Product Description

The second novel in Lewis's science fiction trilogy tells of Dr Ransom's voyage to the planet of Perelandra (Venus). In the second novel in C.S. Lewis's classic science fiction trilogy, Dr Ransom is called to the paradise planet of Perelandra, or Venus, which turns out to be a beautiful Eden-like world. He is horrified to find that his old enemy, Dr Weston, has also arrived and is putting him in grave peril once more. As the mad Weston's body is taken over by the forces of evil, Ransom engages in a desperate struggle to save the innocence of Perelandra!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25019 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'Thrilling.' Sir Hugh Walpole 'Remarkable ! a rare power of inventive imagination.' Times Literary Supplement

About the Author
Clive Staples Lewis, moralist and novelist, was born in 1898 in Belfast and educated at Malvern and University College, Oxford. He was appointed Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge in 1954. 'Jack' Lewis is best known for his literary criticism, religious and ethical works, science fiction, and most notably for his Narnia chronicles for children. He died in 1963.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful but flawed
C. S. Lewis is said to have found "Perelandra" his favourite among his own books, and an improvement over "Out of the Silent Planet". Though a strong Lewis fan, I'm afraid I cannot agree. OOSP attempts one thing, and achieves it perfectly. Perelandra fails by being too ambitious.

"Out of the Silent Planet" is an almost perfect story. The description of Martian creatures and scenery is delightful, without the author having to ram home how terribly significant it all is; and the evil targeted for attack is limited, believable, and allowed to collapse under its own weight. (Ransom's translation of Weston's speech out of the Shavian-evolutionary into Malacandrian i.e. plain English is one of the funniest things I've read.) In Perelandra, on the other hand, the author is always TELLING you how beautiful everything is, instead of letting you find this out for yourself, and the appeal of every new fruit or creature is swept aside by its being used as the occasion for yet a further sermon on the nature of pleasure.

The central flaw is the problem of any writer in depicting evil: how do you make it obvious enough that it IS evil, but also account for its appeal? It is cheating, and ultimately self-defeating, first to depict the beliefs you dislike, and then to make them more obviously evil by adding a few extra unrelated vices. Weston (the devil figure in this book) is so plausible in his attempts to mislead the new Eve that Ransom does not know how to reply other than by physically removing him from the scene. However, Weston also amuses himself in his spare time by pointlessly mutilating frogs. This is of course explained by a further lecture on the banality of evil and its fundamental hatred of intelligence; but it is a grave tactical mistake, by the author as well as by the devil, as surely all Ransom needed to do was to show a frog to the lady. (In the same way, in That Hideous Strength, the Institute's programme as originally outlined by Devine is already bad enough, without adding gratuitous devil-worship.)

The odd thing is that no one knows these things better than Lewis. For the importance of letting the emotional situation speak for itself, see An Experiment in Criticism; for the blackening of villains by adding an inappropriate vice, see his review of Orwell's 1984. (That, incidentally, is where Brave New World scores heavily: the rulers there are not villains but entirely well-meaning, it is their beliefs that are gently shown to be disastrous.)

OK then, why so many as three stars? The language, as always, is wonderful. Lewis really is, in the words of Beachcomber's spoof review (obviously prophetic of Da Vinci-style tripe), "that rare thing, a writer who can combine breathless excitement with profundity of thought". The Lady's combination of innocence and majesty is perfectly done, and the consideration of the ways in which she does, and does not, need to grow up and of how Ransom's feelings for her are, and are not, sexual is suggestive and moving. The vision at the end is reminiscent of Dante. In showing how each thing in turn, by being utterly different, is in its own way the pivot of creation, it suggests an imaginative solution to the problem of creating a world that is both peaceful and interesting.

Not a book to miss.

Amazing, definitely an instant favorite.
Perelandra is an amazing book. After having just finished it, and digesting it, I came to the conclusion that the word "beautiful" seems shallow and crude in describing this book. Its imagery is very enchanting and exotic, and the storyline very gripping and, while intense and suspenseful, also very calm inducing: Lewis's descriptions of the planet Venus allow you to feel the purity, calmness, peace, and innocence of its setting while still appriciating the stakes at risk. I have read Out of the Silent Planet, and I loved it. But now it seems harsh in comparison to Perelandra. Most say the Space Trilogy is an allegory. I see it rather as a fictional extension to the history of the Universe as told in the Bible. It is a very stimulating and imaginative book. Get this one.

Another excellent offering by Mr. Lewis
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.