C.S. Lewis is best known for his fantasy series of children's books "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe". I loved the Narnia books as a child, and I've reread and loved them as an adult. There are a lot of religious themes in the Narnia books, and C.S. Lewis also wrote explicitly Christian texts (like "Mere Christianity").
Although C.S. Lewis is an extremely famous author, some of his books are much less known and read. In my public library I discovered a used book for sale for 20p. It was by C.S. Lewis, and I'd never heard of it before, so I bought it. The book was "Out of the Silent Planet".
"Out of the Silent Planet" is the first in a series usually referred to as either "the space trilogy" or "the cosmic trilogy". It's a science fiction book (a bizarre type of space rocket flies them to another planet), but it's religious scifi. Like most of Lewis's writing, it is imbued with religious (especially Christian) themes and imagery.
Overall, I didn't think that it was Lewis's best book. It certainly wasn't the most entertaining to read for pleasure. However, it is a thinking book. Long after you put the book down, you'll be thinking about the issues raised by Lewis and the meaning of "Out of the Silent Planet". If you're a Lewis fan or enjoy religious fiction, it's worth having a look at this oft forgotten novel.
To find out more about "Out of the Silent Planet", click here.
To find out more about C.S. Lewis and his writing, click here.
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