How did you feel after reading Last Battle?

I felt happy that the Pevensies along with Eustace and Jill and all the other good Narnians got their happy ending. I was disappointed about Susan, though. But I think she'll turn out all right...

Of course I was sad that I had finished the series. Ha ha. There's always re-reading, though!
 
It's never quite explained where the Calormenes came from. Their culture bears resemblance to both the Ottoman Turkish court (the very image of the exotic and mysterious in the days of Lewis' youth) and the ancient Persian court. One thing they aren't intended to be is Muslim, since they are clearly idol-worshipers, but their origins could have been from the central to southwest Asian region.
 
Dear friend, the ultimate question is not whether you have a problem with the theology of the "man on an island" but whether God does. ;)
 
PrinceOfTheWest said:
It's never quite explained where the Calormenes came from. Their culture bears resemblance to both the Ottoman Turkish court (the very image of the exotic and mysterious in the days of Lewis' youth) and the ancient Persian court. One thing they aren't intended to be is Muslim, since they are clearly idol-worshipers, but their origins could have been from the central to southwest Asian region.
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I guess that's why I couldn't remember where they came from. Interesting observations though. Thanks for the info.

EveningStar: Yes, in all my feeble attempts to understand God and His ways I always come up short. I guess one day we can ask Him :)

Valiant: Amen. And when it comes to Narnia, I'm always up for a re-read!
 
I myself never cry at books or films, I'm like that.

Second, it says on C.S Lewis' official narnian timeline that calormen was inhabited by outlaws from archenland, and archenland was inhabited when Col, son of Frank the 5th led followers there.
 
You can find it several places on the Internet. It's also under dispute. The person who published it did so after Lewis' death. He claimed that Lewis had drawn it up, but nobody else had ever seen it or heard Lewis mention such a time line. It contains several points that contradict statements in the stories themselves.

To be fair, Lewis himself understood that there were inconsistencies in the stories, and hoped to reconcile them someday, but never got around to it.

For my part, I don't accept anything from the timeline as legitimate canon. I only accept that which is found in the stories.
 
Thanks.
I looked at a couple of timelines online. They're pretty interesting. But, yeah, I'm with you - I'll accept only what's in the books as true Narnian "fact", still the timelines can be helpful in sorting out the dates in your head.
 
"Second, it says on C.S Lewis' official narnian timeline that calormen was inhabited by outlaws from archenland, and archenland was inhabited when Col, son of Frank the 5th led followers there."

Do not believe the timeline, pokemainiac. You have shown here how it is wrong. Col, Frank V son did not found Archenland. Read the end of MN, it states that Frank and Helen's (the first king and queen) second son founded Archenland.

I do not believe much of what is written on the timeline. Even the years of the events that concern the Pevensies on Earth are suspect.

We have had a thread elsewhere surrounding what can be considered canon and what should not. The m,ain things that can truly be considered canon are what is printed in the books. Since Lewis never definitively stated where the Calormene ancestors came from, anything, including the timeline, is speculation.

I'm trying to think how many generations it would take for a people to go from caucasian to dark-skinned. I gues it could be posible for a people to go from light-skinned to dark skinned within a millenia, but is that what happened or was there another group of people who were naturally dark-skinned who entered into the Narnian world?

MrBob
 
MrBob said:
I gues it could be posible for a people to go from light-skinned to dark skinned within a millenia, but is that what happened or was there another group of people who were naturally dark-skinned who entered into the Narnian world?
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Yah, just like the Telmarines got in through a door on an island in the South Seas, I assumed the Calormene ancestors got in through a door in Iraq or Turkey or something...
 
MrBob said:
I gues it could be posible for a people to go from light-skinned to dark skinned within a millenia, but is that what happened or was there another group of people who were naturally dark-skinned who entered into the Narnian world?

MrBob
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It makes more sense if the people from Caloremen are from our world somewhere up the line. Especially, if they were descended from King Frank, when did they start worshiping idols? (Not that it doesn't happen - look at Israel in the Old Testament). It's just sad to think that a royal Narnian lineage would turn into the evil Caloremens. So, I like to think they were similar to the Telmarines. But it doesn't help explain why Emeth was allowed to stay in Aslan's Country, even though he had never met Aslan and served Tash all his life. That's what kind of started all this about the Caloremens in the first place. I guess I'll just have to accept that, even if I don't understand His ways, Aslan can do what He wants ;)
 
I cried the first couple times I read it because I was sad that Susan wasn't with them and they were all dead but now I'm happy when I read it cuz I realize they all get to be happy and live in Narnia forever in peace. :) It's my second fave book in the series.
 
My favorite Narnia book and second favorite book in the world is The Last Battle. I love it. It tells about the End Of The World in a way a kid can understand in. I don't actualy think Narnia has ended completely. I think Narnia and all other worlds will end when Jesus comes back to this world. How I felt after reading The Last Battle? Happy amazingly happy. Happy to know...This is NOT the End. I already knew of course for I had read Revelation, but I love to hear about the End Of The World.

In conclusion I say this; if you want to read an Amazing book but aren't ready for The Bible read Narnia.

I can't wait for The Last Battle.
 
The first time I read the end of the book, I felt as though I had a lump in my throat. I just kind of sat there thinking about the end for a good long time. It was a truly moving ending to the series, and just thinking about it makes me relive that feeling I had the first time I read it.

Lewis ended the series in a truly moving and passionate way. It was a wonderful and powerful ending and truly brought an already wonderful series to a new level.
 
The first time I read The Last Battle, I was a 5th grader and I didn't completely understand what had happened. I was certainly happy that the Pevensies (save Susan) got to stay in Narnia and were reunited with all their old friends, but I was thoroughly confused.

Mostly, it was Aslan's ending speech that confused me. "The term had ended, this is the holidays" or something akin to that. "The dream has ended, this is the morning!" Not really being acquainted with the English vocabulary (ie, term as opposed to semester- silly me!), I was thrown off.

I did read it again later on, maybe a year or two later, and by that time, I was able to understand the ending and appreciate it in a way that I hadn't when I went through the book the first time. =]
 
After I had finished reading the Last Battle I was sad because it was the end to a great series and I wanted to keep on reading more. Like when you come to the end of a bowl of ice cream or something. You really enjoyed it but you're sad it's over.
 
That desire for more is well known to tellers and audiences of great stories. In the Renaissance era, poets wrote sagas about medieval heroes, including a variation of the French hero Roland called Orlando. In the form of Orlando, this knight _didn't_ die at Roncevalles, but lived to have sons and grandsons. The storytellers would give dashing adventures to the sons and grandsons also--but would still keep Orlando present at least in the background, because they couldn't bear to let him die.
 
For me, it was both. Remember, both Tirian and Lucy cried to see night fall on Old Narnia, even though a better, truer Narnia awaited.
 
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