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Feb 02, 2008

Christian rated it:

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2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Manny rated it:

"James, does the name 'Perelandra' mean anything to you?"

"Yes, I believe so. Poetic name for the planet Venus. Inhabited by two analogues of Adam and Eve, living in a state of prelapsarian bliss. All sounds rather pleasant."

"Very good, James. However, we've received intelligence that SMERSH have infiltrated an agent, who is going to try to tempt the Eve-analogue. We want you to stop him."

"Well, as a boy, I always did enjoy st More...

4 comments like (11 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2007

Charles rated it:

Perelandra is the second of C.S. Lewis's space trilogy. In that universe, it is the name of the planet Venus - a beautiful sinless planet with life at its dawn. Perelandra is a passionate and fierce ocean world with awesome storms, golden sunlight, millions of floating islands, and critters to inhabit them. On Perelandra live only two sentient creatures: the King and the Queen. They rule the world as Adam and Eve. A philologist named Ransom is sent from Earth as God's representative with an More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2008

Ryan Mac rated it:

This book was better than the first one in the Space Trilogy. You don't need to read Out of the Silent Planet in order to understand what is happening in this one but it helps with the background. In this book, the main character from the first book, Dr. Ransom, travels to Venus (also known as Perelandra) to help confront temptation. An interesting twist on the Fall of Man/Garden of Eden story from the Bible. If you don't like a lot of description about the various landscapes, creatures, pla More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

Kathryn rated it:

First Recorded Reading: September 11, 2000

This is the second book of C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy; once again, it has less to do with Space and a lot more to do with overtly Christian theology. When I did my Book Review for the first book, Out Of The Silent Planet, my sister observed, “Id read second and tossed it!” I too recalled the second book as being rather overstuffed with theology, more so than one expects in a Mass Market Paperback; but on this reading, I enjoyed the book much More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2008

Alana rated it:

When I was a senior in high school, I decided to do my author paper on C. S. Lewis and choose to specifically emphasize this book. Of the three books in the space trilogy, this one would be my favorite. I love how Lewis takes a look back at what the garden of Eden might have been like while still avoiding being allegorical. I love how he throws in huge theological truths in a more understandable story form. There are points where I would differ from him theologically, but that does little to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

David added it

This book was a bit of a disappointment. It was overly wordy, confusing and lacked direction of any kind. Compared to Out of the Silent Planet this book was just awful.

Whilst it did present a truly original imagining of the Planet Venus it also populated it with the most uninteresting of characters. I struggled to imagine some of the things that Lewis was describing due to, I think, an over focus on what was being said rather than what was actually going on.

I thought that it lacked a lot of t More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Jacob added it

This book is a very flawed but rather beautiful gem. While Narnia is extremely over-rated, I understand why this series never caught on. First I will give the problems with the book, then end on a good note. Lewis will go 30-60 pages without dialogue. Simply describes things. While his powers of description are remarkable, it is often hard to follow.

On the other hand, this book is an example of master storytelling. Narnia supposedly had good theology because we see Aslan take the place o More...

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Jan 01, 2009

Russell rated it:

It's been probably two or more years since I read Out of the Silent Planet and when I sat down to read this I recalled the slow-moving pace of the first. I figured that this book had to do with another planet, but I didn't read up on the synopsis or anything before I started. That being said, I was a bit dismayed that it took nearly 30 pages before the actual arrival on Venus. In fact, I was nearly fatigued at how much detail was being stuffed into the account.

Once the protagonist ar More...

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Nov 06, 2011

Jamie rated it:

I have contemplated setting an alarm on my google calendar for next year to remind me to reread this book. It is, by far, the best book I have read in ages. The plot centers around a voyage and adventure in Venus, but is rather more like a discussion in Plato's dialogues than a traditional story. Furthermore, it is not the extraterrestrial landscape of the book that drew me from my own world (or mindset) to another, but rather the "alien" view of my own thoughts and practices. This More...

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Oct 17, 2011

Christopher rated it:

Now here is the C.S. Lewis I remember and love! "Out of the SIlent Planet," the first book in the space trilogy, wasn't nearly as good as it was cracked up to be. But this one was fantastic. It had all of the elements that make up some of Lewis' best fictional work: allegory with a moral purpose and fantasy with a large dose of wonder. In this book, Lewis takes the tale of the downfall of man from the book of Genesis and wonders what would've happened if there had been someone there to More...

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Jul 31, 2011

Dan rated it:

Christian sci-fi? You're kidding me, right? No I'm not. And what a great book it was, too.

Perelandra has a simple premise: what if you, today, could be transported back to Eden and stand at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil while Eve talks with the serpent? What would you do or say? This book made me feel the horror of standing at the precipice of millennia of misery and wanting to stop it; but in the next instant feeling an icy chill as I realize that my personal knowledge of sin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2011

Lori rated it:

This book was excellent. I highly recommend it. Perelandra is Venus before the fall. The main character Ransom is sent to Perelandra to "fight" evil and convince the woman of the planet to not sin. Lewis writes satin so well he captures pure evil quite well. My favorite quote of the book begins on page 147. Ransom is "talking" with God.

"It is not for nothing that you are named Ransom, the Voice said. And he knew this was no fancy of his own. He kne More...

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Feb 10, 2011

Gabe rated it:

I've read this one a few times at various stages of my life. I just read it again because I'm teaching it.

Lewis's attempt to justify the worldview - or model of the cosmos - originating from the Middle Ages with Christian theology and his and our current scientific understanding of the universe is... striking. I'm not sure his laborious attempts to make sense of God's (or Maleldil's) Perelandrian prohibition, modeled on - presumably - the one that happened on "our" planet, Th More...

1 comment like

Dec 09, 2010

Cole J. Banning rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Nov 22, 2010

Maureen rated it:

A bit longer than his first one with much more philosophical ramblings. Still genius, but definitely takes a bit of thought and it can get tiring if you're plot-oriented like I am and you kind of just want to know what happens. There's a bit more mysticism and a lot more interaction with the spirits/angels who were introduced in the first book. At first I found it a bit off-putting, but then I started thinking about how it kind of makes sense that there would be more interactions later on, much More...

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Nov 06, 2010

John rated it:

The second book in Lewis’ “Space Trilogy” makes for more difficult reading than the first (“Out of the Silent Planet”), but I enjoyed it much more. The difficulty comes from the vast amount of dialogue, as the protagonist (Dr. Ransom) and the antagonist (Dr. Weston) engage in a battle of wits, with the fate of the planet Perelandra hanging in the balance.

While not exactly an allegory, the themes of this book have much to do with Creation, the Fall, and the doctrine of original sin. As More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 26, 2010

Fred rated it:

C.S. Lewis’ Perelandra is my favorite Christian science fiction novel. It’s the second book in his celebrated Space Trilogy, which chronicles the adventures of British philologist (language expert) Edwin Ransom as he travels between Earth, Mars, and Venus and discovers his fate is inextricably connected with events both physical and spiritual on all three worlds.

In Perelandra, Ransom is transported to Venus, “Perelandra,” a world of vast oceans and floating islands. There he meets Ti More...

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Oct 05, 2010

Benjamin added it

Ransom goes to an unfallen Venus, which is here a young, oceanic world. There, he meets the Venusian Eve and protects her from the Devil-possessed Dr. Weston. With his fists. Which is, I think, a very good lesson on how to deal with theological differences.

Again, this is heavily allegorical, and another attempt on Lewis's part to deal with how interesting Milton's Satan is (alongside Lewis's Screwtape Letters)--here, the Satanic spirit in Weston is not at all intelligent, but merely cr More...

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Aug 23, 2010

Hywel rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 22, 2010

Isaac rated it:

Rating this book is hard. I feel like it was a good book (Lewis certainly has a fine grasp of language and does not throw obscure words at you to show off) but as a novel I think it left something to be desired. The plot seems to disappear for long periods of time to make way for philosophical and theological lecturing or speculation disguised as dialogue or internal monologues almost like Starship Troopers. It also reminded me of Philip Pullman's Amber Spyglass in how half of the events seemed More...

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May 30, 2010

Surreysmum rated it:

[Thee notes were made in 1983. This book is also known as "Perelandra".:] The theology is more overt in this sequel to Out of the Silent Planet. Perelandra (Venus) is a very new world, as Malacandra (Mars) was a very old one, and there are only two humanoids on Perelandra - the Venusian Adam and Eve. Satan arrives in the body of the scientist Weston, and Ransom interposes himself between the Perelandrans and another Fall. He is successful, but not, of course, until he has undergone More...

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May 11, 2010

Xox rated it:

Another boring crap from Lewis, the worst sci fi writer ever.

This one, Lewis tried to preach his bullshit by rewriting eva story. It was really bad the first time around, and his rewrite is even worst.

I have written a review for the whole series, and this is what I have written for this one.

Space Trilogy, namely the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength are one of the most boring Sci fi one could ever read.

Book two Perelandra More...

2 comments like

Oct 23, 2009

Brandy rated it:

Perelandra, while the second in a trilogy, can be read independently and stand on its own merits. I never cease to be amazed by the works produced by the mind of C.S. Lewis, and this was no exception.

In Perelandra the protagonist, Dr. Ransom, once again finds himself journeying to another planet. This time his travels take him to Perelandra, or Venus, as it is called on earth. In Peralandra the majority of the land consists of floating islands that move and undulate with the waves of More...

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Jul 27, 2009

Charlotte rated it:

C.S. Lewis was able to write so many genres: children’s books, cerebral treatises, and fantasy allegory. Perelandra was touted as a science fiction drama, but the action I associate with drama was pretty nil. While missing a more modern drama with cliff-hanging excitement, it was a feast for the intellect. Always an allegorical proselyte, Lewis demands us to focus while we dream of his other-worldly fight of good v. evil. If you love his fantastical worlds with a moral, you would surely love thi More...

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Jun 28, 2010

Celeste rated it:

I read the first book in this series, "Out of the Silent Planet", a while ago, but I was able to remember all of the things that I liked and didn't like about it by the end of "Perelandra". I typically love all of C.S. Lewis' books, however, I was not as fond of this series.

I loved "Mere Christianity" and "The Screwtape Letters" because I believe they have a great deal of truth. The only main thing that Lewis is missing in his descriptions of More...

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Dec 21, 2009

Annie rated it:

Not as good as #1 but I still enjoyed it. I also enjoyed its brevity.

I do not have a religion, and have wavered between agnostic and atheist over the years, still now unsure and unwilling to put a label on myself in that regard. But many a time I have become "offended" (well, that might be too strong a word, maybe more like bothered) when religion seeps into a place I didn't expect it to (and where it "shouldn't" be -- a separation of church & state). HOWEVER, al More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 27, 2009

Karen rated it:

In this book Ransom is sent to another world much different from the last. He is sent to a world where the human race is just starting out with a man and a woman much like Adam and Eve. And like on Earth, an evil force like Satan has come to tempt the woman. This is where I must say that even though the books in this trilogy are supposed to be just as great read separate from each other, you really do need to read the first book (Out of the Silent Planet) to fully understand Ransom’s decision More...

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Apr 09, 2008

RØB rated it:

This second installment seemed much more philosophical, much more dense, much more cerebral, and ultimately much more obviously Christian-themed than OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET. It was also longer, but the events therein were no less interesting. Much more reflective, I think. Almost more a treatise than a novel. It contains some moments of genuine horror, and others of sublimity. I'll be interested to see what THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH is all about...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2009

Noah rated it:

This is probably one of the strangest books I have ever read. It took me a while to realize whether or not I liked it (in the end, I did). The problem, I think, comes from Lewis' method of storytelling (at least here). Some of his characters reminded me of standpoints he argued against in other, non-fiction works of his (for example, "The Abolition of Man"), and though they work well in non-fiction, as characters growing and acting in a world they seem flat and contrived. That said More...

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