The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis - Has it Aged Well?

Welcome to Narnia!
I'm the Book Guy, and I introduce books to you in a spoiler-free, exciting way to help you decide what you want to read. Do you want to try Narnia? And should you read it as a happy child, or grumpy adult?
I'll discuss all the pros and cons of the series with as many funny gags as I can fit in!
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[@playlist_queen]

I have read C.S. Lewis's life story and all the Christian messages in the Narnia series make a lot more sense once you understand what state of mind he was in when he wrote the books. Lewis wrote Narnia soon after converting to Christianity. As a Christian myself, I see Narnia as more of a testimony than something Lewis wrote for the purpose of becoming a successful author. The way I see it, it was a way for him to process this new route his life took, since he was a staunch atheist prior to the writing of Narnia. Narnia is definitely not going to be for everyone, but you must give credit where it is due: it has had an undeniable influence on fantasy and that is one of the many reasons I respect it and its author.

[@MsAdaCat]

Very interesting, thank you! This explains a lot regarding Narnia books 👍

[@hglundahl]

_"After his conversion to theism in 1929, Lewis converted to Christianity in 1931, following a long discussion during a late-night walk along Addison's Walk with close friends Tolkien and Hugo Dyson."_ Noted, he converted to Christianity in 1931. _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ *Publisher* Geoffrey Bles *Publication date* 16 October 1950 Noted, he published LWW, first of the Narnia series, in 1950. _"Lewis wrote Narnia soon after converting to Christianity."_ 19 years later is "soon after" -- should that also be noted, or is there some catch? _"than something Lewis wrote for the purpose of becoming a successful author."_ I think the only things he wrote for the purpose of becoming a successful author were "Dymer" and "Spirits in Bondage" and more indirectly "all my road before me" ... (a diary). At least the former ones have remained flops. Pullman wrote Dark Materials more as a testimony than "to become a successful author" too ... perhaps tells you sth about success in literature. It comes as a by-product of some kind of preaching. _"Narnia is definitely not going to be for everyone,"_ Is _any_ book that?

[@cal_esc]

You make me so happy and I cannot describe why, something about you is so welcoming and comforting! Probably helps that I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy too, but yeah! I loved Narnia as a kid but only actually read The Magician's Nephew, so it would be interesting to read it to the end.

[@Wouter_K]

I always say that my kids should be able to read older books that are not edited or curated to match contemporary values, but that we should reflect on them together to learn how perceptions have changed over time and develop an opinion on where we personally stand now....guess I will do a lot of reflecting with them, when we start reading this....

[@LuxVi7]

I read The magician’s nephew in my teens and enjoyed it quite a lot but for some reason I did not continue with the chronicles. I do need to make room for them next year. Thank you for all the effort and love you put in every video!

[@neerajcherukuri4052]

Your Brooklyn 99 clips present me with a strong incentive to watch every one of your videos😅.

[@Alkemisti]

This is indeed the most entertaining booktube channel for a good while.

[@pattube]

The book Planet Narnia has an intriguing thesis - that Lewis's Narnia books reflect the heavenly planets of Medieval cosmology and theology. And of course, before he was a children's writer, Lewis was a scholar of Medieval and Renaissance literature at Oxford University and later the first chair of the same (created for him) at the University of Cambridge. 😊

[@pixiestyx]

I credit this series with making me a fantasy-lover and a lover of stories in general - my dad read these to me when I was a kid and did all the voices and put so much magic into it. I don't remember grasping the religious connection until I was much older (which I see as a good thing). I just loved the idea of alternate dimensions and magical worlds. A very foundational series for me, despite all the problems it has that I didn't realize until later. I am fond of it for how it makes me think about both the good parts and the bad parts about the ideas behind it, and glad society has grown at least a bit since these books were written.

[@RagingFuryMC]

My brother just rewatched the first movie and now this pops up on my feed. This must be a sign. Great video!

[@prettyokayguy1355]

The best book tube channel! This guy could encourage me to read anything

[@ADHDlanguages]

He has a great mind for picking out what makes a book or series special. Everything he talks about sounds good, but the stuff that would be good for me REALLY pops because he does such a good job showing what a series does specifically.

[@TobiasMoes]

I just discovered your channel and I'm getting into fantasy books again after some time. Love your humor. Read the Narnia series last year so this video was very relatable.

[@laurablakeauthor]

This is perfect - I read Narnia while in school and actually took a course on CS Lewis writing while in college. Was interesting to look back at it with an adult lens. I really love the approach you took and the intro to the video is amazing as always.

[@mmorgan1980]

First, I want to say that I enjoyed the video over-all and you made some excellent points. *However* I intensely dislike the notion of taking decades old works and judging them by current societal standards. It always comes across to me like shooting fish in a barrel. It is not remotely surprising that books written by a devout Christian man, 70 years ago offend lots of peoples sensibilities today. For me, the allegorical aspect of the stories were fascinating to me when I was younger. I had many very serious (to a child) conversations with my mom about Aslan and his similarities to Jesus. However,I don't think the books are great for adults, because they read like children's stories.

[@sophielukowski3285]

Thanks for another great video. I really appreciate all the effort you put into all your videos! It must be a lot of work. Thank you for that :)

[@vrblacktongue68]

i read it when i was 19, and it was glorious

[@TheJulleful]

Great video as always!

[@samstapltonn]

Subbing right now! More vids at your earliest convenience 🙏 please!! Love your work! Don’t overwork yourself tho 😉 lol

[@abeclark524]

45 year old reexperiencing the magic of Narnia, and it has lost nothing.

[@b.m.t.h.3961]

Yes its still a great set of books.

[@turbokid8719]

Narnia is a classic series

[@zsfantasticbooks]

I enjoy your videos, you are one of my favorite KZbinrs who talk of books, hope you'll do one about Harry Potter series and what's your humble thoughts about the series.

[@cronkthebookguy]

Thanks mate! Glad you like my work. Harry Potter is a tricky series. I love it dearly. Yet the author is actively working to oppose the rights of trans people, through massive financial donations and legal petitions. I firmly believe in trans rights. So if I made a Harry Potter video, it would include a strong pro-trans statement. And that would bring in all the internet trolls to my channel. I'm not sure I want that fight, you know? Maybe one day.

[@NotSoAverageJo]

IRON GIANT!!!! Also, great video!😂

[@cronkthebookguy]

Right?! Its the Firefly of movies, underappreciated and sabotaged by the 'network'.

[@WhiningMoon]

Thank you for the great video 😊this series definitely isn’t for me and never will be for me but really enjoyed this video about it 😊

[@cronkthebookguy]

That's wonderful! Honestly, the purpose of my videos is for people to sometimes say, 'This is not for me.' :)

[@ADHDlanguages]

I see Narnia as something that is potentially valuable to read to better understand the landscape of influences on modern fantasy and that's about it. Unlike something like LotR which (while it does have it's problematic aspects) is just worth reading because it's a great series. I was surprised you didn't mention The Magicians along with Pullman. That's a great series that directly plays with Narnia (essentially boy grows up reading Narnia, goes to Narnia when he's a teenager, trope inversion ensues).

[@puxtbuck6731]

I was never a fan of these books really but I respect them. My dad read the first 3 to me as a kid and I read the others. Have no desire to ever read them again though.. or to even show my kids

[@hglundahl]

20:08 Given a _huge_ portion of the Narnian fan fic, there is at least _one_ loose end. Susan in England as sole survivor of the Eight Friends of Narnia.

[@dannyk7226]

That intro 😆

[@mavalle89]

I would love to see a video on the His Dark Materials series. I think you would have an interesting and entertaining take on the books and the series as a whole. Anyways .... keep up the great work love the channel 👏 👍 🙌

[@beinghappy101]

You must must try Rick Riordan's books. I am an adult and yet I enjoy his books (target audience being kids and teens) A LOT!!

[@cronkthebookguy]

I've read Percy Jackson, and the Heroes of Olympus series. That's all for now. But I'm hoping to do a video on it for a monthly theme of kids books. Maybe Middle-Grade March? 😁

[@beinghappy101]

​@@cronkthebookguyyes!! 😄

[@maybelore]

I've only read The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe while the rest of the books stare at me from the otherside of the room wondering when their time will come. I couldn't stop laughing when you said you left out the harmful stereotypes talk in the Tolkien video, because yes I probably would have defended it. And now thinking back on that video is thet what you were eluding to when you said there was a debate about whether people should keep taking inspiration from it? -_- Now for a plethora of side tangents! As an aspiring author, a lot of the questions you brought up are things I have had to think about in my own writing. Like I want my work to be kid friendly but I'm not necessarily writing it for them, I do still want it to be fun and entertaining of course, so they'd brobbably enjoy it. Or the forcing your beliefs onto readers or even characters, some of my characters have different beliefs than me and it's sometimes difficult to write them; because I like them and then I start to love them and then I have this thought "I can't like them unless they have the same opinions I do!" Which is not true at all and something I have to constantly remind myself of, it's not like I'm marrying them. I have been thinking about religious stories since I consume a lot of them and find them very moving at times but it is common to see them trying to shove a message down your throat. Which is a little bit funny considering most of them are bassed off the scriptures, and one of the scriptures' main appeals is the ability to basically get something new out of it every time you read it. This has made me wonder if non-religious people read them and just think of them as fantasy books? I don't have to believe my favorite characters actually exist in order to enjoy the books they are in and get something out of it, it does make it more fun though, I really want them to exist.

[@cronkthebookguy]

Haha! Yes Tolkien has really tricky issues of race...too complicated for me to tackle. Wonderful tangent! I love tangents! :D Honestly, I'd love to make a video about including personal beliefs in books, and how to do it well. It's something close to my own heart as well.

[@maybelore]

Thank you, I love going on tangents! Especially when I watch videos that get me thinking. And I would love to see you do a video on that topic

[@hglundahl]

13:48 That one said more about yourself than about CSL. 1) Christianity is "personal beliefs" (a tenet usually not held by Christians, a very tiny, sometimes vocal, Pentecostal or otherwise "experience based" group of denominations excepted); 2) Fiction as aimed to the public should not include too much "personal beliefs" (i e not "too much" Christianity) 3) and especially children should not be exposed to "too much" Christianity. I had a step father once. He was an Atheist and had spent childhood in Communist Romania. Years after the divorce, my mother being known to be fervently Christian (part of why I was sent to a boarding school too!), he headed over to Romania to visit relatives. He had his car searched for half an hour, or an hour, just to verify he didn't bring any Bibles ... you know the kind of thing the public and especially children shouldn't be exposed to. I know what Communism is. I refuse to ditch left wing Carlism over supporting the economic side of Yugoslavia, but I definitely know why I hate Communism. You seem an _otherwise_ nearly decent fellow. Was your mother a secret child of Nicolae Ceacescu? Or are you just enjoying the exemple of how to be a ... behind ... to Christians? Whichever it is, it may tell us some on why _you_ think it's OK an adult should at the most basic, be cynical and despairing (there was a time when disillusioned was the word, but you chose the term despair)?

[@PokeJoshNY]

I've been slowly making my way through Narnia this year. They're not too good personally, but they're very short and foundational texts of the genre, so i figure why not. Very interested to see how I'll feel about the ending.

[@mephistoxarses8585]

New subscriber here and it was your video's of Malazan Book of the Fallen that brought me here. ( which i am "trying" to re-read for the fifth time. lol ) Love your energy! I was wondering however if you might consider doing a series of the Lone Wolf saga game books as written by Joe Dever ( R.I.P) which are being currently re-released. If you are unaware of their existence, i strongly urge you to try them...like most epic's, it starts off small........but then when you reach book 4 and book 5. I wont say any more.

[@gregmiller350]

I love all your videos I've seen and I was wondering if you'd be going over any Asimov? Would love to hear about your thoughts on the Foundation series. Thank you for the lovely vids!

[@sundayINmorning]

I think it's always useful to consider the author's context in their piece of work. Bearing that in mind, I enjoyed them as a child and I won't do so as an adult, so I'll leave them be, heh. And yes, it's important to recognise the novels' influence on modern fantasy!

[@hglundahl]

11:26 There was a school that held both Klebold and Cassie ... I think Experiment School is more teens than just pre-teens. I've been to a boarding school that was also a mixed school. Experiment house is, as you could analyse, actually a boarding school. My experience of SSHL, which also held the long since shot down Olof Palme and the present King of Sweden is such that I was unable to read Harry Potter, not because it's about witches and warlocks, but because it's set in a boarding school. I told Prince Harry to give his big brother some slack for the experience on Eton. Basically: "come on, your brother was trying to survive on a boarding school!"

[@11dobbo]

Loved the Narnia books as a young reader, and again reading them with my own children. Totally agree with your criticisms, but my experience has been that books I held dear as a child hold a magic spell over me, even as an adult, and in a delightfully ironic way they become a portal back to that childlike sense of wonder that is so hard to experience with the cynicism of adulthood. I don't know if it would be at all possible to read Narnia for the first time as an adult of the 21st century, and experience that kind of wonder. And I'm probably willingly suspending my modern sensibilities when I read Narnia now. 😊

[@cronkthebookguy]

Well that's fair. Sometimes it's nice to switch off modern sensibilities and just enjoy some art. I struggle to switch off the writer and the critic and just read to enjoy. Kids books are great at that.

[@hglundahl]

2:29 Given that Lewis is the English form of Louis, it's not surprising it has been both a surname and a first name .... (in the case of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a remake of his middle name in inversion with his first name also remade into a last name ditching the actual last name) .... But given you live on a continent where a city is called St. Louis since the French owned it, you might be pardoned for forgetting that ...

[@michaelaporee260]

Love the new intro! But do miss the guitar riff 🎸

[@maybelore]

if you look at the bottom of it it says old school october so it looks like it's only for this month.

[@cronkthebookguy]

Haha I tried to include the riff on the 'harp' sound. Did NOT go well! I'm really not that skilled! 🤣

[@Basil-mh8rl]

What about the first book

[@JustAfterJericho]

I have very mixed feelings for the Narnia. THe first time I've read it it was just the first 3 books in the publication order and I loved them. I didn't notice any christian themes but then I was like 10-11 living in a very non-religious country in totally non-religious family. On the other hand when I later on got the full seven books (well it was kinda 7 in 1 situation) and read them all in a very short time I definitely noticed it - I was like 13 at that point and even I couldn't miss it. And I mean by that time I started to be really into history so I got to know more about christianity but still. I once read somewhere how Phillip Pullman was so heavy handed with his critic of christianity while Lewis was so subtle with his alegories and I had to laught aloud. I mean, I don't generally mind if something is very direct in its message and while I didn't read Dark Materials just watched the series I kinda doubt Pullman was trying to be subtle. But Lewis wasn't all that subtle either - if you read all 7 books at least, he was more subtle in the early one, even though I have to say I started to be little suspicious during my reread in the Prince of Caspian (I think, it may have been the one after) when Aslan said something about how they had to learn to know him in Narnia so they could know him in their world. By the Last battle and the "he suddenly didn't look like a lion" (or something like that) I was like "c'mon really". By that time I was thoroughly fed up with the metaphors, because while I don't necessary mind non-subtle messaging (to an extend), it did hinder my enjoyment when it was something that I totally didn't believe. The Last battle and the whole "they all died (except Susan) and that's happy" just wasn't something compatible with my mindset.

[@JustAfterJericho]

Then there was the whole thing with Susan which to me didn't read all that much like necessary criricism od her sexuality more as a criticism of how she started to be too focused on her world and stop believing in Narnia but it still felt really unfair to me when she basically did what she was supposed to do - live in her world and just pretty unerstably blocked her memories, because of everything she lost there and the fact she could never return. Losing literally her whole family felt like very unjust punishment for being traumatized and trusting youself in a little shallow things. Then there was the odd moments when Lewis started to rant against something, like the thing with the non-gender separate schools, or I think somewhere about how bad it is that there isn't much christian classes in that school - which both made me cringe even at 13. Sometimes it wasn't even against something I disagreed at that time - like he went into a short rant against abstract art, which I didn't unerstand or liked at that time (and while I understand it more know and like some of it, it's still not my favorite art), but I still went kinda wtf because I just didn't understan why it was there. And at 13 he really started to make me feel as if he was preaching at me (not just in a religious sense) and that did also started to hinder my anjoyment. ASt 13 I didn't see most of the racial stereotypes yet but even then the books left me dissapointed, expecially after I was pretty much obsessed with the series (well the 3 books I had at home and I saw the 3 (or maybe jsut 2 at that time, I'm not sure) films) before. I still really liked the idea - portal to a different world - which was a reason why I obsessed over it so much in the first place, but the execution left something to be desired in me.

[@Brp220]

Have you read The Book of Three series? That was my favorite as a kid but I don’t see it much

[@hglundahl]

19:23 Children in lead roles? Edith Nesbit, Enid Blyton?

[@hglundahl]

CSL read EN in his childhood, and the quaternio of LWW is nearly based off that in Famous Five on Kirrin Island, 8 years earlier.

[@hglundahl]

14:47 _"Simply present the information"_ That's not how books are written. I mean, basically of any genre. A cookbook is not just telling you diverse outcomes for each alternative you could do at each step, it's actually telling you what to do, to get a standard dish that has really been chosen by you, but which the cook actually knows how to achieve. In this case it's less straightforward. CSL did admit to being sneaky, and the time for sneaking is past, the cat is already out of the bag, fine. But any novel preaches something. Peter Pan preaches "connect to your childhood" (sth which you seem to have less problem with than with Christianity, unless you have a video where Barrie is considered as too preachy). Anthony Hope preaches a very basic degree of feminism along with a pretty devious excuse for glorifying adultery. Princess Bride preaches "avengers don't get brides, but helps other peoples do so, and on top of that, if vengeance is achieve, what do you do with the rest of your life?" / "anger can make a drunkard sober up" / "a collective, even of villains, can get a drunkard to sober up" and I'm not sure what degree, but it seems to preach some heavily anti-feudal prejudice about the Middle Ages ... Rowling preaches "bullying is no good" (a message actually pretty apt for a boarding school) "and it prepares for a life of treason and crime" (at least sometimes, but not always the kinds that are punished, I mean shrinks are often unpunished), Dark Materials preaches "there is no supernatural to teach you what to chose, and if someone pretends to represent such a thing, it's bad people" ... I think you have _not_ shown equal distaste for preaching in those cases, even if I haven't seen your videos on those. It's what I consider an educated guess.

[@hglundahl]

16:04 It's a simple fact that mankind the last 15 years has become less inclusive, not just to Christians, or Narnia fans, but to: * rich girl / tramp couples (the real reason, rather than sexism, for "adult advisory" signals on Lady and the Tramp by Disney Channel) * "Magic Pixie Dream Girls" (I think the term was coined when getting rid of them in art, and I think it mirrors getting rid of them in real life). Today, Claire Colburn would be protected against falling for Drew Baylor, and Lady for Tramp. If somehow they didn't want protection, one would either try to lock up Tramp and Drew (prison, mental institution, halfway house) or, failing that, Claire and Lady in a mental institution. No, the world has in reality become less inclusive.

[@theloudstarkirby4203]

I got all the lord of the rings books and narnia books Also Harry Potter So far made it to chapter five

[@hglundahl]

17:05 Didn't I say that you were far more tolerant about Pullman being preachy? You basically just proved it.

[@hglundahl]

Did I both mishear this and mis-see what it says in the transscript? _Do you want __1:12__ to read Narnia? And HOW do you want to read it? As a child full of wonder, or an adult __1:19__ full of grim cynicism and despair?_ I think JRRT would consider growing up is NOT losing wonder, and should NOT bring you cynicism and despair. I think sth else has not aged as well as Narnia -- the adult society of some readers. Other symptom, absence of "manic pixie dream girls" from cinema the last 15 years.

[@PuraCiensualidad]

I would really like to watch an episode in which you discuss the gender roles of The Lord of the Rings :))

[@hglundahl]

17:15 Noting that Neil Gaiman was preaching some kind of return to neo-paganism, you don't seem to mind that other (it was btw Neil who fuelled my only half fulfilled quest to write my own Susan fiction) ... I don't think wasting one's sexuality on unserious flirts (even if back in the fifties, outside the rich, it didn't mean sleeping around) is "growing up" ... (it may seem so to abused girls, but ...)

[@johncadden202]

The lion the witch and the wardrobe feels like it's not planned out but made up as it's being written.

[@peteinfernicous5865]

I read the series when i was a kid too and remember loving it, although I'll probably never read it again because my adult self will thoroughly dislike it. Let it be remembered as the fairy tales of youth that i shall talk about to my children before suggesting better books to them.

[@Alkemisti]

I don't consider it a problem that authors put their own views and opinions into their books. Books are, after all, extensions of their authors and not just detached consumer products (unless when they are---which is also fine if that is what the author wants to do). 'Separating art from the artist' would not have sat well with Camus or Dostoyevsky. It is rather about _how_ the author expresses their views. Lewis is so on the nose that the reader needs plastic surgery after that (Tolkien agreed), but for example, _Silmarillion_ is basically a retelling of the Bible, and I have never seen anyone even mentioning it. If the author weaves (as the author wills) their opinions into the fabric and entirety of the story and charcters, that works, but if there are individual characters spouting out very specific positions (OMG how Raymond Khoury's _The Last Templar_ made me yawn) and overtly simplified stand-ins for real life phenomena, that is quite tiresome. For example, Tolkien had several characters who occasionally acted as Christ-figures (Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn), but none of them was Middle Earth Jesus alone and all the time. At Orodruin, Frodo is rather a symbol for human weakness. But Aslan . . . he just flat out says he's Jesus. This has been the trickiest thing for me to get right when I write my own books.

[@teehee-yn3jh]

I def second this. I think it is reasonable for authors to put their own views/opinions into their own fictional stories, but I do think it becomes more unbearable when you're primarily concerned with preaching instead of telling a story. Good stories, in my opinion, seamlessly blend the two elements.

[@turtleanton6539]

😮😮😮😮😅

[@vrblacktongue68]

dude... are you a bad dwarf.. afraid to wake. i thought that the last battle was an alternate for mean christains.. wake up no one sins. but thats me

[@hglundahl]

21:11 I don't see any responsibility except some loose ends or bad solutions _in theology,_ which would make me critique Narnia. The one Incarnation the Son of God made "in this world" is not one which somehow is not operative should He create another one.

[@hglundahl]

Even so, I need to be thankful on how much it taught me of theology, moral and doctrinal.

[@strangementalitypaperYT]

I will say that thematically and structurally it has aged perfectly well, but the writing itself has not. Its prose is very old fashioned and would be best for a grown up to read to a child, not for an 8-17 year old to read to themself.

[@AmandaInEly]

Mate, my kids are your age and I didn't read them the Narnia books because of many things I found infuriating. Despite having adored them as a child. I preferred to pass on Le Guin and Wynne Jones.

[@AmandaInEly]

They went and dug them out of the library anyway, mind.

[@MrRys]

I was about 13 when I read it, and at the hight of my religious phase and even I back then thought the Last Battle is too much, now that I think about it, it might have had a part in my turn to atheism

[@alananimus9145]

What I will say about Lewis thinking that schools should be segregated along sex lines is that you should read "Surprised by Joy" his auto-biography. He talks about how all the other boys were... ya... but how he was so good and pure that he never ever did. I remembered reading that at 19 and thinking "methinks thou protest too much.".

[@hglundahl]

17:44 Why would so many people who sympathise with Islam, including some Muslims, come to identify Calormen with Islam, when they are literally idolaters in Tashbaan?

[@hglundahl]

By the way, I do actually consider Islam definitely less good than Christianity.

[@lettuceman9439]

@@hglundahl It even weirder when you examine with Lewis views it being more of analogues to the Prosperity Gospels and nontrinitarian Churches than Islam, specifically criticism towards Jehovah's Witnesses and the Uglier side of Mormonism with shift a direct reference to Joseph smith.

[@hglundahl]

@@lettuceman9439 _"a direct reference to Joseph smith."_ Which one? I'd be somewhat more confident to nail Telmarines as Achaeans and Calormenes as Hittites around Troy, than making either of them a reference to JW, Mormons, or, not yet extant in his time, Joel Osteen.

[@lettuceman9439]

@@hglundahl The Story of Shift and Puzzle, Lewis was critical of them

[@lettuceman9439]

@@hglundahl Though a direct reference seems to be a error on my part (Im not a native speaker) but Lewis was being cheeky with the Joseph Smith and he hated the JW

[@vrblacktongue68]

dude, who cares about stereotype... lets be critical about guys 100 yrs ago,, write it today and behave. the classics are untouchable

[@hglundahl]

17:33 India? Child marriages, suttee, doesn't sound like more Tash worshipping than Islam? Assyria? Look at the beards of the Tarkhaans. Hittite ambitions at world domination?

[@michaelnewsham1412]

A mish-mash of orientalism versus the pure white-skinned Northerners. I think Emeth in The Last Battle was an attempt to back-track when he realised what he'd done.

[@hglundahl]

@@michaelnewsham1412 Don't forget, CSL was basing Narnians partly on ancient Trojans. He would anyway not have been guilttripped the way you suggest.

[@alananimus9145]

Honestly I want to rewrite it without the Christianity. There's some solid ideas there but...

[@cronkthebookguy]

That is an intriguing concept!

[@lettuceman9439]

that is literally the core of Narnia without it and the Worldview of Lewis it wouldn't be Narnia

[@alananimus9145]

@@lettuceman9439 that's an interesting claim. Untrue but interesting. It actually wouldn't take much to strip the Christianity out. The problem is that people grant Christianity too much. It's a way to claim that everything they like belongs to Christianity even though that's absolutely not true.

[@lettuceman9439]

@@alananimus9145 Remember Lewis is a Christian apologetic taking away that context would be a disservice to his life works you could argue with Tolkein, Tolstoy, dostoevsky and even Sanderson works with the same logic of universal appeal but the core remains within the worldview of Christianity each differ From their individual interpretation of their faith be it Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and even Mormon. For added Context, Aslan isn't a allegory for Jesus... he is Jesus but in another World and The Final Battle is straight up a retelling of the Book of Revelation within Narnia also book guy kinda implied that the Carlomenes are Muslims when any examination it is like far from the truth (like you know Jesus being a prophet in Islam, Mistaking Assyrian and babylonian imagery for arabic and north african and the book focus on Shift and puzzle being a criticism to the non-trinitarian Churches like the Jehovah's Witness and the Latter Day Saints)