So recently I've started to read (or, in some cases, re-read) the Narnia Chronicles, and as I've been coasting through "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" I decided to make a run to the bookstore and get the next book in the series for when I'm finished.

Now, I've always thought "The Lion, The Witch..." was the first of the series; so I was surprised when I hit the bookstore and noticed the newest edition of the Narnia books has this book as the SECOND chapter and "The Magician's Nephew" as the FIRST book in the series...?!

The back cover of the old-skool edition of "The Lion, The Witch..." that I have indicates that "Magician's Nephew" used to be the SIXTH book in the series. Now it's the first book?! Does anyone know what the deal is with that?!

U like Prince way too much.

AsianBomb777 said:

you know there's a hidden song on newpower soul, right?

7 books in the series:

1. Magician's Nephew
2. Lion, Witch...
3. The Horse n His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. Voyage of Dawn Treader
6. Silver Chair
7. Last Battle


That's all I know guvna'

Taureau said:

Lifted from some site somewhere in cyberspace:



i.e. They weren't written in the same order as the actual stories, hence the confusion!


NARKS YA TIT'S DONT IT!!!!

DAMMIT!!!

this latest printing of the narnia books is the first time i've ever seen "magicians nephew" listed as the first book...though that numbering seemed vaguely familiar to me for some reason when i saw it. but not familiar enough for it not to be confusing.

i went to the official site for the books, and it didn't really help much...though it's a freakin' GORGEOUS site:

www.narnia.com

I have never read these books... Am I somehow deprived?

Anxiety said:

Yeah I have recent copies and it lists Magicians as 1st. I guess they try to list them in story order rather, than order of publication which would be the intended order to read them, obviously.


SILLY SPAZZES!

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

depraved, perhaps. deprived, definitely!!!

you should get the box set for your kids sometime, and when you get the chance, read the books yourself. they're addictive, classic and all kinds of charming.

(or if ya wanna wait, the movie of "lion, the witch and the wardrobe" comes out next year...but i'd advise you to read the book first, because it's just beautifully written and there's no film crew to ruin the imagery for you.)

true. to many, robbie williams is a loser. thanks for the reminder.

Anxiety said:

Ready to buy?

Read them in the ORIGINALLY published order, NOT this order!, March 12, 2000
Reviewer: A reader
Yes, I know these are "chronicles" and yes, I know that even C.S. Lewis recommended in his letters that the books be read in internal chronological order rather than in order of how he wrote and published them (though he means to re-edit them for this purpose), BUT...it is a shame that publishers have now gone back and rearranged them in this way. There is a beauty and logic to the ordering of the books as he wrote them. In the first published book, _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ we are introduced to the land of Narnia through the 4 characters who are our touchstones throughout the series (even in books where they are not characters). In the next 4 books, we learn more about Narnia and the people who inhabit the land through a series of adventures. Finally, as we near the end of the series we read the sixth book, _The Magician's Nephew_. In this book, we learn about the origins of Narnia. So many of our questions are answered. It is a joy to develop a deeper understanding of the meaning of the land of Narnia. Reading this book after we are already familiar and enamored with Narnia makes it so much more special to learn of the creation story, to discover the reason why familiar things are the way they are. This was by far my favorite book of the series, but it would have meant so much less to had I read it first when Narnia meant nothing to me. It is also the perfect set up for the final book, _The Last Battle_. Taking us back to the beginnings of Narnia before heading into the final struggle of good and evil helps us to understand the purpose and meaning of the sometimes dark and upsetting events of the final book. I highly recommend reading the books in the order in which they were originally published.

Ah. This reminds me of 5th grade. Our teacher used to read to us about a half hour to an hour after lunch each day. These books were some of the best. But I've never read them myself. They sound like they'd be cool to revisit. I saw the animated movie in one of my mythology classes. Good stuff!

I am needing somethin new to read...

Anxiety said:

I will stop at borders and pick it up today! I want it in time for Christmas for the kids!

We have completed the Harry Potter series and The Lord of The Rings series together... Its a great family project and gives us something else to fight over.. We really fight over the book for reading time! I love tricking my kids into a love for reading! I rock...
[Edited 12/20/04 14:48pm]

Ok so if I open the box and read the first book before Christmas to give me a head start does that make me a bad mother?

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

YES!

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

only if you tell your kids how the last chapter ends.

GangstaFam said:

Oh man..... I hate it... I have to negotiate for equal time man... and the cold months are coming. What am I gonna do ask them to go build a California snowman so I can get equal time?

Anxiety said:

Ok here it is... I am making one last Christmas sweep for the ol stockings... any other book series I can pick up?

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

YES!!! The Lloyd Alexander series - "The Book of Three", "The Black Cauldron", etc....Endorphin74 will back me up on this one. These are very cool episodic adventure stories (with a very cool female hero in the cast of characters) and when ya read them, they'll remind you of a very very popular science fiction movie series that was created decades later and featured a couple of wise-cracking droids and a big walking carpet.

Anxiety said:

Genesis.

BinaryJustin said:

that's the source material, silly.

Anxiety said:

Help me outhere... I don't see it as a box set and as I filter through there are more then 3 books yes?

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

yeah, there are i think five or six books in that series...it's not a really popular series like the narnia books or the hobbit/lord of the rings books, though disney made a (really bad) cartoon movie of "the black cauldron" back in the early '80s...if i had to choose between the two series, i'd choose the narnia series for your kids, just because it's more of a classic and it's iconic and all that...but i really adored the lloyd alexander "book of three" books, and because all the other kids at my school didn't know about the series, i loved the fact that they felt like they were "my" books...not to mention they're just really great stories.

Anxiety said:

I was trying to be clevah.

I loved the books when I was younger. I might read them again if everybody else here is reading them. Do we have an Org Book Group yet?

Anxy - you can be Oprah.

Anxiety said:

Ok I am following... They sound perfect for my son I will find them over there. I'm making a list and checking it twice....

There is a Hickory Dickey anthem in there somewhere!

well, i guess this explains the whole chronology thing with the books:

http://www.narnia.com/chr.../index.htm

muse, you'll have to tell me which order you and your kids go with!

Anxiety said:

They were $43.00 at the store and or $25.00 and free shipping online... so they will arrive right after Christmas!

In the meantime I have 1000 pages of the Witching Hour by Anne Ric to keep me company.

Anxiety said:

yeah, like i said.