Following the theme of C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy, here’s Art Sussman’s cover for Perelandra, the second book of the series, as published by Avon in 1957. Sussman also created the cover of Avon’s 1960 edition of Out of the Silent Planet.
You can view the cover of Macmillan’s 1965 edition of Perelandra here. The large human figures in yellow-orange are probably symbolic representations of Tindril, the Queen of Perelandra (a.k.a. to we inhabitants of Earth as “Venus”), and her un-named King. There’s also a science-fiction element on the cover in the form of a rocket-plane, but no such craft figures in the story!
And as always, to give you a literary “taste” of the novel’s contents, here’s an excerpt: A conversation between the hero, Dr. Elwin Ransom, and his antagonist, Dr. Weston.
“My dear Ransom,
I wish you would not keep relapsing on to the popular level.
The two things are only moments in the single, unique reality.
The world leaps forward through great men
and greatness always transcends mere moralism.
When the leap has been made our ‘diabolism’
as you would call it becomes the morality of the next stage;
but while we are making it, we are called criminals, heretics, blasphemers…”
“How far does it go?
Would you still obey the Life-Force
if you found it prompting you to murder me?”
“Yes.”
“Or to sell England to the Germans?”
“Yes.”
“Or to print lies as serious research in a scientific periodical?”
“Yes.”
“God help you!” said Ransom.
* * * * * * * * * * *
As the novel progresses, Dr. Weston is transformed into some thing no longer quite human, although physically human in superficial appearance. Here are Dr. Ransom’s observations of what remains of Weston – physically, intellectually, and spiritually – after the latter has succumbed (voluntarily?) to demonic possession.
It [Weston] looked at Ransom in silence and at last began to smile.
We have all often spoken –
Ransom himself had often spoken –
of a devilish smile.
Now he realized that he had never taken the words seriously.
The smile was not bitter, nor raging, nor, in an ordinary sense, sinister;
it was not even mocking.
It seemed to summon Ransom, with horrible naivete of welcome,
into the world of its own pleasures,
as if all men were at one in those pleasures,
as if they were the most natural thing in the world
and no dispute could ever have occurred about them.
It was not furtive, nor ashamed, it had nothing of the conspirator in it.
It did not defy goodness, it ignored it to the point of annihilation.
Ransom perceived that he had never before seen anything
but half-hearted and uneasy attempts at evil.
This creature was whole-hearted.
The extremity of its evil had passed beyond all struggle
into some state which bore a horrible similarity to innocence.
It was beyond vice as the Lady was beyond virtue.
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Note: December 2, 2020 – Having created this post only six days ago, I was happily surprised to discover Dr. Pedro Blas González’ essay, “Good and Evil in C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy“, at NewEnglishReview.
