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The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia when Narnia is stirred and upset. And Narnia is in trouble now: A false Aslan roams the land. Narnia's only hope is that Eustace and Jill, old friends to Narnia, will be able to find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land. Their task is a difficult one because, as the Centaur says, "The stars never lie, but Men and Beasts do." Who is the real Aslan and who is the imposter?
In the conclusion of the saga that began with The Magician's Nephew, a false Aslan is roaming Narnia, commanding everyone to work for the cruel Calormenes. Can Eustace and Jill find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land? The last battle is the greatest of all and the final struggle between good and evil.
When evil comes to Narnia, Jill and Eustace help fight the great last battle and Aslan leads his people to a glorious new paradise.
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) fue uno de los intelectuales más importantes del siglo veinte y podría decirse que fue el escritor cristiano más influyente de su tiempo. Fue profesor particular de literatura inglesa y miembro de la junta de gobierno en la Universidad Oxford hasta 1954, cuando fue nombrado profesor de literatura medieval y renacentista en la Universidad Cambridge, cargo que desempeñó hasta que se jubiló. Sus contribuciones a la crítica literaria, literatura infantil, literatura fantástica y teología popular le trajeron fama y aclamación a nivel internacional. C. S. Lewis escribió más de treinta libros, lo cual le permitió alcanzar una enorme audiencia, y sus obras aún atraen a miles de nuevos lectores cada año. Sus más distinguidas y populares obras incluyen Las Crónicas de Narnia, Los Cuatro Amores, Cartas del Diablo a Su Sobrino y Mero Cristianismo.
Pauline Baynes has produced hundreds of wonderful illustrations for the seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia. In 1968 she was awarded the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for her outstanding contribution to children's literature.
Storytelling came naturally to Lewis, who spent the rainy days of his childhood in Ireland writing about an imaginary world he called Boxen. His first published novel, Out of the Silent Planet, tells the story of a journey to Mars; its hero was loosely modeled on his friend and fellow Cambridge scholar J.R.R. Tolkien. Lewis enjoyed some popularity for his Space Trilogy (which continues in Perelandra and That Hideous Strength), but nothing compared to that which greeted his next imaginative journey, to an invented world of fauns, dwarfs, and talking animals -- a world now familiar to millions of readers as Narnia.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book of the seven-volume Chronicles of Narnia, began as "a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood," according to Lewis. Years after that image first formed in his mind, others bubbled up to join it, producing what Kate Jackson, writing in Salon, called "a fascinating attempt to compress an almost druidic reverence for wild nature, Arthurian romance, Germanic folklore, the courtly poetry of Renaissance England and the fantastic beasts of Greek and Norse mythology into an entirely reimagined version of what's tritely called 'the greatest story ever told.'"
The Chronicles of Narnia was for decades the world's bestselling fantasy series for children. Although it was eventually superseded by Harry Potter, the series still holds a firm place in children's literature and the culture at large. (Narnia even crops up as a motif in Jonathan Franzen's 2001 novel The Corrections). Its last volume appeared in 1955; in that same year, Lewis published a personal account of his religious conversion in Surprised by Joy. The autobiography joined his other nonfiction books, including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Great Divorce, as an exploration of faith, joy and the meaning of human existence.
Lewis's final work of fiction, Till We Have Faces, came out in 1956. Its chilly critical reception and poor early sales disappointed Lewis, but the book's reputation has slowly grown; Lionel Adey called it the "wisest and best" of Lewis's stories for adults. Lewis continued to write about Christianity, as well as literature and literary criticism, for several more years. After his death in 1963, The New Yorker opined, "If wit and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites to passage through the pearly gates, Mr. Lewis will be among the angels."
The 1994 movie, Shadowlands, based on the play of the same name, cast Anthony Hopkins as Lewis. It tells the story of his friendship with, and then marriage to, an American divorcee named Joy Davidman (played by Debra Winger), who died of cancer four years after their marriage. Lewis's own book about coping with that loss, A Grief Observed, was initially published under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk.
Several poems, stories, and a novel fragment published after Lewis's death have come under scrutiny as possible forgeries. On one side of the controversy is Walter Hooper, a trustee of Lewis's estate and editor of most of his posthumous works; on the other is Kathryn Lindskoog, a Lewis scholar who began publicizing her suspicions in 1988. Scandal or kooky conspiracy theory? The verdict's still out among readers.
Chapter Four
What Happened That Night
The King was so dizzy from being knocked down that he hardly knew what was happening until the Calormenes untied his wrists and put his arms straight down by his sides and set him with his back against an ash tree. Then they bound ropes round his ankles and his knees and his waist and his chest and left him there. What worried him worst at the moment -- for it is often little things that are hardest to stand -- was that his lip was bleeding where they had hit him and he couldn't wipe the little trickle of blood away although it tickled him.
From where he was he could still see the little Stable on the top of the hill and the Ape sitting in front of it. He could just hear the Ape's voice still going on and, every now and then, some answer from the crowd, but he could not make out the words.
"I wonder what they've done to Jewel," thought the King.
Presently the crowd of Beasts broke up and began going away in different directions. Some passed close to Tirian. They looked at him as if they were both frightened and sorry to see him tied up but none of them spoke. Soon they had all gone and there was silence in the wood. Then hours and hours went past and Tirian became first very thirsty and then very hungry; and as the afternoon dragged on and turned into evening, he became cold too. His back was very sore. The sun went down and it began to be twilight.
When it was almost dark Tirian heard a light pitter-patter of feet and saw some small creatures coming towards him. The three on the left were Mice, and there was a Rabbit in the middle: on the right were two Moles. Both these werecarrying little bags on their backs which gave them a curious look in the dark so that at first he wondered what kind of beasts they were. Then, in a moment, they were all standing up on their hind legs, laying their cool paws on his knees and giving his knees snuffly animal kisses. (They could reach hisknees because Narnian Talking Beasts of that sort are bigger than the dumb beasts of the same kind in England.)
"Lord King! Dear Lord King," said their shrill voices, "we are so sorry for you. We daren't untie you because Aslan might be angry with us. But we've brought you your supper."
At once the first Mouse climbed nimbly up till he was perched on the rope that bound Tirian's chest and was wrinkling his blunt nose just in front of Tirian's face. Then the second Mouse climbed up and hung on just below the first Mouse. The other beasts stood on the ground and began handing things up.
"Drink, Sire, and then you'll find you are able to eat," said the topmost Mouse, and Tirian found that a little wooden cup was being held to his lips. It was only the size of an egg cup so that he had hardly tasted the wine in it before it was empty. But then the Mouse passed it down and the others refilled it and it was passed up again and Tirian emptied it a second time. In this way they went on till he had quite a good drink, which was all the better for coming in little doses, for that is more thirst-quenching than one long draught.
"Here is cheese, Sire," said the first Mouse, "but not very much, for fear it would make you too thirsty." And after the cheese they fed him with oatcakes and fresh butter, and then with some more wine.
"Now hand up the water," said the first Mouse, "and I'll wash the King's face. There is blood onit."
Then Tirian felt something like a tiny sponge dabbing his face, and it was most refreshing.
"Little friends," said Tirian, "how can I thank you for all this?"
"You needn't, you needn't," said the little voices. "What else could we do? We don't want any other King. We're your people. If it was only the Ape and the Calormenes who were against you we would have fought till we were cut into pieces before we'd have let them tie you up. We would, we would indeed. But we can't go against Aslan."
"Do you think it really is Aslan?" asked the King.
"Oh yes, yes," said the Rabbit. "He came out of the Stable last night. We all saw him."
"What was he like?" said the King.
"Like a terrible, great Lion, to be sure," said one of the Mice.
"And you think it is really Aslan who is killing the Wood Nymphs and making you all slaves to the King of Calormen?"
"Ah, that's bad, isn't it?" said the second Mouse. "It would have been better if we'd died before all this began. But there's no doubt about it. Everyone says it is Aslan's orders. And we've seen him. We didn't think Aslan would be like that. Why, we -- we wanted him to come back to Narnia."
"He seems to have come back very angry this time," said the first Mouse. "We must all have done something dreadfully wrong without knowing it. He must be punishing us for something. But I do think we might be told what it was!"
"I suppose what we're doing now may be wrong," said the Rabbit.
"I don't care if it is," said one of the Moles. "I'd do it again."
But the others said, "Oh hush," and "Do be careful," and then they all said, "We're sorry, dear King, but we must go back now. It would never do for us to be caught here."
"Leave me at once, dear Beasts," said Tirian. "I would not for all Narnia bring any of you into danger."
Chapter Four
What Happened That Night
The King was so dizzy from being knocked down that he hardly knew what was happening until the Calormenes untied his wrists and put his arms straight down by his sides and set him with his back against an ash tree. Then they bound ropes round his ankles and his knees and his waist and his chest and left him there. What worried him worst at the moment -- for it is often little things that are hardest to stand -- was that his lip was bleeding where they had hit him and he couldn't wipe the little trickle of blood away although it tickled him.
From where he was he could still see the little Stable on the top of the hill and the Ape sitting in front of it. He could just hear the Ape's voice still going on and, every now and then, some answer from the crowd, but he could not make out the words.
"I wonder what they've done to Jewel," thought the King.
Presently the crowd of Beasts broke up and began going away in different directions. Some passed close to Tirian. They looked at him as if they were both frightened and sorry to see him tied up but none of them spoke. Soon they had all gone and there was silence in the wood. Then hours and hours went past and Tirian became first very thirsty and then very hungry; and as the afternoon dragged on and turned into evening, he became cold too. His back was very sore. The sun went down and it began to be twilight.
When it was almost dark Tirian heard a light pitter-patter of feet and saw some small creatures coming towards him. The three on the left were Mice, and there was a Rabbit in the middle: on the right were two Moles. Both these were carryinglittle bags on their backs which gave them a curious look in the dark so that at first he wondered what kind of beasts they were. Then, in a moment, they were all standing up on their hind legs, laying their cool paws on his knees and giving his knees snuffly animal kisses. (They could reach hisknees because Narnian Talking Beasts of that sort are bigger than the dumb beasts of the same kind in England.)
"Lord King! Dear Lord King," said their shrill voices, "we are so sorry for you. We daren't untie you because Aslan might be angry with us. But we've brought you your supper."
At once the first Mouse climbed nimbly up till he was perched on the rope that bound Tirian's chest and was wrinkling his blunt nose just in front of Tirian's face. Then the second Mouse climbed up and hung on just below the first Mouse. The other beasts stood on the ground and began handing things up.
"Drink, Sire, and then you'll find you are able to eat," said the topmost Mouse, and Tirian found that a little wooden cup was being held to his lips. It was only the size of an egg cup so that he had hardly tasted the wine in it before it was empty. But then the Mouse passed it down and the others refilled it and it was passed up again and Tirian emptied it a second time. In this way they went on till he had quite a good drink, which was all the better for coming in little doses, for that is more thirst-quenching than one long draught.
"Here is cheese, Sire," said the first Mouse, "but not very much, for fear it would make you too thirsty." And after the cheese they fed him with oatcakes and fresh butter, and then with some more wine.
"Now hand up the water," said the first Mouse, "and I'll wash the King's face. There is blood onit."
Then Tirian felt something like a tiny sponge dabbing his face, and it was most refreshing.
"Little friends," said Tirian, "how can I thank you for all this?"
"You needn't, you needn't," said the little voices. "What else could we do? We don't want any other King. We're your people. If it was only the Ape and the Calormenes who were against you we would have fought till we were cut into pieces before we'd have let them tie you up. We would, we would indeed. But we can't go against Aslan."
"Do you think it really is Aslan?" asked the King.
"Oh yes, yes," said the Rabbit. "He came out of the Stable last night. We all saw him."
"What was he like?" said the King.
"Like a terrible, great Lion, to be sure," said one of the Mice.
"And you think it is really Aslan who is killing the Wood Nymphs and making you all slaves to the King of Calormen?"
"Ah, that's bad, isn't it?" said the second Mouse. "It would have been better if we'd died before all this began. But there's no doubt about it. Everyone says it is Aslan's orders. And we've seen him. We didn't think Aslan would be like that. Why, we -- we wanted him to come back to Narnia."
"He seems to have come back very angry this time," said the first Mouse. "We must all have done something dreadfully wrong without knowing it. He must be punishing us for something. But I do think we might be told what it was!"
"I suppose what we're doing now may be wrong," said the Rabbit.
"I don't care if it is," said one of the Moles. "I'd do it again."
But the others said, "Oh hush," and "Do be careful," and then they all said, "We're sorry, dear King, but we must go back now. It would never do for us to be caught here."
"Leave me at once, dear Beasts," said Tirian. "I would not for all Narnia bring any of you into danger."
Anonymous
Posted November 10, 2011
All the books of the Chronicles of Narnia are very inspirational. I recommend then to people of all ages.
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.piggyx3
Posted July 21, 2010
C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia is a classic read for anyone young and old and should take high priority on anyone's "to read" list. Concluding this series for the first time I've read The Last Battle. This story is a simple allegory of religious themes including the final battle, the antichrist, and the final judgment. The story begins with an ape named Shift and his friend, a donkey, named Puzzle. Shift who is devious by nature finds the skin of a lion and tricks his less intelligent friend Puzzle to wear the suit in order to pass him off as the lion Aslan, a mysterious Christ like figure in all of C. S. Lewis's books.
The ape Shift asserts himself as the speaker on behalf of the donkey dressed as Aslan, who is only allowed to come out at night and must stay further away from the crowds in order to convince them that he is the real Aslan. Shift uses his newfound power to manipulate the masses into giving him what he wants, which leads to the destruction of Narnia in a final battle where it is destroyed.
Some familiar characters from previous books make cameo appearances as the book progresses. Unfortunately Susan is not included among them because she is "no longer a friend of Narnia" and interested "in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations". This idea of course highlighting the theme of lost faith.
This book is an exciting read and I would recommend it to anyone. Lewis asserts a lot of religious themes and ideas that most anyone can appreciate such as love, tolerance, compassion, and righteous living. For those who have not read his other books or are not familiar with his writing style this book may appear a bit slow or confusing at times. There are a lot of times that ideas and thought are emphasized more so than battle or action sequences, but since a good fight scene is not the primary goal of this book that is okay by me.
Again, I strongly recommend this book. Besides being a classic it is also an enjoyable climax to the life and story of that magical place called Narnia.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Favorable: Informative, with fun, education & entertainment.
A quote from the book: "They will not let us help them. They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their own minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out."
This battle is for all souls to be spiritually free. During the last days of Narnia, a good king Tirian must fight a fierce battle; does he win? Do the souls get freed? Read the book and find out. Great excitement, adventure, and action are within the covers of this wonderful voyage, enjoy!
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 15, 2012
This was a wonderful ending to one of the best childrens series ever. Though I am 28 and I am still reading them! I loved this book.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 7, 2007
Its Hard to believe that a Donkey and an Ape are the ones responsible for bringing on the Last Days of Narnia. But thats exactly what happens. The Ape 'Shift' Tricks the Donkey 'Puzzle' in to Wearing a Lion's Skin and Pose as Aslan. Shift then has all of Narnia in his Greedy Little Paws. He Sells the Talking Beasts To the Calormenes and Has the Trees in Lantern Waste Cut Down. The King of Narnia goes to Check Things out, and Ends up Captured. He Then calls upon the Help of Jill and Eustace, The Humans From the Other World. Then, They Discover Something Awful: Shift told Narnia That Aslan And Tash 'The God of Calormen' are the Same person. This Ends up Bringing the REAL Tash to Narnia To Terrorize Everyone. Personally, This is not my Favorite Book in the Series, But its still Nice. I Love How C.S. Lewis Ended the Book, Because its Kind Of How i Wanted The Series to End. Do Yourself a Favor and Pick Up The Entire Series.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 6, 2012
About the book I think it sounds realy good and aparently I shold buy it.But I dont know wether or not susen,peter,lucy,and edwerd ever come back and if so do thay come back in this book or what? Becouse I just want to know when thay come back or if they ever come back nobody will tell me and I cant buy the book untill apsolutly shore
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 10, 2012
Good book and grabbed my attention
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 3, 2012
This is such a great book.I don't want this seris to end.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 9, 2011
Great series overall. Loved the voyage of the dawn treader, the silver chair, and this book.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 1, 2011
narnia has a great begining none of the characters die well not any of the main characters its pretty much a awesome book i'm half done with the book so i'm acuttly almost done with the book it does have action i could not stop reading the book it is great book to read
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 6, 2011
Do you ever have the feeling when your reading a series you really like but then it comes to an end!? Well,that's how I felt when I was on the last book of the chronicals of Narnia. When I finished the last page of the book, I felt sad because I didn't want to say good-by when the series ended!? If you ever read this book, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T START CRYING!!!!!!!!! I cried for a while. Well, I'm done.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 24, 2003
I read all the books in the Chronicles as a child but then I did not appreciate the value of taking care of my books though I loved reading. But now I am trying to collect them all so my 4 year old son will enjoy them too. They make such a great gift idea for children, young people and grown ups alike - anyone who never had the chance to visit Narnia should do so at any age!! You become one of the children feeling their awe, their distress, and all their triumps. Read to your kids and grand kids and see their faces light up...just breath taking!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 21, 2001
I love the Chronicles of Narnia and all of C.S. Lewis' work, however, The Last battle took me a long time to get into. the first half is mostly about an ape and a donkey plotting to deceive everyone by dressing the donkey in a lion skin to look like aslan. The familiar characters, (other than aslan) aren't in the book much until the second half. The second half of the book is very good and it wraps of the series very well, it just isn't my favorite Lewis book.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 19, 2001
This book was action packed and showed how lying can get you in trouble.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 7, 2001
The Last Battle is a great book for everyone to read. But before you read this book you should read the rest of the Narnia books that come before it. This book is a great end to the Narnia books.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.A fantastic conclusion to a beautiful series. I continue to love the simplicity of Lewis' writing, and the profoundness of truth in his work. While I do not agree with all of Lewis' theology, most of the story is great. The last heroes of Narnia are fitting for the honor, and the end fills one with joy.
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Posted February 11, 2013
My teacher reads narnia . Im reading 5 and 6 . Cant wait till this. Yay!
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Posted February 4, 2013
This book is the best in the narina sieres. I could not put it down. It was so good that I read it in 3 days. You HAVE to get this book. GO NARNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I luv this seires!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Narnia is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;) ;;)) ;) ;) Narnia is worth this many stars**************************** *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Anonymous
Posted February 3, 2013
The
coolest
book
ever
Anonymous
Posted February 16, 2013
Bjdjeyyffy
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Overview
The Unicorn says that humans are brought to Narnia when Narnia is stirred and upset. And Narnia is in trouble now: A false Aslan roams the land. Narnia's only hope is that Eustace and Jill, old friends to Narnia, will be able to find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land. Their task is a difficult one because, as the Centaur says, ...