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    The Last Battle
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    The Last Battle
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    The Last Battle
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Last Battle

    Written by C.S. Lewis

    Narrated by Patrick Stewart

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The final instalment in the series of the classic fantasy tales – The Chronicles of Narnia. This edition is complete and unabridged.

    The last days of Narnia, and all hope seems lost as lies and treachery interweave to threaten the destruction of everything. As the battle lines are drawn, old friends are summoned back to Narnia, though none can predict the outcome in this magnificent ending to the famous series.

    On 9 December 2005, Andrew (Shrek) Adamson’s live-action film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be released by Disney, and it is already being hailed as the biggest film franchise of all time, guaranteed to appeal to adults and children across the globe. The second film is already in development.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateSep 5, 2005
    ISBN9780007222919
    Author

    C.S. Lewis

    Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a fellow and tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.

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    Reviews for The Last Battle

    4/5

    186 ratings78 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I officially finished The Chronicles of Narnia! This series is definitely very interesting. On the surface it is a kids series about a place called Narnia, with a bunch of fun adventures. On a deeper level it is completely and utterly about Christian theology. The creation of Narnia, the belief in and ability of Aslan, the good and evil in the land and people, the place beyond Narnia, etc. This is Revelations retold as children's stories. I remember not liking The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie when it first came out because of it's obvious religious undertones throughout the whole story, but ~20 years later I am able to look at it and appreciate it for what it is and it didn't bother me as much. I am so glad I finally read this series.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Not a review but just a few thoughts upon finishing this last of the Narnia series...What a sad book! Not only did the Narnians apparently lose their last battle with the Calormenes, Narnia itself is 'undone' by Aslan and all the Pevensies (except Susan), Eustace, Jill, Digory & Polly all died in England!! And despite Lewis's attempt to say that this wasn't sad at all but rather glorious, I couldn't stop wondering in the final section "What about Susan?" Peter, Edmund, Lucy are reunited with their parents & all their old friends. But what happens to Susan, the only survivor of this terrible train crash? I bet it isn't glorious for her...

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      I know people who have read and enjoyed the Narnia books without even really noticing the Christian theological subtext. Lewis made that hard to do with this one. It was impossible for me to avoid noticing his thinly disguised commentary on those who would conflate Jesus...er, Aslan with other, well, gods. And Lewis runs into the same problem as Dante did in Paradisio; it's much harder to describe heaven than hell (or at least hellish problems). Lewis does a lot of "the taste, sight, sound was indescribable if you've never experienced it..." Well, um, thanks. But that's why I'm reading the book. And I admit to a deep disagreement with Lewis' theology (though I respect his work and his creativity); he professes the "one way" of Christianity that led me to embrace the non-creedal religious community of Unitarian Universalism.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed "The Last Battle." Then again, I'm also one for allegory. This final book in the Chronicles of Narnia is the most clearly allegorical of the lot—even including "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." This is the primary reason why I liked it so much.Like the Talking Beasts of Narnia, so many people are deceived and convinced that our God is an unkind, impatient, and vindictive God.To think so of our "Aslan" causes many horrible things (of which, I'll give three):1) People learn to feel genuinely frightened by Him. And when that happens, they can be easily manipulated. Fear is by far the easiest path for coercion to take. In "The Last Battle" the ape, Shift, is able to convince people that he speaks for Aslan, and with this power, he is able to redefine the way they conceive of him. At this point, he manipulates their new fears and is able to make them do his will under the guise of Aslan's will. Fear gives undeserved power to those who have the ability to induce it and it destroys the opportunity for relationship. It stratifies equal people into unnatural hierarchal structures.2) When someone comes along and convinces people that their God is not the cold, mean God they thought him to be (as Tirian did for the Dwarfs), some people _do_ rejoice when it dawns on them that He really _is_ as kind and loving as they hoped he was. But, some people jump to the conclusion that there is no God at all. They hear the proof against the idea that "Aslan" is bad, and rather than decide Aslan _must_ therefore be good (which is the only natural conclusion, they exceed the evidence, deciding instead that Aslan must not exist at all—which is almost as horrible. So, in the end, the lie can destroy not just one's concept of who God is, but one's acceptance of his existence as fact.3) When people are frightened by something, the usual response is to put as much distance between them and it as is possible. They run, they hide, or they guard themselves. They seek a shield or a wall to keep it from touching them. They seek a buffer to lessen the power of its terror on them. They seek a mediator to deal with it so they won't have to. It is simply too horrible a thought for them to interact directly with it.Read it in the allegory in chapter 10:t just as you please. Who'd like to go in first? Don't blame me if he swallows you whole or blasts you into a cinder with the mere terror of his eyes. That's your affair. Now then! Who's first?"...br/ But the Beasts all stood looking at one another and began backing away from the Stable. Very few tails were wagging now. The Ape waddled to and fro jeering at them. "Ho-ho-ho!" he chuckled. "I thought you were all so eager...?"br/ ...br/ "Mercy! Mercy!" wailed the Beasts. "Spare us, Lord Shift, stand between us and Aslan, you must always go in and speak to him for us. We daren't, we daren't." >>
    • 5/5
      It was okay but it was tragedy after tragedy,a very sad book
    • 5/5
      Great! Wrapped the entire story.
    • 4/5
      This one was my favorite out of all of the books. I liked how all the characters from all the books came together in this one. I loved it! Perfect ending to a series.
    • 4/5
      I gave this a four-star based on the reaction of my children rather than my own feelings, because that's what reading it this time, 30+ years after the first time I read and probably 25+ after the last time I read it was all about. They were excited to recognize characters from our past journeys through Narnia. They were upset by how things were turning out for Narnia and they were relieved by how it wrapped up - although still upset that this was our last visit to that land for the three of us together.
    • 3/5
      The Book of Revelation, for children, by C.S. Lewis. I'm a Narnia fan, they are wonderful introductions to the interior life. Even adults will like the series, and if reading them in order, this is the sad ending of the world. But readable.It was written in 1956.
    • 2/5
      My daughter (age 9) said that this was a good ending to the series. My son (nearly 5) was just excited that he had listened to a seven-book series. They're playing Narnia-inspired games together now. I hear them calling out, "Those who are my children, come hither!" from the playroom.

      I wasn't so thrilled with the book myself. It was fine, but the religious stuff was a little too obvious and the racist bits were a little more squirm-inducing. I found it disappointing after The Silver Chair.
    • 4/5
      This is the last book in the Narnia series and is, undoubtedly, my favourite and most poetic one of the bunch. The action seems more ripe and the characters more true to themselves here and the allusions and poetic language is duly appreciated. This is achieved, all at the same time, while being entertaining.4 stars.
    • 4/5
      As a kid this was one of my favorites in the series, because I found the image of heaven at the end to be very reassuring. But now it seems a little oppressive in its Christianity.
    • 5/5
      Another classic tale from C.S. Lewis. Listened to the audio book on a road trip with my family - it made the time (and miles) fly. This is the final book of the Chronicles of Narnia.
    • 4/5
      I'm surprised how little I remember this story. The only part I remembered was the end.

      A good conclusion to the Narnia novels.

    • 1/5
      I very much enjoyed the rest of the series, but this one... not so much.I could overlook the Christian overtones in the other novels, but in this one, it was WAY too much in-your-face Christian propaganda.
    • 3/5
      We still haven't finished this one. We got burnt out on forcing ourselves through the books. They are hard to read after the Horse and his Boy. They become too science fiction for me.
    • 5/5
      I reread the Narnia series every year, and this last story in the series completes the annual 'fix'.
    • 5/5
      A crafty Ape named Shift finds a lion skin and, using it to cover a donkey named Puzzle, tricks him into masquerading as Aslan and the Talking Beasts of Narnia into following his whims, even going up against King Tirian.I'll be honest here... this book is probably one of the ones that had the most impact on my decision to be an English major. When I was 8-9 years old, I most often named it my favorite book. Okay so the plot is razor thin and choppy, and reading it as an adult I was a little disappointed at times that things didn't quite match my recollection. But as a kid...oh, as a kid I was so proud to have figured out some of the parallels between this book and prophecy in the Bible. Reading "between the lines" was new to me, and the ability to match one thing with another and see Lewis's interpretations of end times and heaven and the rest just fascinated me. I still love the last few chapters and the very last line especially gets me every time.
    • 3/5
      This is probably my least favourite of all the Narnia books. I often skipped this, when I was younger, and actually contemplated it this time. The characters are not my favourites, at all -- Tirian and Jewel inspire me with no particular affection, and while I actually find Eustace and Jill less annoying than in The Silver Chair, I don't find them compelling either.

      What makes the book worth it, for me, is the end. It's hard, because it's the end of Narnia, but it's also a beautiful end -- the Time giant, the stars falling, squeezing the sun out, and everyone going to Aslan's country. I liked the universalist aspect of what happens to Emeth (although I have problems with the good god/bad god thing with Aslan/Tash -- it's all very binary, which is not what I believe). It's good to see a "nice" Calormene character.

      Thinking about it, the writing is also less friendly and more serious than in the other books. It's hard to make a last stand sound like fun and games.
    • 5/5
      I cried at the end. Oh god I love this series!
    • 5/5
      The best of the C.S. Lewis Narnia series. Ties the entire series together to an exciting conclusion. As a child, this book made me go right back to Lion, Witch and Wardrobe and start reading them all over again!
    • 4/5
      This book gets a bit too big for its britches, at Lewis finally cavaliers off from adventure children books to religious pandering. Still fun to read, but not as action packed as I'd like it to be.
    • 5/5
      I just finished yesterday, (it took me that long to gather my self) and all I can say at this moment is that I cried for an hour after I read it. a Tiny bit was in sadness, because it was over and there was a sad tone to it, BUT it really was not sad at all. and That is the Beauty of it!!!! The most horrifying thing ever, was also the most beautiful and pleasant thing ever. C.S. Lewis described the "world" just as my heart imagines it. This book was truly enlightening. The first 80% was action/edge of your seat excitement, but the last chapter, tied the whole series together into this glorious gold ribbon that left me feeling rather "changed". My heart is smiling. (If you did not feel this way when you read it, then you missed out on the whole POINT!)
    • 3/5
      A great classic.
    • 4/5
      The last of the Narnia books is in many ways the least satisfactory. Why? In part because Lewis is not quite convincing about the end of a world. The eschatology is a bit much. And the anti-hominoid angle is peculiar, too. He has an ape become the Antichrist (or "anti-Aslan"), and apes hadn't appeared anywhere earlier. There's something a bit icky about the disguised anti-evolutionism implied here.Oh, well. This is the least crumpled of the books in my possession. I reread it the fewest times, growing up.
    • 4/5
      It is impossible for me to be objective about this book. Obviously the end of the Narnia-series, and the conclusion to seven books of fantastic story-telling. I had goosebumps while reading about half of it, and I'm not even sure why. I don't care one bit that it might have been a little cheesy, cliched at times, and preachy. It was a moving, worthy and brilliant end to a great series. Not that it needs saying, but it's hard not to imagine that the Chronicles of Narnia will still be read and enjoyed for hundreds of years to come.
    • 5/5
      When I was a kid, I thought the story was just the last of the adventures in Narnia, however, when I reread it recently gave me goosebumps, Lewis actually showed us hidden meaning to each characters, places and events. Narnia is more than just an adventure.
    • 4/5
      A strong end to a great journey! Narnia will be missed, but always treasured and I can't wait to visit again!
    • 5/5
      While there's not a ton of action in this last book, there is something very beautiful about the ending - about how God works and how what we really want is what we really get. My kids were sorry to see the end of the series (I was too!)
    • 4/5
      It's so depressing to see the Chronicles of Narnia draw to a close, even if it's a good one. What surprised me about the theology in The Last Battle is that the "battle" isn't one between good and evil exactly (I was surprised that the White Witch never showed up), but one between good intentions for religion and bad intentions, or perhaps mundane goals versus the divine and ultimate ones. Nearly all of the characters of the series make a final appearance, and Lewis raises the question of what exactly Narnia was - does it reside within those who believe in it, or is there an ultimate reality? Is it "Heaven" to us or something else? Interesting book, a lot milder than some of the others in the series, but I think it makes for a good send-off