Space Trilogy
Science Fiction
Jordan Johnson
Period 1, Mr. Oncay
Book Review: Fall ‘14
10/30/14
REVIEW: Out of the Silent Planet By C.S. Lewis
The Story:
Ransom, a philologist, is walking through England. Searching for a place to stay he approaches a house, and a woman approaches him hysterically talking about her son not being home. Ransom agrees to go look for her son at The Rise. Hearing something around the house he races to figure out what all the commotion is all about. When he arrives he finds the woman's son who Weston and Devine let go. Devine, an old classmate of him, and Ransom have a drink. Ransom sleepy from a drug is dragged to a spaceship and then is taken to a planet called Malacandra. On the planet he runs away from his captors and meets a strange otter like creature, who is called Hyoi that takes him to his village full of hrossa and learns their language. Next the people in the village hunt down a creature in the lake. Ransom and hyoi kill the creature called hnakra and then return to mainland. Where hyoi is shot and killed by Weston and Devine. After that Ransom sets of to meet Oyarsa, who demanded to meet him. Climbing up a steep mountain he meets a sorn, named Augray who takes him to the island the Oyarsa is on. He talks to the Oyarsa and then heads back to earth even though the chances of survival is low with Weston and Devine who were currently brought to the see Oyarsa.
MY OPINION:
A good age group would be for people 30 or older for this book since it is more phylasophical in nature than most books and some people would not understand the point of what the author was trying to get across. I thought that the book was good but lacked any momentum to make the story interesting throughout the story, and more pointed out what the author idea of an ideal world and what he considered to be the nature of mankind. In the book he incorporated many of his thoughts or ideas that were interesting, but were all basic ideals that people acknowledged. If anything I thought the book had a few unique questions or thoughts, that he didn’t he go more into. I think that he could have improved on what ideas about what ideals and morals of the story he pointed out or discussed. The things he did well on was helping the reader picture what he was talking about and creating a interesting story line was unique and was one of a kind. The only thing that I found disappointing was the slow pace of the book.
STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:
FIRST SECTION
1. Why did the hotel that had already housed Ransom once not allow him to stay again?
1a. The hotel had a new owner (7)
2. What caused Ransom to continue to go into The Rise even though he didn’t want to?
2a. His obligation to the women to return her son.
3. Who was the character that was with the person Ransom went to school with?
3a. Weston was with him (13)
4a. Where was Ransom when came across a conversation that he was not supposed to hear in the space ship?
4a. He was in the kitchen. (33)
5. Who is the other person that Ransom is thinking about when he wakes up on Malacandra?
5a. It was himself.
Lorries(10)
odious(33)
guffaw(14)
precipice(28)
coruscating(51)
MIDDLE SECTION
6. Who was it that first met Ransom Malacandra?
6a. It was Hyoi. (55)
7. What are Hnau?
7a. They are intelligent species. (68)
8. The seroni were best at what?
8a. They were best at discovering things about the stars, Oyarsa, and history.(69)
9. When did Hyoi get shot?
9a. After they killed the Hnakra. (81)
10.Where do the seroni get their cheese?
10a. From a yellow beast with a long neck. (93)
utterances (69)
monogamous (74)
unwonted (77)
gradient (88)
zenith (99)
LAST SECTION
11. The island that Ransom is brought to is full of what creature?
11a. On the island edila roamed(108)
12.When talking to Oyarsa Ransom sees a group of what guarding who?
12a. He sees a group of hrossa guarding Devine and Weston(125)
13. What does Devine tell Oyarsa that they want?
13a. He tells them that all they want is gold. (142)
14. Does Ransom decide to go back to earth and does Oyarsa agree or disagree?
14a. Ransom decides to go back to earth and Oyarsa agrees with him. (142)
15. On what day does the earth seem to have a bulge in it, when Ransom and his companians are in the space ship?
15a. On the 87th day. (149)
dirge (131)
ochre (144)
somnambulist (148)
fictitious (153)
oviparous (157)