Book Review: The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
Sure you may have read The Chronicles of Narnia, sure you may be an Inklings fanboy, and sure you may even be versed in The Abolition of Man and The Screwtape Letters. However you can’t claim to be truly Lewis-maxxing until you have ventured into Clive’s singular foray into sci-fi with his epic work The Space Trilogy. Made up of three separate novels, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength, The Space Trilogy reveals an unexpected side of the legendary writer, as the story delves into a richly imaginative solar-system spanning epic blending cosmology, theology, western literary history, and a wealth of fascinating original ideas. While not nearly as accessible as his other works, it is perhaps his most daring and ambitious artistically.
Written during World War II the story reflects the turbulence of the era thematically in different ways in each book. The first book, Out of the Silent Planet, is definitely the easiest to grasp. The story follows a language professor named Elwin Ransom who is abducted by two mysterious scientists and spirited off on a journey to Mars, here called ‘Malacandra.’ A lot of the story from here is Ransom’s experience exploring this world with numerous rich descriptions of the climate, flora, and fauna. The differences in the gravity, the trees, the weather, are all fascinating. The various humanoid species and their cultures are also intruiging. The neatest thing to me though are the mysterious ‘Eldil’ and ‘Oyarsa’, angelic beings, the latter serving as planetary rulers.
The mythology of Malacandra and its relation to Earth and other planets really kept me engaged and excited to read the sequels. While there isn’t a ton of action, there is a good central conflict in the form of Ransom’s journey to meet the Oyarsa and the treacherous journey back to Earth. Lewis’ beautiful prose certainly adds to the experience. Out of the Silent Planet is a pleasure to read thanks to its delicious use of language and excellent pacing. I especially loved Lewis’ characterization of outer space during Ransom’s flight to Mars wherein the cosmos are described as being surprisingly warm, bright, and teaming with life. It is an invigorating characterization of our solar system. The short chapters make this easy to pick up and put down. The unique vision of alien life and Earth’s place in the solar system will however make you not want to put it down, as you just won’t find any similarly unique theologically-motivated vision of the cosmos in better known sci-fi writers.
The theological point comes into much stronger relief in the second book, Perelandra, my personal favorite of the three. You do not need to be a Christian or religious at all to appreciate it, but it definitely helps. ‘Perelandra’ is another word for ‘Venus’, and the second book in the trilogy tells us of Ransom’s adventure on this quiet paradise world of floating continents and strange beasts. He is transported there by the planetary ruler Oyarsa beings from the first book and, left alone and naked on the untamed world, encounters a mysterious alien woman. The plot is inspired by the Biblical book of Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve. In truth there is very little actual plot in Perelandra and in a way that’s what makes it so great. Ransom’s experience and description of Venus is more than engrossing enough on its own. When the story’s antagonist does show up, he gives the book a razor sharp moral focus and philosophical conflict ultimately resolved through an intense action scene.
It’s glorious, just so delightfully tense with fantastic imagery and allegory behind it. Perelandra is the simplest book in the trilogy in terms of plot but probably the most dramatic and explicitly religious. While I wouldn’t call it an apologetic, the ethical worldview is very clearly informed by Lewis’ strong Christian faith. If that’s a dealbreaker for some readers then that’s just a shame because even atheists will find Ransom’s battle with The Adversary on Venus incredibly entertaining and thought-provoking. The imagery of the final departure from Venus with the Oyarsa, the Eldil, the talk of Christ as the “something greater,” and the idea of the cosmos being a “great dance,” is all just so beautiful and unforgettable.
Perelandra did not need a sequel but it is clear from its resolution that Lewis had a lot more he wanted to say and say very explicitly. This is where That Hideous Strength comes in, my least favorite of the trilogy but still an excellent read. It’s definitely the most difficult with its much longer page count, larger cast of characters and various intertwining narratives. Ransom returns as an important character but not really the protagonist. Instead we focus on a young professor named Mark Studdock and his clairvoyant wife Jane. Mark leaves his university job to take up a position with a powerful and shady governmental agency called the National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.) while simultaneously his wife has visions of the great wizard Merlin coming back to life.
That Hideous Strength is very slow in its first few chapters but has a wonderfully evolving conspiracy as we learn of N.I.C.E.’s malevolent plans for world domination and damnation. Be prepared for a lot of social and political commentary. Lewis is not exactly a friend of utopian government planners. The satire is particularly biting when Mark tries to navigate office politics with the other liberal-minded professionals of his class and when he tries to get along with working class folks of his community. It’s quite funny but also quite bitter.
There is some great supernatural adventure starting around the book’s middle portion when we learn more about N.I.C.E.’s horrifying secrets and plans that include strange life forms on the moon, destruction of organic life on Earth, and a resurrected talking head. My biggest complaint though is in how the conflict is resolved. It’s rather anti-climactic in spite of a very gory bit of divine judgment. That Hideous Strength lacks the wonder of the first book and the stark moral adventure of the second, but it is still a must read if you have taken the time to read its predecessors. Even if you don’t sympathize with Lewis’ politics you can definitely appreciate the wacky sci-fi schemes and personality clashes. Being set on Earth the book at the very least does a good job of transporting you back to a particular time and culture in mid-20th century England.
I greatly enjoyed these books and plan to revisit them at some point. There are a lot of layers to them, especially if you have a good understanding of Lewis’ scholarship and philosophy. They are not your typical crowd-pleasing sci-fi adventure; You’ll be disappointed if you are looking for something akin to Star Wars or Narnia or Lord of the Rings. Nevertheless, they are beautifully realized works of imaginative fiction that any reader can appreciate, Lewis fanboy or not.
Verdict: A-
