Home :: Books :: Science Fiction & Fantasy  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

List Price: $11.95
Your Price: $11.95
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 4 5 6 7 >>

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good for younger Teenagers
Review: I think that the book in question is another expedition to the tales of which C.S. Lewis was so good at telling. I highly recomend it and hope that all of you that read this book will experience the same true feelings of adventure that I felt.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A delicious book for any appetite
Review: C.S. Lewis plainly speaks of a fantastic world full of adventures and lessons to learn. The characters are children with whom we all can identify. If you have a vivd imagination, why not brighten it with this classic

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best books ever written.
Review: This is the best of the Chronicles of Narnia ( I've read all seven) it is about Lucy and Edmund and their cousin Eustace. The get pulled into to an ocean on another world and meet the ship The Dawn Treader and King Caspian, it takes them on an adventure through many strange islands on the quest of a lifetime

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Review: C.S. Lewis' "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" was the third Narnian chronicle to be written and the fifth chronologically. Along with "The Last Battle", it's probably my favorite in the series.

Lucy and Edmund have to stay with their cousin Eustace Scrubb and his trendy parents Harold and Albert. Eustace is very serious, a bit of a know-all, cynical and just a little bit mean, . He keeps making fun of Lucy and Edmund's tales of Narnia, the world they have not only visited twice, but been kings and queens in. His mockery soons stops though when the three of them get sucked into a painting in an attic. They find themselves on board the Dawn Treader, King Caspian's exploration vessel, on the beginning of a voyage. The King and his men seek to discover new islands, to find his father's friends who were banished seven years ago, and to see Aslan's Country, rumoured to be at the most eastern end of the world, beyond the sun and the ocean. What a voyage it turns out to be!

When I first read the chronicles of Narnia (in fifth grade), this was the one that captured my imagination the most. It's a book that is constantly exciting, each destination reached more incredible than the last. Such amazing creatures and concepts. There scary places, funny places, places where friends are made and lessons are learned. The descriptions are truly inspired. The ending, even now, leaves me spellbound every time. I can picture it so clearly. Wow!

As with all the Narnian Chronicles, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" has illustrations by Pauline Baynes, and these are just as evocative as Lewis' descriptions, enhancing them, making them more vivid. I particularly like the picture near the start of chapter ten, of the magician's hallway where Lucy is walking so timidly.

The characters are all great too. It's nice to see Caspian and Reepicheep again, as well as Edmund and Lucy. The chatacter Eustace is a fine invention. He's something of a brat and yet we like him, feel sorry for him when he gets in trouble, and like him better when he changes for the better later on.

C.S. Lewis was a devoted Christian, and all of his work relate back to his beliefs to some extent. Although there is a great deal more emphasis on adventure and fantasy here, there are still allegory and parallels to be drawn if you're looking for them. Eustace's adventures are particularly interesting. He finds fault in everything except himself, who has more obvious faults in his character. He means to be helpful, but he can't really be helpful until he gets rid of his own flaws first. This is rather reminiscent of Jesus' saying "take the plank out of your own eye so you can see clearly to see the speck in your brother's eye". There is a part where he's transformed into a dragon, and he realises the ugliness of his actions. Aslan the Lion helps him by showing him to a well in which to bathe (rather similar to baptism). Before he can bathe, Eustace must shed his ugly skin (his rotten ways), something that he can't do, no matter how he tries. It is only with Aslan's help that he becomes free of them. In christianity, it is through Christ that believers shed their old worldly ways, similar to this. A lot of the allegory, I noticed, had to do with the nature of God, the nature of Christ and being a believer rather than any particular specific event.

Although "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is number 5 in the "official reading order", rather late in the series, the only books that are really essential to read are "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian". "Prince Caspian" in particular, as several of the characters (Caspian, Reepicheep) and plot threads (the king's lost men) are in this.

Highly recommended for fantasy fans and lovers of the work of C.S. Lewis.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tale of virtue will hold a five year old's attention
Review: In the third book of the Narnia series, CS Lewis takes on progressive education, consistent with the themes found in his The Abolition of Man. Of course, this is but secondary to his main purpose of portraying spiritual struggle and redemption. My five year old son, to whom I'm reading the whole series, was rapt through most of it, thanks to Lewis's vivid imagery. At the end, when the children learn that they have to leave Narnia and never come back but that Aslan is present in their world under another name, I stopped and asked my son "And what is that name for Aslan in our world?" He smiled and said, "Jesus." Good lad.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good After You Get Into It
Review: At first i didn't like The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The beging was too much like the rest of the CON, and very boring. But as i started to read it, it became the best book of the CON.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Never a dull moment
Review: This is the fifth book chronologically, and the third published. After "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", it's probably the next most enjoyable of the series.

Peter and Susan are now too old to enter Narnia, and this time it's Edmund and Lucy embarking on their last magical adventure. We rejoin them during their stay with their new age aunt and uncle, and obnoxious cousin Eustace. A painting of a Narnian ship literally draws all three children in to the next adventure, where we advance three Narnian years from book four, "Prince Caspian".

Caspian, the boy King, is on a quest to find out what really happened to the seven lords who had been sent away by his evil uncle Miraz. This is the story of that perilous journey to the unknown Eastern Seas, and according to legend, the country of Aslan himself.

Journeying into the unknown is always fraught with danger, but after many thrilling adventures and much adversity, they are successful in solving the puzzle of the seven lords, for better or for worse. Time and time again, they seek Aslan's help, and in his mysterious ways, he guides them through their darkest hours.

Packed with excitement, adventure, magic and enchantment, pirates, dragons, treasure and invisible people, there's never a dull moment aboard the Dawn Treader.

Amanda Richards, September 3, 2004


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I never wanted it to end....
Review: I agree with others here that this was the best out of all the Narnia Chronicles. What a book! I am reading all these books as an adult and I can only imagine how more wonderful these would seem as a child. I do like the Christianity thrown in (Aslan being the Messiah). Some others I have spoken to do not like this in your face message of Adam and Eve and the Aslan's Kingdom. This book clearly states (SPOILER) at the end of the Kingdom (Heaven) being both in Narnia and in our world. It's a great book for an adventurer or someone who would like to explain how beautiful the boundaries of Heaven can be. This is the best book (haven't read the last one yet though) and I already want to read it again...absolutely enchanting.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Review: Although the third volume written by Lewis, "Dawn Treader" falls fifth in the Narnian chronology. It can be thought of as a melding of the Quest/Cruscade theme (from the Horse and His Boy) with many of the characters from Prince Caspian.

Like in the Horse and His Boy, we have here an adventure that takes place amongst non-believers outside the Kingdom of God (Narnia). Here however the protagonists are actively seeking adventure while cruscading outside the realm. Their many adventures include abolishing slavery, freeing the invisible Dufflepuds from their 'medieval' enchantment, as well as more metaphorical visits to golden ponds, the isle of dreams, and dragon-infested lands. By the end of the book, the travellers have finally reached the boundary between heaven and earth; who will turn back and who will go on?

Despite the fact that this book included several adventures and was written for somewhat older children than some of the earlier offerings, I found this book to be somewhat slow going. Perhaps the already-noted episodic nature of the tales is to blame; somehow the religious and moral messages were not as compelling here, and Reepicheep was the only really fresh character in the bunch.

Nevertheless, this will be a good read for young and old alike who are looking to continue their Narnian adventure. (3.5 stars)


<< 1 .. 4 5 6 7 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates