To all you Narnia fans (specifically, those of you who have read the books)...?

Question

Poll time! Which, in your opinion, is the best order in which to read the Chronicles of Narnia? Published order, or chronological?

For those of you not in the know, the published order is as follows:
1. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. The Silver Chair
5. The Horse and His Boy
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Last Battle

The chronological order is thus:
1. The Magician's Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

And do correct me if I'm wrong on any of those.

In my opinion, I like the published order better, if only because I much prefer reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first than The Magician's Nephew. There's just more magic in it when you read LWW before TMN.

So what does everyone else think?

To Holly: I went to the midnight showing of LWW ^_^. I liked it a lot, though I hadn't read the books in ages (I just started reading them all again this summer). I'd say it was a pretty faithful adaptation. It was certainly more faithful to the characters' personas than the 1980's(?) BBC special.

Mac Momma: I'm reading The Golden Compass now, and I like it a lot; I agree with you in that it is better-written. But Narnia will always be special to me because my mother read the books to me and my siblings when we were little. So they have that nostalgic quality to them that the His Dark Materials series lacks.

Answer 1

Even though I have the books in one volume, I have to read them in their published order. I just don't know if Magician's Nephew would mean anything to me--would hook me into the series--if I didn't already know and love the Narnia that was introduced in The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe.

Also, I think having A Horse and His Boy so early on in the series is not a good idea. It could just be me. But it has very little to do with any of the other books except for the last few chapters where the four kids make their appearances, and it just seems rather slow and boring compared to the Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe.

I like having Magicians Nephew and The Last Battle close to each other. I think it's nice that you get to see the beginning and ending of Narnia.

I also like the audio books of this series :)

Answer 2

I have read them in both the published order and the chronological order. The published order is definitely the best - The Magician's Nephew is just not riveting enough to start off the series. Not compared to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I also agree with another reviewer about putting The Horse and His Boy so early in the series - while I really liked the book, it doesn't have a lot to do with the rest of the characters in the series until the very end. With the exception of these two books, the other five are in chronological order in both lists. So, really, it just depends on when you liked reading these two in relation to the other five. I liked reading about the creation of Narnia in the book right before its destruction, instead of six books earlier.

I don't think the Golden Compass is better written, but it was a great book. I couldn't wait to read the second one. The Subtle Knife was disappointing, but I thought maybe he could redeem it somehow in the last one. He didn't - The Amber Spyglass was just horrible. What a waste of both my money and my precious reading time. I lent them to my friend so she could read them, too, and she was just as disappointed as I was. Totally, unbelievably lame how he ended it. He started out so well in the first one, but couldn't keep it going.

Answer 3

I totally agree with you, I read them in published order, I think it helps set up so much more to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first and then go back and later read the Magician's Nephew, but perhaps I'm biased once I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it got my attention and interest SO much, I don't think I would have been as involved in the series had I read The Magician's Nephew, not to mention I did NOT read that one first so I couldn't tell you honestly whether it was better to read it first or not, maybe if I HAD then I would like it that way better (make sense???). Maybe if I would have read The Magician's Nephew I would have been okay in getting along and everything making sense, but since I didn't I have no idea if I would have been lost reading that instead of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. By the way, on a different note I am SOO glad that I bought those books years (maybe 2 or 3) before the movie was made, as soon as news hit that it was being released I swear they jacked up the price of all those books, I tried buying a complete set for my nephew last year and OUCH!!! I ended up getting him something different! I look forward to reading those books with my daughter (who is still a bit young to read her a big long chapter book like that, maybe in another year or two).

Answer 4

I think for a first-time reader, the published order is best. But for someone who has already read all the books, I think reading chronologically gives a different perspective.

An aside: I don't know if you saw the LWW movie that came out. It seemed many were very impressed with it. I liked it; but I liked the books better. Everything looked more fantastical in my mind. Also, I believe that parts of the LWW were meant to be *very* dark... and that contrasting side was lost on Disney.

Answer 5

I say chronological, just because I read it in the published order, and I always wondered about where Narnia came from, and why humans were there, and why the animals talked and all that stuff, then I read the Magician's Nephew and it was all explained.

On the other hand, I do kinda agree that it had more impact read later...

Answer 6

The published order is the best

...and I don't think Pullman's work is even in the same league as CS Lewis. The first two books were good, but the Amber Spyglass was awful. The way he tried to change the father character into a more positive character was totally unbelievable and contrived (poor writing). The Narnia novels may be a bit dated, but the writing is much better.

Answer 7

The Magician's Nephew has more impact if read later in the series.

Answer 8

I have read the series more than once and every time it was in the published order.

Answer 9

I read them backwards when I was a kid because my brother started at the begining and we both wanted to read it at the same time. Made no difference to me in the end.

Answer 10

They are not as good as "His Dark Materials" series by Phillip Pullman