Claim Now From Narnia To A Space Odyssey: The War Of Ideas Between Arthur C. Clarke And C.S. Lewis Conceived By Ryder W. Miller Readily Available As PDF

this from the brother in law, Skimming here and there between other books, I would guess it is best for the hard core sci fi and C, S. Lewis fans. I thought this book was interesting because it it showed some of the correspondence between C, S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke. It's always interesting to read letters between literary greats, Especially since they had very different beliefs and ideas regarding science fiction, And what was nice is that the book also had some really well written short stories by each writer, There was also a chapter in which Lewis gave his opinion on writing and critics which if you are an aspiring writer could be very helpful, Quick read and an odd one for me, Glad I came across it, First of all, reader, understand that the title of this book is overstated, It is not a series of letters, a debate held in your hands, The first quarter of the book follows the exchange between Lewis and Clarke one pensive, one optimistic about mankind's seemingly imminent conquest of space, but this is then followed by essays and SF short stories by both Lewis and Clarke.
Both men were interested in science fiction as a genre, having witnessed it erupt from obscurity within their own lifetimes, Although Lewis is remembered more as a medieval literature scholar and a Christian apologist, his letters to Clarke evidence a deep familiarity with the SF of the day, from serious novels to pulp trash,

The spirit of the letters is intended to serve as a theme for the stories and essays that follow, though frankly I found it a collection of miscellany.
The correspondence begins when Clarke reads Perelandra and takes offense that the scientists are portrayed as grasping imperialists, wanting to subject the whole of the poor solar system to mankind's vices and ambition.
He protests to Lewis that the proponents of rocket societies, both laymen and scientists, are among the most pacifistic and philanthropic people in society, Lewis' response is that while there may be no "Westons" his technocratic imperialist character in the rocket clubs as of yet, they will quickly follow once idealistic explorers have broken the 'quarantine of space'.
The two then chatter about science fiction,

The bulk of the book consists of odd stories and essays by Lewis and Clarke, ostensibly related to the argument, The only real trace I saw of that was in Clarke's stories, though: in one, "Meeting with Medusa", an airship probing Jupiter's oceans of cloud discovers a new kind of life.
While not sure it is intelligent, the characters immediately put into effect the "prime directive", protocols regarding the circumspect treatment of intelligent life specifically, do no harm, The term prime directive brings Star Trek to mind immediately, and so does Clarke's optimism that man will learn from his mistakes, In one of the last pieces of the book, Clarke rebuts an enthusiastic essay from an American military personality that the United States should lay claim to the Moon in its entirety, and Clarke appears so disturbed at the naked avarice and nationalistic aggression that he muses that perhaps it would be better for the galaxy if man were kept inside Lewis' quarantine of space for a while longer.


I'm the odd bird who enjoys both Lewis and Clarke, whose own mind is divided between the hope of Star Trek and the sad wisdom of history, and so I found this collection odd but fun.
If nothing else it is an example of two men who to borrow from Lewis can argue without quarreling, The premise of this book is interesting but too thin to carry it: Arthur C, Clarke and C. S. Lewis once exchanged a series of letters where they discussed their contrasting views regarding space exploration, Clarke thought it would open a new frontier of possibility for humanity, Lewis thought it would open the door to humans spreading their corrupted and conquering ways throughout the universe, The letters are supplemented by two short essays about the authors and some stories and essays by each,

Sadly, the letters did not contain much substance, What substance there was is little more than the summary I gave above, The biographical essays about the authors are interesting, but nothing novel, The stories and essays by Clarke and Lewis vaguely connect to the theme, but there is no commentary to show how it all fits together, All in all, it doesn't feel like you are entering into a debate between the authors,

That doesn't sound like astar review, However, I give the work three because it's an interesting collection of materials if you drop the premise that they represent some grand debate between Clarke and Lewis, Thus, overall, this was a somewhat disappointing but ultimately worthwhile read, I found this book in the library's donation bin, and I'm glad I did, despite it being little more than a collection of letters and mostly skippable commentary, There wasn't much of a thread connecting all of the different bits together, but that's alright, I needed the reminder that sometimes C, S. Lewis was a patent ass, and Arthur C, Clarke an incredibly good letterwriter, In fact, of the two, Clarke was the one to take the time and initiative to reach out time and again Lewis responded, but according to the evidence delivered here never delivered on Clarke's real desirewhich was to have Lewis out to defend his moralist standpoint on science fiction before a group of assembled science fiction lovers and writers.
Once upon a time, Lewis' wife, Joy, had been one of those assembled, Clarke wanted a dialogue Lewis wanted to be left alone,

The book is rounded out by a selection of pieces by both authors, Clarke's section is longer by far, which I found problematic, but perhaps Lewis didn't write many shorts I will investigate, The first piece by Lewis included here Ministering Angels is so blatantly sexist and queerphobic as to have my hackles up instantly his second piece Forms of Things Unknown is better.
His treatise, On Science Fiction, is also included and serves as a useful reference point for one white, middleaged, male author commenting upon the work of other white, middleaged, and male authors at the tail end of the "Golden Age" of scifi, when it was getting messily mingled with the "New Wave.
" Never mind what I think of these periods and their seminal works Lewis has some interesting if paternalistic, condescending, and incomplete thoughts,

Still, I'd much rather read sitelinkOut of the Silent Planet, And now, I've got some Clarke to catch up on, This book is a nice idea that simply doesn't have reality on its side, The letters herein show little engagement between the two beyond a cordial mutual respect, The editorial content by Miller is trite and amateurish sorry dude, truth hurts, The copy editing is terrible as well, I enjoyed reading the correspondence between Clarke and Lewis though they were too few and some Clarke short stories I hadn't read before, My main problems with the book were that it was the worst edited book I've ever read with typos everywhere and the writings of Lewis were nearly incomprehensible babbling, There was very little cohesion to the book: a few letters between the two, some short stories by Lewis, some by Clarke, The End. I felt no connecting thread between any of it, Written betweenand, a collection of letters, written by Arthur C, Clarke and C. S. Lewis, captures an extraordinary dialogue and provocative debate between two of the great visionaries of the twentieth century on such topics as the potential benefits

and dangers of technology and its infl.