The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

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After Prince Caspian I was worried that this series had lost its fantastical fervour that had been so abundant and exciting in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s fair to say that I’m not in the wrong as the series follows the adventures of the Pevensie children who all end up growing up and having to leave Narnia behind. But thankfully The Voyage of the Dawn Treader revitalizes a large part of the fantasy and wonder from the first two books.

It chronicles the adventures of Lucy, Edmund and their cousin Eustace after they are sucked into a painting and splash-land in the Narnian Sea. Pulled on board the Dawn Treader by none other than King Caspian himself, the three set off on a series of marvelous adventures helping Caspian on his quest to sail beyond the mapped realms of Narnia in the hope of finding the lost Lords exiled during Miraz’s tyrannical reign.

I think what I liked most about Dawn Treader is the fact that it reads a little like a kids’ TV show. There’s this overarching story about finding the lost Lords and every new island they land on harbours some sort of exciting adventure –almost like episodes. 

This is the book where we get to see an even stronger fantasy side of Narnia than we have been privy to before. Lewis really went to town on each island dabbling in everything from pirates and magicians to dragons and a pool with water that turns everything to gold. It’s definitely one of the more descriptive books with Lewis investing a lot of time in describing landscapes and painting pictures in the mind’s eye, which of course results in a complete immersion in the world of the book and a play-by-play picture show of everything that’s happening.

Image credit: Patheos

In terms of the characters there’s no further development or depth brought to them –aside from that of Eustace who undergoes quite a transformation. His separate story is quite sweet and actually produced a few tears, which were aided by the accompanying illustrations. Lucy and Edmund –having grown up further- actually seem strangely distant and foreign and Caspian is just there like a beige lamp.

But aside from this minor drawback, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a return to the fantastical and magical Narnia that we’ve come to know and love and serves as a lovely bedtime story for kids and childish adults.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the fifth book in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and was first published in Great Britain in 1952 by Geoffrey Bles.