The Chronicles of Narnia Movie Tie-in 7-Book Box Set

In my new book, PASSPORT TO NARNIA: A NEWCOMER'S GUIDE, I try to put to rest the controversy about the order in which the books should be read, and for good reason: Lewis himself did not write these books as an interlocking whole, as did Tolkien (THE LORD OF THE RINGS) and J.K. Rowling (the Harry Potter novels). Lewis wrote that he wrote the books as they occurred to him, which is why he himself had no preference in which the books SHOULD be read. My contention is that the important thing is to READ these novels, not worry about the reading order. Besides, HarperCollins, his publisher, has made a decision to publish the books with THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW first, followed by THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE because, as is stated on the copyright page of the one volume hardback & paperback editions, "Although THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW was written several years after C.S. Lewis first began THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, he wanted it to be read as the first book in the series. HarperCollins is happy to present these books in the order in which Professor Lewis preferred. Regarding the seven novels themselves and their readability: Great books come from great writers who can not only are outstanding storytellers but also offer more than mere diversion: Lewis, a celebrated scholar, teacher, writer, and popularizer of the Christian faith, was a literary giant; and when we read the Chronicles of Narnia, we see the world filtered through his worldview. The books and the writer are in this case inseparable; the books come from the writer and are deep expressions of his humanity, his views on courage and sacrifice and honor, which are at the heart of these seven novels. Having sold 85 million copies since 1950 (when the first book in the series was published), you can rest assured that the books have stood the test of time, entertaining and illuminating five generations of readers. The only complaint I have about this boxed set is that the production values are mismatched: the covers are gorgeously printed, but the interiors use very cheap pulp paper, with blotty ink printing that obscures not only the text but the wonderful Pauline Baynes artwork. Since mass market paperbacks are routinely printed on pulp paper, the problem here seems to be the presswork: The over-inking of these pages obscures the printing of the text and obliterates the artwork. Since the one volume editions are issued from the same publisher, with readable text and no glaring deficiencies in the presswork, I hope that the publisher takes the time to correct what is otherwise a handsome, affordable, boxed edition. A few comments about the forthcoming movie: the trailer looks wonderful and captures the sense of wonder that is Narnia. Early reviews are positive and, from all indications, Disney Pictures has a winner of a film and the beginnings of a major, new franchise. To my mind, the best thing about the movie is that it will prompt a certain number of people to go into the bookstores and look for the principal texts; I came to the Narnia books late in life, but reading them did what good fiction is supposed to do: Those books took me out of this world and into C.S. Lewis's wonderful and enchanting world of Narnia, and isn't THAT what superb storytelling is all about? Bottom line: Despite my reservations about the printing of the interiors of these books, this is the edition of choice because of its price and portability. If you haven't read these books, now is the time to start: After December 9, when the film is released, everyone will be rushing to the bookstore to see what is next. I look forward to the film release and also look forward to re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia again, just as soon as I finish re-reading Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS from cover to cover (including the appendices).

Gift for granddaughter. Hope she enjoys them as much as my daughter did.

Very beautiful hardcover edition! It’s awesome…

I’ve been trying to find a lovely hard cover version of chronicles of narnia. This is gorgeous. The book cover in itself is gorgeous metallic type of paper, and the hard cover is a gorgeous red and gold, and the front has a picture of the wardrobe. The side of the paper in the picture looked way brighter than it is, which I’m relieved. I love the symbols on it, for each book. And the top and bottom of the paper is red with no symbols. When you open the front or back, it has a wonderful map of narnia. There are small illustrations on top of each start of the chapter. If you are looking for full page colorful pictures in the book, this isn’t your book. But the writing od these books are enough to stroke the imagination. It’s lovely. I’m so happy with it.

Box arrived well packaged and in very good condition as described. The set received was just as shown in the advertisement as being a reprint of the earlier edition that contained the original full color illustrations.

This is a lovely illustrated set and my grandchildren love them!

This book set is pretty nice. The writing is good size & there's some basic black & white images throughout. The paperback binders are stiff & it takes some effort to hold them open while reading. Paying $48 seems just a bit high but I'm happy with the set. I'm on book 4 & the stories are some of the best I've ever read. The first book is different from the rest & occurs many years earlier. I've heard the name C.S. Lewis my whole life & now I know why. The Chronicles of Narnia is a true masterpiece.

Great price on this hardbound set. We trust that this will be a classic set that lasts into the next generation while giving hours of substantive, creative reading.