nephew too, but i’m a sucker for world-building kind of stuff. Plus I liked that it had a distinct level of creepiness (not to say there’s no creepiness in the other books, but in TMN it’s most disconcerting).

7

Hi,

I think it’s a tie for me between The Dawn Treader, A Horse & His Boy, The Silver Chair . Magician’s Nephew * comes into a close second to those but I have never cared nearly as much for TLWW and I really don’t like Prince Caspian * much at all.

The three ties have scenes that stand out for me- the other books just don’t.

  • Reepicheep paddling away
  • Eustace and the Dragon.
    -The boy being taught to ride by a talking horse (I was a horsey kid so this was super cool!)
  • Aravis in the Sultan’s city (or whatever he was called).
    -Jill and the Giants
8

As a former Rapturist & a long-time fan of John’s Apocalypse, I gotta give a shout out for THE LAST BATTLE. Of course, the actual vision of The End is due as much to the Nordic Eddas about Ragnarok. I’m really looking forward to see the Disney-Warner treatment of this!

Two things Jack Lewis dared that inspire dislike (at least) from different sides-

the more fund’ist side are really shocked at Aslan’s welcome to Emeth;

the more liberal side are really appalled at Susan’s non-inclusion, especially the reasons for it.

And for daring to do that, Jack gets props from me!

9

You know, I might be the only one, but I like Prince Caspian the best. Maybe it’s because I first read LWW in the 4th grade, and absolutely loved it, but didn’t know there were sequels. Our school library was small and LWW was all we had. I got my public library card once I was old enough to go the 2 miles to the library on my own – this was about a year and a half later – and was thrilled to see there were 6 more books in the series. So Prince Caspian has a sort of ‘miracle’ gleam in my memory.

Also, there are bits that just send a shiver up my spine – when Peter finds his sword in the ruined treasure vault is one. Another:

Sure he was a villian, but tell me that isn’t badass.

And the bit where Aslan restores Reepicheep’s tail. Goosebumps all over.

10

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite, but I will say that The Magician’s Nephew has a small part that always makes me laugh out loud – when the animals are all standing around Uncle Andrew, trying to figure out what he is, and the Bulldog says (twice, in one page) “I object to that remark very strongly.” You’d have to get the full context to understand why it’s funny (to me, anyway), and I can’t remember all of it at the moment, but I love the way Lewis wrote that.

11

The Tisroc, may-he-live-forever.

12

Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favorite, even though the ending with the stars is weird. I love the part where Eustace is the dragon. Aslan ripping off the dragon skin still gives me the shivers. The Christian symbolism which seems so heavy now went totally over my head when I was a kid.

I’ve read them all recently, out loud to my kids, except for The Magician’s Nephew and The Last Battle. I need to re-read those.

13

I think The Last Battle is actually my favorite. I didn’t realize that it was so disliked. I have an irrational fear of the end of the world, but I found Lewis’ portrayal of my fear comforting. The Magician’s Nephew is a close second. I love creation mythology.

14

Prince Caspian, I think. Dawn Treader is amazing, but there is a certain darkness to PC that appeals to me. Also there is a bittersweetness to the fact that it’s Susan’s last time in Narnia.

If I’m grabbing one off the shelf, it’s more likely to be Dawn Treader or A Horse and His Boy for the sake of fun and adventure. I’ll also stick up for The Last Battle. I’m not a Christian, but I still think it is a fascinating story and a lot to think about. I was pissed that Susan wasn’t allowed back, but really, it’s not suggested that she’s going to burn in hell (at least, that’s not the implication I got), just that she wasn’t going to be pulled into a realm she had disavowed. I think it would be more troubling if she was brought back “for keeps” against her will.

15

Prince Caspian was the first of the series I ever read, so it has that place for me. I’ve got to go with Dawn Treader for favorite, though. The characters were wonderfully done.

16

Well, of course, it’s not at all clear that Susan was even with them during the accident, so her story has yet to be told- and a search of the Net reveals some decent attempts. There is also a novel out there THE CENTAUR’S CAVERN which has not yet been permitted by the Lewis estate to be published.

17

Well, the Net reveals ONE decent attempt! LOL! Beware, tho! It’s frightfully Christian.

There’s another story by Michel Farber- BRAVE AGAIN, which isn’t available yet. Also, Neil Gaiman wrote one, cautiously sidestepping copyrighted material, which is not at all Christian.

18

I like The Horse and His Boy. Some inevitable preaching but no cosmology, just fast-paced action! And interesting pictures of Calormene society.

19

The Horse and His Boy is my favorite. It’s a desert book, and I am strangely addicted to desert books of all kinds. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my second favorite, since I love the “we go on a boat trip to do a bunch of wacky stuff” plot of it.

20

It would have to be The Magician’s Nephew for me as well.

I first read the books in the early '60s, and although most of the “real world” activities took place in England, they were still close enough to me in time to feel part of my world. TMN, on the other hand, was set in a time where horses ran in cobbled streets. And a lot more it was set in London itself, which gave an interesting view of rowhouses that was more exotic to a boy who grew up in rural suburbia than a country manor.

It was so exciting to find out the origins of Professor Kirke, the Lantern Waste, the wardrobe, and of course the Hempress Jadis after first reading of them in TLTW&TW.

The most important part for me was when Jadis tried to tempt Digory to use the fruit to cure his mother, and his agonizing choice. And when my own mother had cancer, I remembered Aslan’s tears over Digory’s dilemma.

Second, I think, is A Horse and His Boy