Narnia bloggin': more cover art for The Chronicles of Narnia books

 Previously: the different Chronicles of Narnia covers I collect

There were five blog posts between the first Narnia Bloggin' post and the most recent/second post (linked above), so since five more blog posts have been published since that one, it's time for a new Narnia Bloggin' post. Previously I shared about how I collect various cover art versions of The Chronicles of Narnia (TCON), and whether or not I have the full run of each series. I decided to post about other cover art TCON versions and why I don't collect them as well. The main reasons are: 1) I only have so much shelf space, and 2) I am not made of money.

 

Original covers with art by Pauline Baynes - you can see what these look like on this website. I like these well enough, but not enough to purchase them. If I were to find a set of these in good condition for a good price, I might buy them. But that is not very likely to happen. Obviously I am not going to buy actual first editions! I once held a first edition of (I think) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (LWW) in my hands once; it was in a rare books store in a giant mall in Las Vegas (possibly Bauman Rare Books). It was so cool. As far as I know reprints of the TCON books with these original covers have not been made, although of course other covers with Pauline Baynes' art exist; I own the full-color editions. 

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image source

PB art circles TCON covers -  The illustrations within each circle are, of course, taken from Pauline Baynes' art. The only one I don't immediately recognize is the one for Prince Caspian (PC); this Reepicheep must have been drawn for one of the many other PB covers and Narnia books she drew for. It does look like her style.

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image source. pay no attention to the Narnia trivia book

TCON covers by David Wiesner - I actually like these a lot, but not enough to buy them (they feel too... cartoony?). Probably my favorite cover of these is The Magician's Nephew (TMN); having having us be able to see a faint reflection of Digory in the silver apple he's holding, plus Jadis hiding behind the tree, is so cool! I think Wiesner's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (VotDT) is the only copy I can remember seeing that does not have the ship on the cover. 

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image source

TCON covers by Chris Van Allsburg - You may remember Chris Van Allsburg from his iconic books such as Jumanji, Zathura, and The Polar Express. His art is so soft yet detailed and interesting; much less dreamy than it initially looks. I like these covers, but again, not enough to buy them. I like that he chose to show the scene where Doctor Cornelius is giving Caspian an astronomy lesson in the high tower for PC's cover; that scene happens towards the beginning of the book, and most covers just show people or boys fighting with swords etc. His VotDT cover is from nearly the end of the book; very beautiful. Having Jewel the unicorn be shown with blood dripping from his horn for The Last Battle (TLB) is a choice and I respect it. 

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In googling, I just found out about this beautiful collector's edition set from Easton Press. Different colored leather bindings, with one Pauline Baynes illustration from each book done in gold outlines. That price tho! 😭

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Folio Society TCON sets - Speaking of exorbitant prices, apparently at some point in the nineties the Folio Society made a TCON set in this gorgeous, richly detailed gilt style (possible second similar style). I'm sooooo tempted to get one of the under $300 set... but that would be so financially irresponsible... I'll reassess when I'm 40.

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Back in the 2000s, Barnes & Noble made a beautiful leatherbound collector's edition TCON omnibus. I didn't buy it because the cover art was LWW themed and I don't like that for TCON omnibuses. I wish I had; it's not available anymore and the resale prices are ridiculous. :'(

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TCON covers by Steven Lavis - Also from googling, I stumbled on this cover set by Steven Lavis from 1980, possibly from the UK or Canada and almost certainly not published in the US. I like them, especially the additional details at the top of the books above the titles (the wardrobe detail for LWW, etc.). Here's more pictures of the covers as well as the set's slipcover.

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TCON covers by Julek Heller - There appear to be two versions of Heller's cover art: this TCON set with no border, and this TCON set that has cover art inside frames with a lion & unicorn plus other characters/creatures. For some reason those two TCON sets have different covers for PC and TSC. IMO it doesn't make sense to have the Black Knight on the cover of TSC because he barely comes into the story. The LWW cover is a bit spoilery, and the TMN cover is inaccurate because I believe only Digory sees that giant beautiful bird (the kids don't see it while on pegasusback).

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Ok, this is different: here's another probably-foreign TCON set, but this set is in three volumes instead of seven or one. The first volume has TMN, LWW, and The Horse and His Boy (HaHB); the second volume has PC and VotDT, and the third volume has TSC and TLB. That's so random; why would they do it like that? The cover art is pretty, even if the children all seem to have the same face and hair.

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I found some pretty medieval-inspired covers that I like a lot, via the C.S. Lewis editions website. To see the other TCON books' covers in that series, click on each book in the main TCON editions webpage. I would def buy these if I saw them at the thrift store etc. in good condition. I love medieval/renaissance-inspired art.

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Warwick International Publishing House TCON editions - You can see them all here along with their other offerings since I'm too lazy to link to them individually. They look very pretty, and all have that wardrobe frame thing going like the Dillon's covers. Hang on, is the girl (probably Lucy) on the cover of LWW pointing a glowing magic wand at Aslan???? WTF?? Why is he a giant compared to her? If that were the White Witch (which it does not appear to be), Aslan should definitely not be so huge compared to her. PC just shows the lad; VotDT shows Aslan all big over the ship for some reason; HaHB shows a boy on a horse like usual but unusually he's wearing a royal military uniform, not unlike something an actual prince would wear?? That's a spoiler, wtf. TSC's cover is also unusual; I'm guessing that's supposed to be Rilian sitting on the silver chair with the snake around the top? He looks too young and too asleep; otherwise, good/interesting cover. TMN shows Aslan standing behind Digory, who is not dressed like he should be (whither his Eton collar?). It's pretty but meh. TLB's cover is almost identical to VotDT's, only it's Aslan's head over Cair Paravel (I'm guessing). It's pretty but we basically never go to Cair Paravel in TLB.

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more TCON covers by Cliff Neilsen - Apparently Cliff Neilsen, who made one of my favorite TCON cover series, also made another set of digital cover illustrations for the TCON series. TBH I had completely forgotten about them until I started googling the covers. All of the covers are too dark and green, in my opinion. The LWW cover is the worst; it's obviously supposed to be Aslan, but he looks like a taxidermied stuffed lion that has gone evil (the red shading doesn't help). The PC cover is fine, if a bit boring; it's just a sword against a tree. VotDT's is a dark, danky silhouette of the Dawn Treader, which I don't really like. TSC's cover just shows a snake, which is boring. HaHB shows 2 crowns, which I think is a spoiler; it's the only HaHB cover I've seen to not show a horse or a scene from the book. TMN has a dark green apple (which is wrong; the apple was silver). TLB is the only other reddish cover and shows a unicorn as well. Overall I do not like this series of cover art at all; the only thing I do like is that these all have C.S. Lewis' signature on them, which I think is interesting. 

I JUST learned that Cliff Neilsen just redid his TCON digital art covers that I love! I thought I was losing my mind while looking at the various covers on B&N, because most of them just look slightly different, with the exception of LWW. I like them; I think TMN is my favorite. NarniaWeb helpfully posted them all with old/new cover comparisons. 

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via the official Narnia Instagram

I never posted a picture of the new Owen Richardson TCON covers, despite discussing them. I like them, I think. They look dynamic and interesting, if a bit dramatic. I'm not really sure if I'll bother buying them; maybe one at a time via thrift stores etc. like my other TCON editions.

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They're also going to come out with a beautiful new collector's edition TCON omnibus. Shut up and take my money!!!

Book Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

 my book reviews for books 1 & 2 in this series

If you have not read the first two books DO NOT read this review, it's spoilery

Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war while their Round Table is fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to grant him an audience, the Order’s Merlins imprison him. No one knows what he will demand of the Regents…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

I was thoroughly sucked in by the first two books in this series (reviews linked at the top) so obviously I had to read the next book when it came out. My Libby request for the Oathbound ebook was finally granted half a month after it came out, and I read it in a day. Literally why did I think this was going to be a trilogy? Basically nothing is wrapped up or resolved! This series is going to kill me. This book differs from the first two in that it's told from alternating points of view, not just Bree's POV.

Oathbound picks up immediately where Bloodmarked ended: Bree has stupidly just made a bargain with the Shadow King (who is also pretending to be a very high-up Merlin in the Legendborn Order), and it turns out that she's bound to him AND he erased her memories of everyone living that she's ever known. Has this wench never read a single work of fantasy? You don't make deals with demons! My god.

Anyway, we meet some new characters, including cambion twins (a Black teen? trans girl and cis guy) Zoelle and Elijah, and Sel's mom???? who is trying to help her son, who if you recall is like nearly fully demon now after sucking up Bree's magic root (not a euphemism). Bree's friends are trying to find her. Nick, who has been imprisoned by the Order, makes them let him go on a quest. Bree has to go on a heist into another demon's mansion; this dovetails into Nick's quest and they meet up accidentally and have to pretend to be an engaged couple who are guests at the demon's auction event party. Bree doesn't remember Nick but he obviously does and they have to share a bed and there's tons of sexual tension. Oh and there's missing Black girls who have root powers; naturally the authorities don't care but Bree knows she needs to find them and save them from whoever is probably stealing their root. And of course Bree has to figure out how to get herself free from the Shadow King and get her memories back.

Some spoilery stuff I want to talk about (highlight to read): 

Sel's mom runs into Bree (she of course does not recognize her), and just from her standing 2 feet away from her, Sel is able to get a whiff of Bree's scent off his mom and goes ferallllll. reaction gif  I was initially not fully on board with this ship (I hate love triangles) but like JFC I am living

Remember the Only One Bed stuff? Once they're done with the quest/out of the demon's house and back with Bree's friends who have the magical underground railroad safety house, Bree and Nick end up hooking up (I think?) on the roof of that house. Girl and guy. You were just in a really swanky mansion room with an expensive king bed. I know you weren't *there* yet mentally but that would have been way better then doing sex stuff on the roof of your friends' house. Yikes. 

Poor Alice :(((( She's my favorite besides Bree and Valec, and I picture her like if Paris and Lane from Gilmore Girls were one person. In Bloodmarked she was struck hard by King Arthur!Bree (he possessed her) and was like on the brink of death, and Bree let the Shadow King kill Alice to get her (Bree's) memories back DDDD: my shaylaaaaa 😭😭😭 I hope she doesn't actually die; I love her and Bree has lost too many people already!

That ending! Sel is the son of the Shadow King??????? He (SK) must have pretended to be/took over Sel's human father's body! WTFFF

Also how do we think the love triangle is going to play out. I know that's not the most important thing (Bree's health and safety is) but I have no idea. I feel like Nick is endgame, but Bree x Sel is so compelling. idk.

Anyway, read this series and scream about it with me. I am not okay lol

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars  (like still really good but too sad and scary for more stars)
Spice score: 🌶 I guess? maybe half a chili
Read in: April 15
From: Amazon via Libby via my public library

Tropes: all the previous tropes I listed, evenly matched battle couple fighting each other, there's only one bed, that's all I can think of for now

Representation: secondary/minor Black trans girl character, same as listed before

Trigger warnings, which of course are spoilery: past rape mentions, murder, physical violence, death, blood and gore, racism, kidnapping and imprisonment of teens, slavery mentions, grief, parental loss, fantasy violence, supernatural horror, memories are wiped/manipulated magically, spirit possession (past)