The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis is a fantasy adventure story for youth or children and it is the fifth book in the Narnia series; the book begins with the narrator of the story telling us that London is preparing for war and that Peter has enlisted in the military. We find out that Susan has gone to America with their parents while their father is there on business. However, they could bring all of the children with them, so Lucy and Edmond were sent to live with their Aunt, Uncle and annoying cousin named Eustace. Eustace and his parents aren’t close to nor fond of the Pevensies, so Lucy and Edmond are not having an enjoyable time; Edmond has to stay in Eustace’s room with him while Lucy gets to stay in the upper bedroom by herself. In Lucy’s room there is a painting of a ship in wavy waters; Lucy sits down on her bed and notices the painting which she thinks is nice. While staring at it, she thinks she sees the waves moving, but can’t be sure; a few seconds later Edmond comes to her room to get away from Eustace and talk about their adventures in Narnia. 

During their talk, Eustace barges in and begins teasing them about their stories of Narnia and accuses them of reading too many fairy tales and not knowing any useful information. All of a sudden the waves in the painting begin to move – the water and the ship grows larger until it fills the room they are in. Once the kids are able to swim to the water’s surface they saw that they were in the path of the ship so they swam out of the way to avoid it, but towards it so they could possibly be saved. The captain of the ship orders his crew to save them. When Lucy, Edmond and Eustace are pulled aboard, they are greeted by King Caspian – they (Edmond and Lucy) are thrilled to see him, but Eustace can only complain about the ship, the food and accuses them of kidnapping him. After they exchange pleasantries, make introductions, change their clothes, eat a meal and are shown where they are going to sleep, they meet with Caspian to see if he knows of the reason (or reasons) for their return. 

Caspian reports victories over Narnia’s neighboring territories and peace across the land – he explains that he did not use Queen Susan’s magic horn and that he, himself, does not know why they are in Narnia. Caspian elaborates as to why he is at sea rather than ruling over Narnia; he is on a voyage to locate the seven lords that were loyal to his father during his reign that Miraz had cast out while executing his coup. Caspian explains that his crew is heading east to the Lone Islands where the lords were last spotted and one of the first locations one reaches when traveling east of Narnia. Each island has its own magic, enchantment, evil and danger unique to it and they are faced with lots of adventure; weird, magical creatures, magicians, stars, dragons, sword fights and humor. It’s truly worth the read. 

Giving out too much information about what happens in this book would take away all the fun and thrill out of reading it, so I will not be providing an in-depth description or summary of the events that transpire after Caspian reaches the first island. It’s just a grand adventure that any avid reader and any reader who enjoys fantasy (and maybe doesn’t enjoy fantasy) will love; the author provides such excitement at each turn that there is never a dull moment in the story and everything moves along quickly. C.S. Lewis doesn’t waste any time beating around the bush. He also did a great job of making me dislike Eustace – my least favorite character in the book – my favorite character is Reepicheep, the noble swordsmouse. 🙂 I like that Reep is honest, noble and brave – these are the same traits that I love about my husband. I’d recommend the book to readers of any age that enjoy adventure books because a lot happens in this story. 

I purchased my copy at my favorite used bookstore for $1.99; since it’s sort of a children’s or youth’s classic, it should be fairly easy to find a copy at a local public library or if you’d like to purchase a copy for yourself or someone else, Barnes and Noble has hardcovers for $17.99 and reprints of the paperbacks. Thanks for stopping by my blog to read my book review; if you’re wondering where you can find other reviews, click this link!