My great aunt found this collection somewhere and didn't want to throw it away so she gave it to me. I had no idea what it was. I had read C.S.Lewis many times before, but I had never heard of his Space Trilogy. Naturally, I was curious so I took a peak inside the first book Out Of The Silent Planet. It was like a death trap - I was hooked. This is a sci-fi series but not in the way Star Wars or a Dystopian Novel is. It was written in the late 40's when space first started to become a big thing. Picture this: purple trees, a bubblegum pink sky, and froglike creatures - yeah, that's what this is like. It's not tacky at all, however. I actually quite enjoyed the series which is saying a lot because I usually don't read sci-fi.

Throughout all three books you follow an English professor named Ransom who - by some rotten luck - gets caught up with some scientists who kidnap him and take him to Mars. There he meets the Eldil (the spirits of the universe) who forewarn him of a dangerous attack on planet earth. After returning to earth he goes to Jupiter and helps ward off the evil stirring there. In the final book he is back on earth fighting against the prophesied attack by a group called the N.I.C.E. Only the first book is really a true sci-fi adventure. The second book is like a reliving of Adam and Eve. That one was the most bore some of the books because it was mainly a lot of arguments over whether one should or shouldn't do this or that, but it was still good. The third book took me the longest to read because it started out slow, but once the action started, I couldn't put it down!

C.S. Lewis wrote the books, and if you've ever read C.S. Lewis you'll know he likes to add a lot of words mostly in the form of psychological or religious arguments. He's like Charles Dickens only less tiresome. If you've ever read The Screwtape Letters or Mere Christianity you should like these books.

It's very different from anything I've ever read. Lewis' descriptions of the planets' surfaces were fun and mystical (almost queer), and I am certain I will never forget them.

My version is from the 1960's hence the very strange book covers. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing different about the text in the new editions. The only upsides of this version are a) the box and b) it's collectability and vintage feel. This particular sets goes for around $60 if you want it to be in good condition. I feel privileged to have gotten it for free!

I rated this as 13+ not because of any really gory or inappropriate material, but because I think it would be very hard for a younger child to understand what was happening.

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Created Jan 19, 2015 at 6:40pm • Submit your own review...