The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
Published by HarperCollins
Publication Date January 2, 2008
Source: Gift
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads
Jill and Eustace must rescue the Prince from the evil Witch.
NARNIA...where owls are wise, where some of the giants like to snack on humans, where a prince is put under an evil spell...and where the adventure begins.
Eustace and Jill escape from the bullies at school through a strange door in the wall, which, for once, is unlocked. It leads to the open moor...or does it? Once again Aslan has a task for the children, and Narnia needs them. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, they pursue the quest that brings them face and face with the evil Witch. She must be defeated if Prince Rillian is to be saved.
Firstly, the beginning of this book is depressing (after Eustance and Jill awesomely escape the bullies at school). Anyway… it is sad because much time has passed in the land of Narnia and King Caspian is old and pruny. Thus, time is of the essence to bring back his missing son, Prince Rilian. So after having a meeting with the owls which was totally “the day the teddy bears have their picnic” Eustance, Jill and their guide Puddlegum, a Marsh-Wiggle start on their supposed lost cause going on their somewhat merry way. After that sentence one would think, why bother? It’s a fool’s mission, but Aslan would never give a Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve a task that could not be completed.
Like Dorothy and her motley crew they begin their journey and enter into “Gentle Giant Land” which isn’t true at all and has a Hansel and Gretel feel to it, remember Hansel sticking a bone through the bars? I must say, I really enjoyed how C.S. Lewis portrayed the so-called Gentle Giants because even though I was “oh come on, are the kids too naive to see they are being taken in?” it was done in a very educated manner and had a regal atmosphere to it. So the Underworld which is obviously meant to be hell is discovered and the evil Green Lady is holding captive said Prince and doing electric shock treatment — in a silver chair. Once again we go all Wizard of Oz with Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow braking down a door to save the helpless girl in blue checks. Father and Son reunite.
The Underworld is a deep dark place (as it should be) and was a vividly described place and could almost feel the dark clouds moving in. This installment in the series is gallant, brave and at times had me smiling no matter how stupid I thought the characters were being. Seriously, this adventure was purely due to stupidity, but I loved it. True, The Silver Chair was a little predictable, I won’t lie there, but it was the journey that made me continue on even though I thought the ending was clear. That is what a good author does, having the reader begging for more.
Awww, I remember absolutely loving Puddleglum. But it's been years since I've re-read this one.
I reread this recently and found it had a kind of eerie feel to it somehow, from the moment of the children's arrival, especially Jill's first encounter with Aslan, and the time-lapse. But it's one of my favourite books in the series.
This and The Horse and His Boy were the my favorites of the Narnia series. I've been reading them all in order-of-publication last year, but I think I'll read them again in chronological order next year. 🙂 You gave a really good description here….I can't seem to say very much about these books individually, so my reviews are short!