I finally got around to reading this collection of books. And trust me, it took a while. I think I was supposed to read this collection back when I was a kid. I actually can’t recall ever hearing about C. S. Lewis’ books until a few years ago. Nevertheless, I’m glad I got to read all 767 pages of this bound collection.

Lewis is a master of making you believe in his fantastic world of Narnia and rooting for the kids throughout each book. I’ll go over a few of my favorite books in the series.

The Magician’s Nephew really introduced me to the world of Narnia. It might even be the best book. I think there’s so much more of a spiritual/religious element in this one that you don’t get in any of the others until the last book. There was such beauty in imagining Aslan awakening the world through song, breathing life into the land.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe gave us Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, the premier characters in many of the books. I actually enjoyed reading it, even after having seen the movie, which is rare.

The Last Battle really completed the collection with the spiritual/religious aspect from the first book. I felt a real sadness about Susan and what happens to her (I won’t give any specific details, in case you haven’t read the book yet). Lewis pulls the completion of Narnia off well in an even more fantastic way than I could have imagined.

The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair were all well-written, but didn’t hold my attention as much as the others.

There were times when I couldn’t get past the language and style the books were written in, but the books were intended for a younger audience. Thus, there were passages where I became a little bored. The work, in its entirety, is a masterpiece though.

I recommend Narnia to everyone. It is the kind of timeless book that I’ll keep shelved for my own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to read in the future.