CS Lewis

[dwdean]

"out of the silent planet"
"perelandria"
"that hideous strength"

these were given to me as a gift, under what category would they fall? ive never heard of these works, if anyone has, what did you think?

[phillipgr]

They are science fiction by genre. I haven't read them myself so I'm not qualified to comment one their merits or faults, but a close friend of mine sings many praises of them. I'd say give them a go.

[Calidore]

I read them a while back, and while I don't remember much about them, I thought they were decent. Being Lewis, they're more ideas and allegory than action.

[dwdean]

ah, ideas and allegory...
i can deal with that.
i'll jump in tomorrow.

[kasie]

I read them some years ago - at the time I enjoyed them very much. That's not to say I wouldn't enjoy them now, just that they were almost the first Lewis I had read, even before Narnia, and they are different from his later fiction, closer to his theological/philosophical writings. I do remember the description of the Life Force at the end of the last book moved me very much at the time. Do read them in order,btw - they are separate books but there is a theme that develops through the three.

If you are interested in sf contemporary with the Lewis, you might enjoy Clarke's Childhood's End which has a similar feel to it.

[Lokasenna]

Yes, Science Fiction would be the label...

I rather enjoyed them, myself. The main character is pretty much Lewis himself (in space), but that actually goes in its favour.

[dwdean]

Yes, Science Fiction would be the label...

I rather enjoyed them, myself. The main character is pretty much Lewis himself (in space), but that actually goes in its favour.

the main character is really a portrayal of lewis himself?
im looking forward to understand this statement...

[Lokasenna]

the main character is really a portrayal of lewis himself?
im looking forward to understand this statement...

Well, Elwin Ransom is a professor of medieval literature at Oxford, like Lewis. He's also unmarried, like Lewis. He was also injured in WWI, like Lewis. It's even suggested in the first novel that 'Elwin Ransom' is a cover-name being used by a real-world Oxford academic to whom all these adventures happened, but who doesn't want to risk his reputation.

It's a pretty blatant case of authorial self-insertion.

That said, many have suggest that Ransom is also largely based on Tolkien, who was a professor at Oxford at the same time, and a great friend of Lewis. Both men were pretty similar though, so I doubt there's much point arguing who the ultimate source for the character is!

[dwdean]

i should have loved to be a student at Oxford during that time....