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“Perelandra�� is the second novel in the Space Trilogy by C.S Lewis. After falling in love with the first book in this series, this novel disappointed.

After his return from Malacandra, Ransom finds himself again secluded on a strange and isolated planet that goes by the name, Perelandra. As he tries to adjust to his new surroundings, he faces a bigger obstacle when he runs into his former nemesis, Weston, who appears to have dark and seedy plans for the planet. Ransom soon discovers that he has been appointed to save Perelandra, and in doing so, may also save his home planet and his entire species.

Lewis�� descriptive prose is engaging and beautiful. Immediately, I was pulled into the bright and colourful land of Perelandra, with its strange creatures and landscapes. Lewis was incomparably able to bring a fantasy world to life, in the way that only he can. However, that aside, I found the story started extremely well, but started to drag in the middle. I was eagerly anticipating getting to the end (and not for the right reasons), and if Lewis had not been the author, I would’ve probably added this book to my DNF pile.

Ransom is a great character, eccentric and intelligent, admirably finding a way to survive in the strangest of surroundings. I love his adventures, and the calm and almost astute way he has of exploring the world. It was great to see “Weston�� (of sorts) return as well, as he played the perfect villain.

Lewis is known for his devout opinion on religion and Christianity in particular, and he makes no secret of it. The theme runs rampant (sometimes subtly, sometimes less so) in a lot of his novels, and this one was no exception. The inner themes in this novel of Creation, the idea of God and life itself are deep and thought-provoking, but combined with the lengthy soliloquies and speeches from most of the characters, it was a thick topic to process (especially for such a small novel).

Religion aside, I wanted more space exploration and less self-exploration. Perhaps it is the times we are living in, but deep reading was not what I expected going in. I absolutely will finish the trilogy off, as I’m curious to see where Ransom explores next, and I adore Lewis�� beautiful language. Lewis is a classic author for a reason, and I will forever be a fan. Perhaps next time, I will try and lower my expectations.