The Book Aslan’s Call is written by Mark Eddy Smith. It is a wonderfully crafted book that shows the deeper depths of the universal themes and Christian faith that run throughout the entire Chronicles of Narnia.
The book is divide into nine parts. Each part is very fascinating. The introduction sets your expectations for the book and explains what the book is. I highly recommend you start with the introduction and not skip it. The next seven chapters cover the Chronicles of Narnia book by book. The chapters are divided into several sub sections. They talk about the characters, the story, and the highlights of the plot, and you can learn something valuable from every section. The last chapter is the Afterword; it is divided up into two sections: (1) How Smith would feel if and when he meets Aslan, and (2) a short fictional story of someone reading the Chronicles for the first time. The first part of the Afterword, I really enjoyed, but the second part was not my favorite.
One example of the valuable lessons in this book is the description of the Cabby showing leadership in The Magician’s Nephew. Smith writes: “The Cabby’s thoughts are all for the group, keeping them looking on the bright side, even while acknowledging the dark truth that they might be dead. He sings a harvest hymn in a place where nothing seems ever to have grown. Is it any wonder that Aslan chooses him to be King?”
In another example in The Silver Chair, when the underworld is falling apart, Prince Rilian wishes he could follow the gnomes to Bism. “Rilian is faced with the same choice his father was decades earlier when he wished to abandon his kingdom to search for the end of the world… It’s a hard lesson. Our journeys, we feel, should be rewarded. We know Aslan would want to reward us, and here’s his chance!… The point is, if we’ve accomplished the task for which Aslan sent us into Narnia, we have done well…. The lure of the unexplored, of being discoverers and not just tourists, is grand and not to be scoffed at, but it is only one kind of adventure, and if that is the whole of our definition, then we will miss out on many more ordinary, common but no less magical adventures.”
Mark Eddy Smith provides some amazing insights in this book, and I hope you will appreciate them too. But remember, when Aslan calls for you, answer! Answer well, my brave reader.
Inkling Investigation 