Review of "The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I know others might disagree, but I always found this to be a fine entry point to the series. I can see the draw of reading it at the end as a prequel, but seeing Narnia being born as the first book to the series lends the whole of the Chronicles a gravitas and history that it would never have had otherwise. It makes the series feel like a cohesive narrative of beginning, middle, and end, and I don't think of it as much as an afterthought as most do.
The characters here are memorable, though maybe not as memorable as the Pevensie children or Eustace Scrubb. Digory and Polly seem to be much younger than the other children who go to Narnia (except maybe Lucy). And though some points seem slightly meandering, the end of Charn and the escape of the White Witch, and the beginning of the world …
I know others might disagree, but I always found this to be a fine entry point to the series. I can see the draw of reading it at the end as a prequel, but seeing Narnia being born as the first book to the series lends the whole of the Chronicles a gravitas and history that it would never have had otherwise. It makes the series feel like a cohesive narrative of beginning, middle, and end, and I don't think of it as much as an afterthought as most do.
The characters here are memorable, though maybe not as memorable as the Pevensie children or Eustace Scrubb. Digory and Polly seem to be much younger than the other children who go to Narnia (except maybe Lucy). And though some points seem slightly meandering, the end of Charn and the escape of the White Witch, and the beginning of the world that contains Narnia is brilliant and thrilling to read.