Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia S.) [Hardcover]

In recent years, there has been some confusion about which of the Chronicles of Narnia is really first in the series. Is it "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which was the first as Lewis wrote the series? Or is it "Magician's Nephew," which occurs years before any of the other Narnia adventures?

So consider this boxed set a starting point for the series -- it contains both novels together. Whatever order they should be read in, readers can take in the first adventures in Narnia, and find out about the origins of this magical alternate world.

"The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" opens as four children (Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter) are being shipped to the English countryside at the beginning of World War II, to avoid blitzing in London. While exploring the vast house where they are staying, Lucy accidently ventures into a winter-locked world called Narnia, which is ruled over by the evil White Witch.

Edmund also wanders through, but his spiteful nature shows when he falls in league with the White Witch. Lucy leads the others into Narnia as the cold weather starts to thaw -- which, as some talking beavers reveal, means that the god-king Aslan is going to return. But victory against the White Witch might mean a greater sacrifice than any of the children realize.

"The Magician's Nephew" happens several years before the events of the other book. Young Digory is staying with his weird uncle, because his ill mother is dying. To distract him, his new friend Polly takes him exploring -- and they end up stumbling into Uncle Andrew's lab. The cowardly magician uses them as guinea pigs, sending them into a forest that links various worlds together.

Now in a dying world, the two children stumble into an ancient, powerful queen, Jadis. She follows them into 1800s London, and proceeds to turn the city upside down before the kids can whisk her back out of it. But her world has already collapsed, and so they take her into a world that is just beginning -- the land of Narnia.

Which book should come first depends partly on how readers like things to be revealed -- if you prefer mystery and suspense, read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" first, and if you prefer to know all the backstory and explanations as the series unfolds, read "Magician's Nephew first."

Either way, both of these books are imaginative, intelligent fantasies -- all the more so when you realize that when Lewis wrote them, there were no "alternate world" fantasies as we know them today. He pioneered this type of fantasy writing, as his pal J.R.R. Tolkien pioneered the sort of "Lord of the Rings" style fantasies.

If you don't like allegory (religious or otherwise), then steer clear of the Chronicles. While Lewis's beliefs are presented in a more complicated and subtle manner in his other fictional works, here the parallels to basic Christian beliefs are very obvious, like Jadis' apple and Aslan's sacrifice. Even Tolkien, one of Lewis's best pals, found the allegory annoying.

But Lewis's world is enchanting, and "Magician's Nephew" takes a humorous bent when the talking animals try to figure out what Uncle Andrew is. We're introduced to evil witches, talking beavers, fauns, living trees, giants, and a "wood between the worlds" (a nod to William Morris?) that links all the various universes together. His writing can be cute and precious, or awe-inspiring and majestic.

For an introduction to the Narnia Chronicles, these two books are essential. Whether you read the first one Lewis wrote, or the first chronological book, they are enchanting fantasy classics.

I did not realize I was ordering only the first two books in the Narnia series. I found the set attractive and used the same illustrations etc. as the original. But when I got the set, I thought I was getting the full set of all the volumns, not just the first two.

Bill

I guess I got my $'s worth. BUT, BUT, BUT I was misled. From what I read of the offering, I thought I was buying the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, which, as you know, = 7 books. This offer gives you only the first 2 books.