This book makes me uneasy, quite frankly.

Look, I'll give Lewis props for a rather unexpected ending to the series. It's bold, mature and the exact opposite (in some ways) of the "everyone lives" philosophy of Russell T Davies or JK Rowling. Completely destabilising Narnia is something that feels visceral to anyone who fell in love with the books as a child. And I did enjoy, somewhat, the comic allegory of the faux Aslan.

But... pardon the pun, Jesus Christ this is skeevy. For the most part, the series as Christian allegory could be wilfully ignored if you wanted to just enjoy the texture of the books and their creation of a world. Not so much here, quite frankly. Even aside from Lewis' infamous "screw you" to Susan for, you know, being interested in sex and make-up, the book is rather blatant in what it wants to push on to children.

As I mentioned in my "Silver Chair" review, I'm not inherently against this. After all, it worked for such luminaries as Dante and Evelyn Waugh. But there's a clear difference here, I feel, and - while I can still appreciate the allegory even from my anti-religious bias - this simply doesn't feel like a fitting end to the Narnia series. Instead, it feels like an overly aggressive Sunday School teacher who's tired of just sitting around and telling kind stories. I completely understand Lewis' passion, from his point of view, to try and show the true terror of losing his world to a more secular one. It's just a pity that rather than simply writing essays about the perceived problem, he had to incorporate it so thoroughly into the final book of a much beloved children's series.

In spite of my beliefs, and the fact that Philip Pullman and his ilk have eradicated our generation's need for Narnia, I still treasure these books from my childhood, and always will. It's just a pity, that's all it is. ( )

This book is cool because it starts in Narnia so you can see the entire situation before any kids come into Narnia.

(SPOILER) I was hoping for a bit more dramatic consequences for Shift and all the trouble he caused.

In the last chapter, I was so excited to hear of all the characters from previous books! That was probably my favorite part!

I didn’t necessarily love the fact that they “died,” but I guess the series had to be ended somehow. (END SPOILERS)

Notable Quotes:
“She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she’ll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age.”
Don’t take for granted whatever age you are now. You’ll never get it back. Don’t waste a second!

Things to be aware of in “The Last Battle:”

Violence:
- A horse is beaten and yelled at mercilessly.
- Two men are murdered. (Not many details).
- Many other killings in battle.
- A mention of killing men on an altar to a god.
- An animal is spat on.
- A character is struck on the mouth and thrown down.
- A dog looses a leg.
- A character is threatened by a dagger to his neck.

Spiritual Content:
- Mentions of studying and reading the stars. Followed by what is “written in the skies.”
- Many mentions of gods.
- “I hear some of you are saying I’m an Ape. Well, I’m not. I’m a Man.” (Spoken by the ape)
- Mentions of demons and calling them.

Language:
- 11 “ass” (all in reference to an actual donkey)
- 7 “stupid”
- 7 “dumb”
- 1 “damnably”
- 1 “where the devil”

Additional Notes:
- A character works his companion as a slave, tricking him into doing tasks. ( )

An absolutely beautiful ending to an absolutely beautiful story. C. S. Lewis stuns with every book and I hold this series very dear to my heart, from the joy I felt reading it, to every character I adore, to every place we explored. Thank you to the author, for letting us inside your beautiful mind. It’s an adventure that our world will never forget. ( )

Unusually dark and morbid for one of these, but I guess it makes sense if it’s trying to fit the Revelations part of the Bible into the Narnia setting. I liked the concept of a false Aslan and how that might complicate the whole simple nature of Narnia and its creatures, but then the book wrapped itself up. Not a satisfying series in the slightest for how wayward Lewis’ interests seemed to be with characters and story, but intriguing for that disjointedness, too. ( )

Fantasy