That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, Book 3) by C.S. Lewis Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, Book 3)
Book Review: Disappointing end to trilogy.
Summary: 2 Stars
I have to agree with other reviewers who call this the weakest link in the trilogy. Its tone is very different from "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra". Those stories were magical, this one was... bewildering. I think the key is that the other two books were timeless, and still work today; but this one is too focused on a time and place (British society and universities in the 1940s) for most of today's readers to be able to connect to. If you want to finish the trilogy, this is worth reading once; but be prepared for something totally different from the first two books.Book Review: a bit of a letdown as there is nothing original, but well written
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the end of the trilogy, for the first time entirely on earth. It is a fun story of earthy corruption, with lots of Christian details, and some surprise figures like Merlin. But ultimately, it is a good story that does not do much really new. So if you are a fan of Lewis, which I am, it is a pleasure to reach the end. What really distinguishes this is the elegant writing. Lewis was a master of prose and theme. But I did enjoy the first two much much more as path-breaking if amateur scifi.
Recommended for fans. They will not be disappointed. But readers in search of hard and origianl sci fi will not find much to love.
Book Review: Different Tone, Same Theme
Summary: 5 Stars
Lewis brings his space trilogy back to the planet Earth for this final installment. Since Ransom is back on earth, the tone of the book loses the "fantastic" nature of the previous two novels. However, Lewis's main theme is still the same: good in its battle against evil. Here evil initially takes more recognizable forms before growing into more extreme forms (I don't want to give anything away). He warns against many forms of evil that were then just beginning to appear but have now reached fruition. Though Lewis obviously has a passionate agenda (what great writer doesn't?), he doesn't lose the narrative. It is again an original novel and a horrifying vision of what evil is capable of and how good must find the courage to oppose evil.Book Review: The Trilogy Completed
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the third and concluding book in Lewis's "Cosmic Trilogy". In it, Professor Ransom, the protagonist of the first two tales, is a secondary (but vital) character. This story, unlike the first two, which range from Mars to Venus, takes place in then-contemporary England, at a small university.
It is, like the others, a not-very-subtle moral allegory; in fact, it is so direct that it is scarcely an allegory at all. It is frightening, in a literal sense, to realize that the over-the-top caricatures Lewis uses for his "bad guys" are become, in our times, so close to plausible as to give one the chills.
As ever, Lewis ends up with a hammer-banging delivery of his moral, but the entire tale is so surreal that it scarcely harms the telling.
The book is decent reading on its own, and essential if you have read the two that come before it.
Book Review: An enduring inspiration
Summary: 5 Stars
I got the title wrong. I thought it was: This Hideous Thing,and so couldn't find it!
C.S. Lewis is a great inspiration, and this book is wonderfully dark. The conflict between good and evil is ever present, but his excursion into the hideous and the wicked aquaints you with the author's own demons. For its time it must have been fairly challenging.
I read it ages ago, and it has stayed with me. Just glancing through again, the same images are revived. I can smell the atmosphere! It proves, to me anyway, that he was prophetic, poetic and immensly powerful in his visions. Start your journey into the black and white countryside of 40s England, but be prepared to be jolted to full colour senses as this tale twists and shakes to its destination. You'll be on the side of light, but may have to confess a sinful delight in the dark!