That Hideous Strength : A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups
by C. S. Lewis
List Price: $6.95
Our Price: $5.56
You Save: $1.39 (20%)

Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours.

Paperback (June 1996)
C. Scribner's; ASIN: 0684823853
Avg. Customer Review: 5 out of 5 stars ; Number of Reviews: 8

Customers who bought this book also bought:

• Perelandra : A Novel (Space Trilogy); C. S. Lewis
• Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy); C. S. Lewis
• The Great Divorce; C. S. Lewis

Synopsis
The last book of Lewis's sci-fi trilogy is a breakneck journey of suspense in which Dr. Ransom must choose sides in a battle between science and ethics. Like Perelandra and Out of the Silent Planet, this is a compelling work of fiction that is also, at its heart, a timeless allegory of good and evil. --This text refers to the hardcover (reprint) edition of this title.

Average Customer Review: 5 out of 5 stars Number of Reviews: 8

maxie@inlink.com from St. Louis, MO USA , 06/17/98, 5 out of 5 stars
This book is both an Adventure and a Sacrament!
Lewis' book is the modern story of *sacred England*, which is, apparently, called "Logres"..of the legacy of King Arthur, in Service to the Christ-Consciousness.(And every nation, he tells us, has its "sacred" and "profane" traditions, and its own Story.) Lewis "wakes up" Merlin the Magician and brings him into the 20th century, and enables the reader to accept, as well as know, him. And the same is true for the novelist's wonderful characterization of a *bear* who plays a very big part in the story. And many other beautifully drawn human ("all TOO human", in some cases) characters.

This book is one of the greatest visionary novels I have ever read (or, in this case, listened to on tape.) The last cassette is almost inexpressively, *impossibly* beautiful. It expresses a vision of Harmony among all the Kingdoms of Evolution, and a Harmony of a Sacred Chain of Being that leads through all these Kingdoms and Beyond, into realms one might call "the realms of the gods", of "Cosmic Astrology" with the planets as living beings, all within One Living God. Hearing it is in a way an entering of Paradise. A Sacrament.

I thought I would select a few passages to share:

from the 11th cassette: "She comes more near the Earth than she was wont to, to make Earth sane. Peralandra (note: the goddess Venus) is all about us, and Man is no longer isolated. We are now as we ought to be: between the angels, who are our elder brothers, and the beasts, who are our jesters, servants, and playfellows."

from the 9th cassette: In this heighth, and depth, and breadth, the little idea of herself which she had hitherto called "me", dropped down and vanished, unfluttering, into bottomless distance, like a bird in space, without air. The name "me" was the name of a being whose existence she had never suspected: a being that! did not yet fully exist, but whose existence was demanded. It was a person--not the person she had thought--yet also a thing: a *made* thing. Made to please Another, and in Him, to please all others..a thing being made at this very moment, without its choice, in a shape it had never dreamed of.

from the 11th: "Go, in obedience, and you will find love."

ps: I just found the tapes to OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET, the *1st* volume of this trilogy. _______ --This text refers to the turtleback edition of this title.

A reader from Wyoming , 05/26/98, 5 out of 5 stars
Excellent! Will be read for centuries to come!
This book is a must read for all C.S. Lewis fans, or even fiction or sci-fi fans. Lewis does a better job of potraying a battle of angels and devils then Frank Paretti did in This Present Darkness. This book lets the reader see the eternal conflict between good and evil. Satan and God.

Lewis does a remarkable job in this extraordinary book! For all Christians (and sci-fi or fiction fans), this is a must read!!

cdunigan@htomail.com from Decatur, Texas , 05/06/98, 5 out of 5 stars
Move Over, Huxley and Orwell.
Lewis' apocolyptic vision of where mankind is headed hits far closer to the mark than the more widely read visions such as Brave New World and 1984. This is because Lewis recognizes that the evil lies not in technology or even politics but in the human heart.

Lewis also shows a deeper understanding of how society functions -- as an investigative researcher I can vouch for the accuracy of his portrayal of how nefarious organizations manipulate the press, for example. He grasps what other writers never even seem to comprehend -- that it is the small choices made daily that lead down the path to Hell.

As philosophy, as social commentary, or as a rolicking good story, That Hideous Strength is a compelling read.

A reader from San Diego, CA , 10/07/97, 5 out of 5 stars
Truly "Fantastic"!
Lewis apoligizes for a slow start in having to describe the "mundane". This, however, sets the stage for the fantastic. Never before had Greek mythology or the Arthurian legends held any appeal for me. This book happily marries these themes to a worldly mindset out of control. Much time is spent on the introspect which accents the physical events in the story. Enjoy! --This text refers to the hardcover (reprint) edition of this title.

A reader from Atlanta, GA, USA , 08/18/97, 5 out of 5 stars
That Hideous Strength is the best of the Space Trilogy
It seems that people either like That Hideous Strength the best or least of the Space Trilogy. I think the reason is that That Hideous Strength is very different than the other two books. It took me a couple of chapters to realize that this book was not going where Perelandra and Out of the Silent Planet went, but when I realized that I could enjoy the book on its own merits. In fact, this is my favorite book in the trilogy. Although a Christian theme runs throughout the trilogy, when it is presented in That Hideous Strength it becomes more accessible. The evil in the book could and does happen. The basic good in the book is no less extraordinary (with certain exceptions). The adventures of Ransom on other planets in the first two books of the trilogy were to prepare him for the battle on Earth in That Hideous Strenth. An interesting phenomenon of this book for me was that when I was reading about Mark and the N.I.C. E. I longed for the story to switch to Jane and the group at St. Anne's. The people at N.I.C.E. were so disagreeable and petty and backstabbing that it made me realize what C. S. Lewis was saying about the nature of evil (or the devil). This book can be read for its story alone, but it is much more rewarding if you think about the ideas and beliefs present as well. Even if you are not religious or a christian the book can inspire you to think about what you believe in.

trag@mrproductions.com , 07/31/97, 5 out of 5 stars
The Best C.S. Lewis Novel--EVER
I find it astounding to read that someone thought this was the weakest of the Space Trilogy, it was the only one of the books I could even get through. And I loved it, I re-read it every couple of years. As much as I loved the Narnia books this one is grown-up fun.

jmacleve@aol.com , 06/11/97, 4 out of 5 stars
Timeless cautionary tale.
Many fans of Lewis' work rate this lowest in the Space Trilogy; it lacks "Out of the Silent Planet"'s wonder and "Perelandra" lyricism. However, for a look at where a situationally-moral, rationalist, humanist society is bound to wind up, it is priceless.

The main characters are a young couple who got married out of love and are finding it hard going in "the real world". The wife, Jane, has an unusual ability to 'dream true' and when her dreams start applying to her own life, she finds it unsettling. Her husband, Mark, a young don (or professor) is no help; he's too wound up in college politics and the possibility of a job with a new scientific foundation to pay much attention to her.

The story really begins moving when the foundation, called Belbury, begins moving in on everyday life. But, as always with Lewis, there is a moral opposite ready to stand against Belbury; in it, we find an old friend and several new ones.

This book is astonishingly accurate about where society is now -- as with some of Lewis' other observations (Screwtape's toast to the college comes to mind), it's hard to remember that Lewis wrote them nearly 50 years ago -- they're that close to current events and modern society.

jonbja95@octarine.cc.adfa.oz.au , 05/10/97, 4 out of 5 stars
Very, very Lewis
As a story, That Hideous Strength is of a lesser calibre than Out of the Silent Planet or Perelandra, the other books in the Cosmic Trilogy. As an allogory and as an exploration of ultimate Truth, however, That Hideous Strength is a wonderful book; it is theology dressed up as a story and, so long as one acknowledges this, it is a deeply satisfying book. --This text refers to the hardcover (reprint) edition of this title.

• I have read this book, and I want to review it.
• I am the Author and I want to comment on my book.
• I am the Publisher and I want to comment on this book.

Top of Page

 Return to Graphics Mode