Complete Chronicles of Narnia

Rating:
Summary: great reading alound to your older children
Review: I read this collection in its entirety aloud over our first homeschooling year with my 5th grader. She loved it! It is a great book for readig aloud to older children, because of the great prose and amazing fantasy story-telling. It has interesting little illustrations throughout the book, but not too much to detract from the story. You have to use your imagination with Narnia! Every child should have these fabulous stories read to them (not too young, though.)

Rating:
Summary: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
Review: This book is a great book for kids around the middle school age, but me being a senior in high school, i do belive this book was to childish for me. i personally do not like the talking animals and the Harry Potter like theam this book has to it.
But this book is a great adventure as well as mysterious with the dragons, heros, evil vilians, monsters, lords, creatures,pirates and talking animals.
Although reading this book does make you want to read the whole seven series.
I would recommend this book to children around the ages of 11 to 14. its a great adventure book for children and they will love it if they like Harry Potter.


Rating:
Summary: A true classic
Review: As a child, my dad would read this to me and my brother every night before we went to sleep. We loved it and made it through the books many times. Later, I went back and read them and was blown away by how deep they are. Kids will love the books for the story, but adults will also enjoy the religious symbolism in the book. I guess that is why my Dad could stand to read it to us night after night. These books are fantastic - every one of them has its great moments.

Also, if you like these, you might also look at Lewis's lesser-known space trilogy ("Out of the Silent Planet", "Perelandra" and "That Hideous Strength"). These don't get nearly the acclaim that the Narnia books do, but are very good in their own right. The three books are kind of a progression, but don't need to be read in order. Also, the first book is science fiction, the second fantasy and the third a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and horror. If you only read one of the three, read "Perelandra".

Rating:
Summary: A Box of Chronicles
Review: C.S Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" is an extraodinary series, no question about it. This seven book set of fantasy novels is full of adventure, wonder, depth and allegory, and is a great read again and again, no matter what your age.

There are many countries to explore within these books. There's the england-like Narnia with it's talking animals and creatures of Greek mythology, the Arabia-like Calormen with its verbose warriors and horrible gods, the bleak Ettinsmoor with its bumbling giants, the eastern seas with its breathtaking wonders, the western wilds and its enchanted garden, the high, balmy Archenland, and the fantastic Aslan's country. There are lots of characters to meet too. The fauns, the centaurs, unicorns, pegasus, dragons, werewolves, witches, many a talking beast and of course Aslan himself, the great wild Lion, Narnia's savior. There are kings to be crowned, feasts to be eaten, battles to be fought and lessons to be learned. A marvellous place to read about, absolutely.

Throughout the stories are these beautiful, evocative illustrations and maps by Pauline Baynes, which enchance Lewis' description of Narnia, making it come even more alive.

Lewis was a devoted Christian, and his faith shines through in all his written works, particularly within Narnia. Both the wonders and temptation of the Garden of Eden is captured perfectly in "The Magician's Nephew". In "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", we see the joys, sorrows and purpose of the savior, Aslan the Lion (who is similar to our savior Jesus Christ). "A Horse And His Boy", by way of Shasta's adventures in Calormen, plays out Proverbs 16v9: "In his heart man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps". As he heads towards Narnia, the great Lion guides him to his destination, even if he doesn't know it. In "Prince Caspian" we see people who refuse to believe in Aslan, dismissing it as myths just because his appearance was so long ago, in the same way that many people dismiss Jesus and his miracles because all we have 2000 years on are his stories and teachings. In "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", among other things, we see the ever critical Eustace turned into a dragon, and only then does he see how horrid he has been. With Aslan's help, he is stripped of his scales and bathed in water, very similar to the Christian baptism and the cleansing of sins through Christ. In "The Silver Chair", we follow as the temptations and tribulations of Jill and Eustace looking for Prince Rillian, uncannily similar to the doubts and troubles of Christians struggling agaist the world. And in "The Last Battle", we see the apocalypse, the end of the world, based roughly around the Biblical book of Revelation. It's always nice to read book that work on a couple of levels.

If you're going to get all the Chronicles in one go, I'd recommend this boxset over the paperback ominbus alternative. For one, the books are seperate so more than one person can be reading the series at the same time, and the thinner books are far easier to handle than a great big thick one, particularly if you're reading on the train, like I often do. Plus, a boxset always looks nicer than an unnaturally-thick paperback on the shelf, I think. The boxset is arranged and numbered in chronological order, as a real history would be. It's not my personal preference (I prefer the order they were written in), but you can always switch the books around in the box to whatever order you like (unlike the paperback, which is set in chronological order pretty much permanently unless you start ripping pages out!).

A great fantasy series, a great allegory, great illustrations and great writing, all in one box. Highly, highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Stories!!
Review: I truly enjoyed reading this series when I was a teenager. To dwell and soar through these books took me to another world--Narnia. I was with the characters through it all and experienced everything they experienced. I still have the set in my book collection. When I am feeling I need to go back to a child-like state for a time; I will reach for one of these books and go to my other world away from the problems of this world! They have great moral and hidden truths within these pages so beware...you might learn a thing or two with this set.

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Summary: Is it Christian in nature?
Review: Well, yes, it is, but you wouldn't necessarily know it unless you'd had prior exposure to Christian principles. In fact, I would have to say this is one of the best sets of stories with a Christian slant of all time, and no wonder... C.S. Lewis is one of the great Christian writers of all time. In these books, he creates an imaginary world that is absorbing for adults, as well as children. Simply put, he creates an imaginary world called Narnia that children in the stories have adventures in. There are moral decisions to be made, and they are made without shoving religion down your throat. It is very tastefully done.

Five stars for CS Lewis.


Rating:
Summary: Reminding the world of Great Literature
Review: It shocks me to see that someone could actually say these books "suck." To me that speaks profoundly of a lack of understanding for great literature and its context.
These books are wonderful, though I would agree with another reader in saying that they should not be read chronologically--at least not the first go-round.
C.S. Lewis was a profoundly spiritual, Catholic writer who sheds a beautiful light on spirituality through a magically written set of fantasy books that should and do grab the attention of young and old. Do not be fooled by the recommended reading level of these books! I read them first at 9, and now I'm 24 and STILL loving them! Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Not just for kids.
Review: The suggested age range of readers for this series is 9 to 12 years. I just read it at 35 and I found it stimulating and inspirational. The stories and characters are allegorical, but just because there is a message there doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. I enjoyed the imagery, the introspection, the dialogue, the settings, all of it. A truely great read.

Rating:
Summary: I want my money back!!!
Review: When I saw the collection of books, I thought it was going to be one of those books that keeps going. Kind of like a Harry Potter series where you keep asking for more. And the story doesn't end till the very final book! But after reading the first book, I wanted to throw the set of books at someone! And my first reaction after reading the book was, `WHAT THE HELL WERE THE PUBLISHER'S THINKING?"... Truth be told, I thought it would get better getting further into the book (next book after next), but it just got worse! This collection of books suck so much that I just gave up reading it. I'm still 4 books behind!