Book Review, Perelandra by C.S.Lewis

Synopsis

It's been several years since Professor Ransom visited Mars and he's still in contact with the spiritual forces he encountered there. By some supernatural means, not made entirely clear to us, he learns that his next mission will be to Perelandra (Venus) and he is promptly transported there in an alien vehicle. On arrival, he finds Perelandra consists entirely of sea and moving islands. The islands are made mostly of vegetation and trees that is except for one small island the "Fixed Land". Ransom is alone for two Perelandra days (46 earth hours) until he eventually encounters a beautiful women, Tinidril, who is naked. Incidentally, Ransom is also naked (a strange requirement of traveling in the alien vehicle) but despite these circumstances he feels no lust or sexual desires for Tinidril, nor she for him. Ransom realises that Tinidril is a new a kind of Eve and Perelandra a new kind of Eden. The purpose of his mission is to stop Weston (evil scientist from the first book), who arrives on the planet a little later, from tempting Tinidril to sleep on the "Fixed Land" something she has been forbidden to do by Maledil (God basically). Ransom soon finds himself competing for the soul of Tinidril with Weston, possessed by the Devil himself.

Comment

Perelandra, the second book of Lewis' Space Trilogy, is a little better than the first. Lewis' descriptions of the alien planet are still difficult to visualise but much easier to grasp than those he gave of Mars in his first book. Ransom's arrival on Perelandra is exciting, described in terms of a roller coaster ride on strange alien waves the size of Sky scrapers. Tinidril, the Eve of Venus, is endearing enough but her apparent ignorance of just about everything is a little frustrating. She doesn't make for great dialogue with Ransom. The story picks up when Weston arrives though. Lewis' descriptions of Weston's demon possession and ultimate Devil possession are truly chilling. The book dips a little towards the end again, when the Adam of Perelandra finally shows up. Lewis attempts to describe some kind of cosmic romantic reunion, he writes it like he's having a vision and it's a bit hard to follow what's going on.

Worth it?

If you're a C.S.Lewis fan and you've read the first installment then definitely worth it.

Useful for preaching?

I think there's about a 10% chance of me ever referring to this book in a preach.

What Others Say?

Amazon: 4.5/5 (89 customer reviews)

Christianity Today: "In a harrowing scene from his science fiction novel Perelandra, the protagonist, Prof. Elwin Ransom, battles a mad scientist horribly disfigured by his lust for power. Lewis writes: "What was before him appeared no longer a creature of corrupted will. It was corruption itself to which will was attached only as an instrument." It was the tragedy of human nature to have the free will to choose, and to choose evil."

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