Prince Caspian by CS Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia: Book 4)

9/10

Prince Caspian, the unofficial, but official, highly debated sequel/non-sequel not really to The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, returns the four Pevensie children to the land of Narnia, thousands of years after the events of LW&W to discover that it is has become an entirely different place.

Overrun by the Telmarines, Narnia is now ruled by the tyrant Lord Miraz, a usurper of the throne who rules the land with an iron fist. All of the talking creatures have gone into hiding and live in another part of Narnia, far away from the race of men.

Miraz has a nephew Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne of Narnia. Caspian’s tutor Dr Cornelius, who is actually half dwarf, half human teaches Caspian in secret about the old Narnian ways and the talking creatures who inhabited the land.

After learning of his uncle’s plans to murder him, Caspian flees the castle and takes refuge with some talking creatures he meets in the forest. It is here that he uses Susan’s old horn in an attempt to call back the old kings and queens.

Meanwhile in England, the four Pevensie children are waiting at a train station to go back to school when they are pulled back into the land of Narnia by the call of Susan’s old horn.

Upon returning to Narnia the four children are joined by Trumpkin the dwarf and Caspian in a bid to defeat Miraz, claim back Narnia for its rightful heir and free the talking creatures.

Lewis again shows his masterful storytelling. With sequels it is often found not to be as captivating as the first but Lewis manages to build and enhance this amazing other world he so masterfully created. The tone of the book is more mature and takes on a darker tone as the themes are very different to the previous instalment.

One of my all time favourite parts of the Narnian series is the character of Reepicheep, the little, bold talking mouse whose unwavering faith in Aslan and his imminent return despite all doubt shine through and establish an incredible relationship between the two for future Narnia stories.

Overall this is a worthy sequel that lives up to the original and builds another engaging chapter in the Narnian series.

A worthy and engaging sequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Alaisdair Dewar, 9/10

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Narnia's freedom is under threat from the evil King Miraz and in desperation Prince Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne, blows the Great Horn to summon Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy back to Narnia.

CS Lewis had to write a book that followed on from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and provide the same enjoyment and success that it had produced. I think that he achieved this and more, Prince Caspian is an excellent story and can be read either as a stand-alone novel or as as part of the Narnia Chronicles. The line between good and evil is very clear as the children seek to aid Prince Caspian in his battle against his uncle, King Miraz.

Prince Caspian is heir to the throne but his evil uncle Miraz wishes the throne for another. Caspian, aided by his tutor Cornelius must fight against his uncle's tyrannical rule and find help among the talking beasts that are left in Narnia.

The Badger was called Trufflehunter; he was the oldest and kindest of the three. The Dwarf who had wanted to kill Caspian was a sour black dwarf (that is, his hair and beard were black, and thick and hard like horse-hair). His name was Nikabrik. The other Dwarf was a Red Dwarf with hair rather like a Fox's and he was called Trumpkin.
Caspain's adventures in the mountains: Prince Caspian

This, for me, is the most enjoyable of the series, providing us with the best characters and the storyline. This will appeal to children and adults alike and is a perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Floresiensis, 9/10