Tag: christian literature

The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

the Chronicles of Narnia series: book one

genre: children’s. fantasy. christianlit.

The Review

The Magician’s Nephew is a special kind of book. I have no doubt that this is almost wholly to do with the fact that C.S. Lewis is the mastermind behind it. There’s just something magical about how he writes. While I’ve enjoyed some of the books he’s written for adults (the Screwtape Letters – AMAZING), his children’s stories are such treats. 

Characters:

The Lady is certainly one of the more fascinating characters I’ve ever read about. Lewis obviously employs heavy Christian influences in a lot of his books and there’s no shortage of that here. The Lady is meant to represent the Devil or maybe just evil personified. Yet, when we’re introduced to her character, she’s a giantess that’s been frozen in time in an abandoned hall on a dying planet. This is nuts. What does all of that even mean? The whole idea of the Lady as a character is fascinating. Lewis knows how to have the perfect amount of mystery so you’re hooked, but not confused.

The only thing that limits this story is the unfortunate sexism of its time of publication. While the Lady is an intimidating force to be reckoned with, all other female characters are cast aside. Polly seems to be as much a main character as Digory, yet she misses out on half of the adventures just because she’s a girl. A little of this can be forgiven seeing as these were written in the 50s, but that still doesn’t take away the disappointment. 

Set-Up:

Short and to the point, this book definitely left me wanting more. This world feels so heavy with lore and it’s like we’re only dipping our toes into the ocean.

As I’m writing this review, I have only recently read three books in this series and this is the only look at the other worlds that I have seen. The idea behind the Woods between the Worlds is jaw-droppingly amazing. I want to say there’s even a Doctor Who episode like this, but I could be making that up. As someone who isn’t a huge fan of overly-religious connotations in literature, the scene with the creation of Narnia is just magical. C.S. Lewis manages to weave out something beautiful and enchanting, while still managing to keep that children’s-book feel.

The Magician’s Nephew is a children’s book with an adult story. If you allow yourself to read it without thinking, it’s entertaining; enjoyable. If you sit a little too long and think about what you’ve read and what’s happening between the lines, you realize that it’s just on the edge of being disturbing. Which, in fact, is true of a lot of children’s books.

approx read time: 3 days

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I do own this book, but will probably donate it for a complete, matching set later on

Links: Author. Goodreads.

Into the Mist by Patrick Carman

into the mist

the Land of Elyon series: prequel

genre: children’s. fantasy. christianlit.

The Review

Technically, this is prequel, but the story is being told to Alexa Daley in between the space of the Tenth City and Stargazer. To me, this is more like the fourth book of the series with really large flashback scenes. It’s set up as a story-within-a-story and takes you to an entirely different kind of tale. Overall, it’s not a bad addition to the Land of Elyon series, but I’m hoping Stargazer really brings it home with a solid ending.

Characters:

The characters for this part of the series are pretty good. Roland and Thomas are both interesting. The brotherly dynamic is a nice touch and makes for relatable interactions throughout the story. Thorn, to me, was the best part of the story. As with the previous three books, I seem to really like the animal characters the best. I just really want a big cat for a friend, okay?

Set-Up:

However, as with the previous two books of this series, I still have problems with the plot. The adventure itself is fun and entertaining, but … I feel bad saying it almost seemed unnecessary. Since I’ve already read the following book, it’s easy to see that Carman wrote this afterwards (or in tandem) so that he could explain what was going to be present in Stargazer. Which is totally fine, but some of it seemed very over the top.

By biggest issue was the idea of these boys experiencing so much responsibility and hardship. I understand the need for characters to “go their own path” and learn on their own, but a lot of things (like literal child abuse) was unnecessary to the story as a whole. There are some other fantasy aspects of the story that are a little ridiculous, but this is targeted from young readers so I can’t really criticize too much here.

Spoilers below: highlight text block to view

There was one other bit of plot in Into the Mist that I found difficult to take. The whole business with the Lost Children was over the top. I loved the idea that Armon was saving them from the reign of Grindall and taking them to safety. But was it really necessary to take them all on a 12 day voyage into the Lonely Sea and then dump them on an uninhabited island? Why couldn’t they have set them up somewhere near the Wakefield House even? Considering how small the Land of Elyon actually is, maybe they would be found easily, but I just don’t think sending 10 year olds out to an abandoned island seems like “saving them.”

approx read time: less than a week

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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Next book in the series: Stargazer

Previous book in the series: The Tenth City

Ownership: this series as been donated

Links: Author. Goodreads.

The Tenth City by Patrick Carman

tenth city

the Land of Elyon series: book three

genre: children’s. fantasy. christianlit.

The Review

To be honest I was disappointed with this addition to the Land of Elyon series. I thought the Dark Hills Divide was absolutely fantastic so I continued the series. I was a little let down with Through the Valley of Thorns but I was still ready to keep reading. However, the Tenth City was not what I wanted out of this series.

Characters:

I know a lot of people complained about Alexa not doing a lot in Through the Valley of Thorns which was something I didn’t really agree with, but in the third book, this is really apparent. I liked how Carman went about this in the first book. Not making Alexa so brave that she was an unbelievable or unrealistic character, but as the books go on it seems as though Alexa is only following instructions. There are a lot of moments were Alexa could shine and do her own thing to save Elyon, but she’s only given instructions and then follows them to the letter. It completely diminishes her character and seems like she’s only there as a narrator of the story instead of an active participant.

Set-Up:

As far as plot goes, there are a lot of “twists” that felt cliche that didn’t really add to the actual story. There’s nothing wrong with predictable plot twists, but these were unnecessary. This was supposed to be like the climax of the trilogy, but it was just uninteresting. I really didn’t want to give this book a bad review, but it was just so disappointing in comparison to how great the Dark Hills Divide was. With all of this said, I’m still going to finish the series as I remember enjoying Stargazer and the one about Thomas and Roland when I read them as a child.

approx read time: around three days

Rating: 2 out of 5 Screems™

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Next in the series: Into the Mist

Previous in the series: Beyond the Valley of Thorns

Ownership: I used to own this, but have since donated it to my local library

Author. Goodreads.

Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman

Beyond the Valley of Thorns

the Land of Elyon series: book two

genres: children’s. fantasy. christianlit

The Review

This is a great sequel to the Dark Hills Divide. It also immediately took my criticisms for the ending of the first book and solved them within the first few chapters. I’m not gonna lie though, this is kind of where I find some issues. Although the story, adventure, and characters are all phenomenal, the thinly veiled creationist backplot was just laid on a little thick. With Abaddon (Elyon’s favorite) being a fallen Seraph (read: angel) and wishing to bring about the fall of mankind through sin…I don’t know. It didn’t make the book bad, it just made it a little less enjoyable for me. However, despite this, it’s still a great read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and continuing with Alexa’s journey!

Characters:

Most of the characters are carried over from the first book and get even more development in the sequel. I still think Alexa is a really amazing female lead. She’s brave and independent, but not so much that it’s unrealistic for a 12 year old. Also, Odessa is the best and anyone who thinks otherwise can fight me. I mean, have you seen her on that cover?

Set-up:

The story brings Alexa and her group of friends outside of the walls and into the world. This really expands the story to new levels. The evil is much more present and looming. It’s definitely a lot moodier than the first book, but it’s still a good story for any young fantasy fan. (Or adult. I enjoyed it. I’m 24. Come at me.)

Additional notes: the ChristianLit aspects are a little stronger in the sequel, but still do not distract from the overall story.

Approx read time: 2 days

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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Next book in the series: The Tenth City

Previous book in the series: The Dark Hills Divide

Ownership: I used to own this, but have since donated it to my local library

Author Goodreads