Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Chronicles of Narnia Complete 7-Book Collection: All 7 Books Plus Bonus Book: Boxen

Rate this book

This collection contains all seven books in the classic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia without art, to appeal to older readers. This special ebook edition includes an introduction by C. S. Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham, and full text and art for Lewis's very first work—Boxen!

Experience C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia in its entirety—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; and The Last Battle. This bundle comes with a special introduction by Douglas Gresham, C. S. Lewis's stepson, for a behind-the-scenes look at Lewis while he was writing the book.

The Chronicles of Narnia has become part of the canon of classic literature, drawing readers of all ages into magical lands with unforgettable characters for over sixty years. Epic battles between good and evil, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds, and friendships won and lost all come together in this unforgettable world.

And then discover the world before Narnia with Boxen, a collection of stories written by C. S. Lewis and his brother when they were children, with the authors' own delightful illustrations. For every reader who has been captivated by the magic of Narnia, Boxen will open a window to another enchanted land and offer the first glimmer of C. S. Lewis's amazing creativity.

1504 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2013

5052 people are currently reading
1168 people want to read

About the author

C.S. Lewis

1,033 books48k followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
1,644 (73%)
4 stars
408 (18%)
3 stars
139 (6%)
2 stars
31 (1%)
1 star
20 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
Profile Image for Alfred Haplo.
288 reviews56 followers
March 5, 2022
Genesis and resurrection. These successive events, as it turns out, bracket the storyline between The Magician’s Nephew (book #1 by chronology), which I read first, and the more well-known The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (book #1 by publication), which I read next. The former is an origin story of a nascent Narnia, earliest visitors and subsequent occupants - and yes, also how the lamp post came to be. The latter introduces the next generation of inquisitive children who came after, their adventures and encounters with the quaintness of Narnia. Good and Evil engage in climatic battle but never fear, any character not dispensable lives on. The nexus around which all moving parts, statues and wide-eyedness revolve is the Furry One, who brought itself back to life because it can, obviously.

At this juncture, two books in, I call a halt. Mostly due to disenchantment with two-dimensional characters, uninspired world-building, detachment towards the occasional omnipresent narrator (TMN), and irritation from outmoded attitude. Prose was apropos to the target audience (elementary school grade?), though an older reader might wish for less simplistic writing. My attention drifted often, anchored only by motivation to finish. The idea of a biblical theme isn’t objectionable per se, given plenty of literature with such, but the framing was blatantly unoriginal and too in-my-face allegorical to not surrender any pretext of enjoyment. The oft-references to Son of Adam and daughter of Eve, the tree of temptation with the forbidden apple, the sacrifice and rising from the dead - really?!

Is The Chronicles of Narnia Christian propaganda? Does it also casually convey egregious _isms? Hard to judge on the basis of a couple books but the reputation of this 1950’s classic, both merits and demerits, precedes itself. I haven’t read far enough into the series to place definitive labels but certainly, each page turned has diminishing returns. Father Christmas was bizarrely out of place, as were his dismissals. The White Witch, though so very wicked, is lacking Authority and easily identified as token evil-ness. The Furry One elicits mixed feelings for its representation as godhead but Sunday school vibes sit poorly with me.

A child, though, might love the magical elements without the reservations. How delightful finding a portal (or a book!) through which the wonderful and the fantastical are discovered, where little boys and little girls become Valiant, Just, Gentle and Magnificent, where intelligent animalia has speech and power? At face value, the entertainment can be appealing to imaginative kids. There is far worse children’s fantasy literature to read than The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I think.

Personal mileage varies, ultimately. Passages are occasionally sanctimonious and outrageous to modern sensibilities, with the possibility of worsening over the series. Still, could this be an opportunity for conversations - if an adult would like to engage their young reader(s) in discussions during, or post-, reading as young minds develop their common sense and proper discernment of real world issues outside of la la land?

Takeaways suggested, but not limited to: don’t follow strangers home even if they look harmless and go by names like Mr. Tumnus; don’t eat candy from strangers even if they come from seemingly credible sources like, say, a Beautiful Queen; don’t let anyone - even a Figure of Authority - tell you that battles are ugly when women fight, or shame you for caring first about your loved ones over others.


[The Magician’s Nephew: 3 stars
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: 3 stars

The Chronicles of Narnia series: 7 books
On-screen adaptation: several; personally watched: 0
Awards & nominations: numerous over the decades
Reading order: https://www.narniaweb.com/books/readi...]
Profile Image for Kerra Twombly.
19 reviews
August 3, 2025
We made it our goal to read through the Chronicles of Narnia (in chronological order) within this first term overseas. We had lots of breaks between each book for the holidays or assigned reading or just a lack of interest at the time. But wow, how am I supposed to review this masterpiece?! It just reads more and more spectacularly the older I get. Our family’s favorite was ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,’ but each one brought us to laughter (and some tears for me) and hooked us deeper into Narnia and the longing for a better country. “Further up and further in,” friends.
Profile Image for Domitylle (can only update books rn. sorry).
168 reviews56 followers
November 29, 2020
Hey! This is going to be a long review... For a long long book... :)

Introduction
The Chronicles of Narnia is a fantasy series from the middle-grade section, written by the British author C.S. Lewis.
The books all take place in the mystical world of Narnia (except for the Boxen) in which, animals talk, magic exists and legendary animals live.
In every book (except book 2 and Boxen), children are sent to Narnia to protect it from evil!
I present to you: The Chronicles of Narnia w/ Boxen! *dramatic music*

Book 1- The Magician's Nephew
This book is all about the origins of Narnia, how it was created and how evil magic was accidentally brought there.
A fascinating story and definitely the first book you have to read to completely understand the next books.
3/5

Book 2- The Horse and his Boy
A story of a young boy (Chasta) who flees the Calormen country to go to Narnia with Bree, his talking horse, in order to find freedom. Along the road, they meet Aravis, a young Calormen who also searches to flee her country. Along with her and her horse, they travel the country and have to get to Narnia before it gets invaded...
Not the best book but it is still very interesting and completes a little more our knowledge of the world of Narnia.
2/5

Book 3- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are the four Pevensie children. A wardrobe is what starts off their amazing adventure. As they play hide and seek, Lucy, the youngest, discovers a wardrobe that brings her into a different world: Narnia. When she finally gets her siblings to go to this place with her, problems start. The White Witch, an evil sorceress who created an eternal winter over Narnia gets Edmund to join her cause and betray his brother and sisters. The three of them have to free Narnia from the witch, get back Edmund and fight a battle which will decide the fate of this mystical land. Will they save Narnia? Or will it be destroyed?
The best book of the series in my opinion!
4.5/5

Book 4- Prince Caspian
A battle is on, 1,300 years after the Pevensie left Narnia. The side of the talking animals and prince Caspian is about to lose. But, they blow in Susan's horn hoping help will somehow come their way and yes, help came as the four legends (Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy) get back in Narnia to try and save it a new time.
A great book making us rediscover Narnia hundreds of years after its golden age.
3/5

Book 5- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Caspian is off in the sea to find 7 lords who were banished from Narnia under the horrible reign of King Miraz. Edmund and Lucy along with their grumpy cousin Eustace are brought once again by magic to help on this new journey. Dark magic makes their voyage dangerous as they sail towards Aslan's country at the edge of the world.
Probably the second best book for me, you travel farther in Narnia, to unknown lands in which unfortunate events keep on happening.
4.5/5

Book 6- The Silver Chair
Eustace with his classmate Jill is brought back to Narnia in which he is given only four signs to find the missing son of Caspian. With Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle, they travel the land of the giants in which they face betrayal and danger on their quest to bring back the missing heir.
An amazing book which frustrates you as the characters don't always do what you think they should do ;)
4/5

Book 7- The Last Battle
Evil is back. Narnia isn't safe anymore. It's the fall of this magical land. As an Ape tricks a donkey into dressing up as Aslan, talking animals are took in salvation, trees are being taken away by the Calormen, and fear is now the keyword of Narnia.
The final book, the final story: the last battle. A great book which makes you discover a whole new Narnia and meet for the last time the heroes of the series.
2/5

Boxen
Boxen isn't a whole story like the other ones. It's a book in which are different stories C.S. Lewis wrote as a child in which talking animals are the only characters.
DNF - 1/5

So yeah, that was my review :)
Thanks for reading!
4 reviews
September 22, 2025
Awesome descriptive writing. Good philosophical implications. Not overtly religious but with definite Christian themes.
Profile Image for R.B..
302 reviews21 followers
June 24, 2019
The books were nice and easy to read, I don't like when there's no character description but I used the illustrations and the movies as a guide (which also means I got most of the ages wrong though).

I'm not traditionally religious but I'm not an atheist either, some of the obvious Christian aspects bother me but I also think they're worked with well enough to be interpreted or overlooked most of the times. I just wish they weren't called "children of Adam and Eve".

1. The Magician's Nephew **
I like this book for what it is, an introduction to the world of Narnia and how it begun, but I also wish it didn't exist. It solved a few questions but raised many others.

2. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe **
I remember watching the movie adaptation and not liking it, the story felt drawn out and without much sense, unfortunately I feel the same about the book. I do think the characters are nice and I like the world, just not so much this story.

3. The Horse and His Boy ***
I actually really liked the adventure and it was fun to see new characters. In the books with the Pevensies the story seem to be quite centered on Lucy, the others appear almost as much but she's always the most important, when they're not in the story the roles feel more balanced.

Although I really liked the story I can't give it a high rating because of the obviously racist content. The Calormen are this arab/indian inspired people with dark skin always described dispregiatively.

4. Prince Caspian **
I suppose this book was allright. I do think the movie adaptation ruined it with unnecessary fighting scenes but it also wasn't very memorable.

5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader *
The movie adaptation was what convinced me to try reading the books, but I was disappointed to discover they made major changes and I actually don't like the book.

It feels more like a collection of short stories with nothing tying them together.

6. The Silver Chair ****
This is possibly my favourite one. They had a great adventure with creatures never seen before in the series, and went against a villain worthy of the White Witch. I found it different and more interesting.

7. The Last Battle *
I fully agree with other reviews suggesting skipping this book. It's depressing and unnecessary. There isn't any real adventure, it's only a closure.
Profile Image for V.A. Hezaran.
Author 1 book7 followers
March 19, 2024
The score for this book is more than it appears, as it factors in the average of its two halves. This collection houses the seven Narnia books that, in my estimation, aren't very good at all. There are glimpses of wondrous imagination and humour, but on the whole it's plodding, not internally consistent, and definitely didn't age well at all. The overt racism, misogyny, and fear of anything modern is apparent, especially in the later books. Then there's the whole level of Christian proselytizing to which I'm allergic. I know it's a childhood favourite of many readers but I came to this as an adult for the first time and it's not great. Skip.

However, in the latter portion of this collection is a wonderful thing called Boxen (which is worth researching if you've never heard of it, which I'm more than certain you haven't). Boxen is a collection of story fragments from Lewis's childhood that range from crude to rather sophisticated, given he was a little kid when he wrote these. They depict the social and political goings-on in a made-up land of talking humanoid animals: their conflicts, their parliament, their debates, their wars, all with a core group of characters that track from one story to the next. These tales, and the context provided by Lewis's friend and literary advisor, the recently deceased Walter Hooper (thanks a lot, covid!), provide a wonderful insight into the mind of young CS Lewis and remind me of stories I'd make up when I was a kid. I guess some things are universal.
Profile Image for Ronald.
59 reviews1 follower
June 22, 2024
What a pleasure to read these books again (and some for the first time). As an old man and a Christian, the stories take on new meanings. Lewis's depiction of a loving and kind, but very powerful, Aslan/Jesus fills me with admiration for C. S. and reinforces my love of our Lord Christ. The last book in the series, “The Last Battle” tackles subjects not often tackled in children's books (death and heaven) and I can see why it was controversial. But for me it is very thought-provoking.

I took off one “Star” because the book contains “Boxen” which was written when C. S. and his brother were yet children. It failed to interest me and I did not finish that part of the book. But the seven Narnia tales and the introductory interview with Lewis's stepson (although I think it would be better read after the series rather than before) were just wonderful.
Profile Image for Hassaan Chishti.
14 reviews
November 19, 2021
Best ever children book read so far (2014). Books with some morel in it. Also an easy ready for children.
Profile Image for haneul ☁️.
41 reviews
October 21, 2024
4/5 stars ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

my quick ranking below (from most to least fav). also this was hard to choose:

1) the horse and his boy
2) the silver chair
3) the magician's nephew
4) the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
5) the voyage of the dawn treader
6) the last battle
7) prince caspian

super long, but my thoughts on each book below:

the magician's nephew
₊ · »-♡→ i'm reading the series in chronological order, but i heard somewhere that the books should be read in publishing order? oh well lol

₊ · »-♡→ my favorite parts was seeing the creation of narnia. the entire last half of the book reminded me of the book of genesis, like creation of the world, story of adam and eve, the forbidden fruit, etc. there are a lot of similarities between the characters and their biblical counterparts (ex: adam & eve/digory & polly, jadis/satan, aslan/god). it was a fun reimagining of the biblical stories.

₊ · »-♡→ i found myself wanting to know more- there were so many things that were unexplained (like the wood between the worlds). i need a movie adaptation of this book asap.

₊ · »-♡→ "this is what happens to those who pluck and eat fruits at the wrong time and in the wrong way. the fruit is good, but they loathe it ever after."


the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
₊ · »-♡→ not much to say about this book. i have watched the movie so many times. it was one of my fav movies growing up. this is such a cozy read, perfect now that it's fall weather again

₊ · »-♡→ the movie really did the book justice - it was almost a complete retelling of the book, down to even the smaller scenes. it's rare to find this in any other book-to-movie adaptation (looking at you percy jackson). brb while i go re-watch the movie and eat turkish delight.

₊ · »-♡→ "'once a king or queen in narnia, always a king or queen. bear it well, sons of adam! bear it well, daughters of eve!'"


the horse and his boy
₊ · »-♡→ this was different from the other books as it is a story about children who actually grew up in the narnian universe. enter shasta, a boy from calormen who ends up meeting a talking horse from narnia. together they escape their hard lives in the desert to narnia. along the way they run into new friends and the pevensie children all grown up! shasta also discovers his true identity.

₊ · »-♡→ this was my fav book so far!!! absolutely loved the story and it was so rich in detail. people online were saying that this book is considered more a side quest and not really integral to the overall story, but you'll be missing out if you don't read this one! i loved how we get to understand why the book title is what it is

₊ · »-♡→ loved loved loveeeed seeing edmund and lucy reign as king and queen; they are such badasses going into battle. also didn't realize how sassy c.s. lewis was LOL i actually laughed at some of the witty remarks he made and he did poke fun at the ridiculousness of calormen royalty.

₊ · »-♡→ "'it is very true,' said edmund. 'but even a traitor may mend. i have known one that did.' and he looked very thoughtful." okk character development


prince caspian
₊ · »-♡→ not a bad book by any means, but i wasn't as engaged in this story as i was in the previous books. narnia has been overthrown and now ruled by the cruel telmarines. talking animals and forest spirits are in hiding. the young prince caspian escapes his evil Uncle who plans on killing him in order to usurp the throne. in a desperate attempt, he calls for the OG4. they take narnia back from the telmarines, with the help of aslan.

₊ · »-♡→ the ending did make me sad. peter and susan are too old to reenter narnia so this is their last appearance in the book :(

₊ · »-♡→ "But all night Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes"

the voyage of the dawn treader
₊ · »-♡→ edmund and lucy return to narnia -this time with their insufferable cousin eustace. they join caspian on his voyage to search for the seven lords of narnia.

₊ · »-♡→ it was fun to see the side quests they ran into on the islands they travelled to. we learned more about the different types of magic on narnia. i also laughed a lot reading this book because of eustace - his journal entries were so funny to me. c.s. lewis is good at writing snark. eustace had a lot of dialogue until the mid-way point of the book where he becomes a dragon and then turns back into a human. he sort of just fades into the background after? which was a let down bc i enjoyed his character a lot.

₊ · »-♡→ this was lucy and edmund's last time in narnia and i feel like it was cut so short. they couldn't even properly say goodbye to caspian. there was no mention of eustace being too old for narnia, so im expecting him to show up in the last 2 novels, which i'm definitely looking forward to!

₊ · »-♡→ "there was once a boy called eustace clarence scrubb, and he almost certainly deserved it." what an opener to a book lol xD

the silver chair
₊ · »-♡→ loved, loved, loved this book. the highlight of this book was puddleglum - easily one of my new favorite characters, ever. his speech to the lady of green kirtle was emotional and will stick with me.

₊ · »-♡→ we got to explore more of the magical world narnia - that is, the underworld and the north/land of the giants. there might possibly be some foreshadowing for the next book, since there were a bunch of sleeping animals and a man named father time, which an earthman exclaimed would be woken up at the end of the world.

₊ · »-♡→the whole time i was wondering about the silver chair and when it would appear. the significance behind it is quite chilling, as it is what bound the missing prince to his curse, set by the lady of green kirtle. i do wish more of her backstory was explained.

₊ · »-♡→"i'm on aslan's side even if there isn't any aslan to lead it. i'm going to live as like a narnian as i can even if there isn't any narnia."

the last battle
₊ · »-♡→ummm, wow. i have some mixed feelings on this one. everything happened so fast in this book and i didn't really fully process it until the end. narnia starts falling, the humans make their appearance mid-way through the book, and then the country gets overrun by calormenes? the cherry on top was the reveal at the end that all seven friends of narnia died from a train accident on earth and now live in aslan's county/new narnia.

₊ · »-♡→this book was bittersweet. such an insane way to end the book. the only the time i felt happy was seeing the humans reunite with old friends and characters from the other books. other than that, it was almost unbearable to read bc of how sad it was :/ i also see now why it was recommended the books be read in publishing order.

₊ · »-♡→ "all their life in this world and all their adventures in narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were 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"


overall thoughts on the series
₊ · »-♡→i very much enjoyed this series. got super into the lore (even though a lot of it went unexplained). i thought c.s. lewis did a fantastic job at world building. the details that went into it made narnia come alive and makes me want to live there.

₊ · »-♡→i dont get why people are complaining that the series is too religious. the author is a well known christian author, so it's kind of expected? that's like listening to a gospel song and then complaining that it's too religious lol. regardless, as someone who grew up in the church, i enjoyed seeing how lewis retold the biblical stories and turned it into a fantasy series that can be enjoyed by both adults and children.

₊ · »-♡→there were some parts in the book that made me cringe due to the outdated and racist tones they had. the books were written back in the 50s though, so was not surprised, though it still threw me off. i would definitely re-read this series - i think there are lessons in the books that serve as good reminder, even to adults. maybe i won't read the last battle though as that one was a little too sad.
Profile Image for Troy.
630 reviews1 follower
December 28, 2025
Reading this chronologically was very different. I read these every night to my 7 year old. Wow! This took awhile and some of the books are just not good. We enjoyed the first two books but struggled with a few of them. Reading it chronologically made sense and gave me a fuller picture of the story arc. I think one may need to stop after 4 books just for their own mind as I started to tire of the storylines and metaphor that is clearly portrayed. But overall, I think this is a wonderful set of books to read to your kids and discuss some aspects of the story with them. I didn't get too deep and he fell asleep most nights to me reading.
Profile Image for Cody Wallace.
111 reviews
June 11, 2025
Another Kindle read of 2024. I was thoroughly surprise by this series and the directions each individual book goes. They went to places I never thought could be described. But boy did he do it! I was especially surprised by The Magicians Nephew. The way it introduced and explored the multiverse and began the Narnia story. I was super satisfied by this series upon finishing it. It left me feeling really good. Truly a well thought out and detailed experience.
Profile Image for Ránna Shirrin.
91 reviews
July 8, 2025
The sweetest, most wonderful children's books out there. Hands down. Just as Tolkien is THE master of high-fantasy, Lewis is THE master of fairy-tale-christian-allegory. The Narnia books will always be some of my favorites. I love the characters in each and every book; probably my favorite was Edmund. The way Lewis wrote Narnia, it made me want to go there so bad so I could meet Aslan. Alas, that I must stay here.
Profile Image for Erin.
19 reviews1 follower
August 16, 2025
Best Series of All Time

I read and reread these books often. I always come back to them. Their adventures never dull, the characters never bore, and the lessons never fade. I finished this over the summer. I feel refreshed and ready for whatever is next! Until next time old friends!
Profile Image for Jae Steele.
2 reviews
September 9, 2025
Delightfully whimsical and a timeless classic. This was an absolute joy to read all the way through to the final book in the series. If you're looking for something lighthearted to escape into, please consider reading these stories.
4 reviews
September 9, 2025
LOVE LOVE LOVE THE WHOOE SERIES. Since I am Catholic, and these books are mainly based on Christianity, Bible, I love it even more. The more you read, the more you feel the Bible moments, add up Bible stories to these amazing books. Generally, I have nothing bad to say about them.
15 reviews
December 30, 2025
Best book series ever

I've read this series many times, but I never get tired of it. I hope that everyone who reads it enjoys it as well. I'd give more than five stars if I could.
7 reviews1 follower
June 3, 2016
The Chronicles of Narnia is a fantasy series of 7 books that include, 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; and The Last Battle. The Magician's Nephew is a tale about Digory and Polly, neighbors and playmates. They are tricked into ending up in another world by Digory's mysterious Uncle Andrew. They accidentally unleash an evil queen on the world and keep her at bay by planting a magical tree that bears fruit that can heal anyone! Digory is allowed to bring a piece of the fruit back to his own world where he feeds it to his sick mother who miraculously recovers! The Lion the witch and the wardrobe is about the pevensie siblings who are, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. Lucy finds her way into Narnia by way of a magical coat closet who then drags everyone else in to help save the world, Narnia, from an evil witch who had caused the land to be in eternal winter, without christmas! The Horse and His Boy is a story about, Shasta, the son of a fisherman who longs to go to the hills in the north and never look back! He finds himself in the middle of a secret plot from the calormenes to overthrow Narnia. He escapes with his friend, a talking horse named bree, to Archenland where he meets his father the King and long lost brother Prince Corin. Prince Caspian is a tale of rebellion and how the pevensie children come back through magic to help claim back the throne of prince and rightful King Caspian. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a story about King Caspian and how Edmund, Lucy and their dreadful cousin, Eustace go back to Narnia through a painting and help King Caspian find all of the men that Caspian's father had stranded out at sea so that they wouldn't be able to tell anyone that caspian was the rightful King. The Silver Chair is a story about, How Eustace and his Friend from school Jill must find the (again) long lost prince of Narnia, Prince Rillian. Nobody must know because it is too dangerous to find him! Eventually, Eustace and Jill are dragged underground and find that Prince Rillian is under a spell from another Evil Queen who had taken control of earth-folk and enslaved them to try and conquer Narnia yet again! The Last Battle is about an old ape who had taken control of the power in Narnia. He had tricked people into thinking that he was the mouth for Aslan- a great lion/the creator and otherworldly being in Narnia. So King Tirian and a loyal band of troops must face the lies and treachery from within. Unexpectedly, the world is at its end, so Aslan brings only people who are loyal to Tirian for he is the rightful ruler. Aslan (the real one) explains that each new world is like an onion with its outer rings where each ring is larger and goes on farther. Such an amazing series! I loved it so much!
Profile Image for Beata.
306 reviews2 followers
August 19, 2022
Okay, re-read thoughts. Non-spoilery first, the books are much smaller than I remembered. It's not like I thought they were Lord of the Rings-esque, but having first read them almost 20 years ago, I thought they were more action packed and detailed. Not complaining. Horrible treatment of Susan, though, is something I'm going to complain about.
I'll have to read the essay(?) or short story from Susan's point of view.
18 reviews
February 1, 2022
I read this because I never read it as a younger person, and it's a classic in the fantasy genre. I read in short spurts like during meals so it took a while. Narnia was fun, and pretty much what I expected. The writing is clear, concise and straightforward. It was pleasurable.
The second part of the book is a compilation of CS Lewis early works about the imaginary world of "Boxen". The writing is old style and when you realize how young he was when it was written it's quite amazing. The amount of attention paid to politics and the maneuvering of the upper classes was quite surprising, and illuminating of Mr. Lewis' world and the world of Narnia.
The second half was more of a slog, with some humorous and high points, but not something I will re-read. As an exercise in discovering more about the author and how his writing developed it's interesting to read. That old saying about hindsight being 20-20 comes to mind in considering his later work of Narnia that surely developed from the Boxen animal land beginnings.
I am glad I read it. I believe every fantasy fan should read certain books and authors like Tolkien to have that reference as a standard to look to.
Do I recommend it? Narnia is worth reading at least once. The Boxen portion is if you are interested in author development and are willing to take the slow with the rather fun stuff. Yes.
194 reviews10 followers
March 31, 2023
Being in a nostalgic mood, I decided to reread one of my favorite book series. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe holds a special place in my heart as it was one of the first full-length novels I read in Braille, (after the early readers and chapter books). I was eight when I read that particular book for the first time. One of my favorite teachers recommended it to me. I still remember pulling items from my closet at home, hoping that I would find my own entrance into Narnia.
Over the years, I have read the entire series.
On this reread, I found that I loved The HOrse and His Boy best. It is always interesting how each reread makes me contemplate new things. In The HOrse and His Boy, I loved seeing how Aslan worked through all the events, how he helped each character in his own way. Those like Chasta and Wynn, who seemed the least brave, turned out to be the true heroes. The deep themes of all the books were as beautiful as ever. I enjoyed this visit down Memory Lane.
It was so interesting to learn about .S. Lewis and his brother writing their own fantasy book as children. It is also included in this collection. i always think its amazing to see an author's early work.
Happy reading, and God bless you all.
Profile Image for Louie the Mustache Matos.
1,427 reviews141 followers
August 8, 2023
I have read this C. S. Lewis classic series of books several times over the course of my life and have found that regardless of my age, the whimsical allegorical fantasy has never failed to entertain or surprise. This time I read the series in chronological order: 1. The Magician's Nephew, 2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 3. The Horse and His Boy, 4. Prince Caspian, 5. The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader,” 6. The Silver Chair, and 7. The Last Battle.

I love most of the books, but The Horse and His Boy strikes me as racist and honestly, I think it would do me just as well to skip that one, next time. It really doesn't fit the tone of the other books which ring triumphant even in the midst of war and death. Even though I despise book #3, I think that the sheer majesty of the other books require the entire collection to be called classic, (published more than 50 years ago, with exceptional writing, and paradigm creating characters) these books meet my criteria for classic. They swept me away, and filled even this old man with awe.
Profile Image for Alina.
376 reviews11 followers
October 10, 2020
Even taking into acount that these are supposed to be children's books, written simply and meant to amuse... I find them a lot of allegorical claptrap. Especially the last one. The overblown ending literally made me want to hurl. The religious sermonizing was insufferable. The racism and sexism and every other ism you can think of makes these books beyond outdated for modern reading.

In fact, after reading 10 whole books by CS Lewis this year, I have no idea why he was so succesful, his writing is nothing special and he has a terrible talent for turning even the most interesting idea into a heap of god-reeking rubbish. I can sort of see why Tolkien kept his gods away from his stories or else made them screw up royally, if this is the kind of skull-numbing crap he had to put up from his friend CS Lewis.
Profile Image for Gabriel Pereira.
128 reviews
December 29, 2022
I bought this box set of all 7 Narnia books last year on sale. I’d heard that a Netflix series is coming out soon and wanted to read up the stories ahead of that. I finished the books last year itself but was stuck on the additional content of Boxen. It didn’t interest me and so I had left the book altogether. Since I won’t be finishing it, I figured I’d best remove it now after a year.

It was nostalgic to read the Narnia stories. The movies were one of my favourites growing up. Although I was sad that the Pevensie children didn’t all make it through the series, it was nice to read and learn about the other characters along the way. Of course, this book has Christian undertones. I think it’s a great way to teach children about religious values. Looking forward to that Netflix series!
113 reviews2 followers
April 9, 2019
I did it! I finally finished my yearly read of the Chronicles of Narnia. The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are still my favorite books of the series, but I've enjoyed all of the others, too.

I skipped several sections of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle because I hated the scenes with the slave traders and The Lady in the Green Kirtle, Shift, the cannibalistic giants of Harfang and the backstabbing dwarves of The Last Battle (save for Poggin) are my least favorite characters of the series.

The Chronicles of Narnia are a magical set of stories and I hope they can be read for generations to come.
29 reviews1 follower
November 11, 2021
It's a fun read. It think it would be more fun to read as a child. As an adult I still enjoyed the stories but there are many flaws. A lot of flaws are kind of expected, like poor character development because these are short children's books. But the Christian agenda sometimes is too pushy, I think as a Christian it's even more cringy for me sometimes. A few times I was thinking Lewis might as well copy paste the bible there, it's so in your face! But the worst is the various sexist and racist comments that Lewis always make sure to put in each of the book and he seems to be very proud of it...
Profile Image for Nathan Coumbe.
8 reviews
November 21, 2022
We did NOT enjoy these books…

I first read “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” when I was in elementary school. And I enjoyed it well enough. It’s definitely the best of them all.

But reading these now… it was a slog. So long winded, boring, and just… not good. I genuinely can’t tell you one specific reason why I disliked these. But I can say that I couldn’t wait for each of them to end… and to finally be able to say I read the CoN.

I really think C.S. Lewis was so well known for his non-fiction writing that everyone ascribed a level of excellence to these books that they really don’t deserve.
Profile Image for Heather Martin.
2 reviews
November 21, 2024
The family is reading this together in publication order for our first read and we are absolutely in love. I'm realizing I never read more than the LLW when I was younger and am in awe of the writing, the beautiful characters and the story as a whole. What a beautiful understanding of the human condition! I'm amazed each time we begin a new book that we find new characters to love!

LLW: Great book, wonderful introduction to the characters and setting.

PC: Better yet, possibly my favorite.

VDT: No, this is my favorite (I think this will be a theme).
Profile Image for Steve Miller.
92 reviews1 follower
July 15, 2015
This was my third time venturing through the wardrobe and I loved the books as much as ever. "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is best the first time, but other books I liked less before I now appreciate more. I was a little leery of reading them in chronological order, rather than the order Lewis wrote them, but the concern was unfounded.

This collection came with Boxen. I read some of it out of curiosity, browsed more, and left the rest untouched. Narnia is enough.
Profile Image for Kanan.
63 reviews2 followers
December 8, 2021
I'm so glad to have re-read this series. I didn't remember most of it from my childhood, and I really loved reading it this time around. Recommended for anyone of any age. Such good lessons for children + adults alike:
1) Love trumps all
2) Kindness reigns supreme
3) Time is not linear (!)
4) Everything is transient
5) Magic is everywhere; those who believe will see

May we always have magic in our lives.
Profile Image for Elaina.
115 reviews8 followers
January 14, 2021
I think that this series is brilliantly made. C.S Lewis is definitely one of the best authors to have existed! The writing is so different. I'm not sure how to put this but maybe "mysterious" is the right word to explain his writing. The plot of this story is so well-thought-out and has a deeper meaning once you understand it. The ending of The Last Battle is just so AMAZING! Read this now, you won't be disappointed!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.