Archive for the Category »What I Read «
Well, not really. I’m still going to read, I’m just not going to be posting the reviews here anymore. If you have an inkling to still read them, I’ll continue to be posting them over on my YA book review blog, Bites. I thought about it and felt it not really necessary to post redundant information on two separate blogs. I know different people see it but, eh. Take the extra effort to click over to another site. It won’t hurt. I swear. Especially if you want to read my Breaking Dawn review which should be coming up this weekend. Yeah, I have video for that one.
I also wanted to add that I’m actually a pretty modest person. I know when I’ve done good but I don’t gloat about it. I don’t show off and I really don’t make a fuss about it. But as I easily plowed through the first five chapters of Earth Shatterer last night for editing, I couldn’t help but think, “Damn I’m good!” And for a NaNo piece, of all things! It’s just . . . good and it boosts my confidence in it even more. I don’t have much by the way of rewriting snags (next to nothing compared to Diamond Crier) and right now I only know one chapter that’ll need a total rewrite because it’s redundant (thankfully it can be rewritten without affecting anything around it). But I’m so damn proud of it and dammit, that feels good!
Narnia . . . where you must say good-bye . . . and where the adventure begins again.
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 impostor?
This one officially comes in a close second to THAHS. I was going ‘oh no’ for a good half of the book when the shiesty ape came into power and enslaved all the talking animals and, essentially, destroyed Narnia. But all good things must come to an end, right?
The will of the king and the children to fight in the face of adversity is provoking and encouraging. To stand up for what you believe in when so many people are ready to slaughter you for it is beyond bravery.
What kept this book being my favorite was one pretty minor thing towards the end of the book. Aslan states something long the lines of the good in the world is answered by him and the bad is answered by Tash, the nasty bird-headed god of Calormen. Yeah, not liking that “I’m the best god in the universe and all the rest of them are shit” statement. Yeah, yeah, at least he doesn’t make that god nonexistent but seeing as Aslan makes himself to me the only “good” god, that didn’t sit right with me and my non-church self.
I also spent a good part of the book trying to connect the allegorical dots. Now my education when it comes to all things churchy is pretty much nonexistent. I know the basics and that’s about it. Who are the Calormens supposed to represent? I’ve wanted to say those of Islamic faith since THAHB but considering the animal-headed god, I also want to say Egyptian but the clothes and actions aren’t necessarily matching up.
It was a really good book. The ending was nice and well-rounded but I don’t understand the reason for Susan’s outcast. So, essentially, all of them went to Narnia after they died (heaven) and Susan gets left behind because she likes lipstick? She lost faith in Narnia? She doesn’t get to heaven because she thought it was all a dream? Granted I was upset to read that she’d switched her beliefs in the land but did she not serve as she was supposed to? Apparently that’s just not enough. Aslan’s an all or nothing type of lion.
And one thing that’s been really bugging me, what the deuce is up with thirst and these books? The characters are always thirsty and looking for water to drink, even in the most inopportune moments. Here Eustace was in the middle of battle and complaining to himself about how thirsty he was. Why? I don’t get the significance and why it’s so prominent in all of the books. It got to a point where I thought it was just filler, something else for them to do but I have no idea. It was just so prevalent and at the same time so pointless.
It was a nice end to the series, though, despite its flaws and religious lessons. By this book you’re so entrenched and feeling for Narnia that when it’s destroyed you feel its loss as well.
Narnia . . where owls are wise, where some of the giants like to snack on humans, where a prince is put under an evil spell . . . and where the adventure begins.
Eustace and Jill escape from the bullies at school through a strange door in the wall, which, for once, is unlocked. It leads to the open moor . . . or does it? Once again Aslan has a task for the children, and Narnia needs them. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, they pursue the quest that brings them face to face with the evil Witch. She must be defeated if Prince Rillian is to be saved.
Redemption! Yeah, this one was good. Still not as good as THAHB but definitely much better than PC and VotDT combined. Aslan kept himself to a minimum and the children were thoroughly tortured by the elements, giants, another witch and a slew of other things. Fun!
My inner feminist reared her ugly head at the whole “witch is the snake that corrupts man” homage but I just kept thinking that it was of the times. Biblical references. Calm down. Still, the insinuation irked me. As is Lewis’s ability to let women stand by and let men do all the fighting. *breathe*
Anyway, this fairy tale was much more fleshed out, no deus ex machina that I can remember and I really enjoyed it. I saw the issue with the giants at the first mention of “they’d love to have you for the Autumn Harvest” but that’s really the only thing I saw in advance. I’m not one of those perceptive people that sees things like that. At least, I don’t actively look. So if I see something like that, I think I’m being beaten over the head with it. But that’s just me.
The thing with reviewing series, unless there’s a big dip in writing style or some drastic change, the reviews start to get redundant unless I focus on the story itself and even then it’s either I liked it or I didn’t. So, I’m pretty short on things to say aside from “go read nao.” Oh, I cried at the end. Very sad. I was hoping the old friends would see each other one last time. And the very end, back at the school, a little strange and a touch contrived but it was so minor I really didn’t mind. Loved the underground world. That was probably my favorite part.
And just how many movies of the series have been made? I’ve only ever seen previews for LWW and PC but according to that cover, TSC’s been made and when I was looking for cover images, I saw movie stills as well. Is this what happens when you don’t have cable for years at a time?
Narnia . . . where anything can happen (and most often does) . . . and where the adventure begins.
The Dawn Treader is the first ship Narnia has seen in centuries. King Caspian has built it for his voyage to find the seven lords, good men whom his evil uncle Miraz banished when he usurped the throne. The journey takes Edmund, Lucy, their cousin Eustace, and Caspian to the Eastern Islands, beyond the Silver Sea, toward Aslan’s country at the End of the World.
Eh. I was nonplussed with this one. A cool story but it was kind of scattered and I’m really starting to see the deux ex machina moments that Lewis uses via Aslan and his actions in the stories. All it seems the children have to do is wish upon an Aslan and something comes along to help them out. It’s getting a little tiresome.
I understand the story is supposed to be a scattered all over the place since the children are island hopping but I think because each incident at each island was rounded out so nicely that it was more noticeable for me. I guess I just wasn’t as enchanted with this story as I was with the previous ones. THAHB is still my favorite in the series at this point and I think Eustace really irked me to the point of not enjoying this one and wanting to drown him in the ocean they were sailing on. He was a pain in the ass. I would have liked to seen him change (character, not shape) as opposed to getting told he was a different person after the dragon thing but such is this and the rest of the stories.
And Aslan appearing to the children as a lamb . . . even I think that’s getting beaten over the head with the Jesus references. Not to mention him saying that he’s known by another name in our world and the children will have to know him by that name. Hmmm . . . is it Horatio? Not that that’s a bad thing but the religious references are becoming more and more obvious as the series goes on.
Eh is what I have to say about this one. I guess every series is going to have its lulls.
Narnia . . . the land between the lamp-post and the castle of Cair Paravel, where animals talk, where magical things happen . . . and where the adventure begins.
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are returning to boarding school when they are summoned from the dreary train station (by Susan’s own magic horn) to return to the land of Narnia – the land where they had ruled as kings and queens and where their help is desperately needed.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked this book. I really did. But compared to the others I just found it kind of lackluster and a little unfocused. The book is called Prince Caspian but the emphasis didn’t seem to be on him; it was on the children and how they saved the day. I was expecting something a long the lines of the life and times of Prince Caspian, or something like that. The history that we do get of him is passively told for a couple of chapters (which was interesting nonetheless) and everything else was about the re-emergence of Old Narnia.
Prince Caspian was definitely more of a secondary character than the focus of the book. It almost seemed that he was just fodder for another adventure for the children which was kind of irritating. I was sad at the end, however, when we’re told that Peter and Susan were getting too old to travel back and forth between the real world and Narnia. Very Peter Pan moment right there.
Overall I guess I wasn’t as impressed with this one as I was with the others. It is a little disheartening to go into something thinking you’re getting one thing and get something else. Like I said, it wasn’t bad by any means. It’s still a fantastic story but I think the power of a title comes into play here. If the title of the book is Prince Caspian, I expect him to be the main focus of the story, not a secondary plot line.
