Rating: 
Summary: "Wow!"
Review: "Out of the Silent Planet" is a stunnigly captive and imaginative tale. C.S. Lewis, the mastermind behind many great books, really struck it in with this one. He tells of a curiously smart character named Ransom, and is survival on the foreign planet Malacandra. 3 co-existing species, living in what is described as a beautiful, lucious, paradise, really add to the splendor of the book. Having first been published in 1943, this book still draws you in with its philosophical and suspenseful storyline. I reccommend this great piece of literature to any and to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Theology... in the world beyond!
Review: This is the great lay-theologian's foray into sci-fi, first published in 1938. I mention that date, because this book does not resemble much current "science fiction." It's definitely fiction... but not very scientific. For instance, Lewis avoids explaining any technical problems in how these characters actually leave Earth's atmosphere (or return). What is the source of propulsion? Nowadays, a 7-year-old reader would get bogged down in the first few pages, realizing that everyone would be burnt to a crisp in the homemade space-contraption Lewis blithely hurtles them off in.
That being said... the book is still a gem.
It begins with Dr. Elwin Ransom (a middle-aged Philologist from Cambridge University) being kidnapped by two men, Dick Devine and Dr. Weston, the latter being a mad physicist who wants to extend humanity to other planets. At first, Ransom is excited with this journey to Malacandra (Mars)... until he overhears that he is going to be offered as a sacrifice to the space-creatures called "sorns." Devine and Weston have been to Malacandra before, and have convinced themselves that a human sacrifice is recquired by the sorns, in return for the right to exploit the planet's gold deposits.
Upon arrival, Ransom escapes... beginning a conflict that lasts the length of the book and extends to its sequel "Perelandra."In this colorful novel, Lewis explores many DEEP themes... the primary one being that, if there is life on another planet, there is no need for us to assume that it is in a "fallen" state, or filled with wickedness, or in need of redemption, as our own is. If we reached other planets we might find a race which was, like us, rational but, unlike us, innocent - having no wars nor any other wickedness among them. If this were so, we would have much to learn from such creatures, and have nothing to teach them. But, because of our own "bentness" we would probably find some reason for exterminating them.
This is what happens here in Out Of The Silent Planet. Lewis was inspired to write this book after finding that many of his own students held to beliefs in interplanetary colonization and the scientific hope of defeating physical death. Out Of The Silent Planet is an attack on the belief that the supreme moral end of mankind is the perpetuation of our own species. The book is so rich in invention, so broad in scope, so sensuously perceptive in descriptive detail that, after reading it, it's difficult to view the Cosmos through any but Lewis' eyes. Seriously, after my first reading, I walked outside and looked up into the night sky and wondered... "What if?"
Rating:
Summary: Pale jewel of thought
Review: Its an allegory with a smidgen of sci-fi ("speculative" fiction), but Out of the Silent Planet is surprisingly a deftly written and enjoyable tale. Though it may be a Christian discourse, I found the themes of the "bentness" of human nature and the propensity for xenophobia to be more philosophical. Some people may like to point out the implausibility of three intelligent co-existing species on one planet, or the flimsy science, but this book is so much more than mere cold hard science & logic, as was displayed through the character of Weston. The calculating physicist defends humanity's viral nature as only the result of the "survival of the fittest" and humans will take over Malacandra with our superior technology and war. Conversely, the Malacandrians take the "live and let die" attitude. They think the human fear of death, desire for limitless wealth, and abhorrence to monogamy to be pointless (hmm... must be Buddhists) which brings Ransom to the conclusion that perhaps we are the morally inferior species. That is why humans have come "out of the silent planet" as, unlike Malacandra, its moral ruler has fallen and has no voice in the heavens (space for the ahtiests, heh) The diction was pretty smooth, not all the authoritarian British style I was expecting. The pace was suspenseful - easily done on a strange planet with unknown friends and terrors around ever corner. Out of the Silent Planet has suspense, a tightly woven plot, characters with real conflict - everything that makes a strong, compelling book. It only needs more! So, read the whole series.
Rating: 
Summary: Good underlying themes on life, bad storyline
Review: I admire C.S. Lewis for his writings on Christianity, but anyone trying to writing Christian sci-fi novels is stretching the line of interest (or at least mine). The plotline is horrible. Thank goodness this was a short book. I would have quit at about Chapter 7 if I wouldn't have had tests on it. No offense Clive but this is definitely not your best work. I am also not enthralled that I will have to read the other 2 books of the trilogy. If you're looking for a good one of Lewis' works, read "Screwtape Letters" or "Mere Christianity."
Rating:
Summary: C. S. Lewis at his absolute best
Review: C. S. Lewis has taken space travel and Christian theology and woven them into a startlingly believable story, brilliantly told in classic C. S. Lewis prose. There is something on every level - a good adventure tale, a deep look into personality, and a searing exposé of human sin and its devastating consequences. Those unfamiliar with the basics of theology will not catch the deepest implications, and will therefore miss the subtle beauty and meaning of this incredible little book.
Rating:
Summary: a gifted amateur of sci-fi
Review: Though not known as a sci fi writer, when he tried his hand at the genre he produced a first rate work: it has imagination and a grand chritianised scheme, vivid characters, and is full of surprises. This man had a great, moral imagination that resonates in this thoughtful work. This is literature, to which the best of sci-fi aspires. Warmly recommended, even for those who do not love sci fi.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is a book, which has so many things to say:
apart from an exciting story, it gives you many thoughts about the human psychology (fear, anger, jalousy, greed and love)
and also about society and the way our communities are the way they are.
Very interesting. All this has been written down in the style of the 18th century travel/Utopia stories, with a lot of love and with much humour.
I can recommend this book to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: I know it's only 160 pages long, but it was agonizing. It was such a struggle to comprehend the "alien" words, that I couldn't follow the plot, let alone find the "deeper" meaning. There's what I got. A fellow named Ransom gets kiddnaped by "evil" men, who just happen to own a working spaceship. They take him to Mars for some bizzare reason. He wanders around learning the aliens language. The descriptions of the aliens are so vague, I couldn't tell one from another. Then he finds the evil men and goes back to Earth. The end. Dull huh?
Rating:
Summary: Out of this world! (haha, pun intended)
Review: Out of the Silent Planet is an interesting piece of science fiction, a genre I am beginning to enjoy. C.S. Lewis takes us on a fascinating journey to Malacandra (Mars). While there is very little scientific value to the book (hence fiction), the book has profound insights into the condition of humanity. Through the adventures of Dr. Ransom, we not only imagine the intriguing world of Malacandra, but we see the contrast between a culture or world relatively ignorant of evil, selfishness, and greed with the newly entered evil accompanying Ransom.
Rating:
Summary: For children...and adults, too
Review: Strictly speaking, this is a "science-fiction" novel. Not so strictly speaking, it's a lot more than that. The feeling of it is more fantasy. And it's a religious novel about Christianity, although unless you paid attention you'd never know it. Lewis has a light, casual style--what I call "easily digestible." The book is suitable for both children and adults. The characters--including the "Martians"--are realistic and believable. This is a not overly heavy introduction to the flaws of Mankind--the "idealist" Weston, who is "bent," is far worse of a danger than the merely "broken" Devine. And bent or broken, they are still capable of courage, although in the service of the wrong things. It's an absorbing read, and no wonder it's been so popular for so many decades.
|
