The Chronicles of Narnia - Dark Publications

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Product Description

Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil -- what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, written in 1949 by C. S. Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and together they became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.

For the past fifty years, The Chronicles of Narnia have transcended the fantasy genre to become part of the canon of classic literature. Each of the seven books is a masterpiece, drawing the reader into a world where magic meets reality, and the result is a fictional world whose scope has fascinated generations.

This edition presents all seven books -- unabridged -- in one impressive volume. The books are presented here according to Lewis's preferred order, each chapter graced with an illustration by the original artist, Pauline Baynes. This edition also contains C. S. Lewis's essay "On Three Ways of Writing for Children," in which he explains precisely how the magic of Narnia and the realm of fantasy appeal not only to children but to discerning readers of all ages. Deceptively simple and direct, The Chronicles of Narnia continue to captivate fans with adventures, characters, and truths that speak to all readers, even fifty years after the books were first published.

Customer Reviews: Read 127 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Chronicling the Chronicles October 11, 2004
358 out of 384 found this review helpful

In the first half of the twentieth century, two drinking buddies wrote vastly different fantasy series -- one was the classic "Lord of the Rings," and the other was the "Narnia" series. A close pal of J.R.R. Tolkien's and a fellow "Inkling," C.S. Lewis was one of the first widely-read fantasy writers, and his books are still widely read and enjoyed by children and adults alike.

"The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" opens as four children (Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter) are being shipped to the English countryside at the beginning of World War II. While exploring the vast house where they are staying, Lucy accidently ventures into a winter-locked world called Narnia, which is ruled over by the evil White Witch. The king Aslan is about to return -- but the Witch quickly gets a hold on Edmund's soul.

"Prince Caspian" takes place long after the events of "Lion" (though in our world, only a short time has passed). Young Prince Caspian escapes his uncle's castle when his life is threatened, and he finds refuge with the hidden races of Narnia -- dwarves, talking animals, dryads, centaurs and many others. And to help Caspian regain the throne, the two kings and two queens of Narnia are called back...

"Voyage of the Dawn Treader" begins when Edmund, Lucy and their obnoxious cousin Eustace are sucked through a painting into Narnia, where their pal Caspian is now king of Narnia (and an adult to boot). Caspian is heading toward the end of the world to find several knights who were banished, and vanished into the perilous islands along the sea.

"The Silver Chair" heads into slightly darker territory when Eustace returns to boarding school. He and outcast girl Jill Pole are drawn into Narnia, where Jill must perform a task to redeem herself for a stupid act. She must find the dying Caspian's son Rilian, who vanished many years before. The search will send the two children across Narnia with the pessimistic Puddleglum, to carnivorous Giants, creepy underground creatures, and an enemy worse than they could have imagined...

"Horse and His Boy" shoots back in time to the middle of "Lion." Shasta lives with the man he thinks to be his father in a hovel by the sea, but when a Calormene warrior purchases him, he escapes with the man's talking horse, Bree. He meets the escaping noblewoman Aravis (who also has a talking horse), and the two are planning to escape to Narnia and freedom. But in the capital city, there is a conspiracy brewing against the visiting Narnian kings and queens...

"Magician's Nephew" clears up many of the questions about Narnia, Aslan and the White Witch. Digory and Polly end up in very serious trouble when they encounter Digory's weird, slightly nutty uncle, a magician who has created magical rings that send the user to other worlds. The two kids end up in the "wood between the worlds," and venture into a dying land where they set loose the evil Queen Jadis -- who follows them to the newborn world of Narnia.

"The Last Battle" is definitely the end of the series, where Narnia decays slowly into the final battle between good and evil. Humans are destroying the trees and killing the dryads, and a false Aslan is appearing to mislead the inhabitants of Narnia. Old and new friends will band together as the true Aslan prepares to lead them to a new land.

If you don't like allegory (religious or otherwise), then steer clear of the Chronicles. While Lewis's beliefs are presented in a more complicated and subtle manner in his other fictional works, here the parallels to basic Christian beliefs are very obvious. Reportedly even Tolkien, one of Lewis's best pals, found the allegory annoying.

But if you can get past the slightly ham-handed treatment, it's a fantastic read. Lewis reshapes typical mythical elements like dwarves, nymphs, talking animals, centaurs and wicked witches into shape in his invented world. And Narnia is an inviting place -- it isn't always fun or pleasant, but there is always the feeling that the good guys will ultimately -- if not immediately -- come out on top.

Lewis's writing can become a bit precious at times, in the tradition of many British authors writing for children. But he puts plenty of detail and mystery in his stories, sprinkling them with little mysteries and questions that are explained as the story goes on. Where did the lamppost come from, for example?

While not quite as well known as his pal Tolkien's work, C.S. Lewis's Narnia series still a fun and dramatic fantasy story. For a bit more insight into the origins of fantasy as we know it, check out "The Chronicles of Narnia."

5 out of 5 stars

The Classic Chronicles May 12, 2005
100 out of 117 found this review helpful

This is "The Chronicles of Narnia" like you've never read or seen them before--all in one hardbound set, in the chronological order Lewis preferred that they be read. To top it off, it's beautifully illustrated.

"The Chronicles" are C. S. Lewis' beloved children's fantasy series loved also by adults. In them, Lewis chronicles the battle between good and evil, God and the Devil, Aslan the Lion (the Christ Figure) and the White Witch (the Satan Figure).

Lewis' turn of a phrase is worth the price of the book with gems describing evil's hold on Narnia as "always Winter but never Christmas" and Aslan's description of his "resurrection" as "magic from before the dawn of time."

The stories are beautifully told and captivating in and of themselves. Add to that the subtle allegories, images, and parables of good versus evil, and you have a book that will capture your children's imagination and perhaps change their lives forever--for the better.

Buy it now, before everyone else does, because come December 2005, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" will be released as a big screen Hollywood epic with the same mass marketing, incredible story telling, and awesome special effects of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Reviewer: Dr. Robert W. Kellemen is the author of "Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction," "Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction," and the forthcoming "Sacred Companions: A History of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

5 out of 5 stars

A great Gift for almost everyone!! December 12, 2005
18 out of 22 found this review helpful

I first read this book when I was in middle school and LOVED it. The story has adventure, moral, action and a overall great story. This book is a lot like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings and fans of either or both of those will lover this. I would highly recommend this book for kids who like to read and for adults who like fantasy. I have since re-read the whole series and enjoyed it even more. It really does have a wonderful story that is Christian inspired, but not overtly religious so the people who aren't looking for that will certainly not be bothered by it. So, good luck with your shopping, and please vote for my review because I am in a competition with some others to see who can be the best reviewer among us, I want to win.

Lastly, if you are a fan of fantasy or have read this review, I don't mean to write this for you, I mean this review for someone who has stumbled across this book on Amazon, and is perhaps looking for a good book or present for themselves or someone else. Take care!

4 out of 5 stars

Fantasy for Children at it's best! August 22, 2005
17 out of 23 found this review helpful

I wanted to purchase the Chronicles not because of the upcoming film series (Come On, you know Disney will #$@? it up)...but to read to my child. Reading them again to him has shown me just how deceptively complex the stories are; and what is amazing is how moral and civil lessons, in true Christian sense, are taught and exemplified by the children's adventures: Most importantly is the ideal of forgiveness; which is the core of Christianity but which seems to have been forgotten, particularly by the right-wing lunatics who I am appalled by hearing themselves called Christians...children of Mammon, perhaps, but Christians? Riiiight.
Anyway, this edition is wonderful, I gave it four out of five stars for one flaw, which is the type-setting. It seems alot of the page-breaks were left in, resulting in one sentence being cut almost half a page early, and continued below it, as well as a few words which are still hyphenated but shouldn't be as they are in the midst of a line, and not the end of the margins. Nonetheless, the binding is great, sturdy and heavy, which has not been the case with all my hard-bound books of late. This is definately a volume I would recommend, and excellent to keep for the grandchildren and so forth, on your best shelf.
It is nice that it contains all of the original art, and the stories are placed in the order the author intended.
Fantastic.

5 out of 5 stars

A non-Christian's perspective: WONDERFUL BOOKS! November 17, 2005
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

I am Jewish, and I saw that other reviewers thought the Christian imagery of the books would turn off non-Christians. I just wanted to say that I have loved these books ever since discovering them as a pre-teen. I think at first it went "over my head" that Aslan's story was depicting Jesus' crucifixion, and I just enjoyed the tales. Then upon re-reading later, I recognized the Christianity in the stories--but it didn't matter. Many classics of literature depict religious perspectives that even people of the same religion may not necessarily agree with--look at, for example, "The Scarlet Letter." By then I was well-read enough to respect the Christian symbology and view it objectively.

Further, many of us love things like Greek myths that clearly originated in other religious systems--but we can appreciate them and see the lessons in them without "believing" in those religions, per se. In fact, I pointed out to my kids that characters from other belief systems--Greek mythological characters, etc.--were incorporated into the story. Aslan's "side"--consisting of all of the "good guys" and heroes--was very diverse--animals, people, various other creatures . . . while it was the villain, the White Witch, who wanted to eliminate differences. Though she had a host of different creatures working for her, she wanted everyone to think like her; she made it a perpetual winter to keep people unhappy and dependent on her, and turned to stone anyone who resisted her. Thus, while the good folks just wanted to live in peace with each other, the evil ones were the ones who would not be content unless everyone was under their control. I explained to my kids that this was a message, too, about the politics of the time when Lewis was writing, so the books became a history lesson as well--especially since the kids had to go to the country to avoid the WW2 bombings in London.

I am expecting my 4th child within a couple of weeks; my oldest boys (ages 15 & 8) both love these books and movies/cartoons made from them (we have some older videotapes they watched over and over again.) If you are not a Christian, or your view of the crucifixion story differs from the philosophy presented in the books, the obvious thing is to TALK to your kids about your beliefs while still showing them that we can respect and appreciate CS Lewis' view without necessarily agreeing with it. This is an important lesson I believe every child should learn--beyond mere tolerance, it's the ability to appreciate beauty and find commonalities even where there are big differences. If we could all impart that to our kids at an early age, instead of teaching them enmity toward people who are different, what a much better world this would be, right?

I haven't read this particular volume, and assume it's unabridged; if it is indeed complete, then it's definitely worth the price (though an 800 page volume may be unwieldy to young readers or adults reading a bedtime story.) They are wonderful fuel for the imagination, capturing all of the childhood "must-haves": a secret world, swords and magic, battles and fantastic creatures and high adventure. Meanwhile, there is enough humour and "warts & all" realism of the children depicted to keep the stories from being "sappy"--even with the positive morals and values being encouraged at the same time.

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