Customer Reviews

Out of the Silent Planet

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This is the first book in C.S. Lewis's amazing Space Trilogy. These books are far less known than Lewis's Narnia series or even his Mere Christianity or The Screwtape Letters, yet it is just as good as any of those writings and goes to show the versatility of Lewis as an author.

This first book begins with our hero, Dr. Ransom, out for a walking tour in the countryside, dressed in that shabby way for which professors are renowned. His foes are his former schoolmates Devine and Weston. These men believe they need a human sacrifice, and by capturing Ransom they have their victim, for they have made a spaceship and are taking Ransom to Malacandra the red planet.

Once on Mars, Ransom escapes his captors, meets many species, and finds out that on Mars there has been no "fall" and Ransom from Earth or the Silent Planet is a bit of an oddity. People from earth are considered to be "bent" in nature, from the original sin of the fall.

Follow Ransom as he treks across a strange world, and must find the courage to risk it all to save not only an alien race, but also, possibly his own soul.

This is a first book in an amazing series. Try it - you won't be disappointed.

This novel was absolutely wonderful. I was a bit apprehensive upon picking up this book, as Science-Fiction has never really been my genre, but CS Lewis' writing style never disappoints. This man could write about a grain of dirt and it would still be an excellent read. If you enjoy space travel and such, read it. If not, read it anyways. It is far more than just an enrapturing and exciting read, though it is this too, but it also offers much insight into our world, society, and generally how we live in. Though written many years ago, it still provides information and a shrewd understanding of Human nature that still applies today. A definitive must-read.

If one is likely to read and love C.S.Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, one cannot help but be equally satisfied, and in some ways more, with this book and the other two in the Space Trilogy (Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength). This book is told about a Dr. Ransom who is taken captive by two aquaintances (Weston and Divine)on Earth and flown by spaceship to Malacandra. It is here where Ransom flees with fear of what may happen to him in his captive's hands and their motives. Along the way he meets the most intreaging of creatures on the planet who will both pull you in and take you away. Wonderfully described and portrayed, C.S.Lewis gives the reader a gift of traveling to a new world full of seroni, hrossa, etc. Allowing for readers with an open mind, to learn and ponder new thoughts and ideas. Ransom through his stay on the planet, learns to face his fears and become a better human being while respecting the differences in others who are unlike himself. The characters and story are unforgetable. I highly recomend this book, and I can assure you will not be hesitant to pick up the second when through.

"Out of the Silent Planet" is a stunnigly captive and imaginative tale. C.S. Lewis, the mastermind behind many great books, really struck it in with this one. He tells of a curiously smart character named Ransom, and is survival on the foreign planet Malacandra. 3 co-existing species, living in what is described as a beautiful, lucious, paradise, really add to the splendor of the book. Having first been published in 1943, this book still draws you in with its philosophical and suspenseful storyline. I reccommend this great piece of literature to any and to all.

This is the great lay-theologian's foray into sci-fi, first published in 1938. I mention that date, because this book does not resemble much current "science fiction." It's definitely fiction... but not very scientific. For instance, Lewis avoids explaining any technical problems in how these characters actually leave Earth's atmosphere (or return). What is the source of propulsion? Nowadays, a 7-year-old reader would get bogged down in the first few pages, realizing that everyone would be burnt to a crisp in the homemade space-contraption Lewis blithely hurtles them off in.
That being said... the book is still a gem.
It begins with Dr. Elwin Ransom (a middle-aged Philologist from Cambridge University) being kidnapped by two men, Dick Devine and Dr. Weston, the latter being a mad physicist who wants to extend humanity to other planets. At first, Ransom is excited with this journey to Malacandra (Mars)... until he overhears that he is going to be offered as a sacrifice to the space-creatures called "sorns." Devine and Weston have been to Malacandra before, and have convinced themselves that a human sacrifice is recquired by the sorns, in return for the right to exploit the planet's gold deposits.
Upon arrival, Ransom escapes... beginning a conflict that lasts the length of the book and extends to its sequel "Perelandra."

In this colorful novel, Lewis explores many DEEP themes... the primary one being that, if there is life on another planet, there is no need for us to assume that it is in a "fallen" state, or filled with wickedness, or in need of redemption, as our own is. If we reached other planets we might find a race which was, like us, rational but, unlike us, innocent - having no wars nor any other wickedness among them. If this were so, we would have much to learn from such creatures, and have nothing to teach them. But, because of our own "bentness" we would probably find some reason for exterminating them.
This is what happens here in Out Of The Silent Planet.

Lewis was inspired to write this book after finding that many of his own students held to beliefs in interplanetary colonization and the scientific hope of defeating physical death. Out Of The Silent Planet is an attack on the belief that the supreme moral end of mankind is the perpetuation of our own species. The book is so rich in invention, so broad in scope, so sensuously perceptive in descriptive detail that, after reading it, it's difficult to view the Cosmos through any but Lewis' eyes. Seriously, after my first reading, I walked outside and looked up into the night sky and wondered... "What if?"

Its an allegory with a smidgen of sci-fi ("speculative" fiction), but Out of the Silent Planet is surprisingly a deftly written and enjoyable tale. Though it may be a Christian discourse, I found the themes of the "bentness" of human nature and the propensity for xenophobia to be more philosophical.

Some people may like to point out the implausibility of three intelligent co-existing species on one planet, or the flimsy science, but this book is so much more than mere cold hard science & logic, as was displayed through the character of Weston. The calculating physicist defends humanity's viral nature as only the result of the "survival of the fittest" and humans will take over Malacandra with our superior technology and war. Conversely, the Malacandrians take the "live and let die" attitude. They think the human fear of death, desire for limitless wealth, and abhorrence to monogamy to be pointless (hmm... must be Buddhists) which brings Ransom to the conclusion that perhaps we are the morally inferior species. That is why humans have come "out of the silent planet" as, unlike Malacandra, its moral ruler has fallen and has no voice in the heavens (space for the ahtiests, heh)

The diction was pretty smooth, not all the authoritarian British style I was expecting. The pace was suspenseful - easily done on a strange planet with unknown friends and terrors around ever corner. Out of the Silent Planet has suspense, a tightly woven plot, characters with real conflict - everything that makes a strong, compelling book. It only needs more! So, read the whole series.

This is one of C. S. Lewis's science fiction trilogy composed of Out of the Silent Plant, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. While they do not have to be read in that order, I suggest it for your greater appreciation. H. G. Wells, Arthur Clarke and their like have swayed us to the belief that extraterrestrials who are more intelligent than we are also evil and might wish us ill. Lewis calls our attention to the fact that we are the only race we know to be fallen and the reverse might be the truth: that the aliens may be the moral ones and we the criminals. Some of this insight inspired the movie 2001 even though it was based on a very pessimistic story by Clarke. Lewis puts his considerable imagination and his outstanding writing ability at the service of a theological, philosophical and humanistic view of the cosmos rare if not unique in the field of sci-fi, and for those reasons these books deserve more than one visit. My most recent -- possibly my fourth - reading was as enjoyable as my first. These books are easily understood by teens and can still give mature thinkers much food for thought. This first volume introduces the philologist Dr. Ransom, and describes his kidnapping to another world, his encounter with other species, his learning the language (Lewis has as much fun with language as J.R.R. Tolkien), and his coming to see reality through new eyes. While science has made some of his descriptions a tad dated, his insight survives the passage of years well. The final additions come as a bit anticlimactic; one has the sense he is answering the objections of some readers and throwing in a few details he ought to have included in the first place. But if you have bought into his vision they can entertain somewhat like the out-takes shown during the final credits of a film or TV show.

Out of the Silent Planet is a timeless work of art that has inspired millions. Lewis has intertwined a truly surreal adventure with a deep and meaningful message of peace and tranquillity. His writing is chock full of imagery and beauty. The words paint a picture in the mind so precise that Dali himself would have only wished he could have matched the greatness of this book with his palette.

Dr. Ransom, the protagonist, is a very believable character. He and two other men, named Weston and Devine, crash land on the red planet with completely different intentions. Dr. Ransom, having been kidnapped, escapes his captors and embarks on a memorable adventure. Ransom uses very simple logic to learn the language of the native species and he interacts with the four races of Malacandria differently, creating a very interesting and awe-inspiring atmosphere.

Lewis, as in his other series The Chronicles of Narnia, uses biblical stories and principals to create and allegory that keeps the reader guessing. The race of Eldil (an energy or spirit type being) offer wisdom and encourage Ransom during his stay on the planet while essentially balking Weston and Devine's petty quest to ransack the resources of the planet. The moral Lewis conveys is a simple, yet important one.

Out of the Silent Planet is a diamond in the rough. It was written well before the recent conquest of space and the immanence of technology, so the imaginative view of what Lewis thought Mars might be like is very interesting. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series, which I've read, only gets better.

I admire C.S. Lewis for his writings on Christianity, but anyone trying to writing Christian sci-fi novels is stretching the line of interest (or at least mine). The plotline is horrible. Thank goodness this was a short book. I would have quit at about Chapter 7 if I wouldn't have had tests on it. No offense Clive but this is definitely not your best work. I am also not enthralled that I will have to read the other 2 books of the trilogy. If you're looking for a good one of Lewis' works, read "Screwtape Letters" or "Mere Christianity."

C. S. Lewis has taken space travel and Christian theology and woven them into a startlingly believable story, brilliantly told in classic C. S. Lewis prose. There is something on every level - a good adventure tale, a deep look into personality, and a searing exposé of human sin and its devastating consequences. Those unfamiliar with the basics of theology will not catch the deepest implications, and will therefore miss the subtle beauty and meaning of this incredible little book.