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Wow. Lewis crafted something so incredibly special in Perelandra. The theological depth found in Out of the Silent Planet, the first novel in this trilogy, was expanded and deepened in this second installment. However, the density of Lewis’s writing was much easier to navigate here, making for a more enjoyable story all around. It’s rare for a second book in a series to so far surpass the first book, but that is exactly what occurs in Lewis’s Space Trilogy.

Ransom, the hero of the trilogy, has already visited Mars. While that visit was against his will, he gained so much from the experience that he leapt at the chance when the angelic being he met on the Red Planet issued a request for Ransom to explore the heavens once more, this time heading for Venus. What Ransom finds when he lands on Venus, or Perelandra as it is called by the angelic beings known as eldila, is unlike anything he could have imagined. Mars, or Malacandra, was a planet at the end of its life cycle, as evidenced by the harsh environment and the disappearance of an entire species of cognitive beings. Earth, or Thulcandra, is somewhere in the middle of its life cycle. Perelandra, on the other hand, is in its infancy, or at least at the beginning of a brand new stage.

Ransom enters into this beautiful, Edenic planet to find that only two cognitive beings residing on its surface, a male and a female. When he arrives, Ransom meets only the Queen, because she and the King have been separated for a time. As it turns out, that separation opens the woman up to be tempted and tested by another member of Adam’s race, sent to the planet due to his possession by a much darker force. Ransom watches in horror as Venus becomes like Eden in more ways than one. He does his best to counter the temptations and plead with the woman not to give in, but the decision is ultimately hers. Will this world’s Eve succumb?

Lewis’s world building here was stunning. The floating islands, the mighty waves, the flora and fauna completely unlike those of Earth in every way, the almost magical fruit, and the gorgeous golden dome of the sky were all intensely beautiful in their descriptions. Lewis creates in such a way that his creations are easy to visualize, even when they’re utterly alien in every way. I found the similarities and differences between Perelandra fascinating, both in appearance and in the form temptation takes. The man and woman on Perelandra are also the first new race to be created since the coming of Christ on our planet, which was an event that radically changed the universe. How will that coming effect the new life beginning on Perelandra? Because have an effect it certainly shall.

I love the idea of the human race not being alone in the universe, but instead being one cognitive group among many. How do our stories impact each other? It is so easy to let ourselves become the center of the universe and the star of the story when neither of those views have ever been true. We were created out of love and imagination, not necessity. When we remember that we are merely a small part of a much bigger story, God’s story, life takes on so much more meaning and depth and excitement to see where the story will take us. I think that the idea of other planets being peopled is a great way to remind ourselves that we aren’t the focus. Lewis presents that idea beautifully, and I can’t wait to see how he wraps up this tale in its final installment.