C.S. Lewis

[VampirePrincess]

He is part of the group called The Inklings... Which includes Tolkien.

Anyway i love his work... I love Out of the Silent planet and the Chronicles of Narnia.

Does anyone here read his books? And if so which ones?

[Shanoncia]

I read some of C.S. Lewis when I was younger. I don't remember very much but I did like it.

[chocky]

I've read the Chronicles of Narnia several times. The ones I like best are the Silver Chair and Voyage of the Dawntreader.
I have not read them in years but think of them fondly.

[Rachel]

I love the Narnia chronicles and try to re-read my set at least once a year.

Last year while I was in Germany I started reading his Space trilogy, but with one thing and another I got about halfway through Out of the Silent Planet and then for some reason never picked it up again. But the next time I get a craving for sci-fi I will.
--Rachel

[VampirePrincess]

Out of the Silent Planet took me awhile to read because it was so detialed but I liked it... So many detials though. If they ever make a movie with that book oh buy would it be destoryed cause its like reading a science book only way more interesting.

[allanon]

I like "Narnia" very much. The second book is my favourite.
I love also one his book called Screwtipe's Letters" or something like that. It was about the battle between God and Devil in the soul of a human... interesting, really.

[VampirePrincess]

Screwtape Letters was really good... I only read bites of it but I am plaining to buy the book and read more.

[Elan Morin Tedronai]

Ahhh, "Scretipes Letters" rullz! This book is one of his best. And "Chronicles of Narnia".... This series is classic in the Children litterature! Az "Harry Potter" and "Ronia the Robbers Daughter", as "Pooh" and "Alice in Wonderland"!

[Jacquin]

I love C.S. Lewis, the Narnia chronicles are great and I really enjoyed Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, I had a lot more trouble with That Hideous Strength though.

Also I used to drink in the Eagle and Child where the Inkings used to meet, quite a nice little pub.

J

[jfclark]

The space trilogy is one of the weirdest trilogies out there. It is a trilogy, technically, but the only things linking the books are a few overlapping characters and some overarching themes. The three books are wildly different stylistically:

Out of the Silent Planet (Mars) is a pretty straightforward Earthlings-on-a-distant-planet story with a healthy dose of Christological metaphor.

Perelandra (Venus) is hardly an adventure story at all. It's far more allegorical in nature, with a small cast of characters, and really is a meditation on the Book of Genesis.

That Hideous Strength (Earth) is perhaps best classified as a spiritual thriller, with a strange but compelling Arthurian element. Can also be read as a statement by Lewis on contemporary civilization.

It's a fantastic trilogy, but it's easy to see why some people would like one or two books but not the third, or vice versa. I don't know of any other science fiction with such a theological bent.

[VampirePrincess]

Either do I... It wierd... I bought the last two books and bascly never got a chance to read them. Its interesting though. Very wierd and creative almost.

[Hobbit]

..and if I remember right, the space books were also meant to be a not-too-subtle dig at HG Wells too.... I read the first, quite enjoyed it, but have to be honest and say that I found the next hard going and I don't think I finished them.

[VampirePrincess]

I am having trouble starting the second book myself.. But I will get into once I pick up again. I hope.

[jfclark]

Of all of Lewis's novels, Perelandra is the most consistently "Christian." It's primarily an allegory about the Garden of Eden (only set on another planet). It contains long stretches of meditations on theological topics. As a Christian myself, I think it's wonderful stuff. But I think that if I didn't know much about Christian theology I would find the book boring and impenetrable.

By the way, you don't need to have read Perelandra in order to try the third book, That Hideous Strength, which is a thriller with a much broader cast of characters and a faster plot.

[VampirePrincess]

I might read Hideus Strength first before Perelandra only because I can't get my grasp on the book.