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Favorite Book (and book rankings)

The cultures, creatures, geography — anything about the books!

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Which of these awesome books is just a bit more awesome than the rest?

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (LWW)
21
11%
Prince Caspian (PC)
8
4%
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (VDT)
44
24%
The Silver Chair (SC)
26
14%
The Horse and His Boy (HHB)
37
20%
The Magician's Nephew (MN)
22
12%
The Last Battle (LB)
27
15%
 
Total votes : 185

Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Lady Rosalia » Feb 06, 2012 11:38 am

First of all, it's really fun for me to discuss all things Narnia with fellow fans (I think my family is glad, too. I've been talking alot about Narnia since I read the books almost two months ago :)
As far as the allegorical aspects, I'd say
1.) LWW
The parallels to Christ's sacrifice for traitors is amazing, and that He rises again, defeating death and the enemy! Fabulous!
2.) Last Battle
the book of Revelation is one of my favorite books in the Bible, and LB seems to echo alot of it. I love how C.S. Lewis made the first part so sad, and yet wrote it so that when reading about Aslan's Country, you almost forgot about the other parts. It reminds me of a verse that says something about the former things being remembered no more.

But as far as stories, I'd say
1.) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
I love the character portrayal, and as there is a relative that sometimes slips into what we secretly call her "Eustace mode", it helps me relax when she is being a Eustace. (It makes me think of Caspian's 'Bother Eustace' comment) Perhaps I can identify with Lucy's jealousy of her older sister, and Caspian's tendency to come across a bit strongly during stressful moments (his kindness to Eustace not withstanding)
2.) The Horse and His Boy
Great story, and I love how Cor learns it was Aslan protecting him all along. Also, Aravis's escape from forced marriage helped protect Queen Susan from one. (Being able to have King Lune warned to defend Anvard, and Narnia thereby be saved)
"Not all that is called progress moves us forward." - H.K. Ward
"Aslan's instructions always work, there are no exceptions."
-Puddleglum
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby 123asdb » Feb 21, 2012 6:13 am

1. LB
2. VDT
3. LWW
4. SC
5. PC
6. HHB
7. MN
im still hoping for book 8
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby MinotaurforAslan » Feb 21, 2012 6:04 pm

123asdb wrote:im still hoping for book 8


;)) That made my day.
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby DawnTreader07 » Mar 25, 2012 10:39 pm

1) Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Obviously :) I love everything about this book.
2) Prince Caspian
A close second.
3) The Horse and His Boy
In my opinion, the most under-rated book.
4) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
5) The Magician's Nephew
6) The Last Battle
Still enjoyable, but confused me greatly at certain points.
7) The Silver Chair
Again, I still love it...but certain parts really dragged for me.
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby 7chronicles » Jul 07, 2012 11:55 pm

This is harder then picking my favorite character! :p
I really love each one equally and no less then the other.
But I will try to put them in order. ;)

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
3. The Magician's Nephew
4. The Silver Chair
5.The Horse and His Boy
6. The Last Battle
7. Prince Caspian

I Love these books so much, they hold such a special place in my heart! :)
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Andriel » Jul 08, 2012 12:10 am

lets see....

1. The Magician's Nephew
2. The Horse and His Boy
3. The Silver Chair
4. The Last Battle
5. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
6. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
7. Prince Caspian

that was hard..... Im Glad thats over with #:-s

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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Aslanisthebest » Jul 08, 2012 12:09 pm

Right after "You like to read? What's your favourite book?", "Which is your favourite of the Narnia series?" is the hardest question that someone can ask me.
I enjoy reading all of them because C.S. Lewis' writing style is one of my favourites. However, if I had to pick as far as story goes.... not counting The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe... I will say that it's a tie between The Horse and His Boy (There are so many things I love about this one.), The Silver Chair (I really love the adventure atmosphere to it.), and The Magician's Nephew (I think that the characters in it - aside from the villains - are really beautiful and interesting.).

I enjoy reading The Last Battle and really need to reread it. Least favourite to read would have to be Prince Caspian or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I love them still, regardless, but they're not my utmost favourite. I do want to reread them, though, to see if this has changed over the years.
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Ithilwen » Jul 08, 2012 1:31 pm

After all this time, PC seems to be my enduring favorite. So many people view it as their least favorite. But to me, it's timeless.

My favorites, in order, are:

PC
SC
MN
VDT
LB
LWW
HHB


~Riella =:)
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby SummerSnow » Jul 08, 2012 3:22 pm

1. The Horse and His Boy.
2. Silver Chair.
3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
4. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
5. Prince Caspian.
6. Magician's Nephew.
7. Last Battle

The Horse and His Boy is my favorite because it's an adventure story and they also had talking horses. I really like Aravis.

I read the Last Battle when I was a lot younger and just never really liked it.
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Varnafinde » Jul 08, 2012 4:17 pm

Varnafinde wrote:I voted for The Silver Chair - Puddleglum is one reason why it's my favourite, but the whole scene towards the end where they try to resist the witch's magic, is just great. I also love Glimfeather the Owl :)


I didn't rank the others when I wrote this, so I'll rank them now.

2. LWW is a very close second. The introduction to Narnia - Aslan's sacrifice - the victory over the White Witch - great sections of the book. And I love Lewis' style.

3. PC is next - I love the beginning when they come back to Narnia and realize where they are, and enjoy finding their old treasures - and then how Prince Caspian get to learn about Old Narnia, and ends up finding it in hiding. And how the Pevensies help him get his rightful position.

The next ones are ranked different mostly for taste, and I might well disagree with myself next month ...

4. HHB
5. VDT
6. MN

(When I first read MN, I had recently discovered that there were more books than just LWW, I would just have to read them in the original English. And I wasn't sure Lewis could match his first book, so I bought only the first one to have a try.

I read it overnight and went back and bought all the other Chronicles the next day.
And that's the one I now rank as #6 ...)

7. LB is last because the first part of it is so heartbreakingly sad. Why don't the Narnians see through the Ape's lies?
I often skip that part and go straight to the fight outside the stable, and read the rest of the book from there.
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Narnian_Badger » Jul 08, 2012 8:31 pm

...Aaaaah. I hate this question, especially since the most honest answer is "Whichever one I'm reading now." Seriously, it changes that often. :P But I shall endeavor to make an approximate idea of how I rank them, on average.

1. HHB
From a technical standpoint, HHB is probably the best book of the series. Perfect balance of action, character beats, and exposition. The characters are interesting, it's the only Chronicles book with a focus solely on the Narnia world... great book, and an enjoyable read.

2. VDT
Meep. I love this book, namely for the character interaction. My favourite bounces back and forth between this one and HHB, but for this list, VDT takes second place as its plot isn't as varied.

3. LWW
As the first book of the series, LWW will always hold a special place in my favourites list, especially since it introduces us to Narnia in such a wonderful way.

4. MN
I seriously love this book. It's one of the very few prequels in lit. that actually works, and provides a fascinating background to Jadis.

5. SC
These last three can be switched around in most any order, but SC comes next for this list because of the interaction between Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum. I also relate to Jill's struggle to Remember the Signs.

6. PC
Mm... PC's neither here nor there for me, I guess. There's nothing "OH GOODNESS AWESOME" about it, but there's nothing I honestly dislike, either.

7. LB
This book is really fascinating, and definitely the "deepest", I guess you could say, Chronicle. It only rounds out the bottom of this list due to an old prejudice against Susan not making it to the Real Narnia. ;)) I'm quite over that now, though, and thoroughly enjoy the book.


*pants* That took way too long to sort through. :P
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby wild rose » Jul 09, 2012 9:23 am

1)The Horse and His Boy is my favorite of favorites, I love how it happens completely in Narnia and there isn't any sad part in the end of the kids having to go back. Also I really love the story and how it gives us a good glimps of the other lands in the Narnia world

2)The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it's actually almost on the same level with HHB, I just like HHB a little bit more

3)The Last Battle

4)The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

5)Prince Caspian

6)The Silver Chair

7)The Magician's Nephew is my least favorite, I actually didn't enjoy it all that much, I can't really say why, I just didn't :)
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Narnian_Archer » Jul 11, 2012 10:52 am

I voted for A Horse and His Boy. I like it more than all the other books because it's the most adventerous - there's no colossal war, no great and mighty enemy, and there's actually very little of Narnia, but somehow it captures that adventerous, fighting spirit so well and conveys the "Narnian feel" almost better than any other book. I love the themes it conveys, the characters it portrays, and the plot that unfolds. There's something so heartwarming about a small band of people trying to make their way home, fighting every obstacle that comes into their path, that it's just overwhelming. And, in a way, this book has more of Aslan in it than almost any other book, and it's the only one that has sort of a romance (although that's really a very minor point). I just love it!!
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby DancingPrincesses » Jul 11, 2012 4:56 pm

I voted for The Horse and His Boy I think it is more exciting than the other books, and it has talking horses, what's not to like? :D

1. HHB
2. VDT
3. LWW
4. LB
5. MN
6. SC
7. PC its not that I don't like PC its just, I don't know, to me it wasn't as exciting as the other books.
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby Anhun » Aug 15, 2012 8:30 am

To me, there are three elements that make a good Narnia book: a well-written story (It can be enjoyed on a superficial entertainment level :ymparty: ), dynamic characters who practically jump off the page at you (It can be enjoyed on an emotional level :(( =)) ), and complex themes that require several re-readings of the book to properly explore (It can be enjoyed on a spiritual and/or intellectual level :-B ).

Not all of the books succeed on all three levels, so I've classed them into three categories depending on the degree of Narnian greatness.

Masterpieces:

1. Silver Chair - In my opinion, this book is the strongest in thematic interest. There are several themes at work here and they weave together beautifully. Jill and Puddleglum are characters that I wish I could meet personally (especially Puddleglum), and it also works as an adventure story, although that component isn't as strong in SC as it is in some of the other books.

2. Horse and His Boy - This is the best character-development book. It is, in fact, the only book in the series in which all of the major characters are thoroughly developed. It's also a fun little adventure, though the themes are rather simple.

3. Voyage of the Dawn Treader - An engrossing Odyssean sea-faring tale, with engaging characters, and intriguing, diverse themes (some more complex than others). The fact that the themes are compartmentalized makes the book a bit less elegant than SC, but still enjoyable.

Worth a look:

4. Magician's Nephew: It's basically a metaphorical journey through the grief cycle. Very interesting on that level, but I don't feel it quite works as a story. Also, Diggory is the only fleshed-out character in the book.

5. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: The story that started it all. Rather shallow on theme and character development, but an engaging story, filled with a unique whimsy that you can only find in Narnia.

Waste of Trees:

6. The Last Battle: This was basically an attempt to tie up a lot of loose ends that, in my opinion, didn't need to be tied. Everyone gets to put in an appearance Mickey-Mouse-Club Style, and very little is left unexplained. Much too tidy. The first part of the book is a pointless excuse for a story. The very end of the book is quite beautiful, but it is, in my opinion, better enjoyed as a stand-alone piece of free verse poetry than as a story or a part of a story.

7. Prince Caspian: Flimsy, repetitive plot and cardboard characters.
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Re: Favorite Book (and book rankings)

Postby greyglum88 » Nov 14, 2012 9:40 pm

Here are my rankings so far, rereading the series so this may change:

7. LB
-Overall I enjoyed the darker nature of the novel, but at the same time I felt like it meandered and the narrative lacked focus due to way too many characters. Still a good read though.

6. PC
-I really enjoyed some of the themes of this one, but the largest problem is the lack of characterization for the telmarine leaders, such as Miraz, Gloselle and Sopespian. Also the 4 chapter flashback dragged the pacing.

5. LWW
-An amazing introduction to the series, I really appreciated the ties to Christianity in this one. Aslan's death and resurrection was so powerful. The ending battle could have been written better, but still a great story.

4. SC
-The characters are really amazing in this one, I really enjoyed the interactions between Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum. Also the Lady of the Green Kirtale remains my favorite villain of the series!

3. MN
-This may move up after more readings, but I love the atmosphere Lewis creates with this one. Learning about how the wardrobe and Narnia originated was fun, and I feel like the ties to Genesis are really strong.

2. HHB
-I love the uniqueness of this one, how it focuses on people from Narnia. Bree and Shasta are also fun to read, their bantor is comical and entertaining. Just a fun little story with deep meaning.

1. VDT
-The episodic nature of this one, dense character development, coupled with a powerful ending, make this my favorite one of the bunch. Reep and Eustace are two of my favorite characters in the whole series. And I really love sea adventures, just the mystery of sailing into the unknown. Also no real villain makes this one unique in literature.
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