It's by somebody named Hiawyn Oram, illustrated by someone named Tudor Humphries.
They definitely aren't C.S. Lewis and Pauline Baynes. I tried to judge the story on its own terms, I tried to keep in mind that was obviously skewing towards an even younger audience than the original Chronicles.
It's not an offensive story in any way. I just find myself wishing they had thought up of brand new characters and a new setting. Narnia doesn't really need "untold tales".
Anyway, it's set around the time period of "The Silver Chair". Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle and his niece Lally save a couple of Talking Mice from the giants of Ettinsmoor.
It's pretty much the old "Stone Soup" fable redone on a larger scale.
It's also the very first Narnia story in which Aslan doesn't turn up. Not even in a passing mention.
Something I hope is not a trend if the Lewis estate gives out the rights to do any more of these storybooks.
The only review on Amazon so far is a very positive one. I dunno...am I being too picky? It's not a bad book, it just doesn't seem...necessary.
Posted by Café au Lait (Member # 8281) on :
What is it called? [edit: *facedesk* nevermind, just one of those days]
And last I had heard, when reading the Narnia website a year or two ago, one wasn't legally allowed to publish another Narnia story due to copyright laws. In any event, I'm not too thrilled at this concept and I really hope it stops soon.
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
Eww, Puddleglum and talking mice?
I guess I have an aversion to Puddleglum after breaking up with my first boyfriend. He was lanky and didn't like to shower often. And he liked to smoke something that wasn't tobacco.
Now I'm trying to imagine Puddleglum riding a Honda 750 cycle.
If I ever wrote a Narnia spin off, it would be about how the Calormenes got where they are.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
That seems really weird to have a Narnia story without Aslan.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
quote:Originally posted by Café au Lait: And last I had heard, when reading the Narnia website a year or two ago, one wasn't legally allowed to publish another Narnia story due to copyright laws.
The Lewis estate decided to let HarperCollins do a licensed "original" storybook.
So the Chronicles of Narnia aren't public domain yet, like the Baum Oz books are...but if this sells well, I expect we might see more.
It just...gives me a little concern.
It's an okay storybook, but it doesn't really approach the source material in quality.
Plus, not having Aslan in a Narnia book is like not adding salt to bread dough.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
quote:That seems really weird to have a Narnia story without Aslan.
I never knew the man personally, but I'm going to venture a guess that C.S. Lewis never intended for there to be a Narnia story without Aslan.
Yeah, what Puffy Treat said.
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
I vote we lynch HarperCollins and possibly the Lewis estate.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
I was thinking more along the lines of not buying the book, and maybe writing them a letter about why I dislike this.
With the film series about to start up in just few months, I really don't think the book series needs to be diluted.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
You can't lynch HarperCollins. They're going to buy one of my future children's books and put me on the map!
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
alright...no lynching...just a good beating then and signing in blood to never do this again
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Scott, what type of children's books are you hoping to publish? What age range?
My latest project is a young adult fantasy, aimed at the 10-16 group, approximately.
I've been researching children's publishing and it's a lot to learn, and a lot more complex than I originally thought.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: That seems really weird to have a Narnia story without Aslan.
It seems really weird to have a Narnia story without C. S. Lewis.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Exactly.
If he was still alive and approved of these, that'd be one thing. But he's not. While there are notes indicating he was going to revise the series a little before his death, it's mostly in the line of explaining inconsistencies in the timeline and clearing up differences between the UK and US versions of certain chapters.
(I'm kind of miffed HarperCollins eliminated the US version of the "Dark Island" chapter of VDT.)
None of that included additional stories.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
>>what type of children's books are you hoping to publish? What age range?
Picture books. Here's a sample:
quote: Poor, poor Sam Pew! With a name like his, what could he do But be downcast by nicknames of every sort. And when he’d walk by, why, people would snort, “P.U.! Why Sam Pew, was that you?” And then they would laugh, their hard hockery laughs And someone would comment, ‘That Sam is a gas!’ Oh the vile, awful things that people would say! At first, Sam tried to take baths twice a day ‘Til he realized it wasn’t his smell but his name That caused such commotion and brought him such shame.
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)