The “Chronicles of Narnia” is a series of seven fantasy novels written by C S Lewis between 1950 and 1956. Narnia is a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. The first book written was “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” but a prequel was latter written called “The Magician and His Nephew”. This was the sixth book written which describes the creation of Narnia and is the first one to be read when reading the novels today to keep the story in chronological order. This is the book reviewed herein.

The book chronicles the adventures of Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer as they use their Magician Uncle’s magical rings to enter the Wood Between the Worlds that have ponds that lead to many different worlds. One of the world’s they enter is the dead world of Charn where there is only one person remaining alive who had destroyed everyone else. Her name was Queen Jadis. She was seven feet tall and she would ultimately bring evil into the world of Narnia after they reach that world. The Christ-like figure, Aslan the Lion, is also introduced as he is shown creating Narnia and saving it temporarily from Jadis. She will later return as the White Witch in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. Her power is only finally defeated by the sacrificial death and resurrection of Aslan in that book. Digory is a middle-aged professor by the time he hosts a new set of children in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, some 40 years later, who also find their way into Narnia and help finally banish the White Witch, who was killed by Aslan.

I put off reading the “Narnia Chronicles” for many years as I thought it was mostly for children and, although children would certainly enjoy it, it is an excellent read for an adult also with its strong Christian symbolism, strong character development and dialog, and the fact that it is just a good story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading the remaining six books in the series. It would make a great Christmas gift for a young person or an adult that is young at heart or any fan of C S Lewis’s writings.