Customer Reviews

THE COSMIC TRILOGY: Out of the Silent Planet; Perelandra; That Hideous Strength

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With lots of attention on Tolkien's work, and a film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on the way, hopefully more people will discover this wonderful trilogy.

This is C.S. Lewis' fictional series for adults. I find some of his nonfiction apologetic writing to be a bit 'stuffy' (minus the brutal realism of "A Grief Observed"), but his fictional works are fun and fantastic.

The Cosmic (or Space) Trilogy follows the heroic Dr. Ransom on his adventures. He's something of an unlikely hero... heck, he's an Oxford scholar. The first bit of Out of the Silent Planet, the first installment, is a bit slow, but once you exit the Earth's atmosphere it really picks up.

OOTSP follows Ransom on a voyage to Mars. Lewis' interpretation of space flight is quite interesting, too. On Mars (I believe called "Malacandra") he encounters three species. To be honest, I don't remember many of the details of the plot, but rest assured, it's good.

Perelandra takes him to Venus, to a world that has not fallen into a state of sin. It's a sort of extended meditation on sin and the fall. Lewis' depiction of Ransom's arch nemesis, when 'possessed' (I forget his name) is chilling.

That Hideous Strength takes the battle between good and evil to Earth. Again, it starts off a bit slow. Instead of one Oxford scholar, you have a whole bunch. Parts of it reminds me of Hume's "Dialogues..." actually. Oh yeah, there's a bear too. Ransom has become a very wise and powerful man, and the story revolves around their quest to get the ancient magician Merlin on their side to fight the forces of evil.

Those who like fantasy literature should definitely give this series a chance. Also, check into "The Dark Tower," an unfinished story that (I believe) was written after Out of the Silent Planet, featuring some of the same characters. The fancy Oxford guys uncover a parallel universe, and chaos ensues. There's actually some interesting sexual imagery one wouldn't expect from Lewis.

This is my favorite book of all time, and I have read some classics. The intelligence and insight with which C.S. Lewis writes this book is astonishing. I have delighted in the pages of this book many times and reccomend everyone revel in it's glory.

The imagery within these tales is without a doubt the most mind blowing and powerful I have ever read. Interestingly, as you delve deeper into the tale you are confronted with foundational strokes at theology that seep so naturally within the text...simply brilliant.