Prince Caspian

This book didn't have much of an impact on me and I find I don't have much to say.
As ever, I find myself waiting for Aslan to turn up..and indeed he does, but in a slightly mysterious fashion! I like the way Edmund sticks up for Lucy this time, despite pressure from the others.

There's also the slightly bizarre section after they meet Aslan and the girls join him for a 'Romp'. Bacchus and Silenus turn up and it's all pretty crazy, (and pagan!). As Susan says, "I wouldn't have felt safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we'd met them without Aslan."

One of the most interesting sections of the book is when Nikabrik the dwarf, becoming impatient with the lack of action and with waiting around for the children to come (or not) decides to take matters into his own hands.
"Either Aslan is dead or he is not on our side...anyway, he was in Narnia only once that I heard of, and he didn't stay long. You may drop Aslan out of the reckoning. I was thinking of someone else."
He argues that Aslan didn't stay very long ("he just fades out of the story") and the Kings and Queens he established didn't last, but the Witch "ruled for a hundred years...there's power if you like. There's something practical!"
Caspian points out that she was a worse tyrant than Miraz but Nikabrik is not to be dissuaded, arguing that she got on ok with the dwarfs. Then he makes his most foolish statement yet: "We're not afraid of the Witch."

To the reader his naiveté, (in thinking he can control the Witch) is obvious, but how often do we play games with the enemy, or dabble in sin, thinking we can keep the reins and stay in control? At this point I hear Pete M. adding 'Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side'!