(Steeplechase) Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis - 4 stars

[Apple]

This has been on my list to read for many years, as I had read the first 3 books (in the chronological order) years ago, and had loved the most recent film versions.

Whilst this wasn't as quite as exciting as the film version (the battle seemed to be so small a part of the tale), it was still an enjoyable romp, and not just in a nostalgic way.

What was frustrating was how whiny Susan was, and emotional Lucy was, and how they missed out on all the action, but it is, I suppose, a product of its time.

Whilst I read this one my tablet, the hard copy we have was bought by my mum's cousin, and yesterday I found out he had passed, so I am glad I was reading it at this time as a kind of tribute

[Robin P]

Yes, the girls get short shrift. As an academician and only married late in life, Lewis was probably rarely around any girls. I think it's in the first book that Aslan tells the girls they can't be in a battle. They just get to heal the wounded or something.

I loved all kinds of magical books when I was growing up, which was 2 generations before Harry Potter. I was quite annoyed as an adult to find that the Narnia series was designed as a Christian allegory. But later still, I learned that most of the imagery and action came from earlier pagan stories - for instance, the god who dies and is reborn. So I felt better about it again. They are good stories and I'm sure there were illustrations in the originals.

[Apple]

Both our copy and the digital one I read had illustrations, which were very pretty.

And yes, I was annoyed when I heard about the allegory, it kind of ruined things for me when I first heard about it, but I have chosen to ignore that and just enjoy the journey regardless. I think I will complete the series this year, although I do remember from the tv series that Cousin Eustace was so painful!

[Robin P]

I used the allegory the other way around. When I taught the life of Jesus to our Unitarian Sunday school kids, I used Narnia, Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker as models. Of course, they all have the famous "hero's journey" - odd parentage, unusual skills, a call to action, friends and foes, a quest or journey, etc. Our kids often have little background in the Bible but they knew all those books/movies.