as far as I'm concerned it's perfectly possible to get a superior ethical education out of reading a ton of books as a kid, books like Narnia foremost among them.

Very much so, and I think this is one major reason that I was so disturbed and hurt by The Last Battle. I still remember crying so hard that I threw up because they were all dead, and that meant Narnia wasn't an amazing, beautiful part of our world but another world where all their heroism really meant nothing. I don't think I could ever read it again, but I enjoyed your discussion here and yes, I think the Narnia fans can take this world in less deterministic, more human, more magical directions than Lewis chose.