Magician's Nephew (Radio Theatre)

Rating:
Summary: The Narnian Genesis
Review: It's about the turn of the twentieth century, and Digory Kirke is not having much of a time. He's had to move away from the country into the drab, grey cobbled world of London. His father is away, his mother is on her deathbed with illness and his creepy Uncle Andrew lives up in his wardrobe, mysteriously busy. He finds a friend in Polly, his girl next door, and she shows him to her attic, where a door leads to the rooves of all the houses on their terrace. They go along it, hoping to investigate an empty house down the road, but instead find themselves in Uncle Andrew's laboratory. He locks them in and forces them to partake in his experiments. By Atlantean magic, Uncle Andrew has made rings that can transport a person into other worlds. Digory and Polly are whisked away, which sets off an exciting chain of events and adventures.

"The Magician's Nephew" is a tale revealing how Narnia came to be, one of the most loved by fans. We learn of the origins of the Witch, and of the Wardrobe. The Lion, however, is kept just as majestic and mysterious as ever, which is just as well really. One thing I would have liked to have known more about Aslan is his father, the mysterious "Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea". He is mentioned once or twice in the other books (by the beavers in Chapter 8 of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", for instance). Nothing much comes of him, and sometimes I wonder whether C.S. Lewis forgot he'd mentioned him.

With so many explanations and imaginative extensions of logic (the rings, the wood between the worlds, etc), some of the writing here verges on science fantasy, which is something of a change of pace from the other books.

The characterizations are pretty good, some of the best in the series, I thought. I love the dialogue between Digory and Polly, that love-hate kind of relationship that kids sometimes have with each other. Uncle Andrew, the mad scientist "magician" of sorts, is delightfully melodramatic too, as is Jadis, the White Witch. She's pretty sinister in parts too.

C.S. Lewis was a committed Christian, and his beliefs shine through in all his work. There's a lot of Christian allegory in the Chronicles of Narnia, for instance. In "The Magician's Nephew", I think it's more of an eloborated parallel (to the Biblical Genesis), rather than a specific allegory. The descriptions of the creation of Narnia are vivid and resonant, catching the imagination as only C.S. Lewis can. Another Christian element Lewis does explore is the nature of temptation - how a person falls for it, how strong it can get, and how a person can resist it. He does this quite well, using words in such a way you can feel the struggles of the person tempted. He explores similar themes in "The Silver Chair".

Pauline Baynes provides illustrations for this book, as she does througout all the series. I'm particularly fond of her pictures in "The Magician's Nephew". She captures the feel of both turn of the century London and of a newly born world very well.

Though "The Magician's Nephew" is the first chronologically, it was actually one of the last written, the sixth. It's definitely a book that can stand on its own, however, and be read first in the series. I think, though, that you get a lot more from it if you've read the ones that were written before it. It gives a lot of things away and it takes a lot of the surprise and the wonder out as you read on (especially from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"). I like to think of it more as a belated prequel rather than an official beginning. I've been reading the books in the order they were written, and it's quite interesting that way. You can see how Narnia develops. Like, I've noticed that from "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" onwards, Lewis is expanding his world. In "Voyage" (1952), he explores the east, in "The Silver Chair" (1953) he explores the north (and the underground), in "The Horse and His Boy" (1954) he explores the south and here in "The Magician's Nephew" (1955) the west of Narnia is used. Whichever way you read the series, it is bound to be enjoyable.

Highly recommended for fantasy lovers.

Rating:
Summary: best in the series
Review: The Lion the witch and the wardrobe was one of those books that I loved at the beginning, but got bogged down as it progressed, leaving me with a unsatisfactory end. The magician's nephew does not suffer from this problem at all. At a young age I was spellbound by this story, written both simply and beautifuly. I never tire of this book, and I have read it, without exaggerating, at least 20 times. The story is captivating, and there is a sense of interconnectedness and backstory that makes for a rich world presented in the book. If you read one book from the narnia series, read this one, you won't reget it.

Rating:
Summary: Very nearly the best of the series
Review: Reading The Magician's Nephew to my five year old son, we encountered the same kind of wonder that we enjoyed with the first in the Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The strength of this book is the portrayal, even more developed than in the previous Narnia works, of Aslan the Great Lion as the ultimate good, the Creator, the Song Made Flesh, the God who became a Beast for our sakes...you get the idea. Lewis seems to have tapped into something true and beautiful, especially in the narrative of how Aslan brought Narnia into being, and also how He deals with human sin and tragedy. Spellbinding for the 46 year old, moving and beneficial for the five year old. Highly, highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!!
Review: This book is a true adventure for any child, even a child at heart.

I was sorry to read that the author died when I was 2,
but now that I know about these books the author will live on
forever for me.

The Magician's Nephew includes magic, mystery, adventure, and everything else that could keep a child glued to
the pages of a book.

I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to all
kids, young and old:)

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book of the CON
Review: I finished this book some time ago. And at first I didn't like it, but this was just becuse of the wich going back and forth between the worlds. But once the children wen't into Narnia it relly got good!!! C.S.Lewis writes this book butifuly. The resond I knoked off a star is becuse of as i said before, them contenuing to go between the worlds.

Rating:
Summary: What a great treat for children AND adults!
Review: A powerful story that will stregthen your love for God while you have fun reading about Polly and Digory's adventures. I read this for the first time as an adult and I highly recommend it to anyone who is entertained by fantasies and fairy tales. I liked it so much that I actually bought the whole set.

Rating:
Summary: In the beginning....
Review: Whether you read these books chronologically (Narnian time):

The Magicians 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

or in the order they were published:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
Prince Caspian (1951)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
The Silver Chair (1953)
The Horse and His Boy (1954)
The Magicians Nephew (1955)
The Last Battle (1956)

is entirely up to you.

Beginning at the beginning has always sounded like a good approach to me, hence this first review of the Narnia series.

Though written in simple style to be appreciated by young scholars, this book seems to echo with subtle and not so subtle references to the bible. A background check on the late great C. S. Lewis will reveal that he became a theist in 1929, a Christian in 1931, and later was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity by the University of St. Andrews in 1946.

His belief in the existence of one God, viewed as the creative source of man and the world, who transcends yet is immanent in the world, provides the foundation for the series, especially in this book and the magnificent classic "The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe." (Note: definition courtesy of Merriam-Webster)

"The Magician's Nephew" tells of the creation of Narnia by the great and powerful Aslan, and the temptation of a son of Adam, by a deceiver, with an apple from a forbidden tree.

This is the story of Digory and Polly, two friends who, upon an accidental meeting with Magician wanna-be Uncle Andrew, find themselves in a head spinning adventure involving other worlds, magical rings, an evil sorceress, a cabby and his horse, talking animals, and a collection of fauns, satyrs, dwarves and naiads.

We learn about the first King and Queen of Narnia, a heroic quest, a miraculous cure, and the planting of a tree and a lamp post, both of which we will need to move on with the series.

Even though a slim volume, The Magician's Nephew is deceptively deep and compelling.

WARNING: Reading this book leads to the compulsive reading of at least six other books.

Amanda Richards August 1, 2004