Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy, #1)

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Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy #1)

by C.S. Lewis

3.84 · rating details · 14,312 ratings · 844 reviews

Dr. Ransom is abducted by a megalomaniacal physicist and taken via space ship to the planet Malacandra (Mars). There, Dr. Ransom finds Malacandra similar to, and yet distinct from, Earth.

Paperback, 160 pages

Published June 3rd 1996 by Scribner Book Company (first published 1938)

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Apr 10, 2010

Manny rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, transcendent-experiences

Not C.S. Lewis's best or most popular book - for every person who reads this, there must be at least ten who read Narnia. However, the exchange between the humans and the Oyarsa (the angelic ruler of Malacandra/Mars) is extremely effective satire, and deserves to be better known. Ransom is the only one in the party who has been able to acquire any fluency in Malacandran. He is given the task of translating Weston's fascist rant, which he clearly rather enjoys:

'Speak to Ransom and he shall turn i

...moreNot C.S. Lewis's best or most popular book - for every person who reads this, there must be at least ten who read Narnia. However, the exchange between the humans and the Oyarsa (the angelic ruler of Malacandra/Mars) is extremely effective satire, and deserves to be better known. Ransom is the only one in the party who has been able to acquire any fluency in Malacandran. He is given the task of translating Weston's fascist rant, which he clearly rather enjoys:

'Speak to Ransom and he shall turn it into our speech,' said Oyarsa.

Weston accepted the arrangement at once. He believed that the hour of his death was come and he was determined to utter the thing - almost the only thing outside his own science which he had to say. He cleared his throat, almost he struck a gesture, and began:

(...)

'Life is greater than any system of morality; her claims are absolute. It is not by tribal taboos and copy-book maxims that she has pursued her relentless march from the amoeba to man and from man to civilization.'

'He says,' began Ransom, 'that living creatures are stronger than the question whether an act is bent or good - no, that cannot be right - he says it is better to be alive and bent than to be dead - no - he says, he says - I cannot say what he says, Oyarsa, in your language. But he goes on to say that the only good thing is that there should be very many creatures alive. He says there were many other animals before the first men and the later ones were better than the earlier ones; but he says the animals were not born because of what is said to the young about bent and good action by their elders. And he says these animals did not feel any pity.'

'She,' began Weston.

'I'm sorry,' interrupted Ransom, 'but I've forgotten who She is.'

'Life, of course,' snapped Weston. 'She has ruthlessly broken down all obstacles and liquidated all failures and today in her highest form civilized man - and in me as his representative, she presses forward to that interplanetary leap which will, perhaps, place her for ever beyond the reach of death.'

'He says,' resumed Ransom, 'that these animals learned to do many difficult things, except those who could not; and those ones died and the other animals did not pity them. And he says the best animal now is the kind of man who makes the big huts and carries the heavy weights and does all the other things I told you about; and he is one of these and he says that if the others all knew what he was doing they would be pleased. He says that if he could kill you all and bring our people to live in Malacandra, then they might be able to go on living here after something had gone wrong with our world. And then if something went wrong with Malacandra they might go and kill all the hnau in another world. And then another - and so they would never die out.

Lewis does a good job here of exposing the absurdity of the argument which purports to show that evolution ("the survival of the fittest") somehow justifies selfish behavior. Of course, it does nothing of the kind, as Richard Dawkins has pointed out innumerable times. "The fittest" are by definition those who survive, and, as Dawkins delights in showing you, there is no end to the ingenious survival strategies developed by different species, which involve apparently unselfish cooperation just as often as apparently aggressive competition.

Christian apologists would, however, be on firmer ground if Christians were not quite so keen on justifying aggression in terms of divine justice. It seems to me that this is as much a perversion of true Christian principles as Weston's speech is a perversion of true evolutionary science. If you accept the tenets of Christianity, it should follow that only God can administer justice. He has no need of Man's help to do so, and, since God is omnipotent, justice is inevitable.

What I find interesting here is that strict evolutionary principles and strict Christian principles end up with the same conclusion: the world is, by definition, fairly organized, whether you call this survival of the fittest or Divine justice. People are in neither case required to assist the process.

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Jun 14, 2008

kellyn rated it

I read this first about 7 or 8 years ago, but found it difficult to get through. This time it was over too soon-I felt like I was on 'Malacandra' myself and feel like I 'experienced' everything that went on as much as 'Ransom' the main character in the book. Lewis explores philosophical questions that if not discussed in the context of another species' existence would strike me as really basic; by discussing these questions in the setting of another world, he refreshes them and has insights that...moreI read this first about 7 or 8 years ago, but found it difficult to get through. This time it was over too soon-I felt like I was on 'Malacandra' myself and feel like I 'experienced' everything that went on as much as 'Ransom' the main character in the book. Lewis explores philosophical questions that if not discussed in the context of another species' existence would strike me as really basic; by discussing these questions in the setting of another world, he refreshes them and has insights that we often miss. I really enjoyed it and think it will become part of my 'book consciousness'. (one of the books I often re-read throughout the year)

A discussion between Ransom and a creature of Malacandra by the name of 'Hyoi', that began with Ransom asking if the three main races of Malacandra ever fight, then Ransom must explain about warring peoples of the Earth and how they fight over resources.

"If both wanted one thing and neither would give it," said Ransom, "would the other at last come with force? Would they say, five it or we kill you?"-Ransom
"What sort of thing?"-Hyoi
"Well-foor, perhaps."-Ransom
"If the other 'hnau' wanted food, why should we not give it to them? We often do."-Hyoi
"But how if we had not enough for ourselves?"-Ransom
"But Maleldil will not stop the plants growing."-Hyoi
"Hyoi, if you had more and more young, would Maleldil broaden the 'handramit' and make enough plants for them all?"-Ransom
"But why should we have more young, 'Ren-soom'?"-Hyoi
"Is the begetting of young not a pleasure among the 'hrossa'?"-Ransom
"A very great one, 'Hman'. This is what we call love."-Hyoi
"If a thing is a pleasure, a 'hman' wants it again. He might want the pleasure more often than the number of young that could be fed."-Ransom
"You mean," said Hyoi slowly, "that he might do it not only in one or two years of his life but again?"
"Yes"-Ransom
"But why? Would he want his dinner all day or want to sleep after he had slept? I do not understand."

And so the dialogue goes. It's so great!

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Jan 27, 2011

Hope rated it

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Shelves: clive-staples, 2011-reads, sci-fi, reviewed, cover-love, title-love, classics, laugh-out-loud-funny-in-places

First of all, this book has a cool title. I mean, seriously…Out of the Silent Planet… Say it to yourself a couple times. It sounds pretty, almost spooky, sort of dramatic and enigmatic. Ooh.

Man, I love a good title.

I also love a good allegory. And it’s my opinion that C.S. Lewis pretty much wrote the best allegories. Like, for real dude. This is like The Chronicles of Narnia for big people.
(I’m still partial to the childlikeness of The Chronicles though)...more

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Nov 03, 2008

BJ rated it

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No long summary here...A novel about how men dehumanize humanity.

Though it does not have to do with the one-sentence summary, I like the words of abducted Ransom before he embarks on his journey on the planet Malacandra:

"The adventure was too high, its circumstance too solemn, for any emotion save a severe delight." (Macmillan Publishing, Twenty-third Printing, 1978, 30)

And on another mater, the words of the old sorn speaking of how humanity on earth...more

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Dec 04, 2008

Ryan Mac rated it

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Shelves: sci-fi

I'm not quite sure what to think about this book. It was good but I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. 2 page paragraphs are hard to read. Otherwise, the descriptions of the planet are very vivid and the story is interesting but you get the feeling that there is something big they aren't telling you. Clearly, it is a good vs. evil, mankind struggling with God story. I'm hooked enough to keep going to book 2.

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Nov 22, 2011

Suheil Eid rated it

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Finally I finish "Out of the silent planet" by C.S Lewis ending at page 194. From the many science fiction books I've read, id say this is certainly one of the best so far. C.S Lewis does such a good job in keeping the reader attached to the book. The story starts of with the main charachter Ransom being kidnapped by his fellow scientist and dragged to a planet that turns out to be mars. The planet turns out to be inhabited with aliens. Ransom faces a challenge to survive, learning man...more

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Jul 18, 2007

Beguine rated it

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Recommends it for: fans of C.S. Lewis, fairly traditional Christians

This is C.S. Lewis' "science fiction" series. Essentially, this astronaut keeps landing on other planets and encountering the lifeforms God created there. In each book a representitive of the devil shows up and tries to muck things up for God's other children (humanity's cousins?). The first one is sort of neat; our hero is kidnapped by his fellow scientists and dragged to a planet that turns out to be mars for nefarious purposes. There he finds that this is one of the worlds God ...more

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Aug 06, 2011

David Boyce added it · review of another edition

This is the most un Lewis like of anything I have read of his. It really is in a class of its own. I suspected beforehand that it would remind me of Narnia, but in reality it was very different. How different C.S. Lewis makes this from his other works really impresses me and reinforces my belief that C.S. Lewis was a genius of literature as well as subtle allegory. The story is interesting and takes us to a truly unique world, one that now only exists in the reader’s imagination. As science fict...more

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Nov 14, 2010

Fanny Featherbrain rated it

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Shelves: narrativa, letteratura-inglese, fantastico

Dimenticare Narnia, in primo luogo. La trilogia* fantascientifica di Lewis è un romanzo filosofico, con tutti i pregi e i difetti del caso. Qualche pecca (talvolta imbarazzante) a livello narrativo ma una gran voglia di esprimere idee e di vederle incarnate e attive. È un romanzo adulto, che pone in questione i fondamenti dell’esistenza e della società. Ed è infine un romanzo “limpido”, che mette in scena con grande coerenza un punto di vista conservatore e cristiano. In accordo o in disaccordo...more

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Mar 03, 2009

Michael rated it

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Shelves: english-12

Plot Summary
C.S. Lewis' novel "Out of the Silent Planet" is a book about space exploration and the discovery of new and surprising civilisations. Dr. Ransom was an unsuspecting college professor that was whisked away to a far away planet. Through a chance meeting, Ransom comes across two other professors who lure him into their house where they drug him and put him into their spherical space ship. After the initial shock of waking up in the middle of space, Ransom becomes quite e...morePlot Summary
C.S. Lewis' novel "Out of the Silent Planet" is a book about space exploration and the discovery of new and surprising civilisations. Dr. Ransom was an unsuspecting college professor that was whisked away to a far away planet. Through a chance meeting, Ransom comes across two other professors who lure him into their house where they drug him and put him into their spherical space ship. After the initial shock of waking up in the middle of space, Ransom becomes quite excited about the adventure he is now a part of. However, during the expedition Ransom learns that he is actually being brought to a planet called Malacandra as a sacrifice to the inhabitants. Now Ransom is in a fight for his life. With a narrow escape from the other men after they land, Ransom finds himself lost in a world completely different from his own; one full of colour and mystery. In this world he meets the three species: the Hrossa, the Sorns, and the Pfifltriggi. They all live in peace with eachother and each race plays it's own role in the advancement of Ransom's journey to Oyarsa; the mysterious and powerful ruler of Malacandra. Everything is up in the air when he reaches the home island of Oyarsa. He must stand before the Lord of the planet and answer to his questions about the human race and why they are there. In the end, Oyarsa will decide Ransom's as well as the other two men's fate. He will either let them go back to earth or forever erase them from existence.

Personal Response
In my opinion, C.S. Lewis has done better work. I found this novel a little boring and uneventful. The storyline didn't seem to carry any point. The characters merely went to the other planet, met some creatures, and came back. It was just interesting enough to keep me reading but no more; I didn't really look forward to reading it. The number one aspect i didn't like about this book was the style of writing. It was written in an old-fashioned, proper type of english that I found difficult to understand. More than once I found myself reading but not taking it in because I didn't know what it meant. Also, despite the fact that it was a science fiction, I didnt find the characters believable at all. Even though they were, in a sense, aliens, the creatures from Malacandra were much too "out there" for me. Despite my overall opinion of this novel, there were parts of it that I really enjoyed. I loved the way C.S. Lewis described the thoughts and emotions of Ransom with such detail. it realoly made it easy to characterize him in my own head. I also liked how the author put so much detail into the landscape and extra-terrestrial characters. It painted a very clear and colourful picture of the land he imagined. I think that this novel would appeal to a lot of people because it feeds the imagination. These days people are so eager to believe that there is something more out there because to us, thay would be the most exciting thing ever. With this novel, out imaginations can be given a face; given something else to dream of.

Quotable Quotes
1. In this quote Ransom wakes up for the first time in the space ship and realizes he has no idea where he is.
"Ransom was by now thoroughly frightened—not with the prosaic fright that a man suffers in a war, but with a heady, bounding kind of fear that was hardly distinguishable from his general excitement; he was poised on a sort of emotional watershed from which, he felt, he might at any moment pass into delirious terror or into an ecstasy of joy." (23)

2. In this quote Hyoi, a Hrossa, tells Ransom it's view on the true enjoyment of life.
"A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered. You are speaking as if the pleasure were one thing and the memory another. It is all one thing." (89)

3. In this quote Hyoi teaches Ransom about light and the "eldila" (creatures made of light that live throughout the heavens).
"We do not truly see light, we only see slower things lit by it, so that for us light is on the edge--the last thing we know before things become too swift for us." (108)

4. In this quote Augray, a Sorn, tells Ransom about the supernatural and mystical aspects of life on Malacandra.
"These things are not strange, Small One, though they are beyond our senses."
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Dec 30, 2008

Edith rated it

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I read this book and its companion volumes--Perelandra and That Hideous Strength--sometime after college, which must have been in the early eighties. I have re-read all three books numerous times since then.

The books show Lewis' deep love of and knowledge of European literature and languages. I stand in awe of his ability to bring together elements of Scandinavian and Celtic and Greek and Roman and English literature to create a universe that can hold the galaxy-spanning intellects ...more

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Jan 03, 2012

Bill added it · review of another edition

My girlfriend got me these books for my birthday. I hadn't read them since I was in elementary, so I decided to give them another run through. It's also my goal to at least pretend like I have something interesting to say about all the books I read, so... here goes. Full of spoilers.

This book starts out like an old school sci fi in the vein of H.G. Wells. We have a visitor to another planet (he's actually captured on Earth and taken there), but the other planet feels like a more exoti...more

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Oct 27, 2011

R. Jacob rated it

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Shelves: jesus-in-space, science-fiction-philosophy, quick-read

Months after first seeing the spines of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy on my girlfriend's bookshelf, scanning them curiously, and deciding that a space adventure laced with biblical references wasn't my idea of a fun summer read I planted this series on the back-burner till another time, presumably never. Having read a majority or maybe just two of his Chronicles of Narnia, and enjoying them well enough but finding myself unable to maintain sufficient interest to finish the entire series, I didn't s...moreMonths after first seeing the spines of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy on my girlfriend's bookshelf, scanning them curiously, and deciding that a space adventure laced with biblical references wasn't my idea of a fun summer read I planted this series on the back-burner till another time, presumably never. Having read a majority or maybe just two of his Chronicles of Narnia, and enjoying them well enough but finding myself unable to maintain sufficient interest to finish the entire series, I didn't see how combining those sensibilities with science fiction would craft something of relevance to me. I am a bit of an atheist. I dislike science fiction. And I don't like an overly moralistic read. Yet, The Space Trilogy remained slightly intriguing.

Then a few days ago while wandering randomly in a book-enduced haze through the Earl K. Long Library, I stumbled upon the shelf containing all of C.S. Lewis' work. Out of the Silent Planet stared at me until I picked it up. And read it this time.

I persevered through the setup of the story: the kidnapping of Dr. Ransom, the travel into space, and the plan to sacrifice him to whatever beings inhabit the planet of Malacandra. Not that these sections were boring, I just found them relatively unnecessary. Start the reader in the thick of it and catch us up, if relevant, on the past. Chapter Eight kicks the story into its higher gears as Ransom is left to travel the mysterious planet on his own. Just as Dorothy went down the yellow brick road, Ransom must endure the terrain, occasionally gaining the assistance of the hross and other forms of life that inhabit the different lands. Here, C.S. Lewis is able to inject his various philosophical ideologies. Ransom is tossed into these literally alien cultures, and forced to become one with them. I couldn't help but draw comparisons to modern examples of this story archetype, including films like The Last Samurai, Dances with Wolves, and Avatar. Humans are presented as savages in comparison to the creatures of Malacandra, all of which are initially described as monsters and brutes. What we fear most is ourselves and the outlook of the world that has been instilled in our culture; few things are as horrifying as the wrongs committed by humans against one another.

I won't ruin the journey, but Lewis is, of course, brilliant in his portrait of Ransom in this awe-inspiring land. It is great to witness him evolve, and the reader is allowed to change as well. I noticed in myself the progression from fear of the unknown to a feeling of trust in the universe, in cultures I fail to understand. The evolution of Ransom is the evolution that every educated person makes when sacrificing comfort for knowledge. Bravery is necessary to better ourselves. Man always assumes the worst of others, whether deserved or not- this fear is the weakness of our kind. Oh, and there is a lot of Jesus buried in here. I just chose to dodge that layer; like...scraping the frosting off of a piece of cake. Cake is still good without the frosting, right?

Favorite passage:
"He became vividly conscious that his knowledge of Malacandra was minute, local, parochial. It was as if a sorn had journeyed forty million miles to the Earth and spent his stay there between Worthing and Brighton." (157)

Live for the journey, even though the knowledge gained is only relative.

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Oct 17, 2011

Christopher rated it

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To start things off I have to say that I love C.S. Lewis. I loved the Screwtape Letters, I loved Mere Christianity and I have read most of the Chronicles of Narnia. But this is a bit of a head scratcher. It's not that the story is bad. Quite the opposite in fact: it is a very interesting story and shares many similarities with the classic sci-fi of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. The problem for me, and one of the problems I've always had with Lewis, is that he is too smart for his own good. There i...more

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Aug 31, 2011

Cori rated it

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It’s been a long time since I’ve picked up a book and not stopped reading until I finished. I did just that with Out of the Silent Planet, enjoying my Sunday afternoon curled up on my sofa with a glass of lemonade. It was heaven.

Other reviewers didn’t particularly like the flowing, descriptive language of Out of the Silent Planet, but it really worked for me. I think it is because Dr. Ransom is a philologist (one who studies language in written historical sources), so the strange words...more

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Aug 19, 2011

Matt Richter rated it

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Shelves: science-fiction, christian-fiction

Science fiction is certainly a suitable medium for C.S. Lewis. He is able to combine his theological, philosphical and cultural explorations with a wondrous creativity which successfully provokes readers to deeper thoughts on the matters he raises and their relevance to their life and world. This certainly isn't a case of "if you like Lewis' Narnia books you'll like his Space Trilogy (of which this is the first). I like both, but many who love Narnia would be disappointed to find that the c...more

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Jul 30, 2011

Ghoule rated it

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***English follows***

Points positifs :

1. Imagination riche.
2. Questionnements philosophiques, théologiques et environnementaux abordés du point de vue de l'homme versus la nature... et c'était avant la 2e Guerre Mondiale.
3. Éléments d'intrigue intéressants.
4. Oeuvre classique souvent citée ailleurs (Iron Maiden par exemple?)

Points négatifs :

1. Très peu d'action.
2. Description épouvantablement longues : chaque pas dans un nou...more

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Jul 23, 2011

Michael rated it

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CS Lewis once wrote a poem entitled “An Expostulation: Against Too Many Writers of Science Fiction”. In it, he complains that science fiction writers transport us light-years away, only to give us “the same old stuff we left behind...stories of crooks, spies, conspirators, or love.” He then asks why he should leave the Earth unless “outside its guarded gates, long, long desired, the Unearthly waits.” It’s easy to see his point. Most of the science fiction written during his lifetime were twi...moreCS Lewis once wrote a poem entitled “An Expostulation: Against Too Many Writers of Science Fiction”. In it, he complains that science fiction writers transport us light-years away, only to give us “the same old stuff we left behind...stories of crooks, spies, conspirators, or love.” He then asks why he should leave the Earth unless “outside its guarded gates, long, long desired, the Unearthly waits.” It’s easy to see his point. Most of the science fiction written during his lifetime were twice-told tales set on rocket ships with ray-guns instead of revolvers. Lewis was looking for something that was truly unique, something never before captured in a work of science fiction; the genuinely alien. Though I have no proof of this, it strikes me that, since he could not find anything that fit the bill, he decided to go ahead and write it himself. “Out of the Silent Planet” is the result.

Though not science fiction in the strictest sense (there is no hard science to be found in Lewis’ Space Trilogy), “Out of the Silent Planet” certainly qualifies as science fantasy, and is one of the best examples of the genre. Its protagonist is Dr. Elwin Ransom, a philologist and Cambridge professor. While alone on a hiking tour through England, Ransom is kidnapped by two men, Richard Devine and Professor Edward Weston. Weston, a physicist, has invented and built a spaceship, and together with Devine they force Ransom to join them on a trip through space to a planet they call Malacandra. During the long voyage, Ransom deduces from the conversations of the other two men that the planet to which they travel is inhabited, and that he is being taken there to be offered up as a sacrifice of some sort. Though not the typical SF hero, Ransom has no intention of being offered up without some sort of resistance, and shortly after touching down on the new planet’s surface he is able to evade his captors and effect an escape.

This is where Lewis’ imagination takes flight. Ransom encounters flora and fauna that bear no relationship whatsoever to anything Earthly. At first it is a tremendous shock; the world is so alien that Ransom literally does not know what he is looking at. He is like an infant, newborn from the womb of space. He possesses all of the faculties of a grown man, but like a baby he has no vocabulary for what he sees around him. The world is new. There is vegetation, he sees creatures that move on four legs, others that swim in the waters, but has no categories in his mind in which to hold any of them. In spite of his peril, all that he beholds is beautiful and wondrous. Lewis does an amazing job of capturing the sense of awe that Ransom feels as he learns more about the new world he has crossed space to enter.

Eventually, and quite by accident, Ransom stumbles upon an intelligent alien. Though surprised by each others appearance, they do not fly, and Ransom’s contact with sentient life on Malacandra begins. It is a meeting like few in science fiction. The two beings recognize each other as alien, but intelligent, and proceed from there. There is no malice, no suspicion, no hostility, only curiosity and hospitality. Ransom is taken in by the alien, a Hross named Hyoi, and, given that Weston and Devine are not likely to take him back to Earth, settles in for what appears to be a long stay.

His training as a philologist serves him well and it is not long before he is able to converse with the Hrossa, a water-loving race who bear a faint resemblance to giant otters. As he learns more about them, he discovers that their society is completely unlike any on Earth, which of course addresses the complaint of Lewis about SF authors. The Hrossa, and the other sentient races on Malacandra, live in a state of innocence, untouched by the fall of man. Evil does not exist there. There is no crime, no war, no injustice. The three sentient races who populate Malacandra live in peaceful, amicable co-existence. At the same time, it is not some dry, sterile, idyllic utopia. Malacandra is a rich world with a complex past and an unsettling future that its inhabitants seem to accept without fear. The more Ransom discovers about Malacandra, the more we discover how thoughtful an author Lewis was. He never violates the internal logic of his setting. The whole hangs together as neatly as if the place were real and the reader is drawn in and invited to love Malacandra as much as any reader loved Narnia or Middle-Earth.

But “Out of the Silent Planet” is far more than an alien travelogue. Sadly, Weston and Devine do not give up on finding Ransom. He is found, blood is spilled, and the innocence of Malacandra, though not spoiled, is deeply shaken. When this happens, it begins to look like Lewis will fail to achieve his goal after all and the book will turn out to be nothing more than a sermon on how civilized man corrupts the noble savage. Nothing could be further from the truth. The end of “Out of the Silent Planet” is as surprising as everything that has gone before and sets the stage for even greater delights to be found in the second book of the trilogy, “Perelandra”.

“Out of the Silent Planet” is easily one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Lewis successfully creates the appearance of a world that is not fallen. In it, he explores numerous themes that only another book could analyze fully. It is a meditation on what alien intelligences might truly be like, particularly if they are not affected by the fall of man. It is an homage to and working out of medieval cosmology and natural philosophy. It is an exploration of language and its original source. It is a critique of modern science divorced from a moral compass. And yes, given that Lewis was a devout Christian, it is a deeply spiritual work. Hopefully, that last point will not discourage any from reading “Out of the Silent Planet”. It contributes more to the excellence of the whole than can be imagined. One could no more remove Lewis’ Christianity from his work and retain its genius than Bunyan’s from “Pilgrim’s Progress” or Milton’s from “Paradise Lost”. I highly recommend it to all.
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Jun 24, 2011

Juliettey rated it

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It's interesting to note that Lewis and Tolkien were both strong environmentalists. Lewis' trilogy sets the forces of industrial 'progress' against the supporters of tradition, spirituality and kindness. Long before the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Lewis was writing against industrial abuse of the planet and lack of respect for nature.

He was well acquainted with the politicking of quangos: in particular, the final book in the Cosmic Trilogy (That Hideous Strength) i...more

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Nov 06, 2010

John Gardner rated it

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Ever since I first read The Chronicles of Narnia in third grade, I've been a huge C.S. Lewis fan. Granted, it took me a long time before I enjoyed (or understood) his more serious writing, such as Mere Christianity, but whether fiction or non, there's no arguing that Lewis was a master wordsmith.

Out of the Silent Planet is the first book of Lewis' first fiction series, the "Space Trilogy". Written in 1938, it is one of the very first books ever written in the science fiction ...more

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Oct 04, 2010

Benjamin added it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

It would be damning with faint praise to say that this is the best of Lewis's "Space Trilogy." The only people to whom I could recommend these books would be people who thought Narnia wasn't clear enough as allegory.

However, in this book I find the allegory a little less cloying than in the later books: sure, the philologist Ransom may be a Christ-figure and the scientific Weston may be diabolic, but they're... well, they're not interesting characters, but they're still not y...more

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Jun 08, 2010

David Bablitz rated it

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Marvelous book! C.S. Lewis never ceases to please the mind and imagination, and he does it again with this fantastic piece of literature. The entire book seems to grip you and pull you in. Lewis' attention to detail makes it seem as if you are actually on Malacandra, and helps you visualize an exact picture, while at the same time not being so detailed as to bore you. An excellent read! The only problem one might find is also the reason why it is so great. It is written by a genius who's mind se...moreMarvelous book! C.S. Lewis never ceases to please the mind and imagination, and he does it again with this fantastic piece of literature. The entire book seems to grip you and pull you in. Lewis' attention to detail makes it seem as if you are actually on Malacandra, and helps you visualize an exact picture, while at the same time not being so detailed as to bore you. An excellent read! The only problem one might find is also the reason why it is so great. It is written by a genius who's mind seems to go beyond mere humanity, which makes it difficult to comprehend at times. It really forces you to think about our own violence and foolishness. Are we really so close-minded. Can we dismiss our past as glorious? Compelling questions with shaking results. All in all a timeless novel that no one can go without.
Favourite Quotes:
'Weston! Weston!' he gasped. 'What is it? It's not the Moon, not that size. It can't be, can it?' 'No,' replied Weston, 'it's the Earth.' I like this quote because it's to me the point where the story really takes off. I love stuff like this. All of a sudden you're spinning off reality and everything's gone mad. Really get's the blood pumping.
"I always thought space was dark and cold" he(Ransom)remarked vaguely. "Forgotten the sun" said Weston contemptuously. I like this due to it's cleverness and wit. Funny, yet also revealing, makes you think, how much do we know and how much do we assume about space.
'Well,' said Ransom, 'you hold all the cards, and I must make the best of it. I consider your philosophy of raving lunacy. I suppose all that stuff about infinity and eternity means that you are justified in doing anything - absolutely anything - here and now, on the off chance that some creatures or other descended from man as we know him may crawl about a few centuries longer in some part of the universe.' More for the first part of the quote, but how many of us as Christians or religious fanatics believe that because we have been giving eternal life by the divine that we are somehow better than our fellow man. The Pharisees believed themselves to be the greatest and most beloved of God, much more than the beggars and prostitutes and tax collectors and so on. Yet Jesus rebukes them for this, telling them to care for others rather than scorning them. So to we must learn, if we profess to follow Christ.
Worldview of Weston:
The worldview of Weston is that of someone who believes himself and his beliefs superior to all others. He believes he has self-appointed supreme authority to do what he wants to achieve a goal he himself has set. He abducts Ransom, uses him, treats Ransom and Devine both as pests and inferiors. Has a very cold, removed demeanor. Definitely what one might call an eccentric, or a mad-scientist. Almost racist. Someone we can learn from to know that the ends don't necessarily justify the means.(less)

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May 24, 2010

Surreysmum rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 1983, fantasy-fiction

[These notes were made in 1983:]. I was going to write that I thought that the imaginativeness of this story more than made up for its submerged didacticism. But that gives an utterly false impression, for in fact, I like (and inwardly approve of) Lewis' didacticism. And this book has in common with Till We Have Faces a very nice way of creating what seems an entirely alien cosmo/mythology and gradually bringing it to our realization that it's the Christian system from another angle. What Lew...more

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Mar 08, 2010

Nicole Catherine rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: for-school

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

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Jun 07, 2009

Cora rated it

· review of another edition

I remember enjoying The Chronicles of Narnia, and when I saw Lewis's trilogy of science fiction books on the AP reading list, I had to get the first one and sample them. This is a quick little book that allows the reader to travel to Malacandra (which turns out to be Mars) and in the process to explore the human heart, relationships, and the good and evil at work in human existence. One of the strongest lines in it has to do with the folly of humanity in fearing death when it is inevitable. T...more

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Apr 12, 2009

Elizabeth Wallace rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Kathryn

Shelves: classics, sci-fi

I really enjoyed this. It wasn't an exiting book by any means, but hearing CS Lewis write about space travel in the 1940's is surprisingly wonderful. I mean, one of the main characters is looking at the trees surrounding him and the bright blue lake and the strange grass, and wondering if he might be walking on the surface of the moon, because back then everybody thought that'd be possible. It's not ignorant, it was speculative, it was scientific. Same with the actual space voyage, where the shi...more

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Nov 29, 2011

Harmonybites rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: classics, fantasy, fiction, libertarian, literary-fiction, novels, religion, science-fiction, spirituality

I've seen this listed as a classic work of science fiction, but having now read this, I find that a misnomer. This is more anti-science fiction. Published in 1938, it involves a philologist, Elwin Ransom, kidnapped by a physicist, Professor Weston and his colleague Dr Devine and transported on a spaceship to Malacandra (Mars). It struck me early on that it was antithetical to science fiction, not because the science is ludicrous--after all, this was written in 1938, but I don't think Lewis even ...moreI've seen this listed as a classic work of science fiction, but having now read this, I find that a misnomer. This is more anti-science fiction. Published in 1938, it involves a philologist, Elwin Ransom, kidnapped by a physicist, Professor Weston and his colleague Dr Devine and transported on a spaceship to Malacandra (Mars). It struck me early on that it was antithetical to science fiction, not because the science is ludicrous--after all, this was written in 1938, but I don't think Lewis even tries. The science isn't what this is all about. It's not speculative about nature, it's dogmatic. Mars and space is written to conform to Christian mythology the better to fit a very explicit Christian allegory. It's not as immediately blatant perhaps as Narnia, but note this passage from fairly early on while Ransom is on the spaceship:

He wondered how he could have ever thought of planets, even of the Earth, of islands of life and reality floating in a deadly void. Now, with a certainty which never after deserted him, he saw the planets—the "earths" he called them in his thought—as mere holes or gaps in the living heaven--excluded and rejected wastes of heavy matter and murky air, formed not by addition to, but by subtraction from, the surrounding darkness.

On Mars we're introduced to various sentient species, the Sorns, the Hross, the pfifltrigg. They're all ruled over by Oyarsa, and when we finally meet that entity, we have allusions to what is obviously the story of Satan and the Fall. In other words, this novel has a lot more in common with Dante, Milton, even Swift than Verne, Wells or Burroughs. Ransom even tells us the purpose of his book is "a change-over from the conception of Space to the conception of Heaven."

And I prefer Space. Greatly.

So, if that were all there were to it, I'd probably not rate the book so highly. But speaking of the spirit of Swift... Well, the scene where Ransom translates Weston's speech to Oyarsa, nay, the whole interview between Weston and Oyarsa, is priceless. I have mentioned this was published in 1938? Given this is the age of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, the satire of fascism has particular resonance but that scene hits out not only at that kind of totalitarianism but the idea of Kipling's "White Man's Burden" and so Anglo-American forms of imperialism as well--and does so in a way not at all dry and didactic but really quite funny. Definitely my favorite scene in the book, although even the more allegorical passages had its pleasures if only for the poetry of Lewis' prose.(less)

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Jan 08, 2011

Roger Burk rated it

· review of another edition

I picked this old favorite off the shelf one night when my mind was racing and I couldn't sleep. It was just the thing--soothing time in the company of two decent and intelligent men, Lewis and Ransom.

This is called science fiction, but it is really more like fantasy. At least, the fantasy elements of it have stood up much better than the science. I guess this is the universe Lewis wished he lived it, or maybe believed he lived in and wished it were evident to science. Here is an...more

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Aug 21, 2011

Shawn Robison rated it

· review of another edition

It's been a while since I've read this book but I remember picking it up in my junior year of high school (7 years ago) because I was into a band called Blaster the Rocketman which had a song based on the book called "Ransom Vs. The Unman". Much like Blaster the Rocketman, the author, C.S. Lewis, was a christian thinker. Unlike C.S. Lewis and Blaster the Rocketman I am not. Being a fan of Sci-Fi and Adventure I enjoyed this book overall. As I mentioned C.S. Lewis is a christian thi...more

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Nov 14, 2009

Katie rated it

· review of another edition

Science fiction is not my preferred genre, and it was only through a good measure of self-discipline that I got through the Space Trilogy. However, it was worth the effort for this quote from Perelandra if for nothing else:

"‘It is not for nothing that you are named Ransom,’ said the Voice.
…Before his Mother had born him, before his ancestors had been called Ransoms, before ransom had been the name for a payment that delivers, before the world was made, all these things ha...more

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About C.S. Lewis

Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis was an Irish writer and scholar. Lewis is known for his work on medieval literature, Christian apologetics, literary criticism, and fiction. He is best known today in secular culture for his series Chronicles of Narnia.

Lewis taught as a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford from 1925 to 1954, and later was the first Professor of Medieval and Renaissanc...more

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Books by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #2)

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #5)

The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)

Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia, #4)

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“And how could we endure to live and let time pass if we were always crying for one day or one year to come back-if we did not know that every day in a life fills the whole life with expectation and memory and that these are that day?” — 12 people liked it

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