[Dunstan McShane]

The only book he wrote that I was less than completely knocked over by (and I think I have read almost all), was That Hideous Strength.

Whoa--Hideous Strength fan here! I usually always carry a copy in my book bag, just to dip into once in a while. It has become an uncanny prophecy of the kinds of things that eventually began to happen during the 50-60 years after he Lewis wrote the novel.

But I'll agree it's hard to get into. In some ways, it's unlike other stuff that Lewis wrote.

I read somewhere that Out of the Silent Planet has been optioned for movies and the screenplay already being written. Can't wait till Perelandra appears on screen, though the nudity might cause a film-rating war.

[madconservative]

No offense!

It was definitely prophetic, but the Merlin stuff was too much for me. Mixing religion and sci-fi is enough for me; when you want to throw magic and Arthurian mythology onto it, it breaks this camel's back.

The extrapolation of the move from atheism to humanism, started with Westin in Perelandra is the best part of Hideous though. That scientist (forget his name) is a great bad guy, and very insightful.

I would like to see Silent in theaters, but IMHO you couldn't do justice to Perelandra's beauty on screen, even with all of the effects in the world. It would be like attempting to computer-animate poetry.

[AnAmericanMother]

That Hideous Strength is more like Charles Williams's novels than most of Lewis's work.

Read The Place of the Lion or All Hallows' Eve and you'll see what I mean.

I like Williams, but he makes me uncomfortable. Lewis never does.