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: 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?
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, but has middle-of-trilogy pacing problems.
Review: Unlike the first volume of the trilogy that begins with "Out of the Silent Planet" and concludes in "That Hideous Strength," this book is a slow mover. The climactic battle, once it comes, has plenty of blood and terror; but getting there takes some patience. Its depiction of evil's chilling, banal brutality also takes a strong stomach. With that said, though, Lewis describes the innocent world we know as Venus with detail and poetry. I fear his view of women and their proper role belongs to my grandfather's generation; but that I have to forgive, because - after all - they fought in the same war. Worth reading in order to get from Book One to Book Three.
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?
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written!
Review: This book is truly amazing. Not only is it thoughtful and deep in its Christian allegorical sense. It is also something you can sit down with and get totally absorbed in; it must be the incredible description, or maybe the author's amazing talent--but whatever it is will allow you to forget everyone and everything around you for a while and feel like you're experiencing it, not just reading it. Mr. Lewis was definitely a genious. Out of the Silent Planet was wonderful, and That Hideous Strength was pretty good too, but no book in the world is comparable to Perelandra. Nobody can explain it well enough. You'd have to read it and see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading, but has middle-of-trilogy pacing problems.
Review: Unlike the first volume of the trilogy that begins with "Out of the Silent Planet" and concludes in "That Hideous Strength," this book is a slow mover. The climactic battle, once it comes, has plenty of blood and terror; but getting there takes some patience. Its depiction of evil's chilling, banal brutality also takes a strong stomach. With that said, though, Lewis describes the innocent world we know as Venus with detail and poetry. I fear his view of women and their proper role belongs to my grandfather's generation; but that I have to forgive, because - after all - they fought in the same war. Worth reading in order to get from Book One to Book Three.
Rating:
Summary: Christian science fiction?
Review: When Lewis writes, the idea actually makes sense. The book retells the Eden story, but one that went the right way. I was surprised at a few things in this book, including the eventual relationship between god and man on Lewis' other planet. I was also surprised at how completely Lewis focussed the story on the Eve figure and her dealings with the 'snake'. The Adam figure really never appeared until the last few pages, once she had been through the hard part. It's hard to remember that this story was written almost 60 years ago, during World War II. Back then, the protagonist's physical conquest of evil probably had a very noble meaning. Today, it looks quite different when our hero whips himself into a religious frenzy, then batters another man to death, spending a day or more inflicting increasing levels of injury before bashing his face in with a rock. It is chilling to see the hero justify this by declaring the other human to be an 'Un-man', so not worth human consideration. It is even more chilling that he experiences less feeling at brutally murdering his one-time compatriot than at the taste of an unusual fruit, judging by the amount of text spent on each. I just can not read today's headlines and see the act as wholly virtuous. On a more positive note, Lewis' apparent idea of sin does strike a chord with me. Given that evil is a different thing, one of the gravest sins in Lewis' world might be in the modern phrase, "It's not my job," or worse yet, "I don't get paid enough to do that." Many necessities are no one's job, but necessary nonetheless. No, there is no pay for many moral and requisite tasks - if anything, the doing may cost the doer dearly. Need and duty are the issues. Lewis barely wastes breath on the idea of fairness. The book, of course, is a classic. Like so many, it must be read in the spirit in which it was written; modern values only corrupt its original intent. I like the book for itself, but I also appreciate the contrast it shows between Lewis' time and our own.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Novel I've Ever Read
Review: This is, without doubt, the best novel I've ever read. It even beats The Lord of the Rings trilogy. C. S. Lewis's power of description, psychological insight, and emotional intensity reach a height here that is unparalleled. But beyond such engaging writing, Perelandra gives us poetry in prose, reality in story, theology in fantasy, truth in myth. It is an evocative tale, so compelling that for a faint second I could have believed it was true, and that Lewis was describing real events, not fictitious ones! And that is because it is so deeply grounded in the reality of The Great Dance, the drama of creation and redemption which is being enacted upon the stage of humanity. The final pages of this book sent my spirits soaring. I can scarcely describe its impact upon me. Take it and read.
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: The Kind of Book whose Close draws tears.
Review: Drawn into paradise, the reader is alive, excited, fearful. Perelandra is a beautiful image of flowing colors and time, it draws on the thoughtfulness and imagination of the reader to take these swirling colors and inexpressible fellings displayed in Lewis' writing and form the image of this green, gold, red and blue world where creation is fresh, and yet already on the verge of destruction...
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