My husband found a copy of Planet Narnia at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, and bought it for me on spec.

I have loved reading it, - at time of writing, I am well into “Saturn” and each of the planetary chapters has had me saying “Of course!” out loud at some point.

Thank you for a delightful and compulsive read, full of references which I don’t need to look up and connections which I’ve never made. I am no longer an academic (if I ever was) but haven’t needed to be because you communicate so effectively.

Thank you, Michael Ward.

Tolkien’s dismissal of the Narniad has always rankled with me, but I had no answer to his criticisms. Dr. Ward has found it.

That’s what I thought — until I read the book.

Actually, that’s not quite true either. I thought this only until I read Ward’s FAQ on planetnarnia.com. Call me a sucker, but I think I was already hooked by about question 6. By hooked I don’t mean I’d already accepted his theory line and sinker, but I knew I had to get me this book.

Book finally in hand, I decided I’d better start reading with my “skeptic’s glasses” firmly in place. If I kept them on, I reasoned, and still came out the other end believing Ward’s theory, there must be something to it. Well, my glasses came off about half way through Chapter 1.

Even aside from the content, Ward’s clear style, his sincere tone, his obvious love as well as deep knowledge of Lewis’s work — all these contribute to making this fairly academic work very readable and (to me) incredibly interesting.

Ward’s work opened my eyes to a whole bunch of stuff I’d never noticed in the Chronicles before. Not to mention the Ransom Trilogy and other of Lewis’s writings.

One thing I considered a weakness was how Ward mentions that certain groups of words (say “swift” and “run” in HHB) are used very frequently in one particular Chronicle. But often he doesn’t state that those words are not used with that frequency in the other Chronicles, so I wondered whether it proved anything.

I mentioned as much to Ward, who wrote me a helpful and prompt response. He said it’s about the atmosphere, and the key thing is the words’ context, not their number. “Context is everything,” he added. And I guess he’s right. (In fact, that’s probably one of the main themes of the book.)

But to cut a long short — this book is one of the most exciting non-fiction works I’ve read in a long time.

I attended your lecture at UC San Diego. Thank you for a very intellectually stimulating lecture. I was enthralled for the entire lecture. I also heard you on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show the week prior. That was how I originally heard about the book, and the upcoming San Diego appearance.

Fascinating topic that you have discovered. The idea that beyond the simple allegory on the surface lies a philosophical outlook on life using an ancient understanding of the cosmos to create the rich narrative in the stories makes me shake my head in astonishment. The man is simply brilliant. I plan to devour your book, as well as C.S. Lewis’ works this summer.

Sincerely,
Steven Potter
San Diego, CA, USA

For a very short (and inadequate) review: http://2007books.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/planet-narnia/

God bless you Fr. Michael - you are in my prayers - seriously!

+Kenneth

I just finished the book and I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I am one of those fans of Lewis who also has a telescope (although a telescope is not required to follow along).

I am also a scout leader who has slept under the stars lakeside in Canada, on a mountain top in New Mexico and on the beach of an unihabited island in the Florida Keys. I have spend a great deal of time trying to explain to my scouts and to my high school religious education classes that what you see when you look up at the night sky, regardless of your equipment, really depends on how you look at it. I then try to explain that the same rule applies to what you see in the daylight. Lastly, I have always tried to make the point that there is something even more important, a deeper magic if you will, in the things that you cannot see.

Considering the planets the key to the Narniad makes a great deal of sense to me. This insight detracts very little from my appreciation of the stories and opens up an entire world that is not in a galaxy far far away.

Many thanks to Michael the Lionhearted for helping us to see that Aslan is indeed everywhere and in all things.

Robert S. McCord
Bel Air, Maryland USA

Blessings as you continue to share your discovery,
- Amy Simpson

I just finished reading your new book and found it fascinating, thoroughly convincing, and profound. When you spoke at Hillsdale College in the fall of 2005 about your discovery of the hidden common thread to the seven stories in the Narniad I was in the audience. My son is a junior at Hillsdale. I am a great fan of Mr. Lewis and drove up for the day of talks that just happened to have included your presentation. I was intrigued by your discovery and even inspired to purchase a recording of Holst’s “The Planet” Suite.

When I heard earlier this year you had written “Planet Narnia” I had my son get a copy at the Hillsdale bookstore. Congratulations on an extremely well researched and thoughtfully written treatise. Each time I read a section I came away amazed at the length and depth of your research and analysis. As an aside, I have to tell you that although I was an English Literature major in college I have to admit I have learned more about Medieval cosmology from Lewis’s “The Discarded Image” and your recent book than anything I heard in college lectures years ago. (But, perhaps I slept through more classes than I care to acknowledge.)

Congratulations again on a superb book.

Steve Yount