The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

by Brian Sibley (Adapter), C.S. Lewis

Book by C.S. Lewis

Genres: Audiobook, Fantasy, Classics, Childrens

3 pages, Audio CD

Published November 30, 2000

About the author

Brian Sibley is an English writer, broadcaster, and award-winning dramatist.

The author of over 100 hours of radio drama and hundreds of documentaries and features for the BBC, he is best known for his acclaimed 1981 radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, co-written with Michael Bakewell, as well as dramatizations of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels, and Richard Adams’s Watership Down.

Sibley has also written numerous original plays for radio, presented popular BBC programmes including Kaleidoscope and Talking Pictures, and produced documentaries on figures ranging from Lewis Carroll and Ray Bradbury to Julie Andrews and Walt Disney.

His contributions to broadcasting have earned him accolades such as the Sony Radio Award and the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Adaptation.

In print, Sibley is the author of many acclaimed film “making of” books, including Harry Potter: Film Wizardry, The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy, and Peter Jackson: A Filmmaker’s Journey, as well as companion volumes for The Hobbit films, The Golden Compass, and Disney classics. His literary works range from Shadowlands to children’s books like The Frightful Food Feud and Osric the Extraordinary Owl, with stories appearing in official Winnie-the-Pooh collections.

A noted Disney historian, Sibley has contributed essays to The Walt Disney Film Archives and recorded DVD commentaries for classic films. He is the editor of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fall of Númenor, winner of the Tolkien Society’s Best Book award in 2023.

Sibley has served as President and Chair of The Lewis Carroll Society and is an honorary member of The Magic Circle, the Tolkien Society, and The Children’s Books History Society.

Reviews

[Carla Barroso]

Third in the order of publication, fifth following the chronology of Narnia. Lucy and Edmund return to meet Caspian, this time not in Narnia but on board the vessel "Dawn Treader", and this time they arrive with their cousin Eustace, an unbearable child. The story takes the characters to great adventures, but Eustace and Reepicheep are the protagonists of some of the most exciting ones. This is one of my favorite books of this saga, particularly because of Eustace's growth (his story it is somewhat similar to that of Edmund's in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ) and Reepicheep's bravery.

[(Something Like) Lydia]

I was really disappointed with this one. Felt like it dragged a lot, and I really wasn't a big fan of Eustace at all, which you're obviously not meant to be, but he was just really irritating, and I felt like his moaning and groaning dragged on and was repeated far too much.

Also the ending was a bit of a wet drip, probably because the book's structure was all over the place in general and there was no slow build to a climax, it just simmered along.

[Leila Anani]

This is a cracking full cast dramatization of my second favourite chronicle of Narnia - Edmund, Lucy and Eustace get sucked into a painting and join Prince Caspian on a magical sea voyage.

Lots of the talking pirate mouse Reepicheep and Eustace being turned into a dragon are just two of the things that make this one so memorable.

[Colin]

As long as Eustace is nasty 'Voyage' retains its vitality, but as it progresses, it becomes increasingly elegaic.