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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Originally published on my blog here in September 2001.
Of the three novels by Lewis featuring Ransome, That Hideous Strength is the least interesting. Lewis himself was clearly not entirely happy with it, as he abridged the novel quite considerably after the first publication.
The story of the novel is about an organisation named N.I.C.E., the kind of acronym which after The Man From U.N.C.L.E. became impossible to use seriously. Its public agenda is criminal rehabilitation, but it is in fact out to dominate the U.K. in the name of progress. Being Lewis, there is of course a spiritual side to the whole thing, with the powerful forces of darkness (whose final aim is demonstrated by the novel's title, which comes from a description of the building of the tower of Babel) ranged against Ransome's small group of seemingly ineffectual fighters for good. The human element is provided by Mark and Jane Studdock, who end up on opposing sides without ever having wanted to get involved at all.
The reason that the story has dated is that the idea of progress Lewis is attacking is no longer believed by many, in this age of environmental crisis where the downside of the effects of modern technology have become apparent. When this is accompanied by a diffuse story, and when the marvellous descriptions of alien worlds which are so important a part of [b:Out of the Silent Planet|25350|Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy, #1)|C.S. Lewis|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310984018s/25350.jpg|879622] and [b:Perelandra|100924|Perelandra (Space Trilogy, #2)|C.S. Lewis|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171472708s/100924.jpg|3148586] are missing, it is easy to see that That Hideous Strength is the least successful of the trilogy.
Of the three novels by Lewis featuring Ransome, That Hideous Strength is the least interesting. Lewis himself was clearly not entirely happy with it, as he abridged the novel quite considerably after the first publication.
The story of the novel is about an organisation named N.I.C.E., the kind of acronym which after The Man From U.N.C.L.E. became impossible to use seriously. Its public agenda is criminal rehabilitation, but it is in fact out to dominate the U.K. in the name of progress. Being Lewis, there is of course a spiritual side to the whole thing, with the powerful forces of darkness (whose final aim is demonstrated by the novel's title, which comes from a description of the building of the tower of Babel) ranged against Ransome's small group of seemingly ineffectual fighters for good. The human element is provided by Mark and Jane Studdock, who end up on opposing sides without ever having wanted to get involved at all.
The reason that the story has dated is that the idea of progress Lewis is attacking is no longer believed by many, in this age of environmental crisis where the downside of the effects of modern technology have become apparent. When this is accompanied by a diffuse story, and when the marvellous descriptions of alien worlds which are so important a part of [b:Out of the Silent Planet|25350|Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy, #1)|C.S. Lewis|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310984018s/25350.jpg|879622] and [b:Perelandra|100924|Perelandra (Space Trilogy, #2)|C.S. Lewis|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171472708s/100924.jpg|3148586] are missing, it is easy to see that That Hideous Strength is the least successful of the trilogy.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fictional presentation of ideas also expounded on in The Abolition of Man. Very good.
Unlike the other two books in this series that whisk the main character away to Mars/Venus straight away with little preface, this book takes a whopping 150ish pages before it resembles anything like sci-fi/fantasy/space fiction. Which, I suppose, is fine, but I kept feeling like I had picked up the wrong book by mistake instead of the final space trilogy book.
Ultimately this book is about good vs. evil for the soul of Britain. The writing is very good, good enough that you can overlook the archaic views on men/women, religion, morality, etc. I found the theme of "obedience" particularly obnoxious, since at several times throughout the book a character is expected to be obedient to something they don't understand--both on the side of good and evil. So what's the message there? Be obedient, but try to make sure to the right people? I dunno.
A mixed bag of elegant writing and queer (meaning strange) morality.
Ultimately this book is about good vs. evil for the soul of Britain. The writing is very good, good enough that you can overlook the archaic views on men/women, religion, morality, etc. I found the theme of "obedience" particularly obnoxious, since at several times throughout the book a character is expected to be obedient to something they don't understand--both on the side of good and evil. So what's the message there? Be obedient, but try to make sure to the right people? I dunno.
A mixed bag of elegant writing and queer (meaning strange) morality.
Ransom is back again (yay!) leading a rag tag bunch of Brits in a crusade against the evil forces seeking to destroy humanity as we know it. The two main characters introduced in this installment weren't especially likable but I think that was one of the points Lewis was trying to make (no spoilers here!). And there's a special guest that had me wriggling (wriggling!) with delight. There were definitely dark themes in this one such as violence and gore but if you've been following the series this was to be expected at the pinnacle of the drama. Instead of being set on a distant planet the action takes place on Earth, specifically England. I was happy with the conclusion but sad at the same time because I had grown to love Ransom and because the action wasn't immediately centered on him I felt a bit jipped.
This is the last book in C.S. Lewis' space trilogy. Lewis says in the beginning of the book that it can be read on its own, and it can, but it would make so much more sense read as the third book in the trilogy. The whole trilogy was good. Science fiction with some religion thrown in.
Finally made it to the end of this series, and it was weird. Lewis, who I love, just does a lot of things in here that he also does in the Narnia series, but they only work there because it’s a children’s series. This is not. I wish he had played up the atmospheric antithesis between the good people of edgestow and the nefarious elements at the N.I.C.E.
Very different from the first two volumes in this series, introduces new and mostly unrelated elements, confusing at times.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
