Conference noted::sf

    See note #335 for a discussion of this book.

    re. -1
    Thanks for the reference.  I have read through the notes in #335.
    Too bad many people do not think much of that book.  Personally,
    I feel that that planet to CA is CA to TX (Texans, no insult intended :-).
    I am thinking of a vacation in Hawaii........ soon :-).
    Eugene

    One of the most gorgeous fantasy worlds I have read is "Perelandra"
    by C. S. Lewis.  This is a depiction of Venus before we knew what
    lay under the cloud cover.  It is described as a world almost entirely
    covered by water.  The oceans teem with exotically shaped and colored
    life, and the "land" is almost entirely immense floating platforms
    of vegetation.  The cloud cover permits diffuse light to penetrate,
    and the water casts it back to the clouds in a perpetual golden
    shimmer.  A large part of the attraction of Perelandra lies in it's
    being in a state of Edenic innocence.  There was no evil there (except
    for a bit introduced in the course of the story, which it was the
    protagonist's job to put an end to.)
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    re .3
    Thanks for the recommendation.  I read a few Lewis' books.  One
    of them is about the Mars and it is about a dying world (I do not
    remember the title of the book).  I cannot say that I enjoyed that
    book.  Is Perelandra a lot different than that book?
    Eugene
    P.S.  I think Lewis was a good writer.  I enjoyed reading _Mere 
    Christianity_ greatly.  However, I do not like his mixing of theology
    with SF.

    Re .4:
    
    > [One] of them is about the Mars and it is about a dying world (I do not
    >remember the title of the book).  I cannot say that I enjoyed that
    >book.  Is Perelandra a lot different than that book?
     
    The book you read is _Out of the Silent Planet_.  _Perelandra_ is
    its sequel.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Re .4 & .5
    
    In fact, it's a trilogy.  "Out of the Silent Planet" is followed
    by "Perelandra," which is followed by "That Hideous Strength." 
    They all feature Elwin Ransom, and they all mix Christian theology
    with SF themes, so if you don't like that mix, you won't like any
    of them.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    Thanks Earl,
         One more question.  Have you read all three of them.  In your
    judgement is Perelandra better than _Out of the Silent Planet_?
    Thanks in advance.
    Eugene

    Re .7
    
    Yes, I've read all three of them several times.
    
    I would say that "Perelandra" and "Out of the Silent Planet" are
    about equally good.  My preference would depend on the mood I'm
    in.  I like both better than I like "That Hideous Strength," not
    because of any flaws in the execution of "That Hideous Strength"
    but because it does not provoke as great a sense of wonder (it's
    set on Earth, for a start), and because the two main viewpoint 
    characters are not attractive people through much of the book 
    (though they get better as they go on).
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    Like Earl, I like "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Prerelandra" better,
    but I do like "Prerelandra" the best of the three.  Maybe it is
    because it is the parable of the unspoiled Eden.
    
    Regarding the topic note, I did like the short story very much,
    better than I did the novel, in which I was a bit disappointed.
    
    For me, the most enchanting world is J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth.
    
  --Simon
    

    Perelandra spoiler:
    
    
    
    In Lewis's version, the good guys win!  Ransom acts as the
    agent of God, and Eden is saved.
    
    					andrew