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Book Home  Books Information Last Battle
Last Battle
The Last Battle is the final novel in The Chronicles
of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. Lewis was awarded the Carnegie Medal
for the book.
Synopsis
In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end.
The book deals with the end of time in Narnia and sums up the series
by linking the experience of the human children in Narnia with their
lives in this world.
The story begins during the reign of the last king of
Narnia, King Tirian. Narnia has experienced a long period of peace
and prosperity begun during the reign of King Caspian X, whose dynasty
was established in Prince Caspian and confirmed by the succession
of his son Rilian at the conclusion of The Silver Chair. Tirian, who
is the great-grandson of the great-grandson of Rilian, becomes aware
that strange and uncomfortable things are happening to his land and
that the stars portend ominous developments.
The king's magical call for help results in the arrival
of Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole, the two children who last visited
Narnia during the final year of the reign of Caspian, to help him
battle an invasion by an army from the southern land of Calormen.
The Calormenes have internal allies in Narnia, in the form of an Antichrist-figure,
Shift the Ape, and his dupe Puzzle the donkey, who has pretended to
be Aslan and spread the heresy that Aslan and the Calormene god Tash
(one of the figures in the series with Satanic qualities) are one
and the same. The heresy causes the dwarfs and some other Narnian
Talking beasts to lose faith in, and loyalty to, Aslan and the King;
meanwhile, Shift proceeds to sell Narnia into Calormene slavery. Tirian
has only a small loyal force to fight the Calormenes, and prepares
to die in a last stand against the forces of darkness. The Battle
concludes with Aslan stepping in to bring Narnia to an end. All creatures,
including those who had previously died, are judged by Aslan as they
approach a door; those who have been loyal to Aslan, or to the morality
upheld by Narnians, join Aslan in Aslan's country (heaven), while
those who have opposed or deserted him do not pass through the door,
but disappear to an uncertain fate.
It becomes clear that nearly all those who had travelled
to Narnia in previous books have been reunited in Aslan's country
where they realise that Narnia and England are linked and that they
have in fact died on earth and can enjoy an afterlife in a perfect
version of Narnia where they are reunited with characters from previous
books, and their deceased relatives.
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