Book-Bat
Exploring the world of fantasy from a Christian perspective!
Is C.S. Lewis’ final novel deserving of more attention, or too difficult to understand and get into? Karlissa and Jason both came out of reading it with differing opinions, and now, they want to discuss why Till We Have Faces has been largely forgotten.
What does CS Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce have in common with Dante’s Divine Comedy? Is The Great Divorce a fantasy book, or not quite? Jason and Karlissa have finished reading The Great Divorce, and discuss its themes, before Karlissa tells Jason about her experience reading The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso).
Much of Karlissa’s understanding of The Divine Comedy comes from Jason M. Baxter’s guide, A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Jason finished reading CS Lewis’ Perelandra! What did he think? Karlissa and Jason use this as a launch point for talking about hard and soft sci-fi, Star Wars, CS Lewis’ novels, and more!
Spoiler warning for Perelandra! This is the second book in CS Lewis’ Space Trilogy, between Out of the Silent Planet (book one) and That Hideous Strength (book three).
Books Referenced:
Perelandra (CS Lewis); Sonic the Hedgehog, Volume 10: Test Run! (IDW Comics); Paradise Lost (Milton); Shivering World (Kathy Tyers); Out of the Silent Planet (CS Lewis); That Hideous Strength (CS Lewis); The Divine Comedy (Dante); The Great Divorce (CS Lewis); Till We Have Faces (CS Lewis);
Notes:
Milton’s (Paradise Lost) first name is John. John Milton.
Perelandra was referenced in the Language of God podcast, “166. Molly Worthing – Science and the Journey to Faith.” Molly Worthing states, “For the most part, I don’t find Mere Christianity to be this very powerful apologetic intervention that I think many people think it is, and for me, The Space Trilogy is most absolutely his most powerful apologetic work.”
Alister McGrath has talked about the racism concerns in Lewis’ books on the CS Lewis Podcast.
Karlissa’s mind made a connection between an astronaut interview and a CS Lewis quote. Is there something there that will help us find stories that “cool us” and give us a bigger perspective on the world? This tangent leads her and Jason into discussing the book of Revelation and Dante’s Divine Comedy as they search their minds for stories that can fill this role for the average person.
Episode Resources: BibleProject podcast, “Chaos and the Cosmos: an Astronaut Interview – Chaos Dragon Episode 19” (Dec 11, 2023); and CS Lewis, “On Science Fiction” (as printed in “On Stories”).
Currently Reading: Rewriting Adam (Connie Mae Inglis), The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis (Jason M. Baxter), Thrawn Treason (Timothy Zahn).
Karlissa and Jason share their lists of fantasy books that deserve more attention: forgotten books from renowned authors, personal favourites, and recognized classics that are just hard to market.
Recommended books: Phantastes (George MacDonald), The Children of Hurin (J.R.R. Tolkien), Lilith (George MacDonald), The Thrawn Trilogy (Timothy Zahn), Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis), Tales of the Diversity trilogy (Karlissa J.), Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis).
Resource mentioned: The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis (Jason M. Baxter).
This episode is from back when the Book-Bat podcast was focused on Christian fantasy books. Visit book-bat.com/about to learn more about who we are and our goals for the podcast!
What fantasy books, Christian or otherwise, do you think are underrated? Let us know in the comments!
CS Lewis: one of the most famous Christian fantasy authors, writer of the acclaimed Chronicles of Narnia, author of multiple apologetics books defending the Christian faith… and a more complicated person than we may imagine.
Jason reacts to ten surprising facts about C.S. Lewis that Karlissa has found during her research. Where was Lewis actually born? What was his official career? Who was Arthur Greeves? Discover something new about this familiar author!
Correction: CS Lewis did identify as an Anglican. He did try not to emphasize denomination in his writings to non-Christians, as he explains in the introduction to Mere Christianity, instead focusing on things that join us across the Christian faith.
Resources: The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings (Phillip and Carol Zaleski), The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis (Jason M. Baxter), Narnia, Middle-Earth and the Kingdom of God (Mark Worthing), the CS Lewis Podcast (with Alister McGrath), Perelandra (CS Lewis), That Hideous Strength (CS Lewis).