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: We now return to the beginning. Even earlier, actually.
Review: In this prequel to the Chronicles of Narnia, we get to see everything from the origin of the lamp-post that Lucy encounters upon first enterting Narnia to the first appearance of Aslan, as he grants the animals of Narnia the gift of speech.
I strongly recommend that you not read this book until you have finished the first five volumes in the series. It is good as a stand-alone story, but the real magic is discovering the answers to questions that may have occured to you while reading the other books.
Digory and Polly find themselves in a nexus between worlds, and travel from our world to Narnia and back again. They also venture into other magical worlds, and inadvertently bring trouble home with them in the form of an angry goddess.
Digory is trying to help his sick mother, but also finds other demands being placed on him. As in all of the Narnia stories, great burdens are borne by young children, and only those who are up to the task at hand can find happiness.
This book is every bit as magical as the others, and also brings back a note of familiarity for those who became distressed when the original foursome became less prominnently featured. By returning to its roots, Lewis is able to both play on feelings of nostalgia, and to amaze us with the presentation of a creation myth as it happens.
Any fan of the series will remember this volume fondly, and will likely use this book as a springboard to begin rereading the earlier books. I can't recommend this book, or this series, more highly. It has earned and will continue to earn a palce in the hearts of children, and I can only hope that the upcoming big-budget movie will rejuvenate the series' popularity in the same way that the Lord of the Rings movies generated an interest in that series.
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: Falters in the end, but still classic fantasy
Review: Another in C.S. Lewis' famous Narnia Chronicles, "The Magician's Nephew" is the story of Narnia's creation in the guise of an adventure shared by two children, Digory and Polly. Though among the last Narnia books published, chronologically "Nephew" is the first of the Narnia stories. That doesn't mean it has to be read first, and for a number of reasons many would argue that it *shouldn't* be read first - but that is a debate in and of itself.The tale leaps to a strong start, telling of Digory and Polly's escapades in exploring the attic of the rowhouse in which they live, and how they stumble into the secret study of Digory's Uncle Andrew. Andrew is not a Good Uncle, he is a Bad Uncle, and he tricks the children into teleporting to another world as part of his experiments with ancient magic. In doing so, Digory and Polly find themselves exploring other, fantastic worlds. All of this is, of course, simply the setup for what happens later and serves to lead the children to Narnia. It is also the most effective part of the book. During their adventures, the pair wake an ancient and evil queen who is out to conquer any world she comes to. A merry bit of failed escaping between worlds ensues as the children try to flee the power-hungry queen. The pacing of the book up to here is very good, moving at a fairly brisk speed and keeping the reader interested by adding ever-mounting troubles and discoveries. Classic fairy tale stuff done exceptionally well. "Nephew" also boasts some of the most effective evil characters in the entire series, with both the queen and Uncle Andrew coming across as fearsome, nasty antagonists. All in all, through the first half of the book one finds themselves in the midst of a fantastic children's adventure. Then it grinds to a halt. "Nephew" is about Narnia's creation, so naturally enough the adventures of the book's first half serve to set Narnia's birth and the trials that follow. Unfortunately, the setup is far better than the tale it was setting up, causing the book's second half to read like a long coda rather than a rousing climax. Sure, the "firsts" of Narnia and a few of its trademark features are revealed to the reader. We get to see the origins of the White Witch, how Narnia came to be populated with Talking Beasts, the origins of the lamppost from "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and even why the wardrobe was a portal to Narnia ... and yet none of this manages to fully satisfy. All of this is unfortunate indeed, because "The Magician's Nephew" gets off to such a good start. It possibly leaps forward better than any other book in the series, and for a time seems as if it will offer as engrossing and adventurous a tale as was told in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Instead it bogs down just as it should be picking up, all but standing still for the final six chapters or so. It's not the worst of the Narnia books - "Prince Caspian" probably holds that honor - but it is lifted from oblivion only by the wonderful adventures that open the book. Still, even bad Narnia is better than most children's fantasy, earning this four stars.
Rating:
Summary: C.S. Lewis Fan
Review: Have you ever heard the sweet sound of a lion's voice or seen the rich lands of Narnia? Well, Digory, Polly, Uncle Andrew and an evil witch have. Digory was a normal London dirty boy. Polly however was a girl of higher class. Together they search through hidden rooms and find eventually find Digory's uncle Andrew's room where they find magical rings that transport them into the land between worlds. There are thousands of puddles that lead to other lands. In one puddle they find an evil witch. Unfortunately they brought her back to London. So what do you do with a witch rampaging around London? You get rid of her, and that's exactly what they did. But they sent her into the greatest land of all, Narnia. See how Polly and Digory must save Narnia and the lives of thousands of animals. Digory changes at the end of the book because he becomes more aware of others than himself when his mother gets involved as well. He soon finds himself in a very deep hole with a big decision to make. Find out how deep this hole is in the amazing book, The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. I give this book a five stars!!!
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: The magical story of the Magician's Nephew!
Review: I had never heard about `The Chronicles of Narnia' till some days ago. As I was browsing through Amazon.com Books section, I noticed this wonderful series, and after reading a brief review, immediately purchased the whole set.
"The Magician's Nephew" is the first book in the book, and a wonderful start to the series. The story starts off with Digory and Polly, two children who decide to peek into an abandoned house next to Digory's house. When they accidentally stumble into someone else's room, their adventure into another world begins.
The story of `The Magician's Nephew' is filled with magic and excitement that will make a person of any age interested in it right from the start. C. S. Lewis uses simple words that makes reading the story simple and keeps the reader engrossed in it. The story is fast-paced without a dull moment, and indirectly delivers a profound message in the end that is very thought-provoking.
I am off to read the next book of the series, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" where I can enter a world where horses can fly, where animals can talk, where life is born and where the excitement never ends. Read this book today and enter the world of Narnia, where you will soon forget about all your worries.
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: 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: 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.
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