What a lovely book! As I slowly work through this series book by book, reading them aloud to my siblings, I’m understanding more and more why this series is so popular. Of the books about Narnia that I’ve read so far (the first four), I feel like this one had some of the most easily applicable allegories in it (aside from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, of course). I enjoyed that aspect of the story, but it was also fun to get to see how the children from the second book were brought back to Narnia to help when the desperate need for their assistance rose again. This made for a fun read-aloud, and I can’t wait to read more with my siblings! ( )

[Reading in chronological order, #4]
Not as magical as the first two, but an improvement of the third.

Lynn Redgrave narrated this in audio. ( )

For me, "Prince Caspian" isn't one of the highlights of the Narnia series. Although it continues the journey of the Pevensie children, it seems like relatively bog-standard fantasy fare, with new characters who I actually find don't enhance the story that much. "The Magician's Nephew" suggested there were so many worlds out there, and this - while not a bad story, by any means - doesn't take much advantage of Lewis' imagination, beyond a few funny incidents. Perhaps I'm just not interested in the more standard fantasy tropes that appear here. ( )

More intriguing in its setup and resolution than the first, mostly because it radically adjusts the status quo of Narnia by fast-forwarding a 1000 years when the four kids return to it. The actual story between all this is just as frustrating to me as the first, however. It seems wholly disinterested in dramatics, which is a complaint that could be lobbied to parts of Tolkien's Middle-Earth series, but for a children's fairy tale I find it more necessary. We spend little time reacquainting ourselves with our main four when the story shifts to an extended backstory for the titular Prince Caspian, coming to the present adventure at about 100 pages in this edition where they connect and try to defeat the current temporary king Miraz. This action consists of the party walking around, hoping for some vague kind of help, and then ultimately receiving it from Aslan. Character agency seems not a concern. The duel between Peter and Miraz would be kind of exciting if it was written with some sense of suspense and drama, but again, it's kept at a distance for the most part. There's this side bit of treason going on with Miraz's right-hand men, but it's quickly brushed over to where it might as well not been in here. In summary--some more interesting bits inside of another tepid adventure. Not exactly.a page-turner given Lewis' approach to the story he's got here, but easy enough to finish. I hope for more abstract later entries, since he's not excellent at adventure or character so far. ( )

I know the most recent time I re-read this I struggled through it. Maybe because I listened to it this time it was easier and much more enjoyable. I love the growth of the characters and the descriptions. Reepicheep is one of my favorites. There is some gender role issues, but given the time period this was written. I can let that go.