PERELANDRA

Rating:
Summary: Second and BEST book within Lewis' "Space Trilogy"
Review: I very much enjoyed the mix of C.S. Lewis' ideas of human nature within a sci-fi purist setting. If you can only read one of the three books in this trilogy, this is the one that you should read.

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: One of my personal favorites.
Review: I was given a copy of the '76 edition as a present when I was confirmed in a Congregational church by one of the youth advisors. I'm glad she gave me it. I'll never forget the story. C. S. Lewis is "God." s/ marco capelli frucht

Rating:
Summary: Visually brilliant; ignore the Christian stuff
Review: I've read Lewis's trilogy a number of times--first when I was thirteen years old. I wasn't aware of the religious connotations at that age and enjoyed the book tremendously. I can guess that some Christians like Lewis because of his message, which is a bit forced, but I like him for the strength of his imagination, particularly evident in the first two parts of the trilogy. All that other stuff is a waste of space as far as I'm concerned, but he's a great writer and gets away with it.

Rating:
Summary: Less Sci-Fi than Christian Symbolism
Review: In C.S. Lewis' "Perelandra," a sequel to his "Out of the Silent Planet," Lewis again chronicles the adventures of philologist Dr. Elwin Ransom in an alien atmosphere. Ransom is this time transported to Venus, known to its denizens as Perelandra, to stop an all-powerful demonic apparition from world-domination with his knowledge of ethics, as opposed to physical superiority. Lewis uses much Christian symbolism in this sci-fi novel, as Perelandra's ruler is an effigy of Christ and the central antagonist an effigy of the snake in the garden of Eden. Lewis was not unfamiliar with Christian symbolism, as it abounds in all of his works, including "The Magician's Nephew," wherein the major protagonists represented Adam and Eve and the major antagonist again represented the snake in the garden of Eden. In that novel, an effigy of God himself was also supplied, as the lion Aslan created a mythic world in less then 10 minutes. Lewis focuses too much on Christian symbolism in this novel, however, as he downplays the sci-fi/adventure elements in favor of the aforementioned Christian symbolism. It degrades the novel as a whole, I think, but that is one small flaw and is easily made up for when the protagonist's journey ensues. This is a wonderful, if somewhat flawed, novel, and should not be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Even Better than the First!
Review: In Perelandra, Dr. Ransom continues his interplanetary travels, this time to Venus (Perelandra). Unlike his previous adventure, this one has him sent intentionally, on a mission. The sights and sensations that greet Ransom on Perelandra are described with the beautiful imagery characteristic of Lewis's writings. Floating across the Venetian seas on mobile islands, Ransom encounters one of the two human residents of this shrouded planet. Soon after his arrival, however, a sinister force arrives on Perelandra in the form of Weston, the scientist from the previous book. The encounters and conversations following between Weston, Ransom, and the Queen are a fascinating image of what the temptation in the Garden of Eden may have been like. Also, the discourses given in this portion of the book are deeply thought-provoking. For these reasons and for the excellent suspense, I highly recommend Perelandra.

Rating:
Summary: Sensually thrilling but a little slow
Review: In this book, Lewis stimulates the senses with his descriptions of bubble trees, floating islands, colorful skies, beautiful sounds and strange creatures. (It was a compliment to Lewis when one reader complained of being seasick after reading about the floating islands.) From the standpoint of imaginative scene painting, Lewis is at his best in PERELANDRA. His plot involves a wonderful twist on an old story: the Genesis fall of mankind. It is no coincidence that Lewis was lecturing on Milton at the same time that he was composing PERELANDRA. In fact, reading Lewis's PREFACE TO PARADISE LOST, John Milton's PARADISE LOST, and Lewis's PERELANDRA in this order forms a nice trilogy, one I recommend trying. The chief shortcoming of PERELANDRA is exactly what the reader from Eureka, CA says: the story drags in the middle. The action and forward movement of the plot are too slow for my taste. Lewis's tendancy towards repetitive writing also slows things at times, especially near the very end when he goes through several pages of "praise be he" statements. Despite these pecadillos, the book is definitely worth reading for the beauty, the intriguing plot, and for background to THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH.

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: The pitfalls of human nature
Review: In this, the second book of CS Lewis's Space Trilogy, we find Dr. Ransom off on another interplanetary adventure, this time to Venus. Instead of finding himself on an 'old' planet, like he did on Malacandra, he finds that life on Perelandra (Venus) is relatively new; in fact, the woman he meets there is still in an 'unfallen' state. In other words, she is in a state of innocence much like Eve was in the Garden of Eden.

Ransom knows he has been sent to Perelandra for a purpose, but he does not know what that purpose is. He soon finds out. Weston, his old rival and former captor, shows up on the planet. Ransom soon discovers that Weston is possessed by an evil force, and calls him the 'Unman.' He then spends all his time trying to protect the woman and keep her from 'falling,' so that the fate of the new planet will not be like Earth's.

This book continues in the allegorical style set forth in the first part of the series Out of the Silent Planet, though Perelandra takes it one step further. This book is more of a religious work than the first one, though, and the moral implications set forth in Planet are both enlarged and expanded. More than just a story of the fall, this book details the true ramifications of the battle of good and evil. It dares explore such questions as why God allows temptation in the world and why we should make our will subordinate to his.

To fans of Milton, the story will seem somewhat familiar, and undoubtedly Lewis used much of Paradise Lost as a basis for this work. The fact that he published a preface to Milton's work the same year this book was written seems hardly coincidental. Still, this book teems with freshness and a unique insight that only CS Lewis can provide. This is a classic work by the master of Christian apology.

Rating:
Summary: Floating on an ocean of bliss
Review: Lewis' Ransom trilogy (OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET, PERELANDRA and THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH) ought to be read with his THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, if only to get the "inside track" of how the possessed (or rather, dispossessed) Dr. Weston plans to handle the coming human population on the watery planet of love.

And a literal planet of love it is. Since love has its own innocence (which includes ignorance, unfortunately) it is a ripe target for the "Bent Eldil" (i.e., Satan) who has already corrupted Thulcandra (as Earth was named before the Fall).

Lewis brilliantly reinterprets traditional Christian mythology in his system of planetary trials. Malacandra (Mars) was never tempted and never fell; Earth was tempted and fell (but never had an advocate), and now Venus is being tempted --- but the Devil doesn't have a free field this time. The innocent Queen of Perelandra at least gets to listen to Ransom's arguments against the nature of evil.

Another of Lewis' strengths is that he "de-romanticizes" evil, making it an unpleasant, unintelligent malignance bloating itself on sheer nastiness (Ransom following the trail of flayed-but-living Venusian frogs to the possessed shell of Weston is quite chilling). It is an unforgettably repellant portrait of the Devil and his kin.

All of Lewis' re-imaginings of medieval superstition are equally brilliant and coherent, and they almost distract the reader from the sheer loveliness of the new world and its inventive life-forms. Think of the charm of VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER translated into adult terms, and you'll get the idea.

It seems to me that Lewis might have based the central idea of this book on "The Tale of the Indian" in Maturin's MELMOTH THE WANDERER. If he did, he took the idea to a new level and embedded it in a story where it achieves much better expression.

Some critics have complained about Lewis' "proseletyzing", but really it is a minor picky point. As an unbeliever myself, I don't find it offensive, nor is it excessively apparent. Lewis puts it as a matter of common sense ("avoid nastiness") and mostly lets it go at that.

Lewis does have his weaknesses as a writer (who doesn't?) but they are mostly invisible in this novel. The only (minor) flaw is the "Carnival of the Animals" finale, which admittedly is a bit much. But after all the great stuff that came before it, who cares about such a minor quibble?