Narnia is one of the first series that triggered my love of books about magical doorways, the other being The Magic Faraway Tree. I've been wanting to re-read these as an adult, to see if they hold up. While some books like The Magician's Nephew were just as good, others like The Horse And His Boy and The Last Battle were very much products of their time.

What really overshadowed this series on a re-read for me, was the excessive racism and ethnocentric views. The final book was overshadowed by the racial slurs being thrown around, and the actual use of brownface. Whiter, paler people are constantly seen as more pleasing to look at, while the Calormenes are seen as uncivilised, lesser in comparison.

I think this series has it's moments, and offers some unique concepts, but frequently becomes boring, as while Lewis could move a story on extremely well within a few pages, he frequently got stuck on the same topic for a third of the book. The Last Battle in particular had a donkey / ape storyline that went on so long I was nearly bored to tears before we finally got to the final act.

- This is an overall review of the series