Product Description

The conclusion of the saga that began with The Magician's Nephew.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107676 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-30
• Released on: 2000-08-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780064409414
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
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From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8-With Eustace and Jill at his side, the King, the noble unicorn Jewel, and a few remaining loyal subjects must stand fast against the powers of evil and darkness and fight The Last Battle to decide the future of this once glorious kingdom.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"The magic of C. S. Lewis's parallel universe never fades." The Times

From the Inside Flap
Many Narnian years have passed since Eustace and Jill helped ensure the Royal line. But when they are jerked back violently into this strangest of lands they find the present King in danger and Narnia facing its darkest hour. With Eustace and Jill at his side, the King, the noble unicorn Jewel and a few remaining loyal subjects must stand fast against the powers of evil and darkness and fight the Last Battle to decide the future of this once glorious kingdom.

Customer Reviews

The "Apocalypse" of Narnia
The world of Narnia is coming to an end. A false Aslan is abroad in the land, and the people (and beasts) struggle to follow what they think is the truth. Eustace and Jill, from The Silver Chair, are sent to Narnia to help the last king of that land rally his troops for the final battle.

This is the apocalyptic volume of The Chronicles of Narnia. If The Magician's Nephew speaks of a creation reminiscent of the book of Genesis, this book speaks of an end reminiscent of that foretold in the book of Revelation. Here, everything comes to an end, and the entire purpose of the existence of Narnia is finally explained by Aslan. The Christian references are unmistakable. Aslan, like the Biblical Christ in Revelation, triumphantly comes to bring an end to his world and save his people. Most of the material in this book is very Christian-like, all the way down to the separating of the creatures on the right and left hands of Aslan.

This, the final volume of the Chronicles, brings everything to a head. This book provides the so-called meaning of life, and gives validity and value to all of the good deeds the children have been trying to do since the first book. Here, the good have their reward. The descriptions in this book (especially the end) are absolutely beautiful, and the finale is nothing short of moving. Lewis, a master of Christian apology, succeeds here in bringing to life the Christian concept of the end of the world, and of the final rewards of the just. No part of the Chronicles of Narnia would be complete without the vision afforded by this, the final book.

Wrapping things up
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,

Amanda Richards, September 17, 2004

Apocalyptic fiction at its finest; beautiful children story
Apocalyptic fiction has become a fashionable trend in the Christian market nowadays. Yet this book, published in 1957, proves one thing: Lewis was years ahead of his time. Although Jenkins and LaHaye are doing good detailing their fictional account of the end-of-the-world (Left Behind series), in what is taking them hundreds of pages, Lewis does in a short 200. Not that that is a bad thing, because each had different purposes. Since I'm reviewing Narnia, Narnia I will stay with.

Lewis, in his only end-of-the-world book, tells of how in the last days of Narnia, there are two animals living by the Great Cauldron. One is Puzzle, a lovable Donkey, and the other is an evil ape named Shift. Shift, thru manipulation and deception, tricks Puzzle into donning a lion skin, making a false Aslan. This is representative of the Anti-Christ. It is about how the real Aslan and the real Tash come again into Narnia, and the final show down.

The most stirringly majestic portion of the whole book is the last part, where the old Narnia passes away, and behold! the children and all good Narnians who love Aslan are called into Heaven, the New Narnia. This is the single most precious portion of any of Lewis's fiction. It drips of Heaven. The Power and Majesty of God on High is portrayed thru these pages. He goes thru judgement day (never mind this pre-mid-post trib stuff or debate), and then how the children react to being in heaven.

An interesting concept put forth by this book is a LIMITED universalism. Emeth, who is servant of Tash, a pagan god, is found in heaven. When Aslan comes and speaks to him, Emeth says he was not servant of Aslan but Tash. Aslan says that in reality he had been serving Aslan all along, and he knew Aslan, but to him Aslan was known as Tash. In other words, Emeth's perception or view was not the real Tash, who was an evil being, but the real Aslan. To an extent, I agree that this might be possible. I feel you can have a relationship with Jesus, but know him under a different name. That does NOT mean I believe all religions send you to heaven. You still have to know Jesus, and God.

The dwarves, who are in heaven, are to stubborn to let got of themselves. They perceive themselves in a horse stall (that is where the last of old Narnia is seen. It is night, and all these people in a great circle or waiting for Tashlan, which is the fusing of Tash and Aslan, exactly what the Anti-Christ is, and the children run into the tent or stall.) "The Dwarves are for the Dwarves!" This is pride. This is what it is like on earth. What to us seems distasteful, if we would really let go of our pride and let God be God, then in the end we would have ultimate joy. That is what Lewis is saying thru the Dwarves.

Lewis also uses classical philosophy to educate children. The old Narnia is called the Shadowlands, mere shadows of the More Real Heaven. This is straight from Plato. The values we hold dear, such as truth, valour, honour, etc, are manifestations of its essence. We practice truth and valour. That is a form of valour, a shadow. But the essence of valour, that is the real thing itself. Lewis uses this concept to help the Children better understand God. I came across this in this story when I was a child; I was astounded to realize it was Plato when I was in a philosophy class in college. That is why, in being a Christian, the more you act like the Christ the more Christ is in you and part of you. The more honour you show and love you show, the more Christ is you and you are him because Christ is the very ultimate of honour, and all the other vitures we hold dear. That is why God gave us the shadow of marriage, to help us understand the very real union between God and man. We become one with God, just as man and woman become one flesh in sexual intercourse. God is such an awesome God.

In the end, we have a powerful vision of Heaven. Although it is Narnia, the ending he detailed was as much our world as Narnia. His prose is fantastic. As far as C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" coming out in his fiction, this is his ultimate achievement in giving hope to the Christians on the afterlife. This is my favorite (from the Christian perspective) of the Narnia series. There is so much to learn and digest from this beautiful book. The heart of this achievement is that this is written for Children, and yet he packs so much meat into it without EVER coming across as condescending OR preachy. Truly one of the best.

(For adult fiction, Till We Have Faces is his best. Actually, I think that novel is his deepest novel, and his best).