Reviews

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

clownonthemoon's review against another edition

3.0

four stars for the theological questions and debates
two stars off for the evil "mannish" lesbian
one star back for mr. bultitude the bear

sarahetc's review against another edition

5.0

As novels go, this was worthwhile and straightforward. It was philosophical, inspirational, and infuriating in the best way. As a series ending it was all that and... left something to be desired. Or maybe I'll take the stand-alone concept (and Lewis does say both readings are fine by him) and say it feels incomplete, as if there is some significant information missing from the climax. Yet when viewed as the final installment of a trilogy, it still feels incomplete, though worse, because you can understand the parts of Perelandra that it's referencing. So five whizz bang stars because YES, but also-- ungh. Keep writing!

I'll have to look more into what Lewis was really doing with his references to Numenor, The West, and some of the more granular parts of the Arthurian legend near the end. At a glance, it's clearly an homage to Tolkein and maybe even an appetizer. Off the top of my head, I can't situate this book in a particular time in their relationship but it feels like maybe it could have been a conciliatory overature in and around Tolkein's less than whole-hearted welcome of Joy Davidson into Lewis's life, the toothache that wrecked the world, etc. Curious.

chris2110's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bmnayr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

As the series progressed, Lewis' religious hand got heavier. His prose is undoubtedly remarkable.. but I'm not sure this ending offered the satisfying conclusion for which I had hoped when I started the series. 

11rose25's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

drone232's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A good book. I prefer the first in the series and was generally confused for the first few chapters. Takes a bit of effort to get through, at least for myself. Shies away from the sci Fi elements of the first two and instead becomes more fantastical. Got some Arthurian legend mixed in throughout. I am not full up on my Arthurian legends and so some stuff went over my head. What I particularly enjoyed were the reflective parts on the nature of the self, life, and faith all wrapped up in a nice fantastical package. The fantasy elements increase near the end and their descriptions are delightful. I didn't understand everything, especially in the beginning, and will need to do research to fully comprehend what I read. 

sydtravis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

eskaywai's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

fritz2022's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

None of the trilogy are quite alike the others, so that really it's three books of three genres. That Hideous Strength is significantly longer and discusses more themes, and is exceedingly good. Entirely satisfying end to the trilogy.

respectabiggle7's review against another edition

4.0

The third in the Space Trilogy, and my personal favorite. Merlin is included in this book and although it's rather strange and similar to the Tower of Babel story, it's quite wonderful.