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Title: That Hideous Strength
Title: That Hideous Strength
Series:
The Space Trilogy #3
Author:
C.S. Lewis
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre:
SFF
Pages:
394
Format:
Digital Edition
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Synopsis: |
The NICE Institute begins to take over Britain. Ostensibly a mere research company that is out to better humanity, NICE is actually controlled by the bent eldila of our own world. They have begun the conquest of Earth in earnest, which means the total destruction of everything. Just like the moon is lifeless, they desire the Earth to be so.
Opposing them, or more accurately,
gathered together against them, is Ransom and a small group of
nobodies. Housewives, old professors, maids, even one man who doesn't
believe in the eldila.
NICE is bent on resurrecting Merlin,
the last descendant of Atlantis. With his knowledge of mystical
powers and NICE's control of technology, it looks like their plan
cannot fail. What they don't count on is that Merlin might not be the
evil warlock they assume him to be or that the eldila from the unbent
worlds will stand idly by.
But God works in mysterious ways and
evil always destroys itself.
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My Thoughts:
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I really needed this read.
Storywise, it was just kind of ok. In
all honesty, there wasn't much going on. Most of what happens is
revealed between a husband who is trying to join NICE and his wife
who is drawn into Ransom's circle. But we don't meet Ransom until
almost the end, he doesn't play much of a part besides being a
cripple and even Merlin, when he joins them, only casts a babel spell
on the badguys. This is NOT an action book.
This was a book where the principals of
warfare according to Christianity were in the fore. You didn't have
Ransom and Company assaulting the NICE headquarters with shotguns and
shooting everything with rocksalt or dishcleaner water, ala
Supernatural. What you had
was people doing almost nothing except the tiny little bit they were
told to. That is so contrary to common sense, and even that issue is
addressed, that it was fantastic.
It is
good to be reminded that I am not responsible for taking down evil,
Evildead style. It doesn't work that way. It is good to be reminded
that God is in control, that He is responsible and that He has a plan
already in motion and all laid out in Revelations.
While
this was explicitly Christian, it wasn't in the same vein as
something by Frank Peretti. You didn't have spirits duking it out
with swords while flying around. In fact, Lewis does his best to show
just how much we cannot understand about the creatures not of this
world. A little confusing but like I first said, refreshing.
When
you are battered and worn, sometimes you just need to cling to the
truth.
On a
non-review note, I FINALLY understand the old cover. It never made
sense to me before. Now that I've read this again, it makes total
sense. It isn't necessarily the kind of thing I can just type up and
explain out of the blue, but if you read the story, you'll understand
too.
★★★★☆
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