The Space Trilogy 75th anniversary edition with foreword by J.R.R. Tolkien (04.11.13 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

It is probably the first time that I write an article about the release of a book by C.S. Lewis. But if you read on you will soon see why! HarperCollins has just released a striking one-volume edition to mark the 75th anniversary of Lewis’s classic SF trilogy featuring the adventures of Dr Ransom on Mars, Venus and Earth.

This special edition includes an exclusive foreword compiled from letters by J.R.R. Tolkien, who inspired Lewis to write the first volume. Looking at the title page the afterword also cites The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about the first volume: “Exciting, and highly approved.” And now with the exclusive foreword by J.R.R. Tolkien I guess it is time to read this SF trilogy!

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. I'm curious to see how they stuck together several parts of letters by Tolkien, but I don't expect anything unpublished being used. Still nice to see this edition, sad to see it is only released in the UK, while Lewis is much bigger in the US.

Out of the Silent Planet

The adventures of the remarkable Dr. Ransom begin in C.S. Lewis's acclaimed "Out of the Silent Planet," first published in 1943. As the novel opens, Ransom is abducted by a megalomaniacal physicist and his accomplice and taken via spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra. The men plan to use Ransom as a human sacrifice, but he escapes and must fight for his life, and the chance to return to Earth, while exploring a world that is enchanting in its difference from Earth and startling in its similarity. 

Perelandra

"Perelandra" continues the adventures of Dr. Ransom in an extraordinary tale. Ransom is fighting against the most destructive of human weaknesses, temptation, when he must battle evil on a new planet, Perelandra, after it is invaded by a dark force that strives to create a new world order on the peace-loving planet.

That hideous strength

In the concluding book of the triology, "That Hideous Strength," the dark forces that were repulsed in "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra" are poised to invade Earth, while a rumor circulates that the ancient wizard Merlin is returing and offering tremendous power to those who can find and control him. The heroic Dr. Ransom is trying to handle these threats, while battling a sinister technocratic organization, by applying age-old wisdom to new universe dominated by science. These groups struggle to a climactic resolution that bring "The Space Triology" to a magnificent, crashing close.

About the Author

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.

He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.

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