Rank the Chronicles of Narnia Books

Since ranking is the thing to do these days...

1. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  THE classic.
2. Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Maybe this is just nostalgia for me, but it spurred my imagination the most.
3. The Silver Chair.  The spiritual allegory is up there with The Lion... for me in my life.

gap

4. The Magician's Nephew.  Book SEVEN is the origin story.  It's pretty good but doesn't have as much spiritual meaning and is a terrible place to start the series.

gap

5. Prince Caspian.  The allegory is ok but the story didn't do much for me.  It mostly just set up the Caspian dynasty.
6. The Last Battle.  I know Heaven is supposed to be THE happy ending, but this doesn't feel like a happy ending.  Narnia is over and everyone is dead.
7. The Horse and His Boy.  This is the one I read the least.  Probably because I'm not a fan of the timeline.  The Pevensies as adults in Narnia doesn't work well.

This is hard.
1. The Last Battle. - This one gets me crying every time at the end. But, it really has a foundation of the other books, so it's may be conditionally #1
2. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. - It could have all ended on this one and it would have been fine.
3. The Magician's Nephew.
4. Voyage of the Dawn Treader
5. Prince Caspian
6. The Silver Chair.
7. The Horse and His Boy.

I started reading all of these when I bought a hardcover set from my kids (probably 16-18 years ago).  I can't remember how far I got, but I know I didn't finish.  I know for sure I read the first three and pretty sure I read Prince Caspian, but have no clue if I made it through The Last Battle (almost certain I didn't read The Horse & His Boy or The Magician's Nephew).
Fantastic books though.

Staybrite wrote:I started reading all of these when I bought a hardcover set from my kids (probably 16-18 years ago).  I can't remember how far I got, but I know I didn't finish.  I know for sure I read the first three and pretty sure I read Prince Caspian, but have no clue if I made it through The Last Battle (almost certain I didn't read The Horse & His Boy or The Magician's Nephew).
Fantastic books though.

You are dead to me.

Staybrite wrote:I started reading all of these when I bought a hardcover set from my kids (probably 16-18 years ago).  I can't remember how far I got, but I know I didn't finish.  I know for sure I read the first three and pretty sure I read Prince Caspian, but have no clue if I made it through The Last Battle (almost certain I didn't read The Horse & His Boy or The Magician's Nephew).
Fantastic books though.

They're better read in publication order, not the modern numbering (which is chronological within Narnia's timeline).

Sounds like I should go back and reread them again.  Incredibly well written series of books (at least the ones I finished).

eatbugs wrote:

Staybrite wrote:I started reading all of these when I bought a hardcover set from my kids (probably 16-18 years ago).  I can't remember how far I got, but I know I didn't finish.  I know for sure I read the first three and pretty sure I read Prince Caspian, but have no clue if I made it through The Last Battle (almost certain I didn't read The Horse & His Boy or The Magician's Nephew).
Fantastic books though.

They're better read in publication order, not the modern numbering (which is chronological within Narnia's timeline).

If you talk to kids now, they know the new order.

It’s been a long long time since I read them all, but from my recollection:

Best: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 

Upper Tier: The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy

Middle Tier: The Magician’s Nephew, Prince Caspian

Lower Tier: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Last Battle

I would like to reread them, but I might wait until my son is a little older and read them to him.

I also like the movies. I’d rank them:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 
Prince Caspian

Pethead wrote:I also like the movies. I’d rank them:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 
Prince Caspian

Really?  You like the movie but put the book in the lower tier.  I'm the opposite.  I put the book #2 but it's my least favorite movie, probably because they changed it too much but not for the better (unlike Caspian where I think the changes improved the flow of the story).

eatbugs wrote:

Pethead wrote:I also like the movies. I’d rank them:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 
Prince Caspian

Really?  You like the movie but put the book in the lower tier.  I'm the opposite.  I put the book #2 but it's my least favorite movie, probably because they changed it too much but not for the better (unlike Caspian where I think the changes improved the flow of the story).

I like it because they changed it 🤪

To me the movies went down with each one. I was really disappointed with the Dawn Treader. There are talks of rebooting it, and I thnk Netflix might have rights to it now.

deathisgain wrote:...and I thnk Netflix might have rights to it now.

Yikes.  Who wants to bet Netflix will secularize it all and add in some romance between the human and animal characters?  

Kerrick wrote:

deathisgain wrote:...and I thnk Netflix might have rights to it now.

Yikes.  Who wants to bet Netflix will secularize it all and add in some romance between the human and animal characters?  

Yeah, I saw a few months ago that Netflix was considering a TV series about the "Narnia universe."  I'm not as negative as you about it but I'm sure not happy about it.

Haha yeah I'm pretty pessimistic when it comes to ultra-woke companies like Netflix - especially given their history of attempting to normalize pedophilia with their Cuties movie...  

When I was in 6th grade we had to read the Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. I really enjoyed but never read another until maybe ten years ago I picked up the set.

My list:

1. Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Reading this a was amazed and sad I hadn't read this as a kid. I need to go back to it again because the movie ruins my memory of it.
2. The Silver Chair - same as above, in being amazed at how good this was. I think about this book often.
3. The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe - has the best flow and the blatant gospel overtones are highest here which I appreciate.
4. The Last Battle - like a Narnian version of Lewis' "That Hideous Strength." If I read this as a kid I would have hated it. The ending is such a huge triumph and the play on darkness and light, opposing worldviews, manipulation thrills me as an adult.
5. The Magician's nephew - an interesting prequel. So much intrigue and mystery here. It always feels like more could be explored and discovered here.
6. Prince Caspian - the least memorable for standout events for me.
7. The Horse and His Boy - had a hard time making it through this reading it as an adult. My kids wanted me to read it years ago. They couldn't keep their interest either. I hope someday I enjoy this better.

7. Prince Caspian. Great book, I just think the others are better.
6. The Horse and his Boy. Love seeing the south of the Narnian world.
5. The Magician's Nephew. Very mysterious, and a great origin story.
4. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I know most would put it higher. I just love the ones above even more.
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Love seeing the ocean of Narnia. Really cool seeing all the islands. Makes me wish the flat earthers were right  
2. The Silver Chair. Again, love the world building. The underground is as cool place, and Bism is really interesting too. Probably the most classic adventure story of them.
1. The Last Battle. I like darker stories and big happy endings. Of course I'll love this one. The last two chapters are my favorite of any books I've ever read. And the rest is great too.

Love that series. Been a while since I read them, idk if I can give a definitive ranking, but The Silver Chair has always been my favorite. Dawn Treader and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe are up there too

I'm surprised how well Dawn Treader is doing.  I thought I was in the minority in liking it.  I thought most would be like Pethead and put it in the lower tier.

Everyone I know loves that book. I need to reread it.

Eric Metaxes is a CS Lewis expert and he says Dawn Treader is the best one.

Only read two in the series, so I don't have much of an opinion.

Babylon Bee presents:

A Chronicles of Narnia quiz

Superjuice wrote:Babylon Bee presents:

A Chronicles of Narnia quiz

That is awesome!