Plaigerlandra
Although it is obvious that C.S. Lewis imbues Christian elements into all of his fictional works, which is fine, it’s another thing to carbon-copy stories right out of the Bible. Much like he did with the latter part of The Magician’s Nephew, Perelandra is nothing more than a direct spin on the Fall of Man story in the book of Genesis. I can respect new spins on old stories, but when it vaguely differs from the original, then I have a problem. I feel like, when Lewis does this kind of thing, he is tired, worn out, rid of creative ideas. Another thing that pissed me off about the book was that not only are the characters of Tinidril and Tor simply Venus versions of Adam and Eve, but the other inhabitants of the planet are simply mythological beasts. It’s like he wasn’t even trying to come up with new creatures. At least with the first of the series, Out of the Silent Planet Lewis actually tried to create new creatures. It’s one thing to describe an extraterrestrial being to be like a creature on earth or in mythology, quite another to just rub it off as fantasy beings. Perhaps Lewis could not let go of the Narnia world he had left, and missing it decided to just insert them in his Space Trilogy. Whatever the case, I felt as though the creatures were out of place in a sci-fi series, and Perelandra all-around lacked conceptual originality.
(Although I have to admit this artist's depiction of Perelandra is pretty sweet!)
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