You probably know C.S. Lewis because of a talking lion and a magical wardrobe. That’s fine. Most people do. But if you really want to see the "Inklings" professor at his most unhinged and brilliant, you have to look at his weird, mid-century sci-fi project. The CS Lewis Space Trilogy—officially known as the Ransom Trilogy—is essentially what happens when a medieval scholar gets fed up with H.G. Wells and decides to rewrite the solar system using planetary angels and linguistics.
It’s bizarre. It’s dense. Honestly, it’s a bit terrifying in places.
While The Chronicles of Narnia feels like a cozy fireplace story, these three books—Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength—feel like a warning shot. Lewis wasn't just trying to tell a fun story about Mars. He was picking a fight with the entire scientific worldview of the 1930s and 40s. He hated the idea that space was "empty" or "dead." He thought that was a depressing, modern lie. To him, the space between worlds was "the heavens," and it was teeming with life and light.
Reimagining the Solar System: Not Your Typical Aliens
If you pick up Out of the Silent Planet, don’t expect Star Trek. Elwin Ransom, a philologist loosely based on Lewis’s friend J.R.R. Tolkien, gets kidnapped and hauled off to Malacandra. That’s Mars, by the way. But it isn't the red, dusty rock we see in NASA photos. Lewis imagines it as a dying but beautiful world of towering purple stalks and deep canyons.
The "aliens" aren't bug-eyed monsters.
You’ve got the hrossa, who are basically giant, poetic otters. Then there are the sorns, spindly giants that look like something out of a Salvador Dalí painting. Finally, the pfifltriggi, who are essentially tapir-headed craftsmen. What’s wild about the CS Lewis Space Trilogy is that these races aren't at war. They don't have a hierarchy. They just... coexist.
Lewis uses this to poke fun at human colonialism. When Ransom first arrives, he’s terrified of being eaten or sacrificed. He’s been conditioned by the sci-fi of his era to expect violence. Instead, he finds a world that is "unfallen." It’s a recurring theme: Earth is the "Silent Planet" because it’s under a sort of spiritual quarantine. We’re the ones who are weird, not the Martians.
The Problem With "Scientism"
The real villain of the series isn't a monster. It’s a guy named Dick Devine (later Lord Feverstone) and a physicist named Weston. Weston represents everything Lewis feared about the future. He’s a proponent of "scientism"—the belief that humanity should spread its footprint across the universe at any cost, trampling "lesser" species to ensure our own survival.
It’s a brutal, cold-blooded philosophy.
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Lewis was writing this while the world was sliding toward World War II. He saw the same logic being used by real-world empires. When Weston tries to explain his grand vision of human expansion to the Oyarsa (the angelic planetary ruler) of Malacandra, he sounds like a maniac. The language barrier makes it even funnier. Ransom has to translate Weston's high-minded rhetoric into simple Malacandrian, and in the process, the "noble" goals of space colonization just sound like "we want to kill people and take their stuff so we can keep living forever."
Perelandra: The Great Redo
The second book, Perelandra, is where things get truly trippy. Ransom goes to Venus. But it’s a world of floating islands and golden skies. Imagine a version of the Garden of Eden, but the "Eve" figure is a green-skinned woman who lives on a mat of vegetation drifting on an endless ocean.
It’s a slow burn.
The middle of the book is basically a massive, philosophical debate between Ransom and a demonically possessed Weston. They are literally fighting for the soul of a new world. The stakes are massive, but the "action" is mostly psychological. Lewis describes the landscape with such sensory detail that you can almost taste the "bubble trees."
But then, it gets physical.
Ransom eventually realizes that he can't win the argument with logic alone. He has to actually fight the possessed Weston. It’s a messy, grueling, un-cinematic fistfight in the dark. It’s one of the few times in "Christian" fiction where the hero is told that his physical strength and his "clumsy" body are exactly what the creator needs in that moment. No magic wands. Just a middle-aged professor throwing punches in a cave.
That Hideous Strength: When the Aliens Come to England
If the first two books are cosmic travelogues, the third book, That Hideous Strength, is a dystopian political thriller. It feels like a completely different series. There are no spaceships here. Instead, the story takes place in a small English university town called Edgestow.
The N.I.C.E. (National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments) is a shadowy organization taking over the town. They claim to be about progress and "applying science to social problems." In reality, they are a cult of technocrats trying to summon ancient dark powers.
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It’s essentially 1984 meets The Exorcist.
- The Head: The literal severed head of a criminal that the N.I.C.E. keeps "alive" with tubes and wires.
- Merlin: Yes, that Merlin. He’s buried under the university and both sides are racing to wake him up.
- The Inklings Vibe: You can see the influence of Charles Williams here—Lewis’s friend who loved "supernatural thrillers."
This book is surprisingly gritty. It deals with a failing marriage between two characters, Mark and Jane Studdock. Mark is a social climber who desperately wants to be in the "Inner Ring" of power. Jane is a visionary who sees the truth in her dreams.
Lewis is at his most cynical here. He mocks the way bureaucracy uses language to hide evil. The N.I.C.E. doesn't say they want to kill people; they talk about "rehabilitation" and "re-education." Sound familiar? It’s why this part of the CS Lewis Space Trilogy feels so uncomfortable to read in the 21st century. He predicted the "soft" totalitarianism of the modern age with startling accuracy.
Why Does Nobody Talk About This Series?
It's a fair question. Narnia has movies, stage plays, and lunchboxes. The Space Trilogy has... old paperbacks with weird 70s cover art.
Part of the reason is that it’s hard to categorize. It’s too religious for many hardcore sci-fi fans, and it’s too weird and "pagan" for some strictly religious readers. Lewis blends Greek mythology, Christian theology, and Arthurian legend into a smoothie that doesn't always go down easy.
Also, it’s uncomfortably honest about human nature.
We like stories where "science" saves the day. Lewis suggests that science, when stripped of morality, is just a faster way to become a monster. That’s a tough sell for a mainstream audience. But for those who "get" it, the series offers a sense of wonder that you don't find in modern "gritty" sci-fi. He makes the universe feel big again.
Real-World Connections and Influences
Lewis wasn't writing in a vacuum. He was responding to the "Scientific Romances" of the time. He specifically cited David Lindsay’s A Voyage to Arcturus as a major influence, not because he agreed with its philosophy (which was pretty nihilistic), but because of the way Lindsay used other worlds to explore spiritual states.
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He was also in constant dialogue with Tolkien.
In fact, the two of them famously made a "pact" to write the kinds of stories they wanted to read but couldn't find. Tolkien was supposed to write a story about time travel (it never really came together), and Lewis was supposed to write about space travel. The CS Lewis Space Trilogy was his half of the bargain.
How to Read the Trilogy Today
If you're going to dive in, don't expect a fast-paced action romp. These are "idea" books.
- Start with "Out of the Silent Planet": It's short, under 200 pages. It’s the easiest entry point and gives you a taste of Lewis’s world-building.
- Push through the middle of "Perelandra": The long debates can feel slow, but the ending is worth the slog. The imagery of the "Great Dance" at the end is some of the most beautiful prose Lewis ever wrote.
- Approach "That Hideous Strength" as a standalone: You almost don't need the first two books to understand it. It’s a slow-burn horror novel. Pay attention to the character of Mark Studdock—his desire to be "included" is something everyone has felt, and Lewis deconstructs it brilliantly.
- Read "The Abolition of Man" alongside the third book: If you want to understand the philosophy behind the villains, Lewis wrote a non-fiction book called The Abolition of Man at the same time. It’s basically the "logic" behind the fiction of the N.I.C.E.
Honestly, the series is a bit of a trip.
It’s got talking bears, ancient wizards, planetary spirits, and a scathing critique of modern academia. It’s messy and occasionally dated (especially some of the gender dynamics in the third book), but there is nothing else like it on the shelf.
The CS Lewis Space Trilogy challenges the idea that the universe is just a collection of matter waiting to be exploited. It argues that there is meaning baked into the stars. In an era of AI and billionaire space races, Lewis’s warning about "the hideous strength" of unchecked technology feels less like old fiction and more like a current news report.
To get the most out of your reading, pay attention to the names. Lewis was a linguist. "Malacandra" and "Perelandra" aren't just random sounds; they have a rhythmic, ancient quality meant to evoke the "Old Solar" language. If you find yourself annoyed by the characters, remember that Ransom is supposed to be a bit of a stuffy academic. He grows as the series progresses, moving from a scared victim to a cosmic warrior. It’s a wild ride for a philologist.
Stop treating Lewis like he's just for kids. Pick up the Space Trilogy and see the darker, deeper side of the man who gave us Aslan. It’s weirder than you think, and that’s exactly why it’s worth your time.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans and New Readers
- Audit your "Inner Ring" tendencies: Read That Hideous Strength and reflect on how the desire for social validation drives your professional decisions. It’s a sobering exercise.
- Compare the "Weston" philosophy: Look at modern discussions regarding transhumanism and Mars colonization. See if you can spot the "Westonian" arguments in current tech journalism.
- Explore the Inklings' "Great Pact": Research the relationship between Lewis and Tolkien to see how their mutual influence shaped the landscapes of both Middle-earth and Malacandra.
- Track the references: Keep a notebook handy while reading the third book to track the Arthurian and Biblical references—it’s a dense web that rewards the observant reader.