The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia, #7)
by C.S. Lewis

5 out of 5 stars

King Tirian hears rumors that Aslan has returned to Narnia, but he is not sure whether to believe it. When he investigates, he discovers that a false Aslan has been masquerading and fooling the Narnian people. He calls on the children of the ancient past to help him and to save Narnia from imposters and traitors. Eustace and Jill arrive just in time to rescue Tirian, but feel hopeless in the fight against the lies that have been built up around the false Aslan. How can you get people to believe the truth when they have swallowed so many lies?

I cry every time I read this. It is so piercingly beautiful. This book is full of both powerful grief and immeasurable joy. The imagery is so vivid and every scene is like a startling revelation. Even the quiet scenes where the characters regroup have some small detail that shows something important that is happening under the surface.

I love the inward journey that the characters must take. Outwardly there is not much that they can do, but they have to learn to be resilient and courageous in the face of overwhelming odds. They must do their duty even if it means their deaths. They despair and grieve and lose hope, and then they remember their duty and find their courage again. They place their trust in Aslan and find a way to continue on.

Because this book tells about the last days of Narnia and the ending of the world, there are a lot of parallels to prophecy in the Bible and the hope of heaven that every Christian carries. The theme of faith is strong in this story as the characters have to make a choice about what is true. There are a few spiritual parallels that don’t actually match Biblical theology though. But it’s nice to just imagine a fun fantasy world, and not expect everything to perfectly align with real Christian truth.

There are just so many wonderful Christian themes and parallels in this book! It is amazing to me how deep and how specific the imagery is that represents particular verses from the Bible. Every time I read this book it is like a breath of fresh air and a joyful light.

The story itself is wonderful, with an exciting plot and magical setting. The characters are deep and complex, with lots of character growth. The writing paints a picture with only a few words, and calls up strong emotional responses in the reader. There is just something so enchanting about this story that has appealed to generations of readers!