The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Life seemed good for King Trinian and his friend Jewel the Unicorn. They had received word that after many long years, Aslan had returned. Birds, squirrels, and many other creatures said that they had seen Aslan. But a centaur, named Roonwit, said that Aslan had not come, the stars did not say so, and only evil hung over Narnia. He also said that the stars never lie, only the inhabitants on solid earth. While Roonwit, King Trinian, and Jewel were talking, a Dryad came warningly, telling them that many of the talking trees, where many Dryads lived, were being cut down. King Trinian then jumped up in fury and he and Jewel went to inspect what was going on, while Roonwit went to get warriors for aide. On the way to examine what was going on, Jewel and King Trinian spotted a water rat floating down a river on logs lashed together. The rat said that the cutting of the trees were Aslan’s orders. As the book goes on, many things began to unfold and friends from another world arrived to help fight against the evil that Roonwit said that hung over Narnia.


The characters in “The Last Battle” are amazing; they are very heroic, noble and brave. King Trinian, a skilled swordsman and a great leader, always had an idea of what to do and what was right. Jewel, and all of the other warriors who knew what the true story was, were very loyal to King Trinian, Cair Paravel (the city where King Trinian lived), and Narnia. C. S. Lewis describes all characters marvelously, and it is very easy to visualize them.


The plot is astounding, especially since it’s the last book. Many creatures that have no idea of what’s going on are doing what “Aslan” tells them to do. Therefore, King Trinian and all the creatures of Narnia have a very short list of allies. The plot is perfect for the ending of Narnia, the land where many stories took place.


What I didn’t like about the book is how little fighting there was, but there was a lot of mystery and suspense. There was probably very little fighting, because there was so much to unfold, and there were very few creatures and people that were friends of Narnia to have much of a real battle.


There may be one or two weak features about “The Last Battle”, but the good out number the bad by a long shot. For example, some good things were the characters, the plot, the mystery, and the suspense. The only weak feature I could find (I tried hard to find more, but failed) was that there was very little action. I strongly suggest that you read the rest of the series before you start “The Last Battle”.


Written and published by: John Nice