Narnia

Lord Mhoram · Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2002 9:08 pm Post subject: Narnia

Im sorry, but I just HAD to advertise my favorite fantasy and fantasy author on this forum, plus Im giving it...some life.

Has anyone here read the Chronicles of Narnia? Lewis' Space Trilogy? Lewis' Christian anthologies? Till We Have Faces? Screwtape Letters? LOL, its a long list, but theyre all worth the read. If you have, tell me what you think/thought about them. Thanks!

Prince of Amber · Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2002 1:04 pm Post subject:

Funny but I never read any of the Narnia books - they just passed me by as a kid. I have read the 'Out of the Silent Planet' trilogy and found them a wonderful read - I must read them again soon - I think I first read them over 25 years ago. What are the Srewtape book about? - the name rings a bell but I've never seen them in any book shops.
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Vain · Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:00 am Post subject:

I haven't read any Lewis stuff either for some reason. Will venture forth to bookstore and acquire copious volumes Smile

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hansen · Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2002 11:41 am Post subject: general fantasy

Has anyone got to grips with the voluminous Otherland series by Tad Williams, they put a whole new slant on VR and the www Cool

Lord Mhoram · Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2002 9:19 pm Post subject:

I saw it at Barnes and Noble and some copies of some of the volumes at a used book store.

PoA, the Screwtape Letters is a Christian theology, almost. Its all letter from a devil to his nephew who is trying to mess w/an Englishman's head so he will be damned to hell. Its very cool, and brings up some interesting questions about how the human mind thinks.

Vain · Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2002 6:58 am Post subject:

Narnia

Thought you might like this Smile

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Lord Mhoram · Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2002 5:18 pm Post subject:

You bet! That looks great! But 60 bucks... Confused

Variol Farseer · Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 12:47 pm Post subject:

I've always admired C.S. Lewis, and it's pretty obvious to me that SRD has been heavily influenced by him. In some ways, the Land could almost be seen as a deconstruction of Narnia, in which Aslan never appears to set things right. (And TC himself reminds me of a grown-up Eustace Clarence Scrubb in many ways.) The notion of time proceeding at vastly different rates in the fantasy world and the 'real' world is one of Lewis' major tropes. Donaldson put it on a more rigorous level -- one day in 'reality' seems to equal one year in the Land, as precisely as you can measure these things -- but his treatment of the idea is recognizably similar to Lewis'.

A lot of critics have sneered at SRD as 'just another Tolkien clone'. To my mind, he bears a lot closer resemblance to Lewis, except of course that SRD is not Christian and doesn't write books of theology on the side.

Sevothtarte · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 8:50 pm Post subject:

Lewis' books are well-written, but I don't like most of their message... He was a fanatic. Messages like "muslims are satanists" and "atheists will stay in purgartory", and so on... no, thanks.

Lauralin · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 10:21 pm Post subject:

Fanatic? No mare than most other Christains who actually act on what thay believe. Can you give an example of him saying those things? I can't think of any in any of the books i"ve read. (Mere Christianity, Space Trilogy, Narnia, The Great Divorce, Till We Have Faces and The Weight of Glory)
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Sevothtarte · Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2002 11:39 pm Post subject:

He doesn't state them literally, but which message is stated that way?
In the last book of the Space trilogy, muslims are immediatly rejected as allies against evil.
And as for the atheists, read the chapter "How the dwarfes refused to be taken in" in "The last battle" and tell me otherwise...

Lewis' problem was that to him only christianity was true. He didn't tolerate other religions and faiths. To him, they weren't other approaches to the same goal, they were just plain wrong.

Lord Mhoram · Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2002 1:30 am Post subject:

I agree, Ive always though that Calormenes were supposed to be evil Muslims in the Chrons of Narnia.

I like the messages Lewis sends, and especially the way he sends them.

Lauralin · Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2002 1:34 am Post subject:

And your signature is in The Last Battle Very Happy

If someone actually belives what Christanity states, then it would be illogical to think that anything that says anything contrary would be wrong.
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Each man is worth exactly the value of that which he has seriously persued.
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[Syl] · Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2002 5:04 am Post subject:

Tried the Narnia books as a kid, but couldn't get into 'em (tho i can say the same for LOTR, but those I reread as an adult, so maybe i should try again).

As far as Otherland goes... read them. I can't say I enjoyed them as much as Sorrow, Memory, and Thorn, but they were good books. Orlando and !Xabbu were excellent characters, though i thought the rest of the characters were a little weak, way too static. overall, decent scifi (not hard, not soft... somewhere in between with some good VR fantasy), but you don't walk away from them quite satisfied (the last chapter has a pretty good bow to Tolkien in it... kind of balances out Williams' deconstruction of Middle Earth in S,M,&T).
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-George Steiner

Skyweir · Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2002 12:50 pm Post subject:

I'm with you Sivo on this .. I dont like the kind of biggotry and religous intolerant messages either ..

I prefer Donaldson any day .. he doesnt make such graphic value judgements .. though he retains an ethical foundation to his work .. which I admire greatly!!

And if I may say .. neither did Tolkien .. Lewis does come across a fundamentalist chirstian fanatic if we interpret his work the way it would seem he intends us to .. Confused

And I love the chrons of Narnia on a purely fantasy level .. when we analyse his work .. thats when I get totally turned off this author ..
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Vain · Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2002 12:57 pm Post subject:

That's what's great when you're a kid. You read and enjoy the story and the underlying stuff is lost Wink

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Sevothtarte · Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2002 2:14 pm Post subject:

Lord Mhoram · Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2002 2:45 pm Post subject:

Wow, what sad, sad little man. Lewis was a better author then he will ever be. Cussing

[Syl] · Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2002 4:27 am Post subject:

Did you guys see the movie with Anthony Hopkins as Lewis (the name escapes me at the moment... something about shadow or night?)? Long and dry, what I remember of it.
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"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner

Lord Mhoram · Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2002 7:42 pm Post subject:

Shadowlands, yes I saw it. It was pretty good.