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abitterknitter's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Bullying, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
sleepy_giraffe's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Violence, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Slavery
bgick's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Violence, and Grief
lizziaha's review against another edition
1.0
It’s been said before but truly I could not focus on anything except the BLATANT racism in this book, ft. our beloved heroes doing blackface, “darkies” (lewis’s word, not mine) worshipping a god that is revealed to be a demon, and an evil ape (really the racist symbolism is so transparent) creating a fake Aslan for his own gain. I see what c.s. lewis is doing, and it infuriates me. As someone who was raised Christian, i found the rhetoric in this book deeply distasteful. Being intimately familiar with Christian beliefs, i just can’t stop thinking about how this book could be so much better. The ending felt like the biggest cop out ever, the end of the world of narnia felt rushed and also i felt like it wasn’t a true representation of biblical end times. And don’t even get me started on Susan 😤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Child death, Death, Murder, Slavery, Racism, Misogyny, and Islamophobia
Moderate: War, Violence, Animal death, and Xenophobia
fragrant_stars's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Definitely a darker tone than the earlier books... as an adult, it's a little uncomfortable to read the racism and xenophobia in these books-- I don't believe CS Lewis had any malicious intent when he wrote these tropes, but.. you know. Still uncomfortable. All in all though, I think it was a decent wrapup to the Narnia series, and I'm happy I was able to enjoy these books as a young child.
BTW Susan didn't enter Aslan's kingdom in the end because she was.... you know..... still alive......... Smartassery aside it's very clear in-text that Susan doesn't go to Aslan's kingdom because she doesn't really want to go. She doesn't even believe it exists. She's so obsessed with being a part of the Grown Up Club that she's too proud to believe in fairytales. It's not about the lipsticks nylons and boys. CS Lewis himself says that he thinks that it's not too late for Susan to grow up and realise it's okay to indulge in "silly" and "childish" things and come back to Narnia again someday.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Car accident, Child death, Animal death, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, and Xenophobia
cubbykay's review against another edition
1.5
It's really hard to sell Christianity when you're THIS racist. Using Lewis's own words against him, nothing vile or hurtful can be done in Aslan's name. So the disgusting slurs he wrote into this book must have been made in the name of Tash.
There are many reunions in this book, and they're all wonderful. Unfortunately, there are so many characters crammed in near the end that everyone's going to be disappointed that their favorites get so few lines. The new characters weren't that great either.
Susan's exclusion feels cheap. The reason is purely to extend the analogy, not to enrich the story; and the excuse feels misogynistic.
Also, they died?? That's the only way they could stay in Narnia? We all know Lucy would stay in a heartbeat, but what if Edmund had a life and plans to get back to? Well you bloody don't have a choice now! It's treated as entirely good news. Aslan's out here like, hey guess what you're dead now so you can party with me for forever! Woohoo! The end, roll credits.
Lewis had to massively retconn to pull this stunt. One mystery that always intrigued me reading through the series is, who is the narrator? The easy answer is Lewis himself, but the unamed voice could also be a character. Either way, the writer is part of the story. This is evident in Dawntreader, when he speaks of Lucy telling him about her experience at the Magician's mansion. And in that, he mentions that she still thinks about that story she read and wishes to read again. But she's dead now, and since Narnia is an extension of heaven now, did the writer die and get brought back to life just to finish the chronicle?
Narnia shouldn't end. Obviously the series has to end somehow, and Lewis was obviously planning this when he wrote Magician's Nephew, but I'm reminded of a quote I once heard that I wish I could find again. It was along the lines of, nothing should ever change in the Hundred Acre Wood; Pooh and friends should always be there just as you left them.
Good doggos though.
There are many reunions in this book, and they're all wonderful. Unfortunately, there are so many characters crammed in near the end that everyone's going to be disappointed that their favorites get so few lines. The new characters weren't that great either.
Also, they died?? That's the only way they could stay in Narnia? We all know Lucy would stay in a heartbeat, but what if Edmund had a life and plans to get back to? Well you bloody don't have a choice now! It's treated as entirely good news. Aslan's out here like, hey guess what you're dead now so you can party with me for forever! Woohoo! The end, roll credits.
Lewis had to massively retconn to pull this stunt. One mystery that always intrigued me reading through the series is, who is the narrator? The easy answer is Lewis himself, but the unamed voice could also be a character. Either way, the writer is part of the story. This is evident in Dawntreader, when he speaks of Lucy telling him about her experience at the Magician's mansion. And in that, he mentions that she still thinks about that story she read and wishes to read again. But she's dead now, and since Narnia is an extension of heaven now, did the writer die and get brought back to life just to finish the chronicle?
Narnia shouldn't end. Obviously the series has to end somehow, and Lewis was obviously planning this when he wrote Magician's Nephew, but I'm reminded of a quote I once heard that I wish I could find again. It was along the lines of, nothing should ever change in the Hundred Acre Wood; Pooh and friends should always be there just as you left them.
Good doggos though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexism and Misogyny
auntiejamie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Read this book as a kid and decided to revisit it. Big mistake. Lewis lets his casual racism and misogyny fly. It's awful. There's a part of me that wishes I hadn't reread the book so I could hold all the good memories in my mind.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
Minor: Violence, War, Torture, and Slavery
morgcxn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, and Racism
clevermird's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Here we are. The closing chapter. The final story. The Last Battle.
In slightly less poetic words, no matter which reading order you use, this is the 7th and concluding installment of The Chronicles of Narnia.
It's been hundreds of years since Eustace and Jill freed Prince Rillian from the Emerald Witch and now, in the far western lands of Narnia, rumors are spreading that the lion has returned. But this version of Aslan is very different from the one in the old stories, and when King Tirian tries to put things right, he finds himself in the midst of a battle for the minds and souls of Narnia - one that might be a lost cause.
This story was my favorite of the series as a child, and reading it again, it's easy to see why. It's the darkest of the Chronicles with character deaths and destruction of familiar sites from other books abounding. I also loved the mythological, epic tone of the last few chapters. To say too much would spoil the story, but suffice to say that the series ends with a bang that is likely to stick with readers, especially young ones. Some of the metaphors became more obvious as an adult, which, again, without spoilers, involve false prophets and cult leaders, the importance of not blindly following mortal religious leaders, and the variety of human reactions to fear and uncertainty.
The book isn't perfect, though. First, like several of the books in this series, it takes a while to really get going and even when it does, the pacing is a bit uneven. Second, while I didn't find the depictions of the Calormines to be that bad overall in The Horse and His Boy, there's definitely some uncomfortable racial overtones in a few scenes (the brownface-as-disguise scene and the dialogue surrounding it in particular), even if Lewis pulls of a bit of a saving throw later on with a Calormine character who puts in a brief but meaningful appearance to improve matters. It doesn't dominate the book, but it definitely merits a heads up.
I feel like I would be remiss to conclude this review without mentioning the Susan Problem that so many other reviews here and elsewhere have covered. I don't think this is the place for getting into it, but my take is that the most common complaints require a bad-faith interpretation of the text and that in context, it is fairly clear that Susan's problem is not "femininity" but "holding fleeting social popularity as the ultimate goal in life".
Overall, while not as technically brilliant and perhaps no longer my favorite, The Last Battle is a book that managed to get me to tear up reading it even now and provides a satisfying conclusion for the series, and really, that's all I could ask for.
In slightly less poetic words, no matter which reading order you use, this is the 7th and concluding installment of The Chronicles of Narnia.
It's been hundreds of years since Eustace and Jill freed Prince Rillian from the Emerald Witch and now, in the far western lands of Narnia, rumors are spreading that the lion has returned. But this version of Aslan is very different from the one in the old stories, and when King Tirian tries to put things right, he finds himself in the midst of a battle for the minds and souls of Narnia - one that might be a lost cause.
This story was my favorite of the series as a child, and reading it again, it's easy to see why. It's the darkest of the Chronicles with character deaths and destruction of familiar sites from other books abounding. I also loved the mythological, epic tone of the last few chapters. To say too much would spoil the story, but suffice to say that the series ends with a bang that is likely to stick with readers, especially young ones. Some of the metaphors became more obvious as an adult, which, again, without spoilers, involve false prophets and cult leaders, the importance of not blindly following mortal religious leaders, and the variety of human reactions to fear and uncertainty.
The book isn't perfect, though. First, like several of the books in this series, it takes a while to really get going and even when it does, the pacing is a bit uneven. Second, while I didn't find the depictions of the Calormines to be that bad overall in The Horse and His Boy, there's definitely some uncomfortable racial overtones in a few scenes (the brownface-as-disguise scene and the dialogue surrounding it in particular), even if Lewis pulls of a bit of a saving throw later on with a Calormine character who puts in a brief but meaningful appearance to improve matters. It doesn't dominate the book, but it definitely merits a heads up.
I feel like I would be remiss to conclude this review without mentioning the Susan Problem that so many other reviews here and elsewhere have covered. I don't think this is the place for getting into it, but my take is that the most common complaints require a bad-faith interpretation of the text and that in context, it is fairly clear that Susan's problem is not "femininity" but "holding fleeting social popularity as the ultimate goal in life".
Overall, while not as technically brilliant and perhaps no longer my favorite, The Last Battle is a book that managed to get me to tear up reading it even now and provides a satisfying conclusion for the series, and really, that's all I could ask for.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs
esme_may's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
This book was so unbelievably racist. It deals with the Calormenes very badly and constantly presents Asian as the ‘right’ god to believe in. It only manages to be better than The Horse and His Boy by not being painfully boring
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, and War
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content