The Magician's Nephew

Have you ever wondered where the lamp-post in Narnia came from? Or how it got there? For that matter, how did the evil Jadis get there? Her lineage has no roots in Narnia, so how did she find her way there?All of these questions and more are answered in *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew*. As the story begins, two children in turn of the century (19th to 20th) England, Digory Kirke (who will become the professor Kirke of the previous books/future stories) and his friend Polly Plummer, meet on a summer day in London. Digory is crying and dirty because he is so forlorn due to his mother's terminal illness.It should be mentioned that it is likely that Mrs. Kirke's illness was likely inspired by, if not outright based upon, the real-life death of Lewis's mother when he was a very little boy. Lewis knew suffering, and that comes out in the character of Digory Kirke. The reader's heart breaks for the small boy, as his pain is so vivid.Their homes are in a section of housing where the individual houses are connected by these areas that connect at the cellar. The two children go to Polly's "cave" (really a part of the said section of connected houses) and have all sorts of adventures there. Lewis notes that it is an unusually wet summer, so they have to play indoors instead of outside as children prefer. My how times have changed for the worst, in this reviewer's opinion. Going outside is foreign to kids today.During one of these indoors adventures, they are making their way through the interconnected sections towards an abandoned house, when they wind up in the attic of Digory's *uncle's house*. This is when the plot is set in motion.I really can not say much more without giving away too much of the plot. As it stands, some of the book covers give away too much as it is. The story is especially lovely when the creation of Narnia occurs. There are similarities in a broad, mythical context to the creation of the cosmos by Eru in *The Silmarillion*, written by Lewis's friend, J. R. R. Tolkien. The beauty and power displayed in the Creation event really does bring across the idea that Aslan (like God in real-life) is both good and terrible. And He is so unbelievably awesome and unbelievably great for it.The book doesn't really spend as much time on various theological or moral points as the others do. It's more of a broad mythical statement affirming the Biblical concept of Creation in the Bible. The idea of God's Sovereignty and control over His Creation is abundantly clear and obvious, as is the fact that everything goes according to His plan and will. As Aslan says to to the Narnians, He will make sure the He suffers the most at the hands of Witch's evil.The above is, of course, a reference to the eventual death and resurrection of Aslan the Lion for the sins and betrayal of Edmund Pevensie in *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe*. Aslan later warns of what the reader knows to be the Nazis in World War II and the Soviet Union in the Cold War.While not the overt theological lessons as found in the other Narnian Chronicles, it is a necessary theological point, nonetheless. Too often Christians tend to ignore basic Biblical and doctrinal Truths. This is not a recent phenomenon. It was a problem in Lewis's time as well. It is also worth noting that Lewis tended to come across as believing in so-called "theistic evolution" in his earlier writing on Christian Apologetics. He clearly moved away from that to the more Biblical view.Indeed, another aspect of the book is how science needs moral restraint. Some act like Lewis and Tolkien hated science and technology. They hated the abuses of it. They used technology more often than folks seem to realize, and especially Lewis did. The point about science here is that made in his "adult fairy tale" *That Hideous Strength*. To work well, to make discoveries that genuinely benefit all, and not just a few, indeed, to actually work at all, science needs a moral, Christian basis.There is very little I can find to critique in this story. Lewis beautifully tells a Creation myth, and teaches good moral, political, and historical lessons at the same time. Plus he relates to the reader what the world was like when he himself was a little boy. Digory is basically the same age that Lewis was, and has many characteristics in common with Lewis. I found myself able to imagine what the locales of London and the life of a turn-of-the-century English child would be like. Marvelous writing.This book is hard for me to rate in comparison to the other *Chronicles of Narnia*, because so much of it is spent in worlds *other than* Narnia, making it inherently different from the other six books. Nevertheless, I must say that it is a beloved book of mine, and I can't say enough good about it.Highly Recommended.

Over 60 years ago, Clive Staples Lewis created and crafted an unforgettable universe known as Narnia. We've discovered it seven times in seven volumes that brought us adventures between good and evil, people and animals, and fantasy and imagination alike. I read all seven volumes last year, and the saga truly deserves to be called one of the best book series of all time. While originally "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" was the first of the series to be published, "The Magician's Nephew" is chronologically the first in the saga. It's also an important volume because it tells us how Narnia was created, how the White Witch was formed, and how two children had an unexpected journey.It all starts with the accidental meeting between Polly Plummer and Digory Kirke. Polly and her family live in London, while Digory lives with his relatives next door to her. After getting to know each other and spending time in Digory's house, they decide to see his uncle's study room that he's forbidden to enter. While observing the study, the two get a startling appearence from Digory's Uncle Andrew, and then Polly disappears from the study, thanks to the yellow ring that Uncle Andrew gave to her. He explains to Digory where the ring took her, so now it's up to him to find her and enter a whole new world.Digory finds himself in a forest, who finds Polly on the ground and tries to jog their memory and then jump in a pool of water with the green rings from his uncle. They suddenly find themselves in the ruins of an abandoned kingdom. The two then find a row of eight royal people in crowns and wearing the finest of royal clothing, sitting still as statues. After Digory rings a golden bell, the kingdom starts to crumble and awakens one of the royal people, who is a queen, that guides them out just in time. She reveals herself to the two as Queen Jadis, the Last Queen who tells them how their kingdom was destroyed and plans to rule their world, no matter what. Through their journey, Digory and Polly will find many surprises, which include Jadis invading their world, the power of their friendship, and the birth of Narnia."TMN" is no doubt, flawless and outstanding from the beginning to the end and is also my favorite in the series. The novel truly shows readers how the Narnian world was created, as well as two children and their journey, which was the reason. There are many surprises that I couldn't stop reading at all. All the characters in the novel are truly wonderful that they feel so real. The novel does have a few religious moments, especially the creation of Narnia, but it always has a spiritual and whimsical mind. The story is like a fantasy thrill ride that always has excitement. Bayne's illustrations are just dazzling and original, which are truly a treat.Readers, young and old, will definitely call this book, and the whole series, a classic. While younger readers might be more into reading series like "Percy Jackson", "Harry Potter", or "The Hunger Games", "Narnia" is a series that truly appeals to children and will bring them to world of whimsicality. Whether you read the series in order of release date or chronological order, it's up to you. For me, I like reading the series chronologically in order. But for "TMN", it's a true classic that brought us Narnia from the very beginning.Final Verdict: The first novel of the Narnia saga gives us a powerful and unforgettable adventure about two friends brought to a new world.