That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, Book 3) by C.S. Lewis Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $14.19 You Save: $0.76 (5%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $11.41 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, Book 3)
Book Review: A wild ride - different, but interesting
Summary: 4 Stars
This "fairy tale" starts out describing a young married couple - Mark and Jane. Mark is the type that always has to belong to whatever he deems is the exclusive group to be in, and in belonging to such a group at the university he sorely neglects Jane, who becomes more and more disturbed by troubling dreams. She is advised by friends to consult with a woman regarding the dreams, and she enters into a circle of people who are headed up by Dr. Ransom.
Ironically, Dr. Ransom's circle is fighting the evil deeds of another exclusive group that Mark has found himself coerced into. As always, Lewis' storytelling is great - full of vivid detail and the allegorical elements abounding, though the story is a little wild in its conclusion which can be expected in a sci-fi story.
Book Review: good and evil
Summary: 4 Stars
Lewis's writing seems always to be about the struggle
of good and evil. His "evil", as I see it, consists
of a separation from the joy of love and life, and a
descent into passionless, dull destruction and
time-wasting. While I am not a Christian, I deeply
appreciate his insights on how we get caught in habits
of this kind of evil, and drawn away from joy.
Lewis's portrayal in this book of the advancement of evil through individuals' petty efforts at self-aggrandizement rang true. It was frightening to watch unfold through nearly content-free board meetings and hall conversations.
There were also some choice insights in the course of the book about how we can help or hinder ourselves in being good. Lewis tends to be clear about the point that devotion to God (or goodness) has nothing to do with looking saintly every Sunday in the right sort of church, and everything to do with cultivating generous impulses, enjoying the life given to us, and being good to one another, without regard for personal status.
I enjoyed the first part of the story quite a bit, as both literature and spiritual exploration. When Lewis suddenly introduced Martians (I am wildly oversimplifying for the sake of clarity) the effect was ludicrously awkward, IMHO, but I was willing to let it go, particularly since he had in fact spent two previous books, only one of which I've read, presenting these entities in more context.
The ending, unfortunately, shared this awkwardness. After a book-long buildup, it seemed to all fly to pieces in a rather unsatisfying manner that felt less like a resolution than like Cecil B. DeMille pulling out all the stops and using all his ancient Roman and Biblical costumes, props, sets, and wild animals at once.
Some great bits, good spiritual insights, thought-provoking, but flawed as a novel. I recommend it if you can forgive that and want some thoughts about goodness and evil to chew on.
Book Review: Doesn't Fit With The Rest Of The Trilogy
Summary: 2 Stars
Taken by itself - which can be done without much issue - this is a good book. However, when positioned as the third installment of the Space Trilogy, it is a square peg being placed in a round hole. There are a number of things about this book that break the harmony with Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra.
1. Dr. Ransom is not the central figure of the story. There are vague references to him earlier in the book, but it is at almost the halfway point that we see Ransom interact with the rest of the characters. Some may find this similar to the way The Two Towers is written, but the big difference between the two is that all but one of the characters in The Hideous Strength are brand new. Even Devine is going by a different name. At least in The Two Towers, you were reading about familiar characters for the first half.
2. The number of characters in this story is significantly large in comparison to the other two books in the trilogy. You meet as many characters in Bracton alone as you see in the entire length of Perelandra. That doesn't even take into consideration the characters at Logres and the N.I.C.E. This seems to take away from the cohesiveness of the Trilogy and almost detaches it from the other two stories.
3. The role of the Oyarsa is quite different. Given that the story is set on Earth, this is somewhat expected. However, never having them speak just doesn't seem fair after their involvement in the other two stories. Lewis should have let the Oyarsa from Mercury and Saturn impart wisdom as Mars and Venus did.
Again, this *is* a good book if you take it by itself. There are even some things related about the differences between men and women that are quite funny but true. Look for MacPhee's comparison of how the two sexes use nouns. Married people will get a chuckle. However, given that this is supposed to conclude a trilogy, it really fails in that regard. If you are expecting something that performs like Return of the King, you will be quite disappointed.
Book Review: Pugnacious ending to a fine trilogy
Summary: 5 Stars
C. S. Lewis wraps up his "Space Trilogy" right back on planet Earth where it is up to a cadre of ordinary folks, mythical beings, and brute beasts to thwart the forces of supreme wickedness. With the assistance of the Director--a man familiar to readers of the previous two books in the trilogy--this strange collection of characters is pitted against a vaguely-familiar, propaganda-driven totalitarian regime ironically called by the acronym NICE. This book is Lewis at his satirical best--an uppercut landed to the jaw of secular, anti-family, "post-christian" society.
What is particularly striking about this book is who Lewis fingers as the advance-guard for the evil that sadly dominates on Earth, ever trying to extend its power: a bunch of place-seeking, ethics-free, jive-talking academics who have long left any pretense to reason and science behind. Instead, they are driven by a misguided altruism that manifests itself, ultimately, as complete misanthropy.
In this regard, Lewis must be regarded as prescient. Anyone who has spent any time in American academia will immediately sympathize with the plight of the characters in the book who *dare* to stand up to the censorial, elitist, marxist/leninist, anti-religion, pro-death agenda so prevalent among the "progressive" leadership of the university. Lewis had these people's number fifty years ago.
In short, this book is a fun read and though couched in humorous terms, is deadly serious at its core.
Book Review: Zero stars - Stick with the original
Summary: 1 Stars
'Out of the Silent Planet' is excellent, and the only decent book in the trilogy. It stands alone, so don't feel the need to read the other two books. 'Perelandra' is bad, and 'That Hideous Strength' is worse.This book is trash.