The Last Battle is the seventh and final
novel in the Chronicles of Narnia series written by C.S. Lewis. Let's first start off with a personal note
before I go into the review of this book.
I have grown up with the Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe but it wasn't until the Disney movie came out that
I realized that I'd never actually read the story. I only heard of it and knew vaguely what it
was about. A store called 5-Below had
all seven books after the movie came out and since they were only five dollars
each, I bought all seven Narnia books as fast as I could. Needless to say, I didn't read them as fast
as I bought them. I read the first book
in 2006 and now have finally finished the series six years later! Wow!
The Last Battle is set up just like the
other Narnia books (evil befalls Narnia, children from earth arrive to defend
Narnia, etc). It begins with evil
invading Narnia when an ape dresses up an innocent donkey to look like Aslan
the lion. He tells Narnians that Aslan
has returned and he gives them orders as if he is Aslan's messenger. The problem is that the orders he is giving
are far from any Aslan would ever give.
The donkey lives in a dark hut and people are not allowed to see him,
for if they do they will see that he is disguised. News of Aslan spreads about Narnia and
reaches the King. The King of Narnia,
Tirian (the last monarch and the seventh king in descendant of Rilian [from theSilver Chair], son of Prince Caspian X) and his friend Jewel, a unicorn, go to
see what madness is brewing outside their castle. Neither one of them fully believes Aslan has
returned and they know something fishy is occurring. The two of them are then captured by
Calormenes (an Empire south of Narnia).
In Tirian's desperate time of need, Eustace and Jill show up and the
three of them, along with the help of a few others, prepare for battle.
Let's start
off with the positives about this book first.
One thing I have and always will love about these books is the
theological themes that are presented. Narnia is a huge metaphor of our own world and
there is no denying the similarities between the corruption in Narnia's government and our
government in America
today. Getting back to theology
though…Aslan is God, and just like God he doesn't always show himself in the
time of want/need but rather points us in the right direction by signs and
teaches us to trust him with faith alone and not be convinced otherwise. Throughout all seven novels the reader
constantly encounters children and Narnians putting their faith in Aslan and
never letting go of it. These books
serve as a huge metaphor that can teach kids how faith works and what it means
to be a Christian when most others around you are not. Another thing I liked about this book was the
ending. (SPOILER) When the Pevensie
children returned to Narnia and they realized that Narnia was their heaven it
just seemed like all the puzzle pieces fit.
It all led up to death. Susan
wasn't there because she stopped believing in Narnia which hints at she lost
faith entirely. I like that C.S. Lewis
included this but it makes me sad that Susan would loose her faith.
Now for the
negative aspects of the book. I found it
to be rather boring. The ending was
great and I guess it could be called epic but there wasn't much of a battle. There were a few close calls and some scary
moments but for the most part until the end when (spoiler) Aslan returns, I
wasn't too enthused. Though I can
definitely say that C.S. Lewis had me hating the ape that made the donkey
pretend to be Aslan. I just wanted him
dead right when I started reading. I
can't say I'm surprised that I was bored because it has happened while reading
some of the other Narnia novels. It
feels wrong to insult them and call them boring because I think these books are
fantastic but there are just so many boring bits!
The Last Battle was a great conclusion
to the Narnia series. Although it was
boring at times, I loved the Christian metaphors and found the book to be
inspiring. I give The Last Battle 3.5 out of 5
stars.
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