The Space Trilogy
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- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：C.S. Lewis
- ISBN：0007528418
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Summary
This striking one-volume edition marks the 75th anniversary of Lewis’s classic SF trilogy featuring the adventures of Dr Ransom on Mars， Venus and Earth。 It includes an exclusive Foreword compiled from letters by J。R。R。 Tolkien， who inspired Lewis to write the first volume。
The Space Trilogy is a remarkable work of fantasy， demonstrating the powerful imagination of C。S。。Lewis。 This new one-volume edition marks the 75th Anniversary of the first publication of Out of the Silent Planet with an exclusive Foreword by J。R。R。 Tolkien， on whom the main character of Ransom was largely based。
OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET
Dr Ransom， a Cambridge academic， is abducted and taken on a spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra， which he knows as Mars。 His captors are plotting to plunder the planet’s treasures and offer Ransom as a sacrifice to the creatures who live there…
PERELANDRA
Having escaped from Mars， Dr Ransom is called to the paradise planet of Perelandra， or Venus。 When his old enemy also arrives and is taken over by the forces of evil， Ransom finds himself in a desperate struggle to save the innocence of this Eden-like world…
THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH
Investigating the truth about her prophetic dreams， Anne Studdock encounters the fabled Dr Ransom， who is in great pain after his travels。 A sinister society run by his old adversaries intends to harness the ancient powers of a resurrected Merlin in their ambition to subjugate the people of Earth…
The Space Trilogy is a remarkable work of fantasy， demonstrating the powerful imagination of C。S。。Lewis。 This new one-volume edition marks the 75th Anniversary of the first publication of Out of the Silent Planet with an exclusive Foreword by J。R。R。 Tolkien， on whom the main character of Ransom was largely based。
OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET
Dr Ransom， a Cambridge academic， is abducted and taken on a spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra， which he knows as Mars。 His captors are plotting to plunder the planet’s treasures and offer Ransom as a sacrifice to the creatures who live there…
PERELANDRA
Having escaped from Mars， Dr Ransom is called to the paradise planet of Perelandra， or Venus。 When his old enemy also arrives and is taken over by the forces of evil， Ransom finds himself in a desperate struggle to save the innocence of this Eden-like world…
THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH
Investigating the truth about her prophetic dreams， Anne Studdock encounters the fabled Dr Ransom， who is in great pain after his travels。 A sinister society run by his old adversaries intends to harness the ancient powers of a resurrected Merlin in their ambition to subjugate the people of Earth…
Reviews
Catherine Giangreco
，
Currently reading the 3rd in the space trilogy， and have come to appreciate C S Lewis more since reading the first two。 Great writing， fantastic allegory， reminds me of Tolkien a lot， on different imaginative worlds。 Really worthwhile fast reads， I e can’t put it down once you start。
Joanna
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I like Mr。 Bultitude and Macphee。 As for the whole trilogy， it was very different than I expected and I don’t know what to think of it。 There were parts where I was on the edge of my seat and others where I was bored to death and didn’t know if I’d finish it。 Also the whole series ended on a note that was very unexpected。 Overall it was very good and I enjoyed the references to Tolkien’s fictional world as well and the ones to Shakespeare and Dickens。
Ray Woodrow
，
This is quite a tome to get through， obviously three books in one。 The first two were definitely sci-fi （with fantasy elements）， enjoyable reads even though these early 'classics' were more 'tell' than 'show'。The third story， equal in length to the first two combined， took a long time to make the connections （in my mind at least） to the first two。 I think it was half way through before there was any reference to either of them; it was about there when the name 'Perelandra' appeared。 It was only This is quite a tome to get through， obviously three books in one。 The first two were definitely sci-fi （with fantasy elements）， enjoyable reads even though these early 'classics' were more 'tell' than 'show'。The third story， equal in length to the first two combined， took a long time to make the connections （in my mind at least） to the first two。 I think it was half way through before there was any reference to either of them; it was about there when the name 'Perelandra' appeared。 It was only after that it became clear （to me） Ransom was the director。I felt the ending to be a little disjointed; I was a bit confused as to who Merlin actually was， as well， the priest and the tramp。 The 'eldila' seemed to be involved in the coming of the animals。I would recommend this story to those whose minds are still sharp with good concentration ability。 。。。more
Nathan Kanagy
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My brother and I read this when we were teen-agers， and discussed it at length much to the consternation of my mother who didn't understand what we were talking about。 I'm re-reading them now and currently in the middle of the last book "That Hideous Strength。" Its amazing how visionary CS Lewis was - seeing that the original publication date was 1938！ Some of this book reads like today's mainstream news。 It's amazing how much more I'm getting out of it now that I have more life experience。 High My brother and I read this when we were teen-agers， and discussed it at length much to the consternation of my mother who didn't understand what we were talking about。 I'm re-reading them now and currently in the middle of the last book "That Hideous Strength。" Its amazing how visionary CS Lewis was - seeing that the original publication date was 1938！ Some of this book reads like today's mainstream news。 It's amazing how much more I'm getting out of it now that I have more life experience。 Highly recommend it。 Enjoy！ 。。。more
Grace Morris
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"The Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet， Perelandra， That Hideous Strength"First Read: 12/17/21 - 5/16/22 Overall Rating for All Three Books:4 StarsOverall Review:An interesting but bizarre series。 It was actually pretty good， though a little boring in some places。 Loved the Christian elements that were poured into the story， though I might not have understood everything。 Now， all I have to do is to someday write the reviews for these books and read J。R。R。 Tolkien's time travel collabora "The Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet， Perelandra， That Hideous Strength"First Read: 12/17/21 - 5/16/22 Overall Rating for All Three Books:4 StarsOverall Review:An interesting but bizarre series。 It was actually pretty good， though a little boring in some places。 Loved the Christian elements that were poured into the story， though I might not have understood everything。 Now， all I have to do is to someday write the reviews for these books and read J。R。R。 Tolkien's time travel collaboration; "The Lost Road and Other Writings"！"Out of the Silent Planet"First Read: ？？？Made-up Date for First Read， Because I Can't Remember: 2/8/15 - 2/14/15Second Reread: 12/17/21 - 12/23/21Third Reread: 5/12/22 - 5/16/22 Rating: 4 StarsFull Review to come soon！ =D"Perelandra"First Read: 12/26/21 - 1/20/22 Rating: 4 StarsFull Review to come soon！ =D"That Hideous Strength"First Read: 1/22/22 - 5/11/22 Rating: 3。5 StarsFull Review to come soon！ =D 。。。more
Breanne
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Didn’t love the first two books， but the third， that Hideous strength， has grown on me。
Peter Dodds
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Lewis managed to make a Christian sci-fi。 Gotta love him。
Andrzej Stelmasiak
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Out of the Silent Planet - 5 starsPerelandra - 5 stars， easy。 That Hideous Strength - 3 stars （more interesting than boring but definitely too long）。
Doug
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Out of the Silent Planet 2 stars Perelandra 3 stars That Hideous Strength 1 star
Michael Laflamme
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Fantastic！Only C。S。 Lewis。 Like Narnia tucked into the Lord of the Rings and wrapped in The once And Future King。 All of our most wonderful stories in the oldest heroic tales of Great Britain。 Lewis makes all those traditions accessible to us in one trilogy！
Sandra Power
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Supremely tedious readThe rambling narratives are almost unbearable。 The author is quote full of himself and lives to use verbiage more suited to the halls of academia， with other pompous parts who want to impress each other。
Lori
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Sci - fi is not my favorite genre， but I love CS Lewis so gave them a try。
Kirsten Elsa
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Jeff’s recommendation
Nancy
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Clever， challenging。
Charlotte Wenner
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Oddly enough I had asimilar reading experience with Lewis's triology as I did with his fellow-author and friend， Tolkien， who wrote both Forward and Afterward for this edition of the Space Trilogy。 I found them both rather tough going at tge beginning， but once the initial hesitation was passed， I read the rest in very short time。 The first book is an interesting look at mankind's character， and the choices made between Hood and Evil when tempted by wealth and power。 The second illustrates the r Oddly enough I had asimilar reading experience with Lewis's triology as I did with his fellow-author and friend， Tolkien， who wrote both Forward and Afterward for this edition of the Space Trilogy。 I found them both rather tough going at tge beginning， but once the initial hesitation was passed， I read the rest in very short time。 The first book is an interesting look at mankind's character， and the choices made between Hood and Evil when tempted by wealth and power。 The second illustrates the responsibility the individual has when the choice for Good has been made， and that one must lay everything on the line in the struggle。 Every person， however small， can pkay tge decisive role。 But I liked the third book the most， as it so clearly illustrates the forces of "science and techology" in their merciless attempt to supplant nature with artificial "enhancements"， and the extinction of all that which makes people human。 Very timely， even more so almost 100 years later。Although Paul Cliteur calls Lewis a "Christian apologist"， I would hardly go that far。 However， without an understanding of the Bible as well as other theisms， the books cannot really be appreciated at their deepest level。 Quite happy I read them， and may do so again。 。。。more
Angela
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Listen to this one which was not the best choice！
Tara
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I'd give 3。5 stars if I could。 I hate to rate a writer and thinker as brilliant and gifted as C。S。 Lewis so poorly。 I think this is one of those books that is really good， but it was a bit of a struggle for me to read。 My mind， at least， probably needed to read it more slowly and think more muscular thoughts; I think there's a lot of good content， but my brain didn't really enjoy thinking so many philosophical thoughts for so long。 I will say that I'm a bigger fan of Lewis than science fiction， I'd give 3。5 stars if I could。 I hate to rate a writer and thinker as brilliant and gifted as C。S。 Lewis so poorly。 I think this is one of those books that is really good， but it was a bit of a struggle for me to read。 My mind， at least， probably needed to read it more slowly and think more muscular thoughts; I think there's a lot of good content， but my brain didn't really enjoy thinking so many philosophical thoughts for so long。 I will say that I'm a bigger fan of Lewis than science fiction， so that might have been part of the difficulty for me， and the first two books were a bit further on the science fiction side of the spectrum than the third one。 I did enjoy the third one more， with more plot and more relatable， but even it was a bit weird for me。 But again， I also thought so much of the content was thought-provoking and insightful， as relevant if not more so than when it was written。 Some books are dessert， some are entrees， some are vegetables。。。this one felt like an entree laden with vegetables。。。and it's either a rare or a more muscular reader than I who likes vegetables as well as entrees。。。or desserts。 。。。more
Vicky Hunt
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Taking the First Omnibus to Earth， Via Mars and VenusThe journeys by backyard rocket， coffin， and。。。 erm。。。 coffin， found in C。 S。 Lewis' Space Trilogy is a dystopian space travel Fantasy/ Sci-fi classic all wrapped in one hardback omnibus edition。 At first glance， it may look to the casual reader as if the monstrosity of the third book， called That Hideous Strength was wrestled by force and thrown tied into the collection with the other two otherworldly books。 But， it becomes clear right away t Taking the First Omnibus to Earth， Via Mars and VenusThe journeys by backyard rocket， coffin， and。。。 erm。。。 coffin， found in C。 S。 Lewis' Space Trilogy is a dystopian space travel Fantasy/ Sci-fi classic all wrapped in one hardback omnibus edition。 At first glance， it may look to the casual reader as if the monstrosity of the third book， called That Hideous Strength was wrestled by force and thrown tied into the collection with the other two otherworldly books。 But， it becomes clear right away the last sequel came along for the ride willingly and the earlier two books are more like merely preludes setting the scene。 Lewis sets book one: Out of the Silent Planet on Mars， where we meet aliens who are all ruled very well by the chief angelic being of their planet。 In this book we learn the structure of this arrangement， of each planet having their own Eldila （angel-like beings。） We learn also that one planet has gone silent to the rest of the Eldila since the chief being of Earth has been confined to the planet because of rebellion。 With beautiful fantasy elements， the book gives glimpses of an early 20th Century （pre-space-flight） view of life on other planets。 To me， that's a beautiful thing。 In an age where man had no interplanetary glimpses of the barren worlds in our system， imagination ran wild。 Book two was set on Venus， called Perelandra， and presents the view of a would-be Eve of the planet， the first woman of Venus who lives alone with the King of the world on the oceans。 Dr。 Ransom， the main character of all three books， is transported there to try to stop the woman of Venus from giving into the temptation that would lead to the fall on her planet。 It is a lovely mermaid-like tale with vivid mental images of a colorful sea world and epic one-on-one combat。 But， the space travel ends there。 Book three， That Hideous Strength， brings the action to Earth， set in a rural English College town。 Here the forces of Good and Evil prepare for a showdown by recruiting participants to both sides。 Lewis considered it a fairytale for adults， and it is certainly not for children。 It is full of realistic social climbing and power struggles， and ends with quite a showy finale。 But， Lewis brings in some rather fantastical elements， including Merlin of Arthurian legends。 This creates an even more comical parody effect， as the book is every bit a book filled with symbols。 The bit about Arthur reminded me of the humorous scene in Shakespeare's King Henry when Falstaff dies， and the tavern lady says that he's 'gone to Arthur's Bosom。' You can see the image Shakespeare was trying to paint of a lower class who often blurred the lines between legends and Bible stories。 The lady mixed up her concept of the patriarch Abraham with that of King Arthur。 Here in the final book of the trilogy it reminds the reader of how Christians often combine elements from different sources into their moral or religious beliefs， creating a 'Stone Soup' of beliefs。 If you're having a good laugh at the ol' Brits for making a Christ figure of Merlin， notice that Lewis' contemporaries didn't seem too much offended。 He had a lot of good reviews in his day， even though one of the characters was specifically mocking H。 G。 Wells' dreams of a Brave New World without Christianity。 I read this set along with the audio editions that are free for members on Audible。 The narration was excellent quality and a delight to read along with。 I find myself loving this omnibus hardback edition as well， even though the binding seems quite flimsy。 I thought it might break in actual use， but it has held together just fine。 And the text is a good size。 I had read the first book about five years ago， but the rest was all new。 I really enjoyed reading all three back to back like this in my "Loving Lewis" February Valentine book selection。 I hope you find an author you enjoy this month and browse some of their better works。 Following are a few quotes from the trilogy。"The swiftest thing that touches our senses is light。 We do not truly see light， we only see slower things lit by it， so that for us light is on the edge —the last thing we know before things become too swift for us。" "It seems to me ， Thick One， that what you really love is no completed creature but the very seed itself: for that is all that is left。" "When the Bible used that very expression about fighting with principalities and powers and depraved hypersomatic beings at Great heights （our translation is very misleading at that point， by the way） it meant that quite ordinary people were to do the fighting。" "A man who has been in another world does not come back unchanged。" "I suppose everyone knows this fear of getting 'drawn in' the moment at which a man realizes that what had seemed mere speculations are on the point of landing him in the Communist Party or the Christian church— the sense that a door has just slammed and left him on the inside。" "。。。 ready， if ever the power is put into its hands， to open a new chapter of misery for the universe。 It is the idea that humanity， having now sufficiently corrupted the planet where it arose， must at all costs contrive to seed itself over a larger area : that the vast astronomical distances which are God's quarantine regulations， must somehow be overcome。" "Though he was theoretically a materialist， he had all his life believed quite inconsistently， and even carelessly， in the freedom of his own will。" "The man who had been dug up out of the earth and the man who had been in outer space。" "For the Hideous Strength confronts us， and it is as in the days when Nimrod built a tower to reach heaven。" 。。。more
Polly Shelley
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I found the first two books fascinating and inspiring， I struggled with the third。 I would recommend for the wonderful world you end up in especially in Perelandra and the host of extraordinary characters you meet in Out of the Silent Planet。
Aaron
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For a book of its time， I enjoyed it。 Amazing this was written before space travel exists。 There are 2 more books to read but ill give them a rest for a lockdown or a very long weekend。C。S Lewis is just absolute class， I feel no one today should commit to him really until they study the man himself。
Ian Rees
，
Lewis has some quite amazing descriptive power， but I found the first two of these stories really hard going because they pause quite frequently for some deep philosophical reflections。 The third has moments like that， but the storyline keeps moving。
Jeremy Swartz
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I absolutely love this trilogy。 I can understand why it’s not as popular as Tolkien’s series， but it’s still amazing on its own。 The ideas of deep heaven and deeper truths that are woven into the fabric of the universe definitely took me aback in the first book。 But then， the ending of Perelandra was incredible。 The last chapter of that book was the standout section of the entire series。 The second book is my favorite of the three， I believe。 The third book was good on its own， too。 I like how L I absolutely love this trilogy。 I can understand why it’s not as popular as Tolkien’s series， but it’s still amazing on its own。 The ideas of deep heaven and deeper truths that are woven into the fabric of the universe definitely took me aback in the first book。 But then， the ending of Perelandra was incredible。 The last chapter of that book was the standout section of the entire series。 The second book is my favorite of the three， I believe。 The third book was good on its own， too。 I like how Lewis wove in English lore into his story and concluded his trilogy in a way that honors the world he created and honors God by showing the absolute folly of evil and how much more powerful the forces of goodness are in comparison with the whole of Heaven。 This work is definitely a must-read， and I think that those kids， like myself， who grew up reading the Narnia books will appreciate the depth into theological thought that Lewis goes into in this series。 Brilliant。 。。。more
Ken
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Thoroughly enjoyed the originality and insight these books displayed from my favorite 20 century Christian writer
Michael Otto
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You can see some of God's Word disguised as a science fiction trilogy You can see some of God's Word disguised as a science fiction trilogy 。。。more
Karla Morton
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I'm not a science fiction fan， so this was a struggle for me。 I love all the Narnia books， but this is not fantasy。 The last book， That Hideous Strength， caused me to reflect on the first two and made me wonder about life。 I'm not a science fiction fan， so this was a struggle for me。 I love all the Narnia books， but this is not fantasy。 The last book， That Hideous Strength， caused me to reflect on the first two and made me wonder about life。 。。。more
B
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Book 3 rate as a 3 not 5。
J。
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In my opinion this is the most important science fiction ever written。 The way that C。S。 Lewis grappled with the interplay between science， theology， mythology， technology， and human character in this narrative， was ahead of it's time。 The dialogues between characters could be cumbersome sometimes but at other moments it was the hidden treasure brilliantly shining forth in an unassuming fantasy story。 There is deep wisdom hidden here - eternal wisdom。 After reading this book series it makes me q In my opinion this is the most important science fiction ever written。 The way that C。S。 Lewis grappled with the interplay between science， theology， mythology， technology， and human character in this narrative， was ahead of it's time。 The dialogues between characters could be cumbersome sometimes but at other moments it was the hidden treasure brilliantly shining forth in an unassuming fantasy story。 There is deep wisdom hidden here - eternal wisdom。 After reading this book series it makes me question who C。S。 Lewis really was and if it is possible that maybe， just maybe， this series wasn't actually fiction （at least not totally）。 。。。more
Makayla
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 These are fantastic。 After reading these I have a greater understanding of "myth"-- also now 100% believe in Merlin。 Progress， modernity， and industry are dangerous and nature and real community and hospitality are safe and beautiful。 Lewis writes the absolute best women characters。 These are fantastic。 After reading these I have a greater understanding of "myth"-- also now 100% believe in Merlin。 Progress， modernity， and industry are dangerous and nature and real community and hospitality are safe and beautiful。 Lewis writes the absolute best women characters。 。。。more
Chris Gale
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Thrilling and highly engaging from Lewis。 I found I could put aside the religious undercurrent and enjoy it for what it is。
Jonathan Lackey
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This is more of a review of the series， as one could probably guess。I wish people would stop sleeping on the space trilogy。 The whole series is phenomenal， and is true Lewis， portraying the cosmic struggle between good and evil in a very Christian way。 It has been said that these can be read as standalone books of any order。 This is true， but one REALLY should read then in the order they are bound in this edition。 THS especially is made all the better when one knows the spiritual hierarchy intro This is more of a review of the series， as one could probably guess。I wish people would stop sleeping on the space trilogy。 The whole series is phenomenal， and is true Lewis， portraying the cosmic struggle between good and evil in a very Christian way。 It has been said that these can be read as standalone books of any order。 This is true， but one REALLY should read then in the order they are bound in this edition。 THS especially is made all the better when one knows the spiritual hierarchy introduced in the other books。 Otherwise， you will be lost， and the monumental importance of what is happening in the ending will be clouded。 If you know me you know I am a unapologetic Lewis fan and recommend anything he writes。 The Space Trilogy is just another example of solid gold to flow from his pen。 It's on the apocalypse shelf。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Space Trilogy
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Space Trilogy&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Space Trilogy&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0