tek's rating: see introduction

Perelandra (pub. 1943)
Amazon; B&N; Goodreads; isfdb; Simon & Schuster; TV Tropes; Wikipedia

As I indicated in the penultimate paragraph of my preceding review, the author inserted himself into his own story as a friend of the "fictitious" Dr. Ransom. In this book, at the outset, Lewis plays a more active role. He is on his way to Ransom's cottage, and as he walks, his thoughts explain some of the things the reader will already know if they've read the first book in the series. But we also learn some new things, including that Ransom has remained in contact with eldila, who have visted him on Earth, since his return from Malacandra. Naturally, Lewis (the fictionalized version of himself) engages in some interesting philosophy, such as the difference between the scientific and the supernatural, a difference which may not, as it turns out, mean anything at all. (I also want to mention that in this book- I don't think the word appeared in the previous book, though it does in the next- the author sometimes uses the word "Tellus" to refer to Earth. It's a Latin word, equivalent to "Terra," which is much more familiar to me. I may have heard the word "Tellus" before, somewhere, I don't really remember. I suppose I must at least have heard the derivative adjective "Tellurian," which also appears in these books, so it really shouldn't be that distracting to me, but it is. Which isn't to say I didn't like it.)

Anyway, I digress. Lewis makes his way to Ransom's cottage, in spite of certain psychological struggles that are trying to get him to turn back. (We later learn these struggles were imposed upon him by Earth's own dark eldila.) We also learn more about the nature of eldila in general. When he first arrives at the cottage, it is dark, and Ransom isn't there. But there is an eldil, the Oyarsa of Malacandra, of whom Lewis is afraid. Luckily, Ransom soon shows up. He tells Lewis that he (Ransom) is going to be transported to Perelandra (Venus) by the Oyarsa of Malacandra. He's meant to stop some sort of attack which the Tellurian Oyarsa intends upon that planet, though he doesn't know quite what he's meant to do. He supposes the only reason he's been selected for this task is because he speaks Old Solar- the original language of the entire Solar System, which he had previously mistaken for the language of Malacandra, and more specifically of the hrossa. The language had never been spoken on Earth, until Ransom (and Weston and Devine) had learned it on Mars, but it ought just as well to be spoken by the inhabitants of Perelandra.

Well, it turns out the reason Ransom has invited Lewis here is to pack him in the coffin-like vessel the Oyarsa will use to transport him through space; and later, upon Ransom's return, to unpack him. It is a bit over a year later that Ransom returns to Earth, and of course the Oyarsa had contacted Lewis (who then, per his prior arrangement with Ransom, contacted a doctor named Humphrey, who was one of the few people who knew of all these extra-terrestrial affairs in which Ransom had gotten caught up). Lewis and Humphrey arrive at Ransom's cottage in time to attend to him when his vessel returns to Earth. Ransom's bleeding from one heel, but otherwise seems in better health than ever. He soon begins to tell the story of his trip, which comprises the rest of the book. (Jumping to the end, I should mention that the book ends rather abruptly, right after he's packed into the vessel on Perelandra... it's a bit disconcerting, but it makes sense when you think back to the fact that, many chapters earlier, we had already read what happens immediately after that point.)

Well, Lewis's account of Ransom's descriptions of everything he experienced are at least as vivid as the descriptions of his earlier experiences on Malacandra. First, of course, there's the description of what it was like to be transported to Perelandra, though this was inadequate... because there aren't words that can truly make one understand what it was like. But while Ransom did the best he could to describe it, at least equally as interesting is the explanation of the exact nature of... well, what was meant by saying words couldn't adequately describe it. Then of course, there came the descriptions of the geography and weather and flora and fauna of Perelandra. I couldn't begin to do it all justice, but I'll say that normally I'm not a big fan of, you know, descriptive narrative... but here (and actually in all of the "Space" books), I really do enjoy the way Lewis (the real one) has written it. It's rather fascinating. And of course, I also always quite enjoy reading the thoughts of the characters, in each of these books.

Well, I should say that Perelandra consists mostly of water, with islands which float around on the waves, not in any way anchored, so that the water's movements beneath the islands frequently reshapes the land, which makes it rather hard to stand, though one eventually gets the hang of it. I should also mention that the planet is very hot; surely not as hot as Venus is in reality, for I don't think any human could survive there. But at least it was hot enough that Ransom had to be naked. Anyway, he eventually meets someone he refers to as "the Green Lady" (I gather she was quite human in appearance, except for, you know, being green). She was, of course, naked as well, though somehow, in spite of her beauty, she didn't really provoke sensuous thoughts in Ransom.

Anyway, she calls Ransom "Piebald." The two of them begin to have occasional discussions about various things. She refers to having known less than one currently does as being "younger," and to learning new things as becoming "older." (This is at first hard for Ransom to grasp, as it has nothing to do with actual age or the passage of time, per se.) She learns many new things from Ransom, but also she is made older by Maleldil Himself (though Ransom can neither hear nor see Him). Of course, Ransom also learns some things from her, such as that ever since Maleldil took the form of Man on Earth, there can never again be newly created reasoning creatures in any other form but human; hnau on Malacandra looked different because it is an older world than Thulcandra, and Perelandra is itself younger than our world. (I personally find this concept strange and unnecessary, but at the same time rather intriguing.) Ransom also learns that there is, aside from the Lady, only one other human on Perelandra, who she calls the King (the Lady will later be called the Queen). Ransom would like to meet him, and of course the Lady is also anxious to find him, though she doesn't know where he is, at the moment. He also finds that the animals follow the Lady (and presumably the King) around, and are totally obedient to them; and the King and Lady make the animals older, though of course they can never become quite as "old" as a hnau (or maybe they will, after thousands of years, I dunno). One more thing she tells Ransom is that Maleldil has forbidden the King and her to ever sleep on the Fixed Land, apparently the only island on Perelandra which isn't constantly being moved by the waves. This, it turns out, is basically the same as His having forbidden Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of a certain tree.

Ransom and the Lady go to the Fixed Land, which is in itself not forbidden to her and the King, as long as they don't stay there overnight. They continue to talk, when suddenly something falls out of the sky, into the ocean nearby. From it, a man makes his way to the Land, and it turns out to be Weston. Ransom warns the Lady to stay away from him, but she doesn't heed him, at first. It turns out also that Weston now speaks Old Solar fluently. But soon, the Lady departs, and Weston converses with Ransom alone. Weston describes his new philosophy and goals, which are much broader than his original plans on Malacandra, and more spiritual. Though his idea of religion is... well, it's just different. I can't really explain it. But in the end, he... invites something into himself, which doesn't seem to be quite what he expected. And this... possession... appears to kill him. Meanwhile, it's getting late and dark very quickly, so Ransom has no choice but to sleep on the Fixed Land. And in the morning, he finds that Weston is gone.

Eventually, Ransom makes his way to one of the floating islands, where he finds Weston talking with the Lady. He soon realizes that Weston's body is no longer Weston, but is merely being inhabited either by the Bent One, or else by one of the eldila whom he commands; Weston had been sent there as a way for such a dark eldil to gain entry to Perelandra, which none of them could have done themselves, being bound to the Earth. And Ransom, of course, was there to stop this dark eldil from influencing the Lady. I must say, I enjoyed all the conversation between Ransom and the Lady; that kind of thing, sort of philosophizing, has always been something I liked, and in a way it's even more fascinating when one side has no real starting point, no common understanding... so that Ransom has to try to teach her new concepts essentially from scratch.... But then with Weston, or as Ransom calls him, the Un-man, added to the equation, it gets more interesting still. I have to say I've always also had some interest in debate; not in any formal sense, but mostly either in my own mind or with a friend. And I've always had some interest in the whole "Devil's advocate" sort of thing, or not actually an advocate, but in fact the Devil himself; in fact I've written bits of such stories myself. What could be a greater debate than one in which the Devil is your adversary? He is, after all, terribly clever, and much of what he says may sound quite logical and convincing (though possibly I feel this way because I, like all humans of Thulcandra, have since our species' very beginning been bent by his influence; but then again, the Lady finds him convincing, as well, and she is one of the first of her race, with no such history). In any event, it is now Ransom's job to debate with the Un-man, each trying to sway the Lady's thinking. Ultimately, the Un-man wants to lead her to believe that it is Maleldil's will that she disobey His own order not to live on the Fixed Land.

For some time, Ransom does his best to counter the other's arguments, but eventually he begins to despair that he cannot win the debate, in the end. He spends some time worrying about this, and thinking about what had happened on Earth with Eve and the serpent, and what might have happened if... well, he wonders different things. And after awhile, an idea comes to him about the action he must take in this situation. At first he rejects the thought, but his mind keeps coming back to it, and after awhile, he starts... almost to hear a Voice, as if Maleldil is telling him that he must do this thing. (There's also a bit of dialog in which the very name "Ransom" is significant, which I find confusing if we accept that that's not his real name, and I wonder if that even occurred to Lewis when he wrote the book, or ever after.)

Anyway, I don't want to say what the solution to Ransom's problem was, but I will say that I found it shocking and disturbing and just... immoral. And if one resorted to these means to win a debate, even if their side of the debate was the right one, winning this way... would make them seem wrong, and even if their goal was achieved, I'd feel that in a certain sense, they would have lost. But I suppose... it's also not inconsistent with a certain side of God's personality and methods, even if in this enlightened age we find such things distasteful and would rather imagine that God's not like that... we have to admit that He is, at times. (Hell, there's plenty in the Bible that I cannot accept, but even I have to accept certain things I'd rather not.) Perhaps more to the point, whatever distaste I felt for this solution was largely moot; Ransom was being asked to do something which... wasn't truly what it seemed on the surface, and it was a very thin surface, at that. My real problem wasn't the act itself, but how it might appear to the Lady, if she was aware of it, while not seeing the truth beneath the surface. But... she wasn't aware of it, anyway. (And I don't suppose she would have really understood it one way or the other, if she had been.) So I needn't have worried so much.

Man, I do ramble, don't I? The important thing is, Ransom accepts what he must do, and he does it (it is sometime during this act, which takes alot longer than one might expect, that he receives the wound in his heel, though he doesn't recall exactly when it happened). And then... eh, I don't want to give away any more details. Bad stuff happens, good stuff happens, stuff so confusing and trippy that you'd probably only understand it if you were on some kind of psychedelic drugs happens.... There's all kinds of philosophy and more revelations about the past and the future and.... yeah, all kinds of weirdness. In any event, the end seems a pretty happy one, in spite of all my confusion. And finally, the King and Queen pack Ransom into his vessel-

Followed by That Hideous Strength