Greetings, Earth dwellers.
5/5 Stars
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, Book 1 of The Space Trilogy. While this is a famous series, you probably know the author better for Narnia. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much, because I’d heard the science was outdated and it’s kind of wacky (I mean, it’s from 1938, so give it a break).
But man was this mind-blowing. Wow. What a story. First off, it’s very much an adult novel, mature in tone and discussion. Just in narrative alone, it’s engrossing and unique, albeit a bit slow. It is a deep, methodical tale with incredible, almost unseen amounts of detail. The world he crafts, Malacandra, is hands-down the most well-described world I’ve ever seen, and he crammed it all into a 150-page book. I mean, he has every facet of it covered, from creatures to cultures to geology to flora. It’s impressive to say the least. And on a philosophical and cosmological level, it’s deep, thought-provoking and complex. Frankly, high above my level. Lewis was a pretty sharp one.
Most fascinating to me was how he chose a character so like himself, a philologist who studies languages—and then took him to a world with not one but three non-human races, each with their own tongues. Ransom has to learn to communicate with them, and finds the process as exciting as I did reading it. The book is like one big love letter to his writing group, the Inklings (who notably studied old languages) proving that yes, he could indeed put his knowledge into play with fictional languages.
Out of the Silent Planet was an easy 5/5 for me. I’m only about a third of the way through the sequel, Perelandra, so we’ll see if it’s as good.
5/5 Stars
Dracula by Bram Stoker . . . but in manga format. No, seriously, hear me out. This was amazing. I’ve never read the original novel but have always wanted to. I found this at the library and had to check it out. Turns out it’s apparently quite faithful, using original dialogue and little to no abridgement. The art by Virginia Nitouhei is fabulous, and the story, adapted by Stacy King, flows impeccably. It uses the original epistolary format via the ensemble cast to excellent effect.
The story itself was as good as I’ve always heard. It’s easy to see why Stoker’s horror/suspense tale is so beloved, especially with how well-rounded it is. He dives deeply into the characters and their emotional bonds, handling themes of love and loss with the greatest of care.
4/5 Stars
And lastly, Watership Down by Richard Adams. If you haven’t read it, shame on you. As anyone who has will tell you, it remains the most epic book ever written about rabbits. I think this is due in large part to Adams’ reliance on first-hand military experience to write characters and conflicts that are larger than life. Yet he blends this with a cohesive, narrative-wide emphasis on realism, going to great lengths to show how these rabbit characters actually exemplify certain traits that rabbits are known for. Their personalities fit roughly within the small framework of the rabbit mind, and are not exempt from rabbit instincts and fears. He has a distinctively mature omniscient style that transitions naturally between immersive, well-trimmed description and suddenly talking directly to the reader about important information. He is telling a story about rabbits, but also is telling it specifically to you.
Upon returning to this tale, I did find it to be a bit more meandering than I remembered, but not to the point that it bored me. There were a few points where I just didn’t feel compelled to come back to it quickly. I listened to the audiobook read by Peter Capaldi, who did an excellent job. I wouldn’t blame it on that. One odd thing I noticed is that almost every chapter ends on a distinctly anti-climactic note. This could be it.
But don’t let that dissuade you from reading this classic. It’s a masterpiece, and one of the most unique and fascinating pieces of literature I’ve ever read. It deserves its reputation well. Just don’t go in expecting a fluffy kids’ story . . . it’s a rather dark novel at times.
— Jacob Gamber