Perelandra

Rating:
Summary: A Good Story, A Great Sequel
Review: I really enjoyed "Out of the Silent Planet", and proceeded on to the sequel. I was enchanted by this world of floating islands, and the prospect of returning to the Garden of Eden with hopes that we might "get it right". This one had me reading into the wee hours more than once. It's as close as I've been to obsessed for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: very intriguing, yet quite complex and confusing, too
Review: Have you ever wondered where exactly humans came from? In "Perelandra," you get a very descriptive, if not completely accurate, tale of how life began. The only catch is, this is the account of how life began on Venus, not Earth. Perelandra is the second Earth, so to speak. It is Venus. (From Lewis' point of view) Though it is covered almost completely with water, Venus contains many floating islands that are capable of sustaining life. As it happens, this is where most of the story takes place. Dr. Elwin Ransom is stuck on one of these islands and he is looking for the "Eve" of this second Earth. Unfortunately, there is a demon-possessed man that is also on one of these islands, who is also looking for "Eve." The main conflict is between the efforts of these two people to influence the outcome of this newly born planet. When taken at face value, this book is decent at best; but can you ever take any book at just face value? The complex symbolism that Lewis maintains throughout this trilogy is quite confusing, but I'm sure it's very gratifying if and when you figure it all out. Without the other two books ("Out of Silent Planet", and "That Hideous Strength"), I'm not sure that this book would make any sense at all, but it is very heart-warming, none-the-less.

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: 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: 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: The space trilogy sags in the middle.
Review: To criticize C.S. Lewis is to incur the wrath of millions of his faithful. However, Perelandra simply drags. Where Out Of The Silent Planet was a breezy sci-fi allegory of humankind's failings, and That Hideous Strength is simply the penultimate Lewis tale, this middle chapter is overlong and overly dense. Ransom is taken to Perelandra by an eldil, where his mission is to thwart the devil's temptation of that planet's Eve. Once more, Lewis's description of a foreign environment is rich and brilliantly imagined. Once the devil arrives (in the body of Weston) things kick into low gear. While philosophically intriguing, the arguments of Satan and Ransom and the questions of Eve quickly begin to appear circular and meandering. The climactic chase and physical confrontaion with the devil is both much too long and rather illogical. The denouement is classic Lewis, setting up Ransom's position for the final chapter of the trilogy with magical and moving brilliance, though it is too little to redeem the rest of the novel. Perelandra is a slow and tedious read, worth it only for the wonderful payoff in the third book, That Hideous Strength

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent offering by Mr. Lewis
Review: Ransom takes off for Perelendra (Venus ) with the help of his angelic Oyarsa and lands in an ocean world with floating islands, bubble trees, small tame dragons, and seemingly two other inhabitants. They are human(but green)and one, the man, is missing. The woman is astonishingly innocent. Ransom's old nemesis, the evil physics professor, lands on Venus soon after Ransom and it is clear that he is possessed of an evil spirit and up to no good. Ransom and he battle over the women's soul and the fate of the planet through long, fascinating dialogue,that illuminates Lewis' theology. Ultimately, the battle becomes physical and deadly. I enjoyed this book a great deal, not the least because a friend told me that he found himself always agreeing with the evil professor. He does make some compelling arguments.

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.


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: 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.