Rating: 
Summary: Stick with the original
Review: 'Out of the Silent Planet' is excellent, and the only decent book in the trilogy. It stands alone, so don't feel the need to read the other two books. 'Perelandra' is bad, and 'That Hideous Strength' is worse.
Rating:
Summary: Stick with the original
Review: 'Out of the Silent Planet' is excellent, and the only decent book in the trilogy. It stands alone, so don't feel the need to read the other two books. 'Perelandra' is bad, and 'That Hideous Strength' is worse.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantasy/Sci-Fi with a higher message
Review: C. S. Lewis is one of those few writers whose works will be read, studied, and enjoyed 100, 200, 500 years after his death. He is both a fantastic story-teller and a brilliant philosopher--thus, his works deal with both the mundane and the sublime, often at the same time. Perelandra is a good example of Lewis's ability to tell a good story while getting a higher point across. The second installment in his celebrated Space Trilogy (make sure you read "Out of the Silent Planet" first) finds his hero, Ransom, swept away from Earth again on a mysterious mission to the planet Perelandra. Without giving too much of the story away, Ransom finds himself given the seemingly impossible task of preventing evil from Earth from polluting the pristine, unearthly paradise of Perelandra. To carry out this mission, Ransom finds himself grappling, both intellectually and physically, with a force of pure evil. Let the reader beware: Perelandra is written in a more archaic style than we are used to today, and thus may be a difficult read for someone with a short-attention span. For a reader with an expansive imagination and a patient love for detailed descriptive writing, the book is a treasure and will be highly enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: Voyage to Venus - or is it Paradise before the Fall?
Review: I refer to the Pan Book published in 1963 under the title 'Voyage to Venus'. The visual experience so richly experienced by readers of 'Out of the Silent Planet' is even exceeded here. Although it is less varied, it is more magical and evocative. The story itself contains much philosophy and religion much of which I am uncomfortable with, unsure of, or confused by. I am left with too many questions, and there are too many alternate paths for the story which are not excluded by its own inner logic. We all know the first few bars of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. It is unthinkable that it could have been an ascending phrase rather than a descending one. The inner logic of the symphony demands it to be the way Beethoven wrote it. With 'Perelandra' this is not so for me. The story could have gone in different directions and at the end I am unconvinced by the direction C S Lewis did take it. But, having said that, it is a wonderful vision that has remained strongly with me since I first read the book while I was at High School and was great to renew (and the rediscovery of 'Out of the Silent Planet' at High School when I had read it even earlier in my life was similar) .
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I very rarely write reviews but this deserved one. I read this about 20 years ago and enjoyed it then. Now it's quite fascinating as well. In fact, chapter 9 is one of the creepiest, most disturbing works on evil I have ever read. The face of evil that he portrays is even more disturbing that the corporate structure if Evil he brought forth in "The Screwtape Letters."
(I am also aware that the fact that I'm reading it during the Halloween season could have influenced my reaction...still, it made my skin crawl!)
His writing style can get tough to read but, if the reader makes an effort, many layers can be seen. In fact, I see many parallels to the treatment of Native Americans and the Aboriginals of Australia by colonialism. Or course, that could just be me.
Rating:
Summary: Garden Of Eden, Take II
Review: In this installment of the Space Trilogy, we see the central character, Ransom, sent to the planet Perelandra by the eldila. Whereas "Out of the Silent Planet" relates the story of Ransom's self-discovery, "Perelandra" is the story of Ransom discovering his purpose for being sent to Perelandra. Perelandra is a young planet, and Ransom finds himself in the middle of an innocent world with only two humans. It is a wonderful tale of how this version of the Garden of Eden unfolds. There is a good balance of action and adventure with reason and beauty.
The only knock I have against the story is in how it is organized. The beginning is in chapter 1 while the end is in chapter 2. The remainder of the book gives the detailed account of what happened in chapter 2. I found this somewhat odd, and it takes some of the tension/suspense out of the story because you already know how it ends.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story
Review: Perelandra is a fine Christian allegory of the Garden of Eden, in particular Eve. I recommend that you set aside some quiet time to read this book, as it is a hard one to read with a lot of distractions around you, but great if you can take your time and focus on the imagery and beauty of the planet, inhabitants, and story. This is one of those books that can read a few times and understood differently each time.
Rating:
Summary: Perelandra (A New Beginning).
Review: Perelandra is a magnificently documented and narrated story of the beginnings of the new world. The descriptions of the surroundings around the entire planet made me feel as if I were really walking on the islands myself. The book expresses the unbelievable beauty and peace God gave to man, and the horror brought to earth by Satan when he tempted Eve. Now Ransom has been placed with the task of stopping it from happening again to the young inhabitants of Perelandra. The book flys by very fast (I read the last 120 pages in 4 hours). Lewis' talent to mix biblical events into a fictional tale shine through once again. Recommend this to all your friends! Check my other reveiws for great Christian CDs, Books, movies, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Eden as it should have been: Lewis' descriptive mastery
Review: Perelandra is quite the most hauntingly beautiful book this reviewer has ever read. From the moment Ransom, the principal character, enters Venus, we are treated to descriptive passages that have the ability to place in your mind an unforgettably beautiful world. Lewis' sweeping prose creates a remarkable vision of an Eden that knows no pain, and the book as a whole leaves the reader with a deep sense of joy and an appreciation of the loveliness of human life. Lewis is quite deliberately retelling the Christian story of temptation, and the theology espoused in the arguments between Ransom and the devil's advocate, Weston, watched with some confusion by Venus' "Eve", show a deep and profound grasp of the methods of evil, and the twisting, roundabout attempts to persuade her to disobey God. Within this story, Lewis disputes and gives an answer to the still prevalent assumptions of much of science fiction - that man must survive at all costs and extend his seed to the ends of the universe. The physical fight with Weston, told around more stunning descriptions of the natural beauty of Venus, suggest that evil is not all-powerful, and Ransom himself recognises the smallness of his actions against the great dance of life, which is the theme of the fast, moving conclusion to the work. Of the three novels that make up this sequence, Perelandra is by far the most thought-provoking, lucid, beautiful and complete. Lewis himself felt that this stand-alone novel was one of his best, and this reviewer encourages anyone who wishes to sample his adult fiction to get this book.
Rating:
Summary: Fun AND allergorical
Review: That wacky C.S. Lewis, thinking he can stick Christian ideals and
beliefs into a science-fictional setting. What gall. You know what
the funny part is? It actually works, which is something of an
accomplishment in itself. Y'see, this story continues from the last
book (Out of the Silent Planet) where Dr Ransom is sent to
"Perelandra" (Venus) where he finds a fantastic unspoiled
paradise populated by strange and quite friendly animals . . . and a
single green woman who seems rather innocent of the world (psst
. . . think "Eve"). No sooner do they get to chatting then
someone shows up who might just be the agent of the Devil, trying to
tempt "Eve" into disobeying "God" (not called God
but you get the idea) and Ransom has to figure out how to put a stop
to someone who is not only smarter, older and has lots more experience
at this, but managed to do it right once before. Arguments ensue.
People who have read Lewis have complained to me that he tends to
"preach" a bit too much, and I can see from this novel where
people get that idea from. But really it isn't that much of a
problem, for every couple pages of theological argument (cloaked in SF
terms, really) he slathers the page full of absolutely beautiful
descriptions of the planet, you can get lost sorting through all of
them. He really thought this place out and while it's nowhere near
the "real" Venus, my first rule of writing is chuck science
if it gets in the way of a good story. And in the end you have a good
story, it's good versus evil in the classic sense, yes, it's from a
"Christian" perspective but it mostly boils down to
"Devil=bad". There's plenty of other stuff to recommend as
well, the fight between Ransom and the Devil's advocate (couldn't
resist . . . sorry) is one of the most brutal fights I've ever seen in
a old style SF novel and Lewis manages to contrast the sheer brutality
of the fight with the beauty and splendor of the planet around them.
By the end it gets a bit on the metaphysical end of things, but all in
all an entertaining romp. Be prepared if you read the first book and
were expecting more of the same, this is a different tone entirely,
more philosophical and searching and definitely more than just a
science fictional retelling of the Garden of Eden story.
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