Out of the silent planet

by C. S. Lewis

Paperback, 1938

Status

Available

Call number

F LEW

Series

Space Trilogy (1)

Genres

Description

Out of the Silent Planet is the first novel from Lewis's Space Trilogy, (also called the Cosmic Trilogy and the Ransom Trilogy,) considered to be his chief contribution to the science-fiction genre. A planetary romance with elements of medieval mythology, the trilogy concerns Dr. Ransom, a linguist who, like Christ, is offered as a ransom for mankind. On a walking tour of the English countryside, Ransom falls in with some slightly shady characters from his old University and wakes up suddenly to find himself naked in a metal ball in the middle of the light-filled heavens. He learns that he is on his way to a world called Malacandra by its natives, who also call our world Thulcandra...the Silent Planet. The Malacandrans see planets as having a tutelary spirit: those of the other planets are good and accessible, but that of Earth is fallen and twisted.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member meta87

I am a big fan of C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia were to me what Harry Potter is to kids these days, my first journey into a fantasy world that I felt connected with and wished I could take part in.

I would not classify Out of the Silent Planet as this type of novel however. It is an

interesting read that tells a simple story of one humans experience on another world. His beliefs and preconceptions about himself and the universe are challenged by what he finds on this world.

I am always blown away by C.S. Lewis's ability to write extremely simple and down to earth stories and anecdotes, yet fill them with deep and complex emotions and thoughts. This book is no different, the simple tale leaves complex underlying questions about the other world's relationship to Earth. I am excited about the two remaining books in this trilogy.

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LibraryThing member antiquary

My favorite among the Space Triology books, chiefly for its wonderfully vivid descriptions of the various Martian peoples; its critique of some human-chauvinist sf is both more amusing and more subtle than the didactic effects in the later books in this series.

LibraryThing member aethercowboy

C. S. Lewis, who most of you will instantly associate with either children's fantasy or epistemology, wrote a trilogy (or arguably, 3 and some proper fraction) of science fiction stories. Staying true to his evangelizing form, this series is very, very allegorical. The initial novel came to be as

the product of a challenge between Lewis and Tolkien. Lewis would write a space travel story, while Tolkien would write a Time Travel story (find fragments of it in The Lost Road and Other Tales).

The trilogy starts with the end. Not the end of the series, mind you: the end of Martian society. But let's back up...

Elwin Ransom, philology professor, when taking a hike, ends up the subject of a scientific experiment by two fellows, Weston and Devine. After being drugged to sleep, he finds himself aboard a space ship headed for Mars, or Malacandra.

It is here he meets a civilization nearing the end of its life, in contrast to Earth, which is somewhere in the middle. Ransom and his captors are caught in an endgame struggle between the three races of Mars.

Lewis is able to write science fiction that isn't overly preachy, like many Christian sci-fi writers. And this makes it a bit more enjoyable thean the rest. This book, like many of Lewis' fiction, is very allegorical, even to the point of character names, like Pilgrim's Progress Through Space, or something. Nevertheless, those familiar with Lewis' writing, or of other allegorical science fiction, may find Out of the Silent Planet a nice way to break up the quiet period between your last and next book.

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LibraryThing member Radaghast

Eerie. That's the best word to describe Out of the Silent Planet. Lewis creates a world that is in stark contrast to his Narnia. It is a strange and mysterious place, and like the protagonist, we soon discover how insignificant Earth is to the other intelligent inhabitants of the universe. The

story would be regarded as science fantasy today, but it remains one of the best examples of classic science fiction.

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LibraryThing member Sylak

Ignoring the many critics of this book, and having long since had the desire to read it, being that I am a great fan of Martian fiction; I decided to forgo my trepidation at receiving a good 'Bible bashing' for my troubles and dived right in with my boots on!
What did I discover after all the uming

and aring? A damn fine story actually: kind of paced like one of those Dick Barton Special Agent stories but with a sort of Edgar Rice Burroughs thing going on. I liked it very much though. The best segment for me was undoubtedly the Earth bound adventure prior to getting to the red planet as I thought the suspense was absolutely spot on! I found some of the alien races on Malacandra more or less interesting but I would have liked to have gotten to the bottom of what was going on there supernaturally with the deitys hovering about? but I guess that's why it is a trilogy!
Funnily enough, after all the positive feelings I had reading this book, I didn't find myself grasping for the next instalment right off my bookshelf, but instead vouched for something a little different instead. I'm not sure why? Usually I have to read a series right through without a break (unless it's as expansive as the Tarzans or Doc Savage collections) but I guess I will probably make a point of reading the others before the year is out? I am certain that once I have read all three I will probably want to go back and re-read Silent Planet again.
Overall: Beautifully worded period (futuristic) drama.

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LibraryThing member janoorani24

A really delightful early science fiction book. One of the things I loved was the way Lewis explains Mars' surface features using what little was known about the surface in 1938. His descriptions of space travel and arrival on an alien planet are quaint and improbable, but he seems to have tried to

base his writing on scientific fact as he perceived it then. I really enjoyed the book and will try to find the other two in the trilogy to read.

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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C

I've seen this listed as a classic work of science fiction, but having now read this, I find that a misnomer. This is more anti-science fiction. Published in 1938, it involves a philologist, Elwin Ransom, kidnapped by a physicist, Professor Weston and his colleague Dr Devine and transported on a

spaceship to Malacandra (Mars). It struck me early on that it was antithetical to science fiction, not because the science is ludicrous--after all, this was written in 1938, but I don't think Lewis even tries. The science isn't what this is all about. It's not speculative about nature, it's dogmatic. Mars and space is written to conform to Christian mythology the better to fit a very explicit Christian allegory. It's not as immediately blatant perhaps as Narnia, but note this passage from fairly early on while Ransom is on the spaceship:

He wondered how he could have ever thought of planets, even of the Earth, of islands of life and reality floating in a deadly void. Now, with a certainty which never after deserted him, he saw the planets—the "earths" he called them in his thought—as mere holes or gaps in the living heaven--excluded and rejected wastes of heavy matter and murky air, formed not by addition to, but by subtraction from, the surrounding darkness.

On Mars we're introduced to various sentient species, the Sorns, the Hross, the pfifltrigg. They're all ruled over by Oyarsa, and when we finally meet that entity, we have allusions to what is obviously the story of Satan and the Fall. In other words, this novel has a lot more in common with Dante, Milton, even Swift than Verne, Wells or Burroughs. Ransom even tells us the purpose of his book is "a change-over from the conception of Space to the conception of Heaven."

And I prefer Space. Greatly.

So, if that were all there were to it, I'd probably not rate the book so highly. But speaking of the spirit of Swift... Well, the scene where Ransom translates Weston's speech to Oyarsa, nay, the whole interview between Weston and Oyarsa, is priceless. I have mentioned this was published in 1938? Given this is the age of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, the satire of fascism has particular resonance but that scene hits out not only at that kind of totalitarianism but the idea of Kipling's "White Man's Burden" and so Anglo-American forms of imperialism as well--and does so in a way not at all dry and didactic but really quite funny. Definitely my favorite scene in the book, although even the more allegorical passages had its pleasures if only for the poetry of Lewis' prose.

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LibraryThing member sgerbic

Reviewed Nov. 2004

Always wondered about this book, found it at a used book store and enjoyed reading it during lunch breaks. This is supposed to be an Narina for adult readers. Everything is perfect on Malacandra (Mars). The man who is kidnapped is named Ransom (how poetic is that?).

Lewis uses

the good vs evil theme here as well as with the Chronicles (all good or bad, nothing in between). Aslan (from the Chronicles) who is all good, all seeing ect... answers to 'son over the sea' and here it is Oyarsa (Aslan) who answers to Maleldil. In the Chronicles it is explained that Aslan is known on other planets by different names and takes on other shapes. Lewis the Christian could not write there are other Gods, so he made up a God ideal that he can change shape and name and use in whatever writing he is using.

Ransom encounters a talking beast (also at the beginning on the Narnia Chronicles, Lucy meets a Faun, and sees talking animals) Hnohra saves his life and explains everything (also the same exact thing in Narnia).

Lewis uses an all seeing God figure that everyone will someday be able to go to for eternal happiness. Sound familiar?

This book is a nice story, but too descriptive, I'm in no hurry to read the whole trilogy as I could just pick up the Chronicles of Narnia books again. Same formula, worked the first time (which came first, Narnia or Malacandra?) but fans of one series will see the other series right off the bat.

11-2004

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LibraryThing member Arctic-Stranger

The first volume of Lewis's Space Trilogy. It stand on its own, but really works best to set up the next two volumes. To my mind, this is the weakest link of the three.

LibraryThing member bonbooko

Really refreshing and entertaining. Clear english writing. I listened to the trilogy in audiobook format, and that was really effective.

LibraryThing member nillacat

Gentle, comforting in spite of the tragedy. Reminds me a little of Stapeldon in its cosmic view. I just finished the book and it hasn't settled in my mind yet. This review is a placeholder.

LibraryThing member capturingphi

In the first book of Lewis's Space Trilogy, Dr. Ransom encounters intelligent life on Malacandra (Mars) and gains a deeper understanding of mankind's condition.

Before reading this trilogy, know that Lewis attempts to address religious and philosophical issues rather than focusing on plot. Why use

science fiction to accomplish this goal? By stepping out of our reality, where we live as if with blinders on, we can see ourselves more objectively. Seen from afar, the follies of men resolve into a clear image: we have been willfully deceived. Science has taught us to idolize Life while at the same time dehumanizing the human species. It is our minds and spirits, the eternal things, that make every human valuable and worth saving. Just as in The Screwtape Letters, Lewis reminds us that the unseen things in our universe should not be overlooked.

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LibraryThing member ragwaine

Kind of boring until the end. I liked the philosophy and the set up that every planet has it's own god and then there's an overall god.

LibraryThing member deanc

A different sort of a book for Lewis, if one's primary reference is his classic works of practical theology. One of his earliest books published (1938), the story was, as he states in the preface, inspired by the work of H.G. Wells (and I suspect others--like his good friend Tolkien, who had

published the Hobbitt just the year before). It is a commendable foray into the world of sci-fi covered by a thin veneer of theological musings. If intelligent life does exist on other planets, then maybe somewhere they've gotten a better handle on how God intends for them to co-exist than we have here on earth.

However, even if life exists only here, there is certainly more to reality than meets the eye. We are not alone--there is a whole world of almost visible reality around us, if we but open our spiritual eyes to see. The characters are interesting, the events and dialogue are plausible (considering the genre), and the writing is excellent, as one would expect of Lewis. At 158 pages it's a quick read and a good introduction to the celebrated Space Trilogy.

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LibraryThing member kingfamily

For God so loved the world, that if He created life on Mars, it could have been like this.

LibraryThing member the_awesome_opossum

Out of the Silent Planet is an early example of science fiction. The protagonist, Ransom, is kidnapped and sent into space, eventually arriving at a planet called Malacandra (he finds out later that it's our Mars).

A lot of it is simply an exploration of the landscape and its species - hopefully

the other books in the trilogy will be less tiresome in that regard, now that we've had our introduction - but there are some good bits of religion and morality at the end. It turns out that the people of Malacandra think of Earth as the "silent planet," literally godforsaken, compared to their own society where their god interacts with them. Which is interesting, and hopefully will make for a good jumping-off point for the rest of the trilogy

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LibraryThing member endersreads

'Out of the Silent Planet', the 1st in Lewis' Space Trilogy, was absolutely nothing like I expected it to be. The journey of Ransom I found quite delectable. Really, this book proves to me why vintage Sci Fi is the best!

I find several things of interest within that I believe are of importance in

relating.

The most obvious is [ SPOILER ALERT ] that the book centers around the planet Mars. I find this ironic given today's Mars conspiracy theorists such as Richard C. Hoagland. Hoagland is quite interesting to listen to, though I highly suspect mass pareidolia. I might throw in that Tesla suspected life on Mars, as does NASA, though they have failed to prove it (or have succeeded in hiding it) . It is a fascinating planet, Mars.

I found Lewis' description of the eldila, Oyarsa, and Maleldil to be quite thought provoking. They, nearly invisible beings, were hindered from being whole in our world as we are hindered from even perceiving theirs—which is the Heavens. As Lewis put it, if you go so fast, you become still. They were creatures of Light, different from ours. His digression on Light and the Universe was quite stimulating.

Essentially, Malacandra is a Garden of Eden with not one but 3 intelligent races. Lewis did an excellent job at developing each race. We had the Thinkers (Giants), Builders (Dwarves), and Poets (Beast-like).

The Fall had never happened on Malacandra, though they did experience repercussions from Earth's fall—which was in fact the fall of Earth's Oyarsa.

Within this peculiar world, Lewis is able to look back to Earth and reflect upon its inhabitants, its history, and its future. He succeeds in illuminating the failures of humanity and why postmodern materialism and the humanist's goals (Weston) are not logical (think of London's Wolf Larsen as the example of modern man).

Ransom's eventual meeting with Oyarsa reveals much— not only to the story, but to Christian thought, and to Lewis' own unique and deep thoughts on God an the Universe.

I can't imagine where the other 2 books in the trilogy will go from here, though I suspect Weston (as well as Ransom) will play a part!

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LibraryThing member MusicMom41

This is the first book in Lewis’ “Space Trilogy” (so called even though the 3rd book takes place entirely on earth). The hero of the series, Ransom, is kidnapped and taken to another planet where his captors plan to offer him as a sacrifice to the beings on that planet in order to gain their

favor so that they can exploit the riches of this new world. This example of early science fiction is fascinating—Lewis was much less interested in the science part than the “fantasy”—would make this book interesting in any event. However, as is usual with Lewis, the story has much more to say about the state of humanity than with the aspects of science he exploits to carry the story. It’s interesting that both Ransom and his captors fail to understand the inhabitants of this alien planet.

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LibraryThing member dreamingtereza

While That Hideous Strength appeals to my lifelong love of Arthurian legend and Perelandra is unquestionably the strongest of the trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet remains my sentimental favorite. Lewis's vivid descriptions are simply breathtaking, and the lengthy dialogue between the Oyarsa and

the silly, evil humans on trial for murder is rather thought-provoking. Besides, "pfifltriggi" is absolutely one of the most fun words ever created.

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LibraryThing member mustreaditall

This is the only Lewis I've read aside from the Narnia series. Being as I was raised dirty heathen, I didn't pick up on the Christian aspects of his writing until later, and that still isn't the first thing that springs into view when I read him. Just so you know.

I think my favorite parts of this

one are the descriptions of Ransom lying in the spaceship, watching space go by. For someone who'd not only obviously never been to space, but didn't even have any descriptions from others who had, Lewis paints a detailed and engrossing picture of the teeming heavens. The whole book is obviously influenced by HG Wells' First Men in the Moon, but not enough to keep it from being very much its own novel.

Now, don't get me wrong - there's a fairly simplistic "man is often evil due to the presence of Satan/bent Oyarsa on Earth, but the peoples of Mars are good, kind, and wise because they have true angels/true contact with God" theme running through the novel. Being as it's Lewis, I guess that's par for the course, and it didn't keep me from enjoying the story itself. I was intrigued by the idea of the various Martian races seeing each other as both human and animal (and thereby not needing pets in the way that Earthlings seem to, as a connection to the animal world within our own culture). I suspect that some folks right here see other races/nationalities the same way, and not in the respectful way Lewis lays on his creations.

You know, I think this book (or the whole series - I haven't got far enough into it to know) helped inspired L'Engle when she wrote A Wrinkle in Time. Ransom's discussions with the different races is echoed in some of the childrens' encounters as they travel outward from Earth. Plus, there's the image of our planet being shrouded or silent - set apart from the rest of creation.

final thought: It really all comes down to whether your believe that "Our right to supersede you is the right of the higher over the lower." I don't, and I enjoy the case made by Lewis on the matter as much as I enjoy his descriptions of the petrified Martian forests and the bright, warm stretches of space.

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LibraryThing member macii

I did it! I finally conquered reading this book!!! This was my third attempt and I was able to complete it. My first two times the book seemed a bit long, descriptive and "heady," but this time the tale kept pulling me forward. Two types of my recent literary readings caused me to be more

appreciative of the story. First, my fairly new (within the past two years) enjoyment of Star Wars books, where you explore different planets and lands. Secondly, I've deemed this summer as the "Summer of Lewis" where I've been reading C.S. Lewis' works like mad! I've grown familiar with his writing style and some of his reoccurring themes. Every time I read Lewis I feel as though my brain must be growing in some capacity or another.

"Out of the Silent Planet" is the first of Lewis' Space Trilogy. Dr. Ransom is taken captive on a space ship and where they eventually land on the planet of Malacandra. It is a planet it our own solar system, but you need to read the book to discover which one. He escapes from his captors and journeys to discover the planet.

Conversation is a large part of the story and through Ransom's encounters with the species of a different world Lewis puts forward theological ideas. He is able to discuss sin, death, eternity, full life (not mortal life), love that becomes twisted to sit as a god--to name a few.

I loved this book and am looking forward to the next in the trilogy (but I don't know when I might take it up). For those unfamiliar with Lewis, I'd suggest reading a few of his essays (The book "Mere Christianity" is a great place to start) and his book (its short and an easy read) "The Great Divorce." I would also advise you to skim over some biographical information, but I do not know that this is a necessity, just interesting.

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LibraryThing member IntergalaticBookworm

I've been a fan of C S Lewis, but I did not know that he wrote a science fictin trilogy trilogy. This is the first book of the trilogy and I want to read the other 2. This book has all of the word pictures that he has in The Croincles of Narnia, which I love.

A man named Rasom was on a walking tour

of England when he inquired of a woman if there were lodgings in a neighboring town, and she said no and for him to see if he could bring back her mildly retarded son back to her. She gave him the location and he said that he will do his best. When he arrives at the house, he sees two men harrassing the woman's son. Ransom tries to put a stop to it and as he was trying to do so, Devine recognises Ransom from their school days. Ransom was unsuccessful in saving the boy as Devine bops Ransom on the head and as he comes to, Ransom notices that he isn't in Devine's house any more. Devine tells him that he is on a space ship heading for Malacandra, which is the creatures of the planet name for Mars. The planet is very colorful and Ransom learns their way of life.

There are a lot of symbolism in this book as there are in his Chronicles of Narnia and there are a few situation lessons that we can all learn from today as when this book was written in 1938.

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LibraryThing member Zathras86

One of the more powerful aspects of science fiction is its ability to take humanity out of context and thereby show things we take for granted in a different light. In Out of the Silent Planet Lewis unmasks the ideas of Social Darwinism and Manifest Destiny for the absurdities they are. Lewis is a

master at world-building, as anyone who has read the more popular Narnia series can attest. The world of Malecandra is extremely well-crafted and it's easy to lose yourself in Ransom's slow journey to understanding of its inhabitants.

I really enjoy Lewis's writing style and the subtle thread of joyful spirituality that lies beneath it. There is a good deal of theology woven into this story but it's not heavy-handed, and you won't enjoy it any less if you don't notice or don't believe in it. (After all, how many of you read and loved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as kids without noticing the rather obvious theological parallels? I know I did.)

Something I particularly liked was that Lewis does not pit spirituality against science itself, but against science used indiscriminately to serve greed and violence. This is a distinction that many Christians in this day and age have failed to grasp.

I'm hoping the second and third parts of the trilogy turn out to be as good as this one.

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LibraryThing member justchris

Out of the Silent Planet was interesting and very worth the read, I think. In it, our hero Ransom is kidnapped by a former classmate (Devine) working with a renowned physicist (Weston) after he stumbles over them at a remote country estate. They take him aboard their spaceship bound for a second

trip to Mars to fulfill the potentially sinister demands of the Martians (or Malacandrans, since they call the planet Malacandra). The speculative science is quite imaginative--the descriptions of the spaceship and its operation, the reaches of space, life on another planet with a different gravity, the psychology of kinship and xenophobia when confronted with the other, and Martian geography based on the best available information and hypotheses of the day (first published in the 1930s). The critique of attitudes of superiority derived from technological advancement, the pursuit of knowledge and wealth, and desire for conquest and colonization is spot on and at times hilarious. The arrogant pretensions of the men of science who refuse to see Martian society as anything other than superstitious, backwards savages hearken to colonial attitudes in our own history. Ransom feels ashamed of our history and society and general lack of morality and tries to hide the dark side of humanity from Malacandrans. The religious themes build from the first hints in the descriptions of space as filled with unearthly (celestial!) radiance rather than a barren nothingness to a complex, peaceful society of several species guided by unseen messengers to the final denouement of the scientists and their vanquishing by powers they cannot perceive or credit. The final speeches of the supreme being on Malacandra point toward the sequels in the trilogy. The title of the book refers to Earth, known as the Silent Planet to the rest of the cosmos when its supernatural guide became "bent" and was ultimately exiled (along with its planet) from the celestial plane. Hence our lost, immoral society and history filled with atrocities.

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LibraryThing member SeriousGrace

Dr. Ransom is a Cambridge philologist who inadvertently runs into two old classmates from his school days. He never really liked them and with good reason. He likes them even less when they drug and kidnap him and take him for a cruise across the universe in a spaceship. They end up on the planet

of Malacandra where Ransom is to be sacrificed to one of the alien creatures. Lewis tells this story as though the reader is sitting across from him beside a roaring fire. He describes Ransom's journey and reactions to this foreign new world as oddly detached and strangely calm. Probably the most interesting part to the whole story is how Ransom relates to his new world. He almost takes to it better than his own.

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