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: 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) .
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