"The Last Battle" is by far the most bizarre, fantastical and frankly twisted of the Narnian chronicles.  It opens with a pair of "friends" - a cruel and manipulative Talking Ape and a gentle, none-too-bright Talking Donkey - who find a lion's pelt which happens to wash over a steep waterfall.  The Ape cons the Donkey into wearing the lion's suit he has fashioned from the pelt and pretending to be Aslan.  Within a matter of weeks enough supposedly intelligent free Narnian Talking Animals have fallen for this set-up that the Calormenes (in league with the Ape) have taken over the Lantern Waste, killed the Trees and enslaved the Animals who have fallen for the Donkey in the lion's suit.

King Tirian, the last king of Narnia, with the help of a last few brave and noble Narnian friends attempt to fight back against the Ape, the Calormenes and the false Aslan, but the plot has already spiraled out of the control of even the Ape.  Even with the help of Eustace and Jill, called to Narnia by Tirian, the small band is hopelessly outnumbered and quickly destroyed and all of Narnia comes to a rather sudden and brutal end through a series of convoluted and impossible events.  But it's all okay, because they end up ... back in Narnia.

Oh my, where to begin?

First, there's Lewis' obsession with dark skinned people as cruel savages who worship either a false god or an evil one.  This theme was beaten to death in "The Horse and his Boy", but it rears its ugly head again.  As part of the spiraling plot, the Ape and the leader of the Calormenes (along with other co-conspirators) have conspired to convince both the Calormenes and the Narnians that the gentle Narnian Lion-god Aslan and the brutal Calormene god Tash are one and the same ("Tashlan").  The Tarkaan doesn't even believe in Tash, but in executing his plot, he inadvertently calls up the real Tash who is a hideous destructive monster-beast-god, which proves to be his un-doing.  (Oddly enough, a young Calormene who has honestly believed in and served Tash is accepted by Aslan because, according to Aslan, his noble service to Tash was actually noble service to Aslan - I wonder how the Christian fundamentalists who practically canonize the Narnian books reconcile that?)

But the loathsome idea that an entire race of savage dark-skinned people knowingly and willingly worship a dark and brutal false god pales in comparison to Lewis' casual destruction of the world.  I understand the parallels with the destruction of the world as portrayed in the Book of Revelation, but Lewis' portrayal is beyond the pale.  At least in Revelation the world has earned God's wrath through their wickedness.  But Lewis gives no such indication of the corruption or wickedness of Narnia.  Narnia under King Tirian has, perhaps, grown complacent, but certainly not evil.  Yet some crazy whim of a lone narcissistic Ape is enough to set in motion events which destroy the entire Narnian world - both the good and the bad.  Aslan apparently has a rather peculiar sense of justice.

***Spoiler alert***  It may seem that I've already given away the ending by saying that Narnia is destroyed, but really that's pretty obvious from almost the beginning of the book.  I don't usually discuss the endings of books I review, but I can't let this one pass.  The ending of the Narnian world is all justified and ameliorated because all of the good and noble Narnians from the whole of Narnian history find themselves together again in Aslan's country, which apparently is the "real" Narnia.  So you see, death and destruction don't really mean anything because all the good people simply go to their "real" home with Aslan.

Also in Aslan's country, we find the Pevensie children as well as Digory and Polly from "The Magician's Nephew".  Now, you may recall, the Pevensie children were already told that they would not be returning to Narnia again.  So how is it that they're there?  It's simple, really.  You see, they're dead.  There was a train accident in their own world which killed them all.  Delightful, eh?  Oh, but don't worry, it's not a tragedy at all, for now they are with the great and glorious Aslan for all eternity!  See, death and destruction mean absolutely nothing.  Now, you might think about the people they've left behind back in England (including, apparently Susan who has somehow fallen out of favor because at some point she apparently stopped believing in Narnia, although I don't remember that from any of the other books), but you needn't waste you energies on such trifles.  After all, everything is all in our minds anyway.

This final book of the Narnia series destroys all that went before it in much the same way that the final episode of "St. Elsewhere" destroyed everything that went before it.  It never happened.  It never existed.  It was all in the minds of eight kids, seven of whom are dead now and one a non-believer.  Nothing to see here, folks, move along now.
"The Last Battle" is by far the most bizarre, fantastical and frankly twisted of the Narnian chronicles. It opens with a pair of "friends" - a cruel and manipulative Talking Ape and a gentle, none-too-bright Talking Donkey - who find a lion's pelt which happens to wash over a steep waterfall. The Ape cons the Donkey into wearing the lion's suit he has fashioned from the pelt and pretending to be Aslan. Within a matter of weeks enough supposedly intelligent free Narnian Talking Animals have fallen for this set-up that the Calormenes (in league with the Ape) have taken over the Lantern Waste, killed the Trees and enslaved the Animals who have fallen for the Donkey in the lion's suit. King Tirian, the last king of Narnia, with the help of a last few brave and noble Narnian friends attempt to fight back against the Ape, the Calormenes and the false Aslan, but the plot has already spiraled out of the control of even the Ape. Even with the help of Eustace and Jill, called to Narnia by Tirian, the small band is hopelessly outnumbered and quickly destroyed and all of Narnia comes to a rather sudden and brutal end through a series of convoluted and impossible events. But it's all okay, because they end up... back in Narnia. Oh my, where to begin? First, there's Lewis' obsession with dark skinned people as cruel savages who worship either a false god or an evil one. This theme was beaten to death in "The Horse and his Boy", but it rears its ugly head again. As part of the spiraling plot, the Ape and the leader of the Calormenes (along with other co-conspirators) have conspired to convince both the Calormenes and the Narnians that the gentle Narnian Lion-god Aslan and the brutal Calormene god Tash are one and the same ("Tashlan"). The Tarkaan doesn't even believe in Tash, but in executing his plot, he inadvertently calls up the real Tash who is a hideous destructive monster-beast-god, which proves to be his un-doing. (Oddly enough, a young Calormene who has honestly believed in and served Tash is accepted by Aslan because, according to Aslan, his noble service to Tash was actually noble service to Aslan - I wonder how the Christian fundamentalists who practically canonize the Narnian books reconcile that? )

But the loathsome idea that an entire race of savage dark-skinned people knowingly and willingly worship a dark and brutal false god pales in comparison to Lewis' casual destruction of the world. I understand the parallels with the destruction of the world as portrayed in the Book of Revelation, but Lewis' portrayal is beyond the pale. At least in Revelation the world has earned God's wrath through their wickedness. But Lewis gives no such indication of the corruption or wickedness of Narnia. Narnia under King Tirian has, perhaps, grown complacent, but certainly not evil. Yet some crazy whim of a lone narcissistic Ape is enough to set in motion events which destroy the entire Narnian world - both the good and the bad. Aslan apparently has a rather peculiar sense of justice. ***Spoiler alert***  It may seem that I've already given away the ending by saying that Narnia is destroyed, but really that's pretty obvious from almost the beginning of the book. I don't usually discuss the endings of books I review, but I can't let this one pass. The ending of the Narnian world is all justified and ameliorated because all of the good and noble Narnians from the whole of Narnian history find themselves together again in Aslan's country, which apparently is the "real" Narnia. So you see, death and destruction don't really mean anything because all the good people simply go to their "real" home with Aslan. Also in Aslan's country, we find the Pevensie children as well as Digory and Polly from "The Magician's Nephew". Now, you may recall, the Pevensie children were already told that they would not be returning to Narnia again. So how is it that they're there? It's simple, really. You see, they're dead. There was a train accident in their own world which killed them all. Delightful, eh? Oh, but don't worry, it's not a tragedy at all, for now they are with the great and glorious Aslan for all eternity! See, death and destruction mean absolutely nothing. Now, you might think about the people they've left behind back in England (including, apparently Susan who has somehow fallen out of favor because at some point she apparently stopped believing in Narnia, although I don't remember that from any of the other books), but you needn't waste you energies on such trifles. After all, everything is all in our minds anyway. This final book of the Narnia series destroys all that went before it in much the same way that the final episode of "St. Elsewhere" destroyed everything that went before it. It never happened. It never existed. It was all in the minds of eight kids, seven of whom are dead now and one a non-believer. Nothing to see here, folks, move along now.