Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian
by C.S. Lewis - ★★★★★
Amazon's Summary: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensey, the heroes and heroines from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, return in this fourth installment of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. The four children are transported from an English train station to an island in the world of Narnia. Though Narnia has been at peace since the children left, it is now under the control of Wicked King Mirax. The youngsters, along with Aslan the great lion, must help young Prince Caspian restore Narnia's glorious past. ~Shauna Yusko
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First of all, Shauna summary writer, it's MIRAZ.
Anyway...
I feel I must start with a confession. I read LWW several times as a youngster but never the other books. I have enjoyed the movies though. (I know many book fans have not, due to the changes made to various plots.) I'm probably the only (or one of few) who liked the Prince Caspian movie a lot. Having no prior experience with the story, can you see why? The only thing I remember finding odd was the sudden appearance of Susan-Caspian love interest that pops up at the very end. It seemed to come of out left field.
Now, confession #2. I had a hard time reading this book because of how much I liked the movie. Seriously, it took me almost two years to finish reading it. In contrast with the movie, the book seemed dull. There was no nighttime raid on Miraz's castle. The final battle was much shorter, as was the scene on the bridge over the river. And what was all that at the end about the different children in various locations throughout Narnia getting a much-needed comeuppance? I found myself saying, "Who cares??"
That said, I really had to focus on the fact that the movies should be treated completely separate from the books. There is also a generational difference in the way action scenes are written. We've come to expect much more these days. More excitement, more detail.
Truly, the books ARE good. You just can't say anything bad about C.S. Lewis and the way he writes. He's C.S. Lewis! And I particularly like this version of the book that I have. I can't find it anywhere on Amazon, and now I remember that I bought the entire series as a collector's box set when I was in Ireland. Clifden in County Galway to be exact. I remember that day. I even remember what I was wearing! But I digress...
This particular edition of the book has illustrations, which I love.
I've already seen Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so now I'm very reluctant to read it. I hear the movie strayed significantly from the book. And I really liked the movie. =/ I'm torn.