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Out of the Silent Planet
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April BofM 2024: Pre-1940, Proto and Pulp Eras, "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis
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rated it 4 stars
Mar 07, 2024 09:57AM
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It’s been a long time I read it when I was fifteen or sixteen. It’s an interesting on several fronts, for it has some theological extrapolations on alien contact. The second is a bit allegorical despite what CS Lewis’ disclaimer says. It’s been said that Ransom is modeled on Tolkien. Weston is supposedly caricatured on H.G. Wells. Arthur C. Clarke had a problem with Weston. AndLewis had a problem with space travel. With technical aspects of science, he admitted he’s no scientist. Still, the problem with alien contact, he fears we humans might bring sin to their world. Personally, that’s debatable.
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I'll be rereading this starting in a few days.
I really enjoyed Out of the Silent Planet. As an atheist I don't agree with Lewis' concerns about the secularisation of society and the need for a return to the religious light, but rather see this as a battle between the good and bad elements of human kind. As such, it did resonate, and I felt the inevitable dark moments with the expected sadness / anger.Stylistically, it is a naive, relatively science free tale in the vein of Wells The First Men on the Moon (which Lewis apparently read as a child) or Burroughs John Carter series. Lewis claims it was motivated by Stapledon's First and Last Men. For me, the style is part of the charm, and a nice break from some of the more challenging material I have been consuming lately.
Reading a few reviews about the book I've recognised that part of the resonance for me is the theme that human beings are flawed, and therefore any attempt to move into space will ultimately cause more harm than good. It's an interesting counter point to some of the more optimistic writers of his generation.
To save money I bought The Space Trilogy in a one volume edition, so its onto Perelandra next.
Did not read anything by the author yet, started it and until now am most impressed by the way Ransom easily accepted the fact that he was taken into space to an unknown planet. And after arriving there, making the best of it :-). Of course the air is breathable. Waiting for the religious things to turn up.
I first read Out of the Silent Planet in the late 1950s or early 1960s, and I remember the 35-cent Avon cover with the V-2-style rocket. I remember feeling I had been subject to a bait and switch--a term I did not know. Even worse was the retitled The Tortured Planet with an exploding Earth.
I've started the novel (in a translation) like 20 years ago, but back then thought it too dull, so DNFed. However, this was a rare SFF my mom read - at that moment she went through every translated Lewis book as her spiritual self-education.
I read it a few years back and it was okay, typical early twentieth century sci-fi. It reminded me of H.G. Wells' First men in the Moon.It wasn't compelling enough to make me want to continue the trilogy.
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I thought it was similar in some ways to HG Wells works, with a first person experience with a writer recording it. And Ransom, the MC, even mentions one of Well's characters!
As others have noted, it's very light on the science aspects. It is more an exploration of a fantastical place.
Ransom does have some perspective on what humans are like (only from experience) but has a nicely curious and optimistic view of the inhabitants of Malacandra. I enjoyed his wonder at the marvels of the planet and the different creatures he encounters. It was very interesting!
Since all three books were nominated for Retro Hugos, I'll try to join in. I read the first two a few years ago but I recall nothing of it. Must not have made a big impression on me.
I’m glad to have reread this, for the first time in decades. It’s better than I expected. I particularly liked the examination/trial of Weston by Oyarsa, in which Lewis mocks the idea of unlimited expansion of human beings into space, among other things.
My review (as a comment): It read as a novel stuck in his own time and place: The characters, the writing style and the themes were quaint. Was he still writing to children? Maybe teenagers, as that is the way it seemed rendered. The baddies (bent) were serious baddies, the goodies (plenty of them on ‘mars’) and very average Ransome (the ‘hero’?). The book reminded me of those 50’s sci-fi book covers - extravagant. As expected with Lewis, there is a moral theme running through the story, but it is so bland, it is easily dismissed as sloppy generalities. John Wyndham was writing SF is the same period and location, and (to me), did it WAY better. His ideas were very diverse. He didn’t ‘speak down’ to his readers. His ‘philosophical perspectives’ were subtle but profound.
Lee wrote: "John Wyndham was writing SF is the same period and location, and (to me), did it WAY better. His ideas were very diverse. He didn’t ‘speak down’ to his readers. His ‘philosophical perspectives’ were subtle but profound.."
Yes, recently started a collection of his stories and they are good. His novels are also strong
Lee wrote: "My review (as a comment): It read as a novel stuck in his own time and place: The characters, the writing style and the themes were quaint. Was he still writing to children? Maybe teenagers, as tha..."I'm not fan of Lewis and tried to read him a couple of times but never liked his style or overt message enough to finish anything. I was interested in you Wyndham comment since Wyndham wasn't really writing anything critically important in the late 30' s with Stowaway to Mars from 1936 having many of the flaws but without the religious messaging that Silent Planet has. Wyndham blossomed in 1951 producing many great novels in the 1950's. There wasn't much in the way of actual SF novels in the late 1930's with the majority being adventure stories by authors like ERB. Stories by other authors like E. E. Smith were still appearing as magazine serials and wouldn't have them appear as novels until years later. BUT this brings me to an English contemporary author of Lewis who was writing exceptional novels during these early years of SF, the great Olaf Stapledon.
Jim wrote: "the great Olaf Stapledon."Yeah, the number of ideas in Last and First Men or in Star Maker is enough for a hundred books
Along with Stapledon and Wells, Lewis was apparently influenced by A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay.
Yes, John Wyndham’s novels started in 1951, so later than the 1938 ‘Out of the Silent Planet’. WW2 in between may have had a significant influence on Wyndham as many of his works are post apocalyptic.
I asked Copilot to compare C.S. Lewis with John Wyndham: The result was informative-“Let's explore the distinct styles and themes of C.S. Lewis and John Wyndham:
1. **C.S. Lewis**:
- **Genre**: Lewis was a versatile writer, but his science fiction works are particularly notable.
- **Theology and Imagination**: Lewis infused his science fiction with theological and philosophical themes. His Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength) combines cosmic exploration, supernatural encounters, and Christian allegory. These books explore other planets, interplanetary beings, and the battle between good and evil.
- **World-Building**: Lewis created vivid and imaginative worlds, such as Mars (Malacandra) and Venus (Perelandra), where the boundaries between science, spirituality, and morality blur.
- **Influence**: His inspiration came from Olaf Stapledon and J.B.S. Haldane, blending scientific ideas with spiritual insights.
- **Legacy**: Lewis's Space Trilogy remains a unique blend of adventure, theology, and cosmic wonder.
2. **John Wyndham**:
- **Post-Apocalyptic Realism**: Wyndham's works often explore post-apocalyptic scenarios with a focus on human survival. His novel *The Day of the Triffids* stands out.
- **Eerie and Plausible**: Wyndham's writing is characterized by eerie realism. His portrayal of the Triffids—a deadly, mobile plant species—captures readers' imaginations.
- **Social Commentary**: Wyndham subtly critiques society through his speculative fiction. Themes like environmental catastrophe, bioengineering, and human vulnerability are woven into his narratives.
- **Accessible Style**: His prose is straightforward and accessible, making his stories relatable to a wide audience.
- **Legacy**: Wyndham's impact on science fiction lies in his ability to blend the ordinary with the extraordinary, creating cautionary tales that resonate.
In summary, while Lewis's Space Trilogy takes readers on cosmic adventures with theological undertones, Wyndham's works ground us in a world where the familiar collides with the unexpected. Both authors contribute significantly to the rich tapestry of science fiction literature, each leaving an indelible mark in their own way “.
Lee wrote: "Yes, John Wyndham’s novels started in 1951, so later than the 1938 ‘Out of the Silent Planet’. WW2 in between may have had a significant influence on Wyndham as many of his works are post apocalyptic."Like most SF writers back then the big market was short stories for the many SF magazines. Wyndham wrote a lot of short stories beginning in 1931 and I don't remember reading any of the early ones the titles do have a pulp fiction feel to them ("Invisible Monster", "Moon Devil"). There seems to be a gap in his writing between 1941 and 1949 with only one story published in 1946. He continued to write short stories along with his novels after 1949 and the quality of the short stories seems to have improved greatly along with his novels.
Jim wrote: "Lee wrote: "There seems to be a gap in his writing between 1941 and 1949 with only one story published in 1946..."There was probably a gap in a lot of people's writing during that period. Apparently Wyndham worked as a censor for the Ministry of Information before joining the British Army, where he took part in the Normandy landings.
It's not surprising that he returned to writing with a distinctly post-apocalyptic feel.
Wyndham he is one of my favourite authors. Day of the Triffids is probably the only book I read as a child that stuck in my mind. It's a shame he didn't write more. Maybe it's time to start looking out for his lesser known material, but I loved his big four: The Kraken Wakes, The Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos.
I did not love Perelandra (which was tedious and self indulgent in my opinion), and am now wondering if I have the stamina to take on The Hideous Strength.
Oleksandr wrote: Yes, recently started a collection of his stories and they are good. His novels are also strongreply | flag
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Can you tell me the name of the collection? I would like to add it to my list
Andrew wrote: "Jim wrote: "Lee wrote: "There seems to be a gap in his writing between 1941 and 1949 with only one story published in 1946..."There was probably a gap in a lot of people's writing during that per..."
For some reason I assumed that Wyndham would have been too old for military service during WW 2 but I was wrong. He would have been 36 when the war started and almost 41 during the Normandy landings. That's a good point about the impact of WW2 on his writing.
Rosemarie wrote: "I've read The Seeds of Time, but there are more."That looked interesting so I got a kindle copy to read in the near future. There was only one pre-war story - "Meteor" from 1941. The rest were written between 1949 and 1955. I don't remember reading any short stories by Wyndham although i may have many, many years ago.
Andrew wrote: "Can you tell me the name of the collection? I would like to add it to my list"it isn't in GR at the moment, The Essential John Wyndham
ISBN: 978-1-989999-16-5
The 2nd volume, More of The Essential John Wyndham: The Pulp Fiction Collection is present
I recently discovered that CS Lewis described Star Maker as "sheer devil-worship" in a private letter to Arthur C Clarke in 1943. Lewis was strongly Christian at this point, having been converted by his close friend JRR Tolkien. Tolkien separately mentioned in a letter to someone named John Bush that he disliked Frank Herbert's novel Dune "with some intensity", but did elaborate on why.I haven't fully comprehended yet what Lewis and Tolkien have against those books - both of which have stood the test of time - but it's definitely something to do with their faith. They both devoutly believed in absolute notions of good and evil, a loving creator, and the importance of myths, and these were present in all their works. On the other hand Star Maker and Dune are somewhat nihilistic, or at least morally relative. That much sort of makes sense to me. What I don't get is why Lewis and Tolkien refuse to even countenance the idea that fiction can be good if it runs counter to your ideology. Perhaps this level of understanding is impossible between atheists and strong theists.
Anyway, that's just something I've been exploring for myself recently, and thought it may be of relevance to the discussion here.
I read The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams by Philip Zaleski & Carol Zaleski a couple of years ago. Here is a quote from the discussion of Out of the Silent Planet:“… he had been convinced, by reading David Lindsay’s A Voyage to Arcturus, that the planetary romance could be a vehicle for profound “spiritual adventures”. He thought he could use this form to counter the materialistic picture of the universe that dominated popular science writing. As an adolescent, Lewis had pored over the scientific potboilers of the Victorian astronomer Sir Robert Stawell Ball, in which the universe was depicted as a vast wasteland where humans are of vanishingly little account. More recently, he had found in Olaf Stapledon’s Last and First Men (1930) and in the essays of the geneticist J.B.S. Haldane (Possible Worlds, 1927) an admirable speculative power allied to chilling schemes of interplanetary colonization, moral and genetic reprogramming, material advancement, and limitless life extension. He had been dismayed to discover that, for some of his own students, such utopian fantasies had supplanted both Christian realism and Christian hope. Lewis hoped, in this novel, to present an appealing imaginative alternative.”
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I can see that. Star Maker talks of a being who is, or is very much like, a god, but this god does not care at all about humans or life in general. The standard Christian view is that god created everything specifically for humans.
I'm at chapter 13. I haven't yet seen anything really religious here. But he does present the scientist character as pretty evil, willing to sacrifice other peoples lives for his own benefit.
For all my negativity with the way C.S. Lewis appears to ‘talk down’ to the reader, he doesn’t dump Christianity on you in the way that Tim La Haye tends to in his ‘SF’ novels. It is also a credit to C.S. Lewis that he was “thoroughly bowled over” by Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End (one of my favourite classics). I didn’t think he would be amused, but he was. See https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2015/06/....
Ransom is presented in a low-key way as a religious man. He prays, and performs his devotions every day.
I've also just finished chapter 13. Ransom has his first encounter with an Eldil.
Ed wrote: I can see that. Star Maker talks of a being who is, or is very much like, a god, but this god d..."Yes, I agree it is something to do with this. The word "devil" threw me for a long time because the "god" in Star Maker is surely not "evil" by the same token as for which it is not "good". But I think materialism and unfettered human advancement was its own kind of evil for CS Lewis. He could not conceive of spiritualism without absolute love and interpreted such imaginings as evil.
Lee wrote: "See https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2015/06/...."
Thanks for the link! I'm amused by Lewis' misspelling "Stapleton". Funnily enough he also misnames Star Maker as "Star Gazer" in his letter to Arthur C Clarke. Part of me wants to make an unfair joke about theism vs attention to detail, but I won't go there.
Interesting facts brought up here. The book in itself, although it read very pleasantly considering the age, did not do much for me. Maybe it was not in the first place meant to be an exciting adventure.
I like the way Ransom's thoughts about "aliens" evolve during the course of the book. When he first lands on Mars he has visions of meeting horrible monsters and ogres, but that changes.It's handy that he's a philologist and understands how languages work. I'm a bit of a language geek, so I enjoyed the section where he was learning the language.
"I asked Copilot to compare C.S. Lewis with John Wyndham: The result was informative- “Let's explore the distinct styles and themes of C.S. Lewis and John Wyndham: I think Wyndham's writing feels much more Cold War. I read Triffids and Midwich Cuckoos, and both were very iconic invasion stories (a la Body Snatchers, etc). It's clear that Wyndham was the cultural refining of the Wells "War of the Worlds" trope. He also isn't as fantasy-tinged as Lewis is. I normally like CS Lewis because his writing has a light, feel-good quality to it, even when bad things are happening. Lewis reads as optimistic, where Wyndham reads more pessimistic.
However, I found OooSP to be flat, more of fantasy science than true science-fiction. It felt like Lewis wasn't used to thinking through consequences of the world he was building, and was trying to speed toward his overarcing point. He also speeds through minor but crucial details like how the spaceship works, or how the food on the planet is edible to humans, or how Ransom even begins to parse the alien languages.
For a philologist like Lewis, I would've expected more careful consideration of how one reasonably learns a foreign language, let alone a xeno-language. Stories like "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell and "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang were more thoughtful on the language aspect of the scenario.
On the topic of Lewis's allegorical 'point', in hindsight I find it amusingly ironic that Earth is the 'silent planet' in question. We know now that all other planets are silent, inhospitable worlds. In reality, the only planet that isn't silent is Earth. Of course, OooSP is an allegory about spirituality and diverse community, and how Earth has killed its own living spirit (its spirituality). Recently I've read sci-fi novels that suppose that Earth is the only living body in space worth protecting in the long run (Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson delves into this topic).
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While I read it, I was reminded of Gulliver's Travels, especially the second section, because of the large creatures, similar diet, and ease of communicating.
And "Silent Planet" is clearly an allegory!
It is a fluid narrative from a storyteller who speaks in a non-committal way in detailing technical terms. How is it possible for three people to travel in a spartan ship, without any internal protection or clothing suitable for changes in the environment? This reminded me of The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.But if we take a Philologist and leave him on a planet inhabited by strange but peaceful aliens, what could happen in the end? It is a light read and there are some missing technical points that could enrich the reading. I will continue reading the trilogy.
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Yep. The late 19th and early 20th century saw lots of people thinking that through science and communication humans could overcome the problems of the past and build perfect societies full of peace, freedom and cooperation and free from superstitions and religions. (And some societies gave it a try.) Lewis in this book is saying that humans can't do that. Only a higher power could get humans (or intelligent aliens) to live in harmony. That is what appears to me to be the main theme.
Lewis knew and made reference to several of HG Wells stories of "time and space". He doesn't directly mention Wells Utopian books like A Modern Utopia, Men Like Gods or The Shape of Things to Come, which took the opposite view, but he must have known of them.
By the time "Out of the Silent Planet" was written, even Wells had changed his mind and had already published much more pessimistic works like The Undying Fire (1919), a re-imagination of the book of "Job". Again, I wonder whether Lewis ever said anything about that book.
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Me, too. It was a fairly simplistic exploration of the topic -- and as Beth said, other authors have gone in more depth -- but there are plenty of SF stories that just ignore the language problem entirely. (Which is fine. Some authors ignore how language works, and Lewis ignores how spaceships work. Different stories are trying different things.)
I was at first very skeptical of the idea that multiple intelligent species on a planet would speak the same language, and that that language would follow principles similar to human languages. (And even more specifically, Indo-European languages.) Even the fact that multiple intelligent species would not kill each other off feels unlikely. But Lewis did give an answer to both of these issues. The different species did have more than one language; they simply used a common language to communicate with each other. And they got along together because they all were in contact with the same higher power who was guiding them.
My edition of this book has an interesting language quirk. Every time a word should be followed by either an apostrophe or a single quote mark, it is replaced by a double quote mark. For instance, if Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a son, he would be called the Smiths" son, not the Smiths' son. This wasn't a random occasional error, but was very systematic, and didn't affect apostrophes inside words like doesn't. I am easily distracted by little details like this, so it took me out of the story.
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There are many better SF stories now, but the description of Ransom's adventures were interesting enough to keep me entertained. I might even read book 2.
The story of the rebellion of Thulcandra’s (Earth’s) “bent” Oyarsa is pretty clearly a version of the rebellion against God led by Lucifer, described in Milton’s Paradise Lost.
I thought that might be the case, Stephen.
I finished yesterday, finally. I have a lot of thoughts that I'm going to dump out here, although I think most of them have been covered by others. I didn't care much for this one. That isn't too much of a surprise. I am (slowly) plugging through the Narnia series, which is Fantasy written for children and even so Lewis' Christian themes get heavy-handed there. I was hoping this would be a little different but it's not. More on the Christian themes in a minute.
Planetary Romances are not my favorite subgenre of Science-Fiction. I'm bored by the Barsoom books which this reminded me of (in content, if not in flavor). When it comes right down to it I don't really enjoy a lot of pre-WWII Science Fiction. I say that only because this novel is no exception, so take that for what it's worth. If you do enjoy Planetary Romances and pre-WWII Sci-Fi you might like this one a lot more than I did.
Lewis' prose is impeccable, but also boring - I'm willing to admit my lack of interest in the material probably colors my judgment here. Like Beth pointed out a few posts above this one, there's more "Science Fantasy" here than "Science Fiction" although that's not the entire problem for me. Lewis could explain the rocket's inner workings or the language-learning and it wouldn't change the basic premise of the novel, which is simply that humans have turned away from God and are corrupt, whereas those beings who have not turned away from God live gentle peaceful lives in harmony with nature and each other.
Ed wrote: "...The late 19th and early 20th century saw lots of people thinking that through science and communication humans could overcome the problems of the past and build perfect societies full of peace, freedom and cooperation and free from superstitions and religions. (And some societies gave it a try.) Lewis in this book is saying that humans can't do that. Only a higher power could get humans (or intelligent aliens) to live in harmony. ..."
I really like this thought, Ed, but I would change one word. "Can't" I would replace with "won't." I think Lewis is not arguing that humans can't progress to a utopian ideal, but rather than we won't do so because we have strayed so far from philosophical and/or moral ideals. He'll get no argument from me there.
Another book I'm reading now is a history book - Crazy Horse and Custer by Stephen E. Ambrose - which dovetails neatly with this idea. Ambrose could be accused of taking the European side in the wars between the Native Americans and the European Settlers, but he actually tries to be even-handed (somewhat) and portray the conflicts as the inevitable result of two diametrically-opposed cultures colliding with each other. It wouldn't be too hard to reimagine the conflict played out with humans and the denizens of Lewis' Mars.
Andrew wrote: "...I did not love Perelandra (which was tedious and self indulgent in my opinion), and am now wondering if I have the stamina to take on The Hideous Strength...."
I suspected this would be the case from the reviews I've read. Andrew, I did especially enjoy reading your thoughts on Out of the Silent Planet as I always do in our group read discussions, even though this time I think we feel differently about the book.
So, bottom line, I gave it two stars. I had an omnibus collection of the trilogy but I'm not going to bother reading the rest.
The Evolution of Science Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
Crazy Horse and Custer (other topics)A Modern Utopia (other topics)
Men Like Gods (other topics)
The Shape of Things to Come (other topics)
The Undying Fire (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Stephen E. Ambrose (other topics)Philip Zaleski (other topics)
David Lindsay (other topics)
