Out of the Silent Planet/ Perelandria/ That Hideous Strength (C. S. Lewis Space Trilogy, All Three volumes)

My husband and I have both thoroughly enjoyed this series, which has aged remarkably well. Though I am not a fan of science fiction, these intrigued me from the first page and felt very different to Wells, Verne, &c. Lewis' own description of "planetary romances" is more accurate. Excellent world-building, with thought-provoking and poignant writing. Each book is different in its tone and drama, which is refreshing. I'm not sure why these aren't better known, because it would certainly be deserved!

I love anything to do with space so naturally when I found out C.S.Lewis had written a trilogy I bought and read all three. I recently wrote a song with my band Red Umbrella loosely based on the first book 'Out of the Silent Planet'. The song begins as our hero Ransom has been drugged and stowed on a spacecraft to who knows where... [...]

With lots of attention on Tolkien's work, and a film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on the way, hopefully more people will discover this wonderful trilogy. This is C.S. Lewis' fictional series for adults. I find some of his nonfiction apologetic writing to be a bit 'stuffy' (minus the brutal realism of "A Grief Observed"), but his fictional works are fun and fantastic.The Cosmic (or Space) Trilogy follows the heroic Dr. Ransom on his adventures. He's something of an unlikely hero... heck, he's an Oxford scholar. The first bit of Out of the Silent Planet, the first installment, is a bit slow, but once you exit the Earth's atmosphere it really picks up. OOTSP follows Ransom on a voyage to Mars. Lewis' interpretation of space flight is quite interesting, too. On Mars (I believe called "Malacandra") he encounters three species. To be honest, I don't remember many of the details of the plot, but rest assured, it's good.Perelandra takes him to Venus, to a world that has not fallen into a state of sin. It's a sort of extended meditation on sin and the fall. Lewis' depiction of Ransom's arch nemesis, when 'possessed' (I forget his name) is chilling.That Hideous Strength takes the battle between good and evil to Earth. Again, it starts off a bit slow. Instead of one Oxford scholar, you have a whole bunch. Parts of it reminds me of Hume's "Dialogues..." actually. Oh yeah, there's a bear too. Ransom has become a very wise and powerful man, and the story revolves around their quest to get the ancient magician Merlin on their side to fight the forces of evil.Those who like fantasy literature should definitely give this series a chance. Also, check into "The Dark Tower," an unfinished story that (I believe) was written after Out of the Silent Planet, featuring some of the same characters. The fancy Oxford guys uncover a parallel universe, and chaos ensues. There's actually some interesting sexual imagery one wouldn't expect from Lewis.