That Hideous Strength

I was gripped by this, the third novel in C.S. Lewis's science fiction trilogy, first published in 1945. It has all the ingredients I enjoy when I need to be lost in a book – a strong plot, mystery, fear, suspense when it seems the baddies are bound to win – the intervention of the supernatural, the drama of battle, all compellingly written – all very absorbing.

At times, C.S. Lewis eschewed writing what would be expected of him. For example, every volume of his Chronicles of Narnia takes the reader in a new direction, a new aspect of that fantasy world, instead of merely rehashing the popular story of the first novel, as many series do.

Science Fiction was not his field, yet Dr. Lewis dived into the genre for three novels and proved he was a master. The third book in Dr. Lewis’s space trilogy continues the epic interplanetary story of the first two but brings the tale to a dystopian Earth.

At first, the… show more.

The third book of the Space Trilogy combines lore of medieval England, Merlin the magician, myth, academic snobbery, the status of marriage, God, and scientists determining what the rules are for the rest of society.

This science fiction tale compares to the best of Jules Verne, with a little bit of Mary Shelley and Ray Bradbury thrown in for good measure. Lewis’s imagination and literary talent are on full display in this swipe at elitism, technocracy, and ambition, all of which points toward the elimination of biological life and the artificial horror that will replace it.

Many may be surprised… show more.

I admit this book is not one you might think of when you think of time travel.

The time travel is more implied than explicit. This is actually the third book in a trilogy, but it is so different from the first two that you don’t need to read the first two before reading this one. The questions raised are as relevant now as when Lewis wrote it – maybe more so – right down to the questions around good and evil.

As an academic I could relate to this book because it really forces us intellectuals to ask some… show more.

Probably the least popular book in Lewis’ famous “science fiction” trilogy, this is actually one of my favorite novels in the world. But it does make demands on the reader. I’m listing it as a fantasy novel here, although it’s formally classed as science fiction. That’s because Lewis made a conscious effort to link this story up with his friend Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Merlin’s wizardry in THS is of the same order as Gandalf’s. The revenge of nature at the end of THS comes by way of the revenge of the Ents at Isengard. What makes THS difficult is that… show more.

Mark Studdock, a young weak-minded but ambitious academic, wants to get into the inner circle of the college where he teaches, and when he is offered a job at a prestigious research institute he eagerly grabs it, but does not realise that he was offered the job simply as a way of getting at his wife Jane, whose role was much more important, but little understood by the institute or by Mark. The institute has its own inner circle, who are also after power, but a supernatural power that they fail to understand and try to explain in scientific terms.… show more.