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The Last Battle (Paperback) (平装)
by C. S. Lewis
| Category:
Narnia, Adventure, Fiction, Ages 4-8, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Four children open a magic wardrobe door and fall into another world - A tale of awakening, hilarious, beautiful, frightening, and wise. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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Amanda Richards (MSL quote), Georgetown, Guyana
<2006-12-30 00:00>
This last book in The Chronicles of Narnia is another fast read, requiring only a few dedicated hours of page turning. It is vastly different from any of the other books, and is the one most laden with theology and imagery.
The ruler at the time is King Tirian, and he soon has his hands full. Lantern Waste is being destroyed, apparently in the name of Aslan, and along with Jewel the Unicorn, Tirian must get to the bottom of the mystery. Closer investigation reveals that men from Calormen are cutting down the Narnian forest, astonishingly being assisted by talking Narnian animals.
But there is treachery afoot, and a false prophet succeeds in confusing the living daylights out of the Narnians, until they no longer can distinguish wrong from right, or Aslan from Tash, the God of the Calormenes.
Eustace and Jill are again summoned to the rescue, returning one year after their last adventure, but in fact over two hundred years have passed in Narnia since The Silver Chair.
The story rapidly advances, with the age old theme of good against evil. The most important physical place in the story is a stable, which has a lot more to it than is immediately evident. People who believe in a supreme being see amazing things within, non-believers see nothing at all. People and animals that pass through its humble door are rewarded according to their purity of heart, and are appropriately greeted by either Aslan or Tash.
The somewhat abrupt ending came as a surprise to me, especially after the joyous reunions and discovery of the true Narnia, even though there had been hints casually dropped along the way.
This is a fine book to end a wonderful series, a classic if ever there was one. |
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A reader (MSL quote), WI United States
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Over the years, this last book of Narnia has become my favorite of them all. It is a tale of ancient wisdom redeemed and of ancient promises kept.
These are the last days of Narnia, for all worlds must eventually draw to an end. Indeed, their ends lie in their very beginnings. A clever ape has duped an innocent donkey into posing as a false Aslan. The innocent are taken in by this deceit out of their love and remembrance of the Great Lion. They allow all manner of abomination to be done in the land for they are told that it is by Aslan's will. The sacred trees are cut down, the innocent are sold into slavery, and the enemies are invited into the kingdom. They are even told that slavery is true freedom. Yet, in the ape's greed and pride even this was not enough, for he combined Aslan's name with that of the evil one to make a new god- Taslan.
However, there was still a king in the land, Tirian, of the line of the High Kings of Cair Paravel. The king himself was almost duped by the false Aslan until he realized that the true Lion would never order such evil and wickedness to be done in his name. Taken prisoner by the servants of the enemy the king made a desperate prayer to the true Aslan for aid to save the land. In response to his call came a Son of Adam and a Daughter of Eve, friends of Narnia from the time of legends.
The king and his allies draw to them those who have remained loyal. Though fearfully outnumbered they stand together to fight the Last Battle, even though they know Narnia is no more. For even if the kingdom is lost they also know that noble death in the service of Right and Justice is a treasure that no one is too poor to buy. As the king and his companions were overcome and forced through the door into the unknown they found that on the other side a new world awaited them. The High Kings and Queens of Narnia awaited them there - and behind them, Aslan himself. And He recognized who had remained true and loyal to Him and the Good. And as the Great Lion stood at the door between the worlds and roared, the world was unmade. All those called home through the door looked him in the face and either turned left or turned right- but all went to where they truly belonged. Then the door was shut and those who had chosen the Good were led to Aslan's country- the real and eternal Narnia that will never end and of which the old Narnia was only a shadow... |
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Matt Poole (MSL quote), Melbourne, Australia
<2006-12-30 00:00>
The Last Battle is the Narnian apocalypse. Like many stories based on the Biblical model of the end of the world, this book is often brutal and uncompromising, (which some people may find disappointing) but in the end very beautiful and satisfying. Think of the Bible's Book of Revelation meets George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Shift the Ape is a manipulative sort of beast. For instance, he pushes his "best friend" Puzzle the Donkey around all the time, playing with his emotions and sense of reason to get him to do whatever Shift wants him to do. One day, they find an old lion skin washed up in Cauldron Pool. Shift has a horrid idea. He'll get Puzzle to wear the skin, and pretend to be Aslan, the Great Lion, the savior of Narnia. The other talking animals will revere them both, giving them anything they want. Puzzle is reluctant, but manipulated by Shift, he agrees. Shift sets himself up as "the mouthpiece of Aslan", guilt-tripping and scaring the talking animals to follow him, to make an alliance with the warmongering Calormen, to merge their gods as one, and to capture their king. It is a time of great destruction, confusion and deceit. Poor King Tirian, tied to a tree, prays to Aslan, to the real Aslan, for an end to all this trouble and turmoil. Will the Great Lion answer his prayer?
No matter what your preferred reading order The Last Battle, the seventh written and the seventh chronologically, is definitely the last one you should read. There are many references to past books which you'll only really appreciate if you've read all the others in the series. There are also many characters from past books too! (Eustace and Jill from "The Silver Chair" being just two of them)
C.S. Lewis was a devoted Christian, and his faith shines through in all his written works. The Last Battle is no exception; in fact I'd say his faith is even more obvious here. There are many parallels you can draw between The Last Battle and the Book of Revelation. Shift, for instance, seems to be the antichrist, or perhaps he is akin to "Babylon the Great", the harlot of Revelation 17. She, in Revelation, is drunk on the blood of the saints, and Shift in Narnia, is drunk on Calormen wine. Both are dressed in red (scarlet), and both are connected with blasphemies of their savior. It's worth reading both to compare. There's also some allegory regarding the nature of belief within the pages of The Last Battle. In life there are some who believe the truth (King Tirian), while others are deceived by false truths, either through fear or by ignorance (the Talking Animals allied with Shift). There are some who don't believe in anything, either because they are in on relgious deceit for their own gain (like the Cat and the Tarkaan), or because they've seen the trickery of a false religion, and don't want to be tricked themselves (like the Dwarves). Whatever the belief, they all have consequences when the truth (the real Aslan) reveals itself.
It's not mentioned much, but The Last Battle was first released in 1956, the year of the Suez Crisis. This was a conflict that put the world on the brink of nuclear war. Though an Arab-Israeli conflict on the surface, most of the tensions were a result of the incompetence of then British Prime Minster Eden. Being a British citizen, this conflict can't have been far from C.S. Lewis' mind when he wrote this book. In my opinion, I think this background of world tension contributed a lot to the feel this book. The grim moments are grimmer here than in the rest of the series, the beautiful moments all the more beautiful, the truths more shocking. It's a book with definite emotional power. Even though it's "a story" for children, every time I read I get caught up in the hopes, the fears, the sorrows and the triumpths of the Narnians.
A fitting finale to a wonderful series, one of my favorites. Highly recommended.
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Mark Baker (MSL quote), CA United States
<2006-12-30 00:00>
King Tirian of Narnia is thrilled to hear the rumors that, after a couple hundred years of silence, Aslan has returned to the country. But when he goes to investigate himself, he discovers that no one is allowed to see the Lion. In fact, an ape is speaking for Him. The new pronouncements are just as puzzling, including the enslavement of the talking animals. What is going on? His few allies include Eustace and Jill from our own world. But can they defeat this new evil?
This book is different from others in the series because the story starts in Narnia and then brings the characters from our world into theirs. But the differences don't stop there. This is a stirring conclusion of a great series. The symbolism is strong, and I find this book one of the most interesting of the series from that standpoint. The story is probably one of the fastest in the series, with so much intrigue and fighting going on, it's hard to put down, even on a reread. The ending leaves me with a feeling of euphoria mixed with just a little bit of melancholy because the series is over.
While the order the other books in the series are read doesn't matter as much, this one must be read at the end to fully appreciate it. It's a wonderful ending to a wonderful series. Don't miss it.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-30 00:00>
The books of The Chronicles of Narnia are some of my all-time favorites. That is why I was fearful in approaching The Last Battle for the first time. Too often the end of such a wonderful literary journey comes as a letdown. Rarely do final books in a series deliver the goods. Never fear-this one does.
All the things that made me love Narnia find their noble ending-and a new beginning-in The Last Battle. Lewis, in his subtle yet cataclysmic way, ties together the series' loose ends (with the exception of one) quite nicely.
The various peoples of Narnia come to their own end. The dwarves in the stable and the story of the Calormene Emeth are two of the "deepest" parts of all the Narnian books. Without being a spoiler, I'd like to throw my two cents worth into the debate about what Lewis meant theologically by the story of Emeth: my view is that, in some ways, all of our journeys are like Emeth's journey.
The Last Battle, like all great books, leaves me thirsting for something beyond my pale experience. It lays down the call for all of us to go Higher Up and Deeper In.
I give The Last Battle my highest recommendation. |
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1 Total 1 pages 5 items |
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