I have just finished reading That Hideous Strength, the third in C S Lewis’s science fiction trilogy. Lewis calls it a fairy-tale, and it is a bit like Frodo Baggins and Gandalf stray into Narnia and help Aslan defeat the White witch… Having said that, I think it is a good read and a remarkably ‘modern’ novel, not squeamish about sexuality, and making free use of the word ‘bucking’ in place of the adjectival form of the ‘F’ word.
A N Wilson calls it the least successful and most self-indulgent of the trilogy, and although ‘Christian’ in its message, the hero and heroine are non-believers. The primary test for me though, was that I finished it, and although it is not as perfect as Out of the Silent Planet, I think it works. Also, as Wilson observes, it is remarkably prescient in its anticipation of environmental issues and Science and Engineering out of control.
A N Wilson calls it the least successful and most self-indulgent of the trilogy, and although ‘Christian’ in its message, the hero and heroine are non-believers. The primary test for me though, was that I finished it, and although it is not as perfect as Out of the Silent Planet, I think it works. Also, as Wilson observes, it is remarkably prescient in its anticipation of environmental issues and Science and Engineering out of control.
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