The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis

The following post is taken directly from my hand-printed Reader's Journal. I will be sharing these reflections each week on the Rivera Runs Through It blog. The date at the end of each post is the date of the original writing, which is typically the date I completed the book. The reflections are short, but represent my initial reactions to a book, a brief summary of the book or the questions it raised for me at the time. I hope you enjoy this segment in my blog and feel free to comment on what you read here.

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

The seventh and final book of the Chronicles was an excellent ending. The battle was great, but what came after was even better. The forgiving spirit of God (Aslan) was shown as well as His judgement. Essentially Judgement Day came for Narnia and we were taken through its end just as we were there at its birth - we then followed all of the characters through the Door into Lewis' vision of heaven. I especially liked Aslan's conversation with Emeth about his faith no matter what name he gave to his God.

Dated: 12/30/03

The Chronicles of Narnia was the first ever book series that I read through to its completion (I am not counting Lord of the Rings because J.R.R. Tolkien intended those three books to be one book, not a trilogy). My husband and I had started them together, but he lost interest along the way, which is what had happened to me in the past with book series that I had begun. 

After I read this book, "The Last Battle," I realized how much could be lost if not read all the way through. I enjoyed most of The Chronicles of Narnia, however, once I read book seven, I fell in love with the series. As much as I loved the seventh book on its own, I know that it was through the support of the six books that came before that it seemed to be such an amazing tale all its own.

What was the first book series you read through to its completion? 

Do you feel as though the last book was the "best" of the series?

Have you abandoned/forgotten series in the middle of reading them? What do you think would have kept you hooked?