*raises hand*

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The!

I think I like it so much because there's no "unfathomable fate" or huge peril in it. (Oh, how ironic...). It's just a lovely story about fantastic places.

HHB...because of Bree and Shasta's characterizations mostly... It's really a story about breaking free and finding out who you are and where you belong. The image of when Shasta finds out who Aslan is has stuck in my memory.

Most definitely The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It's such a wonderful adventure story. It's fun, has moments of peril, but mostly it is really very peaceful. The characters are on an adventure, they get to hang out on the deck of a gorgeous ship and stop off on a series of interesting islands. It's also probably the book that best captures the allure of the unknown.

*sends off a PM to fantasia_kitty* (just kidding! )

I think this thread is a great idea, and I look forward to seeing what others you have up your sleeve.

I selected HHB - appropriately first in this alphabetical order - for it's always been my favorite. The chapter "The Unwelcome Fellow Traveller" rarely fails to give me goosebumps.

I picked VDT because it isn't really about fighting evil. It's just one big adventure at sea. All the different islands really just captured my imagination. And the end of the world was just beautiful.

@ 'gazer. And, like I said to you elsewhere, fk, if this was a regular member's doing, we'd probably close it down and point them to TAN. Great idea, though, because there is a whole other group of people who frequent the Spare Oom and many never venture in the upper sections of the forum.

EDIT:It's neat to read everyone's favourite ... and why. I heartily ditto stargazer in his "goosebump" line referring to HHB's "The Unwelcome Fellow Traveler". I turn to that comforting and powerful chapter when I need an extra reminder of God's sovereignty. END EDIT

I vacillate so much on which Chronicle is my favourite. If it came down to life or death and I had to choose one, I'd go with The Silver Chair. But it's not life or death so I voted "Whichever book I am reading at the time". There is not one Narnian Chronicle I do not like, 'though Prince Caspian is my least favourite (and not just because of the 2008 movie ), and there are so many very precious and meaningful parts to me in each book.

The reason I would choose TSC, though, if I had to make that choice, is two-fold: one is for Puddleglum. I simply love that Marshwiggle, and find his amazing speech to the Queen of the Underland wonderfully inspiring and courageous. Also, the idea not deviating from Aslan's signs in the quest for Rilian has meant a lot to me in my own life in regards to following God's ways and knowing that His principles and methods are best, even though the road may seem uncertain and dark.

I also love the imagery of each location in the book:

~the awful Experiment school in England to the forest and the high cliff
~the near tragedy at the edge, if it weren't for a certain Lion's breath
~the first sight of Cair Paravel and the deep night Parliament of Owls when Jill and Scrubb find out about their quest
~meeting the very unusual Puddleglum to the journey north in the Wild Waste Lands
~from Harfang (where Jill, Scrubb, and the 'respectabiggle' were nearly toast—or was it pie? ) and the danger there to falling into the Underworld ("Many fall down and few return to the sunlit lands" ) after renewing their commitment to the Signs
~the entire encounter with bewitched, then freed, Rilian and the ensuing destroying of the Witch
~Bism, and the breaking through ... to Narnia!
Whew!

Plus weaving through it all is Lewis' wonderful sense of humour. But to me, as in all the Chronicles, the spiritual lessons that come through have profoundly and practically impacted my life, and on a daily basis.

EDIT (again): I do like the alphabetical order, fk. I tend to read them chronologically, but the idea of publication order appeals to me, and I need to attempt that sometime.

I usually say The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and in many ways it is.
But I have a soft spot for The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe because it's the only one that feels like a true classic. Just the wonder of it and discovering Narnia for the first time is truly a fun experience.

This series sounds cool

My favorite is The Magician's Nephew. I love stories of discovery and I tend to love the first book in series' so I love this book .

This is always such a tough question to answer...but I picked HHB. It's my favorite, but just a literal hair behind it is VDT.

HHB has this wonderful story from start to finish that in several places imitates life itself...what I mean is that how often do we find ourselves going someplace in life and find that "Unwelcome Fellow Traveller" feeling as we trudge along. And if the book's lovely story isn't enough it has this unmistakeable Arabian Nights taste to it that just makes me want for more. It is pure adventure seamlessley blended with a message fitting to all of us. The irony is that when I was a kid and started reading the CoN this was my least favorite of the books . VDT, like I said, is just a micron behind, being a pure tale of High Adventure...plus I'm a sucker for nautical themes of any type (and the Dawn Treader was a pretty ship, was she not? ). It's HHB for me, though, by a nose.

*picks the cop out answer and has a little party for herself*

I always start any sort of favourite Narnia book list by going, "I love Voyage of the Dawn Treader, no, Silver Chair, er, no it's Horse and His Boy..." *rinse, shake well, and repeat*

Really, there's something wonderful about each one of the books and there isn't one that stands head and shoulders above the others. Which is a rather remarkable achievement when one thinks about it. Most other series I can rate by the simple device of 'which book have I read the most? That's my favourite'. Not this one!

Administrators and moderators actually wanting to get to know people from different sections? This is really scandalous, FK! I do think you're crazy, and this is definitely a misuse of the power you've been granted.

Anyway, I went with The Horse and the Boy. It's a wonderfully exciting adventure story, and the sense of longing that pervades it is just glorious. Of course, they're all wonderful. I even fell in love with Prince Caspian a couple of years ago (funnily enough, right before the movie came out - which I despise like the good little purist I am ), a book I previously thought quite weak.

My favorite is The Magician's Nephew. I love stories of discovery and I tend to love the first book in series' so I love this book .

BUT IT ISN'T THE FIRST BOOOK!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

*reigns self in* Yes, I'm a publication order fan. How could you tell?

Wow. I didn't really think I'd be an odd one out. But that's okay, I like being different.

MY absolute favorite is the Last Battle. The beginning is a little hard to get through, since it's a bit depressing, with the Narnians losing faith in Aslan and all that. But the parallels to my religion's beliefs about Christ's second coming, well, give me the chills! (I'm LDS, aka "Mormon", btw). There are several particulars in LB that match some of our beliefs almost perfectly! Plus, I absolutely love the last few chapters about inside the stable and the death of Narnia and the new beginning in the Real Narnia, and I think they are absolutely breathtaking. In fact, DYK that C.S. Lewis, even though he isn't LDS, is THE most-quoted non-LDS author by LDS church leaders? Isn't that just cool?

Okay, I'll calm down now. *takes deep breath*. I can't help it; I have a passion for LB. And actually, that's why MN is a close second--because of the creation scenes. Beautiful!!! But, I won't bother you with the details, since the reasons are just about the same as LB.

BTW, notice the quote in my sig? Just a little hint to my fav book and character...

The Last Battle is my favorite, although it wasn't for a long time. The first time, when my mom read it aloud to my brother and I, I positively hated it. I mean, Narnia ending?! Everything being destroyed?? Wahh!
I think I thought that for a couple of years until I read it again, and started listening to the FotF radio theater CDs (and also got older, that probably helped ). The Last Battle just feels like such a...poignent book, even more so then the others. There's sososo much emotion in it, it just feels so deep to me...okay, enough "waxing eloquently" or whatever
I do really like Jill...although she's starting to be the "character of choice" to have as a favorite, but I do really like her
I like Eustace, and I like Jill&Eustace (and am convinced they would eventualy end up together, even if there's no real evidence of it in the books), even though the whole book is pretty much heartbreaking, it is pretty much amazing.

My second choice would be Voyage. Like many others have said, it's just this "easy going" type of story, with adventures but no big epic peril. Also it's one of the two that introduced me to the series (I saw the BBC video of it before I read the books) and it still has that "newly discovered-ness" feel to it.

My *third* choice would be TSC. I feel especially attached to it (but not as much as TLB to be sure!) because when I was 12 I was obsessed with it, the Radio Theater CDs, and reenacting it. I would listen to the LotGK's speechs again and again. I can still recite most of it word for word, and in exactly her voice So yes, I like that one, and Voyage, but TLB is DEFINETLY my favorite and always will be.

*will go and copy in some of her fav quotes from TLB in a minute...*

Bits of LB...

The Dryad dying. Not an especially NICE part, but it's so heartbreaking.
The little animals bringing food for Tirian while he's tied up.
Tirian thinking back over the history of Narnia
Tirian's "vision" of England
The story about Peter and Edmund going to dig up the rings.

"Oh, this is nice!" said Jill. "Just walking along like this. I wish there could be more of this sort of adventure. It's a pity there's always so much happening in Narnia."

"So," said the King, after a long silence, "Narnia is no more."

"Kiss me, Jewel," he [Tirian] said. "For certainly this is our last night on earth. And if I ever offended against you in any matter great or small, forgive me now."
"Dear King," said the Unicorn, "I could almost wish you had, so that I might forgive it. Farewell. We have known great joys together. If Aslan gave me my choice I would choose no other life than the life I have had and no other death then the one we go to."

"I saw it begin," said the Lord Digory. "I did not think I would live to see it die."

Ohh, it's a tie between The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, and The Silver Chair. I would say The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but I don't know if it would exactly count, because it might only be because the Pevensies were the first Narnia characters I was introduced to, and it was the first Narnia story that I had read.
But from a which book is favourite to pick up, read, and find interesting 'most any time, it's definitely the aforementioned three. *would have a hard time doing the same with Prince Caspian or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*