The Chronicles of Narnia discussion

...The first book is called 'DragonSpell,' but the series is called "The Dragon Keeper Chronicles." I'm in the process of reading the first book now, because my brother LOVES this series and is in the process of reading the 4th book, 'DragonFire,' for the second time!
He & I agreed that if I read 'DragonSpell' for him, then he would read 'Showdown' by Ted Dekker for me, haha.

You should read Harry Potter

the hunger games- you would really like that.

I don't know how old you are, but I started to read Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series when I was in High school. Start with Deryni Rising.

I recommend the Witch World series by Andre Norton if you can find them This series was my teen intro into sci fi and fantasy.

How about the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. There are 15 in the series.

The Starcatchers Series

I found that 100 Cupboards by N D Wilson had a similar feel to it. It's set in modern times, but it has a similar idea, and you can tell Wilson gets inspiration from Lewis, as he has said in interviews. However, the trilogy is geared towards younger kids, maybe 8-14.

Try The Dragons of Chiril by Donita K. Paul. It's about a teenage girl, a wizard, and a dragon keeper who try to save the endangered dragons of their homeland.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Like Narnia/Potter crazy good combo.

The Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke.

At the risk of being self-serving, check out The Lost Crown of Colonnade at www.lostcrownofcolonnade.com :-) I think you will enjoy it!

100 cupboards by N.D Wilson. It's Really good!

David wrote: "100 cupboards by N.D Wilson. It's Really good!"
Thanks David! I have to check that out!

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone by J.K Rowling

David wrote: "100 cupboards by N.D Wilson. It's Really good!"

As seen above, I've read 100 Cupboards and I recommend it also. Only read the first two, but the third is sitting on my shelf.

Such great books are listed here, but I didn't see these: The Cradleland Chronicles series by Douglas Hirt and The Song of Albion series by Stephen Lawhead and The Lamb Among the Stars series by Chris Walley. All very good, all have more than one book (which I LOVE) and although not necessarily child or young adult oriented, they are very captivating reads. The Cradleland Chronicles has a very Christian theme. The Song of Albion follows a King Arthur line and the Lamb Among the Stars is more sci-fi. I hope you all have a chance to read these, some of my favorites!

Jess - any of the ones I listed are not "adult romance" . . .

Gotcha. Sounds good. So many YA books have icky stuff in them.

Jess - also a good read is I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore . . . I haven't yet read The Power of Six, and I see that there are a couple more books coming out. It's def YA and the movie, I thought, was pretty awesome as well!!

If you are up to it, read 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings'

Jess, I had to laugh at your icky stuff . . . and here I was noticing in Barnes and Noble the other day about Young Adult Romance . . .

I'll have to try I am Number Four... saw the movie but didn't think it was that great. Find anything good at B & N?

Nah, I wasn't looking for that . . . I was looking for a graphic novel series for a friend who's being confirmed on Sunday.

one word... Tolkien

Lord of the Rings! And the Hobbit.

You should read Fablehaven if you liked Narnia your gonna like Fablehaven.:)

Anne's Series by L.M Montgomery.

Apologies if these have been already mentioned before (80-odd messages is a lot to trawl through) but these series might appeal to Narnia-lovers:

1. Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence: earnest and dark, and more young adult than Narnia's children-of-all-ages audience.
2. The late Lloyd Alexander's Prydain chronicles: more Celtic twilight than Lewis' ragbag of mythologies but more appealing to a younger audience, perhaps.

Check out Lewis' Till We Have Faces (I think arguably his best adult fiction) and the stories by MacDonald - Phantastes, Lilith (especially), At the Back of the North Wind, and a great story The Golden Key. The MacDonald stuff can all be found online (in other words, free).

Michaela wrote: "His Dark Materials Trilogy is good too - a lot of people say it's the "next Narnia""

While I'd recommend His Dark Materials, I would hesitate to agree that it's the 'next Narnia', though I can see where people are coming from: windows to other worlds, mythological creatures, themes of redemption, young protagonists...

But to describe it as the 'next Narnia' is a bit lazy, similar to all those fantasy books of the 60s and 70s which publishers claimed could be compared favourably to The Lord of the Rings just because they included dwarves, magicians and a Dark Lord.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riodan
Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Michaela wrote: "I was just saying what other people said. I"m going to read it as soon as I'm done with the other series I"m in now. Not a big deal, take it easy...."

Sorry, Michaela, it wasn't meant as a personal criticism: you did write "a lot of people say..." so I was just trying to counter that claim.

Anything by C.S. Lewis. Maybe Tolkien but even though was Lewis' best friend his writing style is a lot less straight-forward.

You might like The Curse of the Rodain, 1st in The War for Truth Trilogy. It's only an ebook right now.

If you havent read Hunger Games you should read that its super good!:)

The Belgariad by David Eddings

Sylvia wrote: "I would recommend The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. He writes a lot of fanatsy for children that is all kind of in the line of C.S. Lewis.

Also,

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien


A Wrin..."

How were the sequels to a wrinkle in time?? ive read the first book and i loved it.. but the sequels dont sound as good.

My favorite books are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (read the first six first though) and the Hunger Games trilogy.

Sharrina wrote: "A book series I liked a lot is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. It is has a lot of Greek Mythology which Lewis has portions of. I also enjoyed The Keys to the Kingdom books as fun YA book..."

Yes!!! Percy Jackson is super awesome!

Jane wrote: "The Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke."

Those were fabulous!

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

Since it's been awhile, I thought I might add:

THE CURSE OF THE RODAIN by Ryan Archer (only $2.99) on Amazon.com for Kindle as an eBook or on Apple iTunes for iPad/iPhone.

fable haven

His Dark Materials, if you're into a darker kind. Lots of religious undertone like in Narnia.

I also loved C S Lewis, but I found David Gemmell the most fulfilling after Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, not strictly religious but puts a lot of stress on duty and morality. I started with the Druss books, Waylander, and then the rest! I also loved Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, and wish I had known that there were more of his books available! His 'Alvin' books are good for a younger read. Orson is mormon and his books have a strong morality to them. Ursula Le Guin is worth checking out as well, her Earthsea series is great.

Most of George MacDonald's books are available for free at http://www.gutenberg.org/
You just have to run the search term 'George MacDonald'.
Here's an example of one result: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34339

I've seen a few reviews comparing Paul J. Willis's No Clock in the Forest to the Chronicles of Narnia. There are some very similar elements--people from the "regular" world are transported to a lush wintery fantasy land, where they go head-to-head with a beautiful witch/sorceress to save said land from destruction--but, beyond that, it's an excellent book in its own right. If you want something that'll remind you of the Narnia series without feeling like a second-rate knockoff, I'd definitely recommend it.

Wow so many choices, I love Narnia, wish I lived there LOL! I read 'The Hobbit' and a book called 'Switch' which is pretty cool, I love Harry Potter as well. There are so many books out there to chose from now, we are spoilt for choice.

'Pumkiniah the brave' of course, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor, Koorong and in all good bookstores. Check out the reviews for this book, its a 5 star gem. If you love the style of C.S Lewis, you'll love this book :-)