The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis

[Finarvyn]

Over on the Goodman Games boards is a discussion of books that should be in Appendix N. Geoffrey had some interesting thoughts on the SPACE TRILOGY by C. S. Lewis and I thought I'd post his comments along with my reply.

GEOFFREY SAID: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay (1920)
Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis (1938)
Perelandra by C. S. Lewis (1943)

I purposely exclude C. S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength (1945), which many consider the third of Lewis's Space Trilogy. Bah. The above is the real Space Trilogy. Lewis read A Voyage to Arcturus, was blown away by it, and then wrote Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra under Lindsay's inspiration. That Hideous Strength fell under Charles Williams's influence, and it has a decidedly different (and non-Appendix N) vibe.

My current D&D games (using only about 10% of the 1974 Men & Magic D&D book--the rest made-up by yours truly) are heavily influenced by Perelandra and A Voyage to Arcturus. Crazy, crazy stuff.

AND MY REPLY: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay (1920)
Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis (1938)
Perelandra by C. S. Lewis (1943)

When I first saw this, I thought two things:
(1) What? Doesn't Geoffrey know that Lewis' Space Trilogy is a trilogy? :?
(2) Is it possible that I know something that Geoffrey doesn't?

Then I read the rest of the post. Curses, sir, you've outdone me again.

I purposely exclude C. S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength (1945), which many consider the third of Lewis's Space Trilogy. Bah. The above is the real Space Trilogy. Lewis read A Voyage to Arcturus, was blown away by it, and then wrote Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra under Lindsay's inspiration. That Hideous Strength fell under Charles Williams's influence, and it has a decidedly different (and non-Appendix N) vibe.

Interesting. I've not read the Space "Trilogy" for a long time. I remember not liking parts, but I'll be darned if I can recall which parts. I suspect it's That Hideous Strength that I disliked. I'll need to go back and look again.

Also, I'm not familar with Voyage to Arcturus and will need to track it down. I (potentially) like the way you're re-written history to redefine the trilogy. I'll have to give it a shot your way!

My current D&D games (using only about 10% of the 1974 Men & Magic D&D book--the rest made-up by yours truly) are heavily influenced by Perelandra and A Voyage to Arcturus. Crazy, crazy stuff.

Your campaigns are always rich and fertile in imagination. Nice to see where you get your inspiration!

[Finarvyn]

I realize I kind of left the thread hanging without any questions.

Have you read VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS and/or the SPACE TRILOGY? What do you think of them?

Is Geoffry's analysis spot on, or not?

[Deleted]

I'm going to have to reread them before I can answer your question, Finn. It's been many a long year and another lifetime ago I read those works. From what I remember, I can agree with Geoffrey's analysis.

[geoffrey]

Apr 22, 2012 10:36:42 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

I've not read the Space "Trilogy" for a long time. I remember not liking parts, but I'll be darned if I can recall which parts. I suspect it's That Hideous Strength that I disliked. I'll need to go back and look again.

In both Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, the hero goes to alien worlds and has adventures therein. In That Hideous Strength, the hero stays on earth and everybody stands around talking a lot.

It doesn't help that That Hideous Strength is as long as the other two books put together. Out of the Silent Planet is 160 pages long, Perelandra is 222 pages long, and That Hideous Strength is 384 pages long.

One more thing: The world of Perelandra is the most gorgeously-described fantasy world I've ever encountered. I'd rather live there than in any other imaginary world.

[Finarvyn]

There you go, Geoffrey, agreeing with yourself.

[James Maliszewski]

Allow me to dissent a little and say that not only is That Hideous Strength my favorite of "the Space Trilogy," but I also think that it is Appendix N material, in that it involves modern people coming into contact with realities that they at first cannot accept as true. More personally, a key aspect of my own Dwimmermount campaign was heavily influenced (albeit subconsciously) by That Hideous Strength. It's not as explicitly fantastical a novel as its predecessors, but it's still very fantastical and offers up lots of good ideas of interest to players of D&D and other RPGs.

[geoffrey]

Apr 22, 2012 20:30:45 GMT -6 James Maliszewski said:

That Hideous Strength...involves modern people coming into contact with realities that they at first cannot accept as true.

Have you read any of Charles Williams's fantasy novels, James? That Hideous Strength was strongly influenced by Williams. His novels all involve moderns bumping up against spiritual realities that they can't accept. I myself (and Tolkien along with me) don't care for Williams's novels, but Lewis loved them.

[Falconer]

What’s not to love about That Hideous Strength? Merlin comes back from the dead, summons the Greek Gods from out of the planets, destroys some remarkably convincing demons!!

I prefer to call it “the Ransom books,” myself. If the trilogy nomenclature is troublesome due to Tolkien overtones, discard it and just consider each novel as a stand-alone work, loosely-tied (Lovecraft-circle-style) to the rest. Heck, while you’re at it, That Hideous Strength has Lovecraft-circle-style ties back to Tolkien (Numinor references), as well as to The Magician’s Nephew via all the mutual Arthurian references. And Tolkien’s The Notion Club papers has plenty of awesome ties right back to the Ransom Trilogy, FYI.

I love all three Ransom books. Perelandra obviously is gorgeous, and pretty significant theologically. But I am certain That Hideous Strength affected me the most. I still draw more theological insight from it. (Though still none of them compare to The Last Battle.)

Speaking of Appendix N and Lewis, I’ve often considered The Silver Chair to be the single most obvious basis for the Giants-Drow series.