The Narnia Code: C S Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens

By Michael Ward

C S Lewis' Narnia books have delighted millions of readers with their captivating otherworld. In this compelling book, Lewis scholar Michael Ward reveals deeper layers of meaning encrypted in the Narnia series, drawing on medieval cosmology and symbolism. - Koorong

The Narnia books are mysterious. Millions of people have been captivated by them, but are left with unanswered questions.

• Why are there seven books?
• Are they biblical allegories?
• If so, why do four of them seem to have no biblical basis?
• Why do they lack uniformity?
• Why does Father Christmas appear in them?

In The Narnia Code Michael Ward attempts to answer this puzzle. Drawing on Lewis' love of Medieval astronomy, Ward breaks the Narnia 'code' and demonstrates the single theme that provides the link between all seven books. The author takes us through each of the seven Chronicles of Narnia and draws from the whole range of Lewis' other works to reveal the secret. Based on a groundbreaking scholarly work (Planet Narnia, OUP) that entered the Sunday Times best seller list, this fascinating book will cause the reader to understand Lewis in a whole new way. It has some important things to say about how we understand the universe and Christian faith today.
Documentary DVD also available. # 313627

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authentic Media
• Release date: Nov 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781842277614

Reviews for The Narnia Code

[benkline · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Picked this up at the Hershey library while kind of just snorting and browsing around, more or less on a whim. I have always loved CS Lewis's work (even from a non-theological perspective) and I am currently in the midst of reading the Chronicles [of Narnia] to my daughters (currently working on The Horse and His Boy), so this piqued my interest enough to pick up and read.

While it is interesting, and gives a new perspective on the novels..... I'm not sure it wholly "changed" my viewing of the novels/and his works. It is all very interesting his idea and views and takes on how and (MAYBE why) CS Lewis constructed the Chronicles the way he did, and why he left things in like Father Christmas/Bacchus/Father Time, etc. I...... just don't 100% percent buy into the idea of it all. I take a look at stuff of this sort (the inclusion of all kinds of tropes and mythologies, even modern culturalisms like Father Christmas/Santa) in the same vein that Tolkien did when reading his friends works -- CS Lewis wanted to lean/borrow as heavily as he could from all genres, mythologies, and cultures -- a) because he loved all of these aspects of these various groups, and b) to be as inclusive as he can be. To reach as far of a 'market' (for lack of better term) as he could to try and spread the word of Jesus/Christ and the Bible.

This thesis definitely gives an interesting addendum to ways of looking at Narnia, and as I read The Horse and His Boy to my daughters tonight I will be looking for/at the ways mentioned in this thesis.... I just don't think I fully buy into it all.

(Apparently, at looking at the overall Goodreads reviews on this, it's very heavily loved, and Ward is very loved, especially by the religious and those who really love CS Lewis. So perhaps he is really onto something and I just don't see it, or perhaps I don't have the theological aspect/bent that the rest do. I will say the thesis is written well, though the connections at times are a bit loose, and with CS Lewis dead, and there never being a REAL way of knowing for sure if this is true or not, it has that 'conspiracy' theory it was kind of aiming at - especially after The Da Vinci Code, which I think this was hoping to piggyback on with the title a bit.)

[yvonne.sevignykaiser · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting look at the meaning of each of the books in the Narnia series. Fans of Lewis will enjoy the authors interpretations.

[wilsonknut · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ward's insights into the Chronicles of Narnia are considerable. As Ward tells us, the roots of the word "consider" mean "with stars," and the stars are at the heart of THE NARNIA CODE. The Chronicles of Narnia have always been a favorite of mine from childhood, and I enjoyed Ward's examination of the books and their meaning.

[donna828 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an excellent companion book to The Chronicles of Narnia. Michael Ward describes his theory of the parallelism between the seven pre-Copernium heavenly bodies and the seven books in C. S. Lewis's fantasy series. He has put forth a credible argument that Lewis structured each Chronicle along the spiritual qualities of these heavenly bodies, beginning with his favorite planet Jupiter whose kingship and joviality is woven throughout the beloved tale of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which opened the door to Narnia.C. S. Lewis was an acclaimed Middle Ages scholar at Oxford who believed in the goodness of old things which included the validity of the material world being more than just matter. He didn't discredit ideas because they were outdated. The old model of the planets had spritiual meanings attached to them in a "more complete kind of science than modern astronomy." Lewis made the connection in his books between Aslan and the stars in a mystical way best explained by this exchange in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:"In our world," said Eustace, "a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.""Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of."In his collection of the classic stories of Narnia, Lewis subtly portrayed the planets and stars as messengers of divine creativity and symbols of the music of the spheres. This book is the follow-up book to Ward's more scholarly Planet Narnia and is designed as a more accessible companion to Narnia for a Christian audience.

[bobhayton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Do you remember when you first read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis? Many people, like me, trace their love of fantasy fiction back to that moment. As I gobbled up each of the seven books of the Chronicles of Narnia series, I entered a world of knights, chivalry, valor, magic and wonder — that awakened in me a fresh wonder at the divine influence in all of life.As I went on to other fantasy tales, largely by Christian authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen Lawhead, I encountered more intricate worlds and elaborate tales than what I found in Narnia. But the overt symbolism in the first Narnian tale, hinted at so much more beneath the surface of the Narnia tales. Reading Lewis’ space trilogy I once again encountered symbolism that I couldn’t quite grasp, but that was alluring and powerful nonetheless.So a few years ago, when I learned of a new book by Michael Ward entitled Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis, I was captivated and just had to get it. That scholarly tome, whose hardback edition boasted 347 pages and almost 60 pages of endnotes, was a delight to work through. Bit by bit, Ward shared the thrill of his discovery — the long sought after, unifying key to the Narnia stories. It was a bit of a chore to go through all the scholarly citations, but along the way I learned a great deal about all of Lewis’ works, not just the Narnian chronicles.Now, however, the fruit of Ward’s scholarly research is available for a wider, general market audience. Based on an earlier documentary/DVD, Tyndale House has published an accessible paperback entitled The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens.I was able to pick up this smaller book from Tyndale. It’s only 191 pages with an easy to read font. To be sure, some of the finer points from Planet Narnia don’t find their way into the condensed edition. Still, one will find all the joy (and significance) of Ward’s discovery, a fascinating explanation of the pre-Copernican planetary model, and a detailed exposition of each Narnian chronicle according to the new insights gained from Ward’s study. The interested reader could certainly move on from The Narnia Code to Planet Narnia if he or she so chose, but most will be satisfied by the tale as told in the smaller work.I don’t want to ruin the book by explaining in detail all of Ward’s discoveries. I will just note that he finds a planetary connection between Lewis the scholar’s appreciation for the pre-Copernican view of the planets as influencing mankind in various ways, and Lewis the author’s intricate method of creating a unique atmosphere that permeates each of his seven Narnian tales.I can say this, however, you will be convinced by Ward’s discovery. And it will give new life to the Chronicles of Narnia. You’ll never read them the same way again. And Christ’s glory will be seen anew in all its wonder, illuminated in many small yet wonderful ways by Lewis’ intricate crafting of these wildly popular stories.An expanded version of this review, with additional content and resources, is available at CrossFocusedReviews.com.Disclaimer: This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.