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This is to discuss Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

I didn't realise that C. S. Lewis had written any scifi so this will be a discovery for me. I read the Narnia books as a child and enjoyed them so I hope this will be good as well. I haven't got a copy yet but it is next on my list to read when I do.

I read this last year. Not really sci-fi as such, more like Theological space fantasy. I remember liking it to start with but then disliking the direction it went in. I'll happily reread it for the sake of discussion though!

Theological space fantasy? Hmmh, not sure what i'll make of that. I hope to get a copy in a few days. Have you read the whole series or just the first? I'm hesitating whether to buy just the first or the version with the full trilogy.

I've read the whole trilogy. None of them are really alike and they don't bear much resemblance to each other. There were elements that I really liked in all of them but I couldn't bring myself to give any more than three stars. I think I enjoyed the third book (That Hideous Strength) the most, though it was a bit ambitious. It's worth reading purely for the elements that influenced George Orwell's 1984 though.

Joel wrote: "I've read the whole trilogy. None of them are really alike and they don't bear much resemblance to each other. There were elements that I really liked in all of them but I couldn't bring myself to ..."

I didn't realised this influenced 1984, will be interesting to see how, which means i need to try and read the trilogy. I will try and hunt down a copy.

It's not "official" that it did, but I remember reading the 3rd book and thinking "this must have been influenced by 1984." Then when I looked it up I found that it was actually written 2 years prior to 1984, and that George Orwell had even written a review of it. He praised the dystopian elements but criticized the use of fantasy and religious symbolism, stating that the novel would have been stronger without them. To me it seems like Orwell probably just set out to write the novel he felt "That Hideous Strength" should have been.

Joel wrote: "I read this last year. Not really sci-fi as such, more like Theological space fantasy. I remember liking it to start with but then disliking the direction it went in. I'll happily reread it for the..."

I've started this today and it's really compelling, i've already read 20%. The idea is good and so far it's not predictable. It's not changed direction yet but I hope i'm not going to be disappointed when it does. Normally it's the endings that annoy me in books so I guess i'll see shortly....

I've just finished this today and I quite enjoyed it. When it changed direction I was thinking it reminded me a bit of A Voyage to Arcturus which we read previously. Looking on the wikipedia page it says it was a central influence on C.S Lewis's Space Trilogy so for once I correctly spotted something! It's also a similar theme to the Narnia series, going to a strange world and the struggle between good and evil.

I really wish Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ would let you give half stars as i'd like to give it 3.5. I'm going to continue and read the second in the series Perelandra as i'm quite intrigued to see where it's leading.

The only C. S. Lewis I had read prior to Out of the Silent Planet was The Great Divorce, which was essentially a religious tract. Lewis is know for his Christian bent. So I began Out of the Silent Planet with a prejudice against it, expecting it to be preachy. It's not, not at all. It is described as being in a theological sub-genre, but I might even take issue with that. The ethereal beings met by our protagonist are not necessarily angels, or gods, or divinities any more than some wise and powerful disembodied being Captain Kirk might meet in a Star Trek episode.

The writing style is not like some of its contemporary pulp space operas, but is more akin to that of H. G. Wells, whom Lewis mentions in the book. I enjoyed this book more than I had expected to.

Jo wrote: "I've just finished this today and I quite enjoyed it. When it changed direction I was thinking it reminded me a bit of A Voyage to Arcturus which we read previously. Looking on the w..."

I too would give Out of the Silent Planet an additional half star. I was a little reticent to read it, but now I have no such reticence to read the next two in the trilogy.

The point I got out of this book was not theological at all. It was an indictment of the British Imperial attitude, especially as exhibited by Weston. This attitude towards 'natives' is quite clear in earlier literary works, such as Heart of Darkness or Robinson Crusoe, for instance. There was nothing wrong with dominating, enslaving, or killing those of uncivilized cultures or lesser races.

I hoped to have finished this sooner, but I've had to put it on hold as I got caught in the rain the other day and all of the stuff (books included) I was carrying with me got soaked through. So while "Out of the Silent Planet" has been drying I have instead been reading Graham Greene's "Our Man in Havana". It's a short book and I have almost finished so I'll return to Lewis soon.


It's interesting to hear you say that, Buck. I myself am a christian, and when reading it I felt that the book would probably come across as quite preachy to other readers. I was originally disappointed when reading it, as I was hoping for science fiction and it sort of turned into what seems like Narnia in space. I'm hoping that I'll enjoy it more this time around now that I know what to expect.


I agree with you both on that there should be half-star ratings. I normally give a book a 3 or a 4 depending on how I feel about it, and then specify my rating at the beginning of the review (eg. 3.5).


If you both intend on reading the others in the series I'd be very interested to hear what you think of them. The second book is a lot more philosophical, though generally quite similar in tone to the first book. The third book, however, is almost completely different. It's very hard to see what the relation is to the other two until at least half way through. It's not set in space, and is much more of an apocalyptic/dystopian novel.

Joel - The only things that put Out of The Silent Planet in the science fiction genre, I think, are that it takes place on Mars and they travel there by space ship. Other than that it could have been in a magical kingdom. It could have been somewhere east of Middle Earth. Then it would have been a fantasy. A princess of Mars is Science fiction because John Carter inexplicably finds himself on Mars. In both cases, the flora and fauna, the civilizations and cultures of the inhabitants, are pure fantastical fiction - completely divorced from science.

The space ship is a complete science mystery. In secret, a couple of guys build space ship, capable of interplanetary travel, apparently without a testing period and with no failures. In this regard it is very similar to The Skylark of Space by E.E. Doc Smith, even to the spherical shape of the craft. Lewis makes no attempt to explain the technology. Smith has a perfectly good but completely fictional physics explanation for his craft's propulsion system, but little else. Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, could take a lesson.

The other two books I mentioned are pulp science fiction. Out of the Silent Planet is much less pulpy.

I agree pretty much with everything Buck has said. I really don't like preachy books (religious or otherwise) and to me it didn't fall in this category. I really like the concept that the earth is cut off from the rest of the planets due to it's corrupted guardian. I want to see how this develops so i've started reading Perelandra today.

I'm about halfway through, and I'm quitting. This book doesn't really answer the typical sci-fi question, "What if...?" It's more of a religious parable, even a fantasy, masquerading as sci-fi. Not much story yet, at least where I'm stopping. I entertained myself by dissecting the religious symbolism (which I explained more in my review). By midway point I felt like I was marching through an anthropological study. Nothing inherently wrong with this book, it's probably a fine example of its subgenre, but I'm not into it. I have a pile of other books on my table and they beckon.

CS wrote: "I'm about halfway through, and I'm quitting. This book doesn't really answer the typical sci-fi question, "What if...?" It's more of a religious parable, even a fantasy, masquerading as sci-fi. Not..."

Reading what you have written and your review, i'm not sure there's much I can disagree with. I think the story line did slow down after the arrival on the planet but I still enjoyed it as a pleasant fantasy tale rather than a sci-fi novel.

Jo wrote: "I still enjoyed it as a pleasant fantasy tale rather than a sci-fi novel."

I liked how Ransom took to the river with the Hross, like Huck Finn with a Wookie.

Have you started perelandra, Jo?

I've just finished reading it (out of the silent planet). 
I think I appreciated it a bit more this time round. I think it helped to have already read it and therefore knowing the direction it was going to go in, but at the same time I think it was all a bit too fresh in my mind from last time and so I found the middle part a bit of a drag.
The initial build up is good, but it's still a bit of a disappointment when the story becomes more of a fantasy.
Generally speaking not a lot happens in it, and therefore it relies heavily on the reader enjoying the world as there is a lot of description. I personally don't really like the creatures, and I can't help but picture the whole world as somewhat psychedelic, purely due to the vast array of colours. 
Outside of the build up, I probably enjoyed the trial scene the most. Just because you're made to understand the laws (and lore) of the world a little bit more. I think I also just generally prefer dialogue to description - or maybe I'm just not a big fan of Lewis' writing.
I quite enjoyed the postscript as well - the whole book being treated as a sort of false-fiction in order to communicate a greater truth to those willing to listen.


I will probably read the other two books in the series again at some point, but I don't think that will be anytime soon. I have a big pile of books that have been labelled "to read soon" for far too long!

Joel wrote: "Have you started perelandra, Jo?"

I'm about a third of the way through. I didn't mind the fantasy elements of the first one, it was quite dream like in the way it was written. Perelandra, although continuing from where the other left off is not written in the same light style. It seems to have a much more moralistic feel about it and is bordering on becoming quite preachy at times. I'm not enjoying it as much as the first so far but this may change yet.

Joel wrote: "Have you started perelandra, Jo?"

I'm about a third of the way through. I didn't mind the fantasy elements of the first one, it was quite dream like in the way it was written. Perelandra, although continuing from where the other left off is not written in the same light style. It seems to have a much more moralistic feel about it and is bordering on becoming quite preachy at times. I'm not enjoying it as much as the first so far but this may change yet.

I thought that might be the case. As I said when we started the topic, all 3 of the books are quite different from each other. I enjoyed the 2nd one less for its story and more for the philosophical conversations between the characters. I find Lewis interesting, but I rarely find him to be a good storyteller. Hopefully you won't be put off reading the 3rd book, as I think that is probably the most interesting of the 3.

Joel wrote: "Hopefully you won't be put off reading the 3rd book, as I think that is probably the most interesting of the 3. ."

I'm sure I will continue, i've read a lot that people think Lewis is sexist (or at least in the Narnia books), so I was enjoying dissecting the conversations with the female character in this one. I don't think you can really draw to many conclusions from this book though (or at least as far as i've read).

I can't quite see where this book is leading though, it is as you mentioned mainly philosophical conversation so far.

I don't think Lewis was sexist, but I can definitely understand how some of his views would come across that way. His views on sexuality and marriage are a fairly prominent theme in the 3rd book - an element I wasn't too fond of.

I've never managed to get into this book, but I've read some of Lewis' essays on religion, proof of god, & such. He was an atheist who turned religious fanatic & is held up as an icon by many religious people. I found his logic & reasoning less than compelling & quite twisted. I can't imagine what he thought about marriage. Which testament did he seem to pull his ideas from?

I finished Perelandra today and that's definitely based on the old testament, in fact it's quite a mixture of ideas. I was worried it was going to be a bit predictable when it started the garden of Eden type analogy, then I thought it was going to be a lesson in righteousness but nope not that either. Really quite different from the first book. I will give this one three stars as I preferred the first but i'm interested to see where the final book in the series will go.

So i'm going to try and finish the trilogy before the end of the month, so third book started. This one doesn't start where the other finished and so far doesn't relate, I guess this will change. The preface says this one can be read alone which seems odd.

It can be read alone, and the resemblance doesn't become apparent until quite near the end.

Jo wrote: "So i'm going to try and finish the trilogy before the end of the month, so third book started. This one doesn't start where the other finished and so far doesn't relate, I guess this will change. T..."

Jo - Do you recommend these nest two books? how rewarding is it to finish the trilogy?

Buck wrote: "Jo - Do you recommend these nest two books? how rewarding is it to finish the trilogy? .."

I've only finished the second one and it's difficult to recommend or not as it's really going to depend on what you enjoy reading. As Joel mentioned it is a lot of philosophical conversations. I think there is much more of a religious slant to this one or at least a lot of discussion of what is good and what is evil. It's interesting enough but as the first book was a fantasy story with the odd philosophical conversation the second is more a philosophical conversation with the odd fantasy element. It's quite an odd trilogy so far which is why i'm reading the third.

I've only read the first chapter or so in the third and it's currently about a married couple in a university and has nothing whatsover to do with the other books but i'm sure this will change soon.

Due to time constraints i've not finished the third book yet but it's not what I was expecting at all. It really is only loosely linked to the first two for the first 50% and I guess as it comes towards the finale we will achieve the final battle which is what I thought the book as a whole was going to be about. The whole thing about marriage is very strange and I guess this must be important further down the line but I need to read further.

I didn't bother trying to reread "Out of the Silent Planet" since Ive tried to read it half a dozen times over the years & could never get into it. Instead, I had planned to listen to Mere Christianity. I couldn't get into that, either. As a philosopher, he's a bust, unfortunately. I reviewed the bit I did listen to here:
/review/show...

In terms of earlier comments about whether C.S Lewis is sexist or not there is a fantastic quote in This Hideous Strength - the discussion is about why husbands don't listen to their wives and just say "Yes dear" which goes "did it ever come into your mind to ask whether anyone could listen to all we say?" where we = women :-)

I appreciate this written in the 1930's so i'm not taking it too seriously but it did make me smile.

So i've finished the last in the trilogy. The last took a lot of time to get going but it was interesting in the end. It's a difficult trilogy to recommend just because you can see that certain parts won't appeal to everybody. I think the second book was definitely the worst of the three and the one that people are potentially most likely to dislike. The first and the third are so completely different it's almost like they are not in the same trilogy. The third had some good ideas but it suffered a bit with annoying characters. Anyway i'm glad i've read them all and overall I did enjoy them.

Thanks for telling us about them, Jo. I don't expect to get to these soon, but I was wondering: Having read the first book, what about skipping the second book and going right to the third?

Jo wrote: "...fantastic quote in This Hideous Strength - the discussion is about why husbands don't listen to their wives and just say "Yes dear" which goes "did it ever come into your mind to ask whether anyone could listen to all we say?" where we = women :-)..."

CS Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers of the Peter Wimsey mysteries were supposed to be good friends. They belonged to the same literary/intelligentsia discussion club, the Inklings (Tolkien was also a member). Out of the Silent Planet was a group read for this club according to Wikipedia. In 1938 Sayers wrote an essay entitled "Are Women Human?", a critique of sexism. Maybe Sayers gave Lewis an earful at some point, and that time the man was listening.

Buck wrote: "Thanks for telling us about them, Jo. I don't expect to get to these soon, but I was wondering: Having read the first book, what about skipping the second book and going right to the third?"

You can certainly do this, the third is written to be read as a stand alone book and I don't think you'd lose much from not reading the second. If you read the premise of Peralandra then it's probably enough, everything else will make sense.

Most people seem to like this book a lot more than I do. I enjoyed the space journey and the atmosphere of the alien planet, but it came apart for me when the allegory started.

The religious element is a lot less subtle than it is in Narnia. Once I realized that the protagonist is working with God, and nothing beats God, it was hard to find reasons to continue reading.