The Magician’s Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)

Title: The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)

Author: C.S. Lewis

Published in: 1955

Date read: 15th February 2005

Score: 4/5

Genre: Fantasy, Childrens' fiction

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"The Magician's Nephew," published in 1955, is the sixth book in C.S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia" by publication order, but it is chronologically the first in the series. It serves as a foundational prequel, explaining the origins of Narnia, the White Witch, and the mysterious wardrobe from the first book.

The story begins in London in 1900, introducing two children: Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. Digory is staying with his eccentric and rather sinister Uncle Andrew, who dabbles in dark magic. Uncle Andrew tricks the children into becoming subjects for his magical experiments using enchanted rings he created from Narnian dust.

These rings transport Digory and Polly not to Narnia directly, but to a vast, empty place known as the Wood between the Worlds. This tranquil, watery forest contains countless pools, each a portal to a different parallel universe.

Driven by curiosity and Uncle Andrew's instructions, they jump into one of these pools and find themselves in the dying world of Charn. This world is desolate and silent, its cities in ruins. In a majestic palace, they find countless figures frozen in time. Digory, against Polly's warnings, strikes a golden bell with a hammer, inadvertently awakening the last surviving inhabitant of Charn: Queen Jadis.

Jadis is immensely beautiful, terrifyingly powerful, and utterly ruthless. She reveals that she destroyed her entire world with a single, devastating spell, the "Deplorable Word," rather than let it fall into the hands of her enemies. She hitches a ride back with Digory and Polly to the Wood between the Worlds, and then, much to their horror, forces her way into London.

In London, Jadis causes chaos, terrifying the public and demonstrating her immense power. Uncle Andrew, initially delighted, soon finds himself her helpless thrall. In a desperate attempt to get rid of her, Digory and Polly try to use the rings to send her back. However, through a series of mishaps, they, along with Uncle Andrew, a cabby named Frank, and his horse Strawberry, are pulled into a brand new, empty universe that is in the process of being created.

This new world is Narnia, sung into existence by the majestic and benevolent lion, Aslan. The children witness the creation of its stars, lands, animals, and the first Narnians. However, Jadis (who will later become the White Witch) also enters this new world, bringing evil with her. She attempts to challenge Aslan and pollute Narnia, but her power is initially weakened.

The climax involves Aslan tasking Digory with a quest: to retrieve a magical apple from a distant garden, which will protect Narnia for many years from Jadis's evil. This quest is a test of Digory's resolve and leads to the planting of the tree that will eventually grow into the magical wardrobe, linking Narnia to our world. "The Magician's Nephew" is a beautiful origin story that sets the stage for all the adventures to come.

Comments:
Great start, I didn't know until much later that this was "added on" years after the next book. It does a great job of setting the scene.

Books that we've read by C.S. Lewis (7):
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1) (1950), Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia, #2) (1951), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3) (1952), The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #4) (1953), The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #3) (1954), The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6) (1955), The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia, #7) (1956)