Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: I absolutly loved this book & recommend it highly. Move's along smoothly with wonderful detail's of the world Malacandra.
Rating: 
Summary: A heck of a Book
Review: 'Out of the Silent Planet' is excellent, and the only decent book in the trilogy. It stands alone, so don't feel the need to read the other two books. 'Perelandra' is bad, and 'That Hideous Strength' is worse.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining And Thought Provoking
Review: After getting my fill of Lord of the Rings, I was looking for something new to read. I came across this book and decided to give it a shot. I knew that Lewis and Tolkien were contemporaries so I expected a work of quality. I was not disappointed although there is definitely a difference in writing style between this book and LOTR. First of all, Lewis has far fewer characters in his tale - I would say that there are only 6 that are given significant detail. This is helpful because you have to focus much more on the scenery and alien beings.
As for the story, you get to take a journey of self discovery with Dr. Elwin Ransom - the central figure of Lewis' Space Trilogy. It is difficult to say too much about the story without giving away the plot - so I won't. Let me simply say that the story is thought provoking from a moral and religious point of view, and there is plenty of adventure. If this sounds like the kind of book you like, give Out of the Silent Planet a try.
Rating:
Summary: Down but not "Out"
Review: C.S. Lewis is best known for his classic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. But he's in his best form in the sprawling Space Trilogy. And the first volume "Out of the Silent Planet" is a solid, dreamy slice of imaginative science fiction with deep philosophical underpinnings.Philologist (studies languages) Dr. Ransom is on a walking tour of England when he encounters a former despised schoolmate, Devine. Things take a nasty turn after Devine and his accomplice Weston drug Ransom, and load him onto a spaceship. Over the course of a month's interstellar travel, Ransom learns that they are travelling to the planet Malacandra (Mars) -- and worst, he's destined to be a human sacrifice. Ransom manages to escape after they land, and finds himself alone in an alien world. He soon is taken in by the otterlike hrossa, and learns that there are three sentient species on Malacandra: the peaceful poetry-loving hrossa, the workaholic pfifltriggi, and intelligent seroni. When a hross friend of Ransom's is killed by the murderous humans, he sets out to find the mysterious, powerful Oyarsa, who might be able to help him and stop his kidnappers. "Out of the Silent Planet" is no space opera. Lewis avoids most of the tendencies of typical sci-fi in favor of a more H.G. Wells approach. Big fleshy plants, sentient otters, decreased gravity and petrified forests really give it the feeling of another planet without using cheap tricks. The most striking idea of "Planet" is the people who populate it -- three dissimilar species, who work together and have no problems like war, starvation, lies, power-lust or any of the other problems that human beings have. It's a stark contrast to our own world, and it illustrates a lot of Lewis's own Christian beliefs without being preachy or silly. The tone of "Planet" is generally very somber and thought-provoking, with long stretches of ethical and philosophical dialogue. Parts of it almost seem like a dream, very eerie and surreal, and the dignified personalities of Oyarsa and his underlings are beautifully done. But Lewis rips loose with some comedy from time to time, like Weston trying to bribe the various natives with a cheap necklace and Tarzan-esque threats of "Why you take our puff-bangs [guns] away? We very angry with you!" Lewis based Ransom partly on his pal, fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien, and Ransom is a nicely done hero; he's not boring or preachy at all, but merely a "stranger in a strange land" who almost goes bonkers once or twice, but manages to triumph. Weston and Devine, on the other hand, are arrogant and dumb in an all-too-recognizable way. And the inhabitants of Malacandra take a little getting used to, but they're pleasant once you do. "Out of the Silent Planet" still stands up as a vivid and beautifully-written piece of science fiction. You think you know C.S. Lewis after the Narnia Chronicles? Try the Space Trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: ooh!
Review: here's the deal. i loved this book. it really makes you think towards the end and addresses alot of interesting topics. very interesting, imaginitive, spiritual, challenging, all the great c.s.lewis characteristics. my one and only beef (and the reason you should NOT purchase this book) is that the publication is absolutely horrible. there are so many typos, i want to cry. i seriously can't find another publisher who still carries this book. i dearly wish i could, because i am ashamed to own it, and i hate that, because the book is marvelous. but when you are reading along and every apostrophe is replaced with a quotation mark and vice versa, and simple words like "the" and "that" are mixed up, i feel that c.s.lewis must be rolling over in his grave. if you can find another publication of this book (ie, NOT by scribner / simon & schuster), DO IT. don't buy from this publisher, but DO buy the book.
Rating:
Summary: Giving it fewer stars would be wrong...
Review: I almost gave the book 4 stars because it can very difficult to follow - but that's a problem with me, not the book. It's amazing how Lewis creates this entirely new world, one in which there is no point of reference with the planet Earth. This is both a source of wonder and difficulty, since the world he creates is so foreign. The first time I read it, I was not particularly sensitive to the dual meanings Lewis applied to different things. In subsequent readings, however, I've noticed far more. If you read with a specific intent of discerning deeper meanings in things, you run the risk of imposing your own ideas on the text, which is bad practice. I recommend reading the book slowly and carefully, taking time to ponder the different characters, events, and, most importantly, words spoken. Lewis is making a very serious point in the book, and addressing some crucial human issues. Read carefully. Personally, I find the book difficult, but only because it somewhat begs to be handled respectfully and diligently - not haphazardly or cavalierly. The book is simply a fantastic piece of literature, full of intrigue, wonder, and profound philosophy. Get it, read it, reflect on it.
Rating:
Summary: Should have been filmed instead of the Narnia books
Review: It seems as though the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy has inspired filmmakers to tackle another huge project, and they have settled on CS Lewis' Narnia books, taking a flyer with Andrew Adamson's production first of the LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. If you ask me (of course no one did LOL), this space trilogy of Lewis' would have been a natural, for some of its virtues could be reproduced on film, and perhaps the scope of film could have salvaged some of its weaknesses.
As many have noticed, OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET, while giant in conception, is the tightest of the three, and each book becomes more of a baggy monster than the one before. Dr. Ransom is introduced, and kidnapped to an alien planet where overtones of Miltonic good and evil tickle the fancy of the reader while provoking a great deal of suspense as to his fate, and the fate of the whole universe.
Ransom is a fascinating character, scientist blended with he-man and activist--would have been perfect for Sean Connery, say, twenty years ago.
In the meantime I urge all readers to give OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET a try, even if you're not into science fiction per se. It has a great deal to tell us about the world we all still live in right now.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Masterpiece!
Review: Out of the Silent Planet is a timeless work of art that has inspired millions. Lewis has intertwined a truly surreal adventure with a deep and meaningful message of peace and tranquillity. His writing is chock full of imagery and beauty. The words paint a picture in the mind so precise that Dali himself would have only wished he could have matched the greatness of this book with his palette. Dr. Ransom, the protagonist, is a very believable character. He and two other men, named Weston and Devine, crash land on the red planet with completely different intentions. Dr. Ransom, having been kidnapped, escapes his captors and embarks on a memorable adventure. Ransom uses very simple logic to learn the language of the native species and he interacts with the four races of Malacandria differently, creating a very interesting and awe-inspiring atmosphere. Lewis, as in his other series The Chronicles of Narnia, uses biblical stories and principals to create and allegory that keeps the reader guessing. The race of Eldil (an energy or spirit type being) offer wisdom and encourage Ransom during his stay on the planet while essentially balking Weston and Devine's petty quest to ransack the resources of the planet. The moral Lewis conveys is a simple, yet important one. Out of the Silent Planet is a diamond in the rough. It was written well before the recent conquest of space and the immanence of technology, so the imaginative view of what Lewis thought Mars might be like is very interesting. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series, which I've read, only gets better.
Rating:
Summary: Out of this world.
Review: Out of the Silent Planet is science fiction in the sense that, in order to create a fantasy for adults, Lewis had to send his hero and villains to a world far enough for a re-imagining, but near enough that they could plausibly go there from here. Lewis not being a scientist, and this book being sixty years old, the plausibility of Lewis' idea of space travel wears quite thin by now, though of course he didn't mean to be taken seriously on that count even then. A more serious problem Lewis set himself to solve was, "What might an unfallen world look like?" And also, "What might a society in harmony with God and nature look like?" or "What is the nature of rationality and soulishness?" I find some of Lewis' ideas unsatisfying. (Paradise and survival of the fittest are difficult concepts to reconcile; if the Malacandrians are all at peace, how did they evolve, as Lewis apparently thinks they did? And how does the ecosystem avoid being overrun with critters?) Still, this book is a great fantasy with many insights, and a lot of fun to read. No one I know combines so fertile an imagination with such philosophical depth and psychological acuity as C. S. Lewis. All these are in evidence here. The planet is a beauty. Among Malacandra's cauliflower highlands and tourquoise canyons, its philosopher bird-spectres and tribal seals, Lewis enacts an exciting story. His readers will find some familiar images and themes: island paradise, the cultural dynamics of tribes and Greek philosophers living side by side (see Till We Have Faces for more), the wind-bag philosopher posing as scientist posing as philosopher. (The passage in which Ransom translates Weston's defense of planetary imperialism and genocide into "Malacandrian" then, for our benefit, simple English, is a classic blend of linguistics and philosophy. See George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, for an essay from that period that, in effect, explains what Lewis is doing with that deceptively simple passage, and why it desperately needs to be done. See also Abolition of Man.) This is the tightest and shortest of Lewis' three "sci-fi" novels. You can read it in a few hours. Lewis was probably wise to shift to frankly supernatural means of locating his heroes to other worlds, in later fantasies. Still, don't miss this wonderful tour of Mars for the world. author, Jesus and the Religions of Man
Rating:
Summary: Out of this world writing!
Review: Stephen King wrote to read voraciously is to preapre to write. The bad books teach you what not to do-the great ones (if they don't intimidate you into giving up writing altogether) teach you what TO do. This novel is great for aspiring writers. We may never get published or reach the pinnacle of Lewis' work, but his work surely points us in the right direction!
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