Out of the Silent Planet (Cosmic Trilogy)

As promised

If you know about C. S. Lewis, it's probably about his children's series "The Chronicles of Narnia," which is a colorful but straightforward fantasy tale about skipping between worlds and a lion god-king.But Lewis was in his best form when he wrote his Space Trilogy, a sprawling H. G. Wells-inspired story about a philologist traveling between worlds and encountering increasingly strange life-forms. Unlike most sci-fi stories, Lewis manages to do double-duty with his focus -- the first volume, "Out of the Silent Plane,t" is a solid, dreamy slice of imaginative science fiction with deep philosophical underpinnings.During a walking tour of England, philologist Dr. Ransom encounters an old despised schoolmate named Devine, who is busy trying to abduct a mentally handicapped teenager. Things take a nasty turn after Devine and his accomplice Weston drug Ransom, and load him onto a spaceship. Over the course of a month's interstellar travel, Ransom learns that they are traveling to the planet Malacandra (Mars) -- and worst, he's destined to be a human sacrifice.After landing on Malacandra, Ransom manages to escape, and quickly finds himself alone on a strange alien world. But fortunately there is life on this world. He soon is taken in by the otterlike hrossa, and learns that there are three sentient species on Malacandra: the peaceful poetry-loving hrossa, the workaholic pfifltriggi, and intelligent seroni. When a hross friend of Ransom's is killed by the murderous humans, he sets out to find the mysterious, powerful Oyarsa, who might be able to help him and stop his kidnappers.While it does have some interplanetary travel, "Out of the Silent Planet" feels less like your average space opera, and more like a novel by H. G. Wells (the spaceship journey) or Edgar Rice Burroughs (the detailed descriptions of the weirdness of Malacandra). Big fleshy plants, sentient otter-people, decreased gravity and petrified forests all give it the feeling of a truly alien world, as do the three species who populate it.In fact, the aliens are perhaps the most alien you can find in fiction -- three dissimilar species, who work together and have no problems like war, starvation, lies, power-lust or any of the other problems that human beings have. It's underscored by Lewis's contemplative stretches of ethical and philosophical dialogue, and the thought-provoking approach to ideas like consciousness, cruelty, love and so on. And he takes some razor-sharp jabs at ideas such as the "white man's burden" or that people who "aren't useful" to society (such as the handicapped) being disposable.Lewis' writing has a dreamlike, somber quality that lends the story an eeriness that really permeates the entire story. And while Lewis' Christian beliefs are on view, I wouldn't classify this as a religious book -- rather it's a science fiction tale as seen and perceived through the lens of a man of faith. For instance, the character of Oyarsa could be seen as an angelic figure, a nearly invisible shimmer of light and shadow that rules Malacandra, but others might just perceive him as an alien. Others might see him as both.Lewis reportedly based Ransom on his close friend, fantasy author/philologist J. R. R. Tolkien, and there's an obvious affection for his protagonist even as he's kidnapped, sent into space and becomes a "stranger in a strange land." He almost goes bonkers once or twice, but always makes it through with steadfast morality and intellect. On the other hand, Weston and Devine are the kind of person you have probably encountered in many comment sections -- they pay lip service to great advances and high ideals, but they are cold cruel men who value science and self above compassion and humanity. The opposite of the Malacandrians, in fact."Out of the Silent Planet" is a spellbinding, vivid and beautifully written piece of science fiction, with the intelligence and open-mindedness to see that the limits between the scientific and the spiritual don't have to exist. Off to Mars!

bought Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis but apart from the title page, the book downloaded is Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers!

Podríamos dividir a Lewis en tres categorías: el ensayista, el de ficción y el de alegorías.Este libro es su mejor ficción. Tiene la fantasía y construcción de mundos, el trasfondo religioso, la calidad narrativa y la calidad de su imaginación.Lo único malo (sobre la edición en Kindle) es que se interponen números en medio del texto que estorban la lectura. Espero que lo corrijan pronto

bon alors rien à redire sur l'édition , c'est du harper collins, même si on a l'impression que le texte a été scanné... en fin de livre il est écrit que le livre a été imprimé en france à bretigny sur orges , par amazon... une opération qu'harper collins a décidé de faire pour faire baisser les coûts d'impression j'imagine... une édition de 2005

Very satisfied with both the book and the service received from this seller. Thank you.

Arrived in perfect condition!

Definitely recommend!