The Magician's Nephew (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

When I was 7 or 8 I read my mother's childhood copies of 'The Chronicles of Narnia,' most of them so well loved that each book had half a cover and an assortment of pages tucked in the back that you had to put in the right place while you were reading. Discovering this beautiful edition of 'The Magician's Nephew,' including the original cover and illustrations and with archive-quality clay-coated pages has been a revelation.

'The Magician's Nephew' tells how Diggory Kirke (the young Professor Kirke from 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe') and his friend Polly get sent to The World Between Worlds, unwittingly awaken Jardis, Queen of Charn, from an enchantment and transport her to the new world of Narnia as it is being sung to life by the Great Lion Aslan. Despite the fact that it's the first of the Chronicles, it was the last to be written and thus sews the seeds for all the books that follow. We learn where the lamp post and the wardrobe came from, why some animals talk and some do not, and why humans are the rulers of Narnia.

If you're not interested in the Christian allegory aspect of the books then it's a great read in and of itself. For those who appreciate this second dimension of the books, 'The Magician's Nephew' is a doubly exciting and thought provoking book. Human stewardship, creation ex nihilo, original sin and many other aspects of Creation are presented in an unusual and challenging way.

Whatever age you are, whether you are familiar with Narnia or new to it, this sumptuous copy of 'The Magician's Nephew' will be a book that you will enjoy and treasure for years to come.

Whoever wrote that plot summary can't have read the book recently! In fact, Polly & Digory are followed _out_ of Charn by the evil Empress Jadis and unwittingly bring her to a newly-created Narnia; Aslan gives them the task of mitigating the effects of their mistake. One of the best in the series, to my mind. The scene where the talking animals adopt Uncle Andrew as a pet is just hilarious; the description of Charn, especially the Hall of Statues, spine-chilling; and my mouth waters again to remember the toffee-fruit tree that Polly & Digory plant...

Every good story has a backstory. So in "The Magician's Nephew," C.S. Lewis backpedalled to tell us the story of how Narnia began, the origin of the White Witch, and various other little questions that popped up over the course of his Narnia series. The result is a tense, slightly comic prequel that neatly ties up the various loose threads.

Two London schoolchildren, Polly and Digory, meet and befriend one another, despite Digory's misery over his mother's fatal illness. But they fall prey to Digory's arrogant uncle Andrew -- Andrew has created some magical rings that transport the wearer to another world, and he wants the two as guinea pigs. Polly and Digory only narrowly manage to return from a dying world.

But they had an unwelcome passenger -- Jadis, an imperious sorceress who plans to take over the world. Polly and Digory are appalled at what has happened, and try to find some way of transporting Jadis elsewhere, using the magical rings. But when they do, they find themselves encountering a world that is just being created, by a strange lion -- the world of Narnia.

The Narnia stories are getting more attention in the months before the movie is released. And though it's unknown whether "The Magician's Nephew" is going to be on the silver screen, it's a valuable read for movie-watchers and readers alike. Basically, if "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" raised any questions, then this can answer them.

"The Magician's Nephew" serves as a neat way of explaining some very weird occurrances -- where did that lamppost come from? Or the Narnian humans? Just where did the White Witch come from, since she doesn't seem to fit in Narnia's springtime utopia? This book pretty much tells it all, as well as providing a character -- Digory -- who is a quiet but important presence fifty years later.

But "The Magician's Nephew" isn't just a way of dealing with loose threads. It's also an entertaining story, full of strange magic and eerie dead worlds. But Lewis also includes some comedy, when Jadis is running amuck all over London, or when Narnian animals try to plant and water Uncle Andrew. Lewis does get a bit hamhanded with the allegory of Jadis and an apple, but the fast, tense storyline makes up for that.

"The Magician's Nephew" is not just a prequel to the rest of the Narnia series, but an entertaining fantasy novel in its own right. Definitely a must-read for fantasy fans.