I'm back! Thanks for your patience as I was away. Normal posting will resume this upcoming week, with a miscellaneous post on Tuesdays and a book review on Fridays.
The Short:
Out of the Silent
Planet
Space Trilogy #1
By: C.S. Lewis
4.5/5 Stars
What: Interplanetary
kidnapping leads a professor to question his knowledge of the universe.
Recommended to those
who like: Sci-fi, contemplative reads, Christian
The Long:
One of my English teachers in high
school recommended the space trilogy to me. I read the first book and then
never finished the rest of the series due to getting hooked on Ted Dekker later
in the summer. Now I’ve returned to the series with the intention of finishing
it sooner rather than later. Now a few years older, I was able to appreciate
the book considerably more than I had been able to in high school.
Ransom is a professor on holiday,
taking a tour of the British countryside. However, a series of events leads to
his kidnapping, not just across the world, but between worlds. He must come to
grips with his own mortality, the reality of life outside of earth, and the
possibility that there is something even bigger than himself afoot in the
universe.
The book is very contemplative in
nature—a true English teacher book recommendation. It doesn’t have much action,
and much of the plot is spent in dialogue or explanation of the planet.
However, it’s still an engaging read if you’re in the right mood for it.
In some respects, it’s closer to The Screwtape Letters than The Chronicles of Narnia, but it’s still
set up as a novel. It does have a strong Christian slant on it, though I wouldn’t
consider it to be “preachy”.
The Bottom Line: A contemplative read recommended to fans of
slower-paced Christian sci-fi.
I've always considered picking this up, but just haven't yet. It sounds really good though. Nice review! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a different style of read--it reads much more like a classic than most contemporary books. If you ever get around to it, let me know what you think! Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI think I read this in high school. I didn't appreciate it very much then, but I might appreciate it more now (especially since I'm on a space kick right now). Thanks for the thoughtful review!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a book designed for an older audience and it isn't heavy on action. I think I appreciated it a lot more this time around. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI'm currently reading C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy, and I've been contemplating trying some of his sci-fi next. You've definitely made Out of the Silent Planet sound like an interesting read!
ReplyDeleteI hope it doesn't disappoint you if you ever get around to it!
DeleteSurprised by Joy was the first non-Narnia Lewis book that I read. I've actually been meaning to get around to re-reading it. If you haven't read it already, I would also recommend The Screwtape Letters. Thanks for the comment!
The Screwtape Letters is also on my to-read list. :)
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