The CS Lewis podcast recently launched a new series focussing on one of Lewis’ lesser known works of fiction, his Space Trilogy. Here, Ruth Jackson shares why she and Professor Alister McGrath think the books are worth a read, despite their length and difficulty 

CS Lewis’ Space Trilogy is not an easy read. Nor is it his best work in my opinion. Many don’t even realise Lewis wrote science fiction, much less have perused these three colossal volumes – Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. 

I recently interviewed CS Lewis expert Professor Alister McGrath about the Space Trilogy and he agreed the books, “are quite difficult for modern readers because they involve stepping back not simply into a different narrative form, but to a different social world”. Comparing these early works of science fiction to The Narnia Chronicles, McGrath said: “I think that’s one of the reasons why they have not been as widely read as perhaps they deserve and why many readers who are familiar with Narnia will find these three books quite difficult.”

So, why read them?

I asked McGrath’s why we should… (Register to read the rest of the article)