Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book!!
Review: This book is a true adventure for any child, even a child at heart.
I was sorry to read that the author died when I was 2,
but now that I know about these books the author will live on
forever for me.
The Magician's Nephew includes magic, mystery, adventure, and everything else that could keep a child glued to
the pages of a book.
I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to all
kids, young and old:)
Rating:
Summary: Read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" First!!!
Review: "The Magician's Nephew" is about more than just the creation of Narnia. It is an exciting adventure story in its own right, though it does begin deceptively, dragging its feet. Digory Kirke is the nephew; Andrew Ketterley is the magician; and Polly Plummer is the girl who lives a few doors down. The two children have been warned to keep away from eccentric Uncle Andrew, which they do gladly. One day, however, they accidentally enter his private study and get tangled in his mad experiment involving magical worlds. Here the adventure begins in earnest. Digory and Polly visit a "deplorable world" called Charn and awaken the Queen Jadis. When they try to return to Earth, Jadis follows them, intending to conquer and rule their world, as she had conquered and ruled Charn. In their desperate attempts to take Jadis back to her own world, the children accidentally bring her--_and_ Uncle Andrew--into Narnia, on the day of its birth. What follows is the longest bit of Narnian history since the story of the Telmarines in "Prince Caspian" (unless you count "The Horse and His Boy", which _also_ preceded "The Magician's Nephew" in the original ordering). There is the creation of Narnia, the selection of the talking beasts, the story of Latern Waste, the coronation of the first king and queen, and the entry of evil . . . It is THIS history which makes "The Magician's Nephew" so wonderful. The history breathes new life into the Narnia that readers (ought to) already know and love. Learning about the creation of this magical world and about the past of the already-intriguing Professor Kirke of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is most fun when one has already been to Narnia and met Professor Kirke, so to speak. There are other great things about this book, of course, such as the description of Charn (especially the room of figures), the conversation of the animals, the subplot involving Digory's mother, and many other elements. Discover them for yourself and experience the magic. What I like most about "The Magician's Nephew", however, is how a paradox of good and evil is twisted into the plot. We all know that Digory and Polly weren't supposed to have awoken Jadis, much less brought her anywhere near Narnia. Yet it is precisely because they did it that Narnia became so special. The paradox is that it took a sin--or rather, the forgiveness of a repented sin--to truly bless Narnia.
Rating: 
Summary: "Come in by the Gold Gates or Not at All..."
Review: "The Magician's Nephew" was the sixth book that C. S. Lewis wrote in the `Chronicles of Narnia', although chronologically it is placed first in the series, as a prequel to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." This leads to many debates on when and where it is supposed to be read - but really, it doesn't make much of a difference considering that all seven of the books are complete stories within themselves. However, if you take my advice and are new to the world of Narnia, I suggest reading "The Magician's Nephew" after "The Lion," as half the fun of reading it is to piece together the history of Narnia and how it fits into the rest of the books.
Digory Kirke is a young boy in London, living with his great aunt and uncle due to the fact that his father is abroad and his mother is deathly ill. Life is not treating him so well at the moment, but all that changes when he meets the next door neighbour Polly Plummer, who is rather curious about Digory and his somewhat mysterious household. The two come up with a plan to creep through the rafters in the attic and thereby reach an empty house at the end of the row of houses. But something goes wrong with their measurements, and they end up in the attic room of Digory's own Uncle Andrew, who is surprisingly pleased to see the children there. Offering Polly one of several rows of lovely yellow rings, she reaches out to touch one, and to Digory's horror completely disappears! Coaxed by the greedy Andrew to follow her, Digory dons his own yellow ring, along with two green ones that will transport him safely back home.
The adventures that follow take them to two different extremes: the dying world of Charn and the birth of the world of Narnia, both of which are filled with intrigue, suspense, and Lewis's wonderful way of mingling the magical with the miraculous. The origins of the White Witch, the lamp-post, the wardrobe and the realm of Narnia is all here to discover, and Lewis fits it all in very well with what he has previously established about his world in other books. The introduction to Queen Jadis is done particularly well, and remains one of his strongest characters, capable to leave us in awe of her strength and beauty, and in fear of her power and mercilessness. Uncle Andrew also is presented as a rather milder form of evil, a man whose morale understandings are utterly overshadowed by his desire for fame, glory and the continuation of his experiments.
As always, Lewis adds a sense of Biblical allegory into his work, not so much as to overwhelm the plot or to be too preachy, but clearly enough so that readers are pushed in the right direction concerning what they're actually reading. Here, Lewis deals with the themes of temptation, the apple, the fall and the redemption that follows. In the course of the story Digory gives into his curiosity and in doing so brings a great evil into the world - in order to rectify this mistake he is sent on a mission in order to redeem himself, and keep Narnia safe for generations to come.
My favourite parts of the books are the small moments of intrigue that are never really explained or explored, and don't need to be either - to do so would destroy the mystery of them. For instance, Jadis describes the fall of Charn due to the war between herself and her sister, and vividly describes the final days in which her sister leads her army to the castle gates and comes so close that they look each other in the eye. What this woman's name is, whether she was as evil as Jadis makes her out to be, and what the Deplorable Word that destroyed her was, we never learn - it remains elusive. Likewise, Andrew recounts the story of how he created the magic rings: with dust that came from the lost city of Atlantis, bequeathed to him by his aunt Lefay who was said to have fairy blood in her veins: another small pocket of fascinating detail and mystery that Lewis touches on and then leaves behind. His work is so full of ideas that there is enough material for many more books to be written.
"The Magician's Nephew" is an excellent addition to the Chronicles, and has within it all the magic, mystery and meaning that one expects from the Narnia books. Surprisingly, Narnia does not appear in the story till almost halfway through, but there is plenty to make up for it beforehand. Digory goes on to appear as Professor Kirke in other books, and both he and Polly are present in the final book "The Last Battle." And of course, there's plenty of Aslan - how on earth could there not be?
Rating:
Summary: What a great treat for children AND adults!
Review: A powerful story that will stregthen your love for God while you have fun reading about Polly and Digory's adventures. I read this for the first time as an adult and I highly recommend it to anyone who is entertained by fantasies and fairy tales. I liked it so much that I actually bought the whole set.
Rating:
Summary: How It All Began
Review: Digory and Polly are exploring a passageway between their houses one summer morning when they stumble into Digory's uncle's study. Uncle Andrew dapples in magic, and tricks Polly into taking one of his magic rings. Digory goes after her, and they find themselves in a magic wood, a passageway to different worlds. Exploring further, they find evil as well as a land about to be created. This is a different story in the Narnia tales. First, we don't arrive at Narnia until after half way through the book. Second, this is the only book where actions in the fantasy worlds have direct impact on events in our world. For these reasons, it's a fun change in the series. The story in Narnia is simpler then the others, but it makes watching a new world take shape no less thrilling. And there are some important lessons on doing the right thing at the right time and getting out of life exactly what you expect. There is quite a debate about the order this book should be read in. While it was published sixth, the events place it first. When I read these books back in third grade, I read them in publication order, and I enjoyed that because there are some surprises in here that explain a couple scenes in the first book. Admittedly biased, I think that reading them in publication order would make for the most enjoyment. However, the issues involved are very minor and any of the books can really be read in any order without spoiling anything important. No matter what order you choose to read the books in, make sure you do. These are classic children's fantasy for a reason; they are fun stories that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: C.S. Lewis Fan
Review: Have you ever heard the sweet sound of a lion's voice or seen the rich lands of Narnia? Well, Digory, Polly, Uncle Andrew and an evil witch have. Digory was a normal London dirty boy. Polly however was a girl of higher class. Together they search through hidden rooms and find eventually find Digory's uncle Andrew's room where they find magical rings that transport them into the land between worlds. There are thousands of puddles that lead to other lands. In one puddle they find an evil witch. Unfortunately they brought her back to London. So what do you do with a witch rampaging around London? You get rid of her, and that's exactly what they did. But they sent her into the greatest land of all, Narnia. See how Polly and Digory must save Narnia and the lives of thousands of animals. Digory changes at the end of the book because he becomes more aware of others than himself when his mother gets involved as well. He soon finds himself in a very deep hole with a big decision to make. Find out how deep this hole is in the amazing book, The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. I give this book a five stars!!!
Rating:
Summary: This is the best book of the CON
Review: I finished this book some time ago. And at first I didn't like it, but this was just becuse of the wich going back and forth between the worlds. But once the children wen't into Narnia it relly got good!!! C.S.Lewis writes this book butifuly. The resond I knoked off a star is becuse of as i said before, them contenuing to go between the worlds.
Rating:
Summary: The beginning of the Chronicles...and Narnia
Review: I have to admit that this is my first time reading the Chronicles of Narnia, so I'm starting with the renumbered series. "The Magician's Nephew" is the story of Digory and Polly, a boy and girl thrust from their London neighborhood into the Wood Between the Worlds by way of magic rings developed by Digory's Uncle Andrew. Digory accidentally wakes the evil Queen Jadis and the children bring her back to London, where she begins to wreak havoc before they can get her back into the Wood. They also bring Uncle Andrew, a cabby and a horse named Strawberry. They go to another world and witness a type of genesis, as a new world is born, called Narnia, with the lion Aslan as its king. Digory must go on a quest for a silver apple and return with it to Narnia. I won't spoil the rest. The story begins as a fantastical fairy tale, and even though it's a children's book, there is a lot of depth for grown up children. As the land of Narnia unfolds, there are a lot of biblical currents, such as Aslan the creator, Jadis the temptress and the silver apples as the focal point of healing and knowledge. It's a fun story, rich in dialogue and description, but well-paced and orchestrated and worth repeated reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Narnian Genesis
Review: It's about the turn of the twentieth century, and Digory Kirke is not having much of a time. He's had to move away from the country into the drab, grey cobbled world of London. His father is away, his mother is on her deathbed with illness and his creepy Uncle Andrew lives up in his wardrobe, mysteriously busy. He finds a friend in Polly, his girl next door, and she shows him to her attic, where a door leads to the rooves of all the houses on their terrace. They go along it, hoping to investigate an empty house down the road, but instead find themselves in Uncle Andrew's laboratory. He locks them in and forces them to partake in his experiments. By Atlantean magic, Uncle Andrew has made rings that can transport a person into other worlds. Digory and Polly are whisked away, which sets off an exciting chain of events and adventures.
"The Magician's Nephew" is a tale revealing how Narnia came to be, one of the most loved by fans. We learn of the origins of the Witch, and of the Wardrobe. The Lion, however, is kept just as majestic and mysterious as ever, which is just as well really. One thing I would have liked to have known more about Aslan is his father, the mysterious "Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea". He is mentioned once or twice in the other books (by the beavers in Chapter 8 of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", for instance). Nothing much comes of him, and sometimes I wonder whether C.S. Lewis forgot he'd mentioned him.
With so many explanations and imaginative extensions of logic (the rings, the wood between the worlds, etc), some of the writing here verges on science fantasy, which is something of a change of pace from the other books.
The characterizations are pretty good, some of the best in the series, I thought. I love the dialogue between Digory and Polly, that love-hate kind of relationship that kids sometimes have with each other. Uncle Andrew, the mad scientist "magician" of sorts, is delightfully melodramatic too, as is Jadis, the White Witch. She's pretty sinister in parts too.
C.S. Lewis was a committed Christian, and his beliefs shine through in all his work. There's a lot of Christian allegory in the Chronicles of Narnia, for instance. In "The Magician's Nephew", I think it's more of an eloborated parallel (to the Biblical Genesis), rather than a specific allegory. The descriptions of the creation of Narnia are vivid and resonant, catching the imagination as only C.S. Lewis can. Another Christian element Lewis does explore is the nature of temptation - how a person falls for it, how strong it can get, and how a person can resist it. He does this quite well, using words in such a way you can feel the struggles of the person tempted. He explores similar themes in "The Silver Chair".
Pauline Baynes provides illustrations for this book, as she does througout all the series. I'm particularly fond of her pictures in "The Magician's Nephew". She captures the feel of both turn of the century London and of a newly born world very well.
Though "The Magician's Nephew" is the first chronologically, it was actually one of the last written, the sixth. It's definitely a book that can stand on its own, however, and be read first in the series. I think, though, that you get a lot more from it if you've read the ones that were written before it. It gives a lot of things away and it takes a lot of the surprise and the wonder out as you read on (especially from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"). I like to think of it more as a belated prequel rather than an official beginning. I've been reading the books in the order they were written, and it's quite interesting that way. You can see how Narnia develops. Like, I've noticed that from "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" onwards, Lewis is expanding his world. In "Voyage" (1952), he explores the east, in "The Silver Chair" (1953) he explores the north (and the underground), in "The Horse and His Boy" (1954) he explores the south and here in "The Magician's Nephew" (1955) the west of Narnia is used. Whichever way you read the series, it is bound to be enjoyable.
Highly recommended for fantasy lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Very nearly the best of the series
Review: Reading The Magician's Nephew to my five year old son, we encountered the same kind of wonder that we enjoyed with the first in the Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The strength of this book is the portrayal, even more developed than in the previous Narnia works, of Aslan the Great Lion as the ultimate good, the Creator, the Song Made Flesh, the God who became a Beast for our sakes...you get the idea. Lewis seems to have tapped into something true and beautiful, especially in the narrative of how Aslan brought Narnia into being, and also how He deals with human sin and tragedy. Spellbinding for the 46 year old, moving and beneficial for the five year old. Highly, highly recommended.
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