The Chronicles of Narnia - Book Review

Book 7 - The Last Battle

Written by: Clive Staples Lewis
Illustrated by: Pauline Baynes
First published: 1957
Genre: Fantasy

Time Location, Our World: 1949
Time Location, Narnia: 2555
Area: Western Narnia
Central Characters: King Tirian, Jewel, Jill Pole, Eustace Clarence Scrubb, Shift, Puzzle

Plot:
In this book we're sent back to the Lamp Post area in the very last days of Narnia. An evil ape called Shift forces the nice, goodhearted but stupid donkey Puzzle to wear a lion skin to pretend he is Aslan. Puzzle is made to believe the real Aslan wants him to do this, but Shift has worse plans. The story then follows King Tirian, the last king of Narnia, who notices strange sudden changes in his country. Talking trees are cut down and sold to Calormen, Calormenes are in the country using talking animals as slaves - and all this is on orders from Aslan. Aslan hasn't been seen in Narnia for hundreds of years, and Tirian is forced to accept that Aslan isn't the goodhearted kind lion who's told about in the history books. Still, when he comes to the stable where he sees an ape who cooperates with the Calormenes while he brainwashes the frightened talking animals to believe Aslan is angry with them, that he wants to do evil things to Narnia, and claims that Aslan is the same as the Calormene demon/god Tash, he feels like something isnt quite right.
"Tashlan" or really just poor little Puzzle in the lion skin are taken out only at night where he's shown to the people while Shift keeps brainwashing them.
Again, help from our world is needed. Jill and Eustace is taken to Narnia, to help king Tirian figure out the mystery of the stable and to defeat the monkey.
It doesnt take them too long to kidnap/save Puzzle from the stable, but the problems doesnt end there. The Calormenes has gotten a tight grip around the Narnians, and they wont believe anything Tirian says anymore.
The demon Tash is called to Narnia and the horrifying last battle of Narnia begins. As the Calormenes and the Narnians destroys each other on the stable hill, the actual stable door is the real horror for them all. Nobody knows what's been hiding in there since Puzzle left - all they know is that everyone that's walked into it has ended up with a terrible faith... and as they fight they're pushed farther and farther towards the door... what will the end of the world really be like?

My thoughts:
This is the best written out of all the books. We follow the kings journey as he fights for Narnia even when it all seems hopeless, the doubt of the frightened Narnians, and the horror that takes over the country when they realize all good they have ever believed and trusted in isnt what they expected it to be.
Things seems more hopeless than ever in this book, and you're left kind of confused by Jill and Eustace's journey to Narnia. The battle by the stable is probably the most intense fight ever desribed in the books. The horror of the stable door, the confusion, and at last... the end of the world, and what comes after.
C.S Lewis has an incredible ability to describe beauty, even when the beauty is too beautiful to describe. This book is definitly worth reading. As a hobby filmmaker I have TONS of ideas in my head about how this book could be made a movie, and I really hope this will be done some day.
Rate: 6/6