4- On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
3- Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis
Many people are familiar with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy written by JRR Tolkien, but, did you know there is a space trilogy written by CS Lewis about the same time? This is book one of the space/time trilogy. Ransom, the main character and professor of languages, is kidnapped by two men (Weston and Divine) heading to Mars. They knock him out and load him on their spaceship and launch before he wakes up. On the way to mars, Ransom learns that this is a second trip for the men to mars and that he will be a human sacrifice to the natives on their arrival.
But, when they land, Ransom uses distractions to escape. He runs away and explores the landscape of Malacandra, which is the name for the planet that the natives use. Ransom meets and learns to communicate with a hross, one of the three rational races of creatures on the planet. The hross takes Ransom back to his village and teaches him the language and survival and customs of the hrossa who are the planets’ poets. Ransom spends some weeks living amongst the hrossa and developing his understanding of the language.
Next, Ransom is summoned by Oyarsa, the ruler of Malacandra, so he obeys the summons. On his trip he meets a sorn named Augray. The seroni are the scientists of the planet and look most like humans in form. Augray carries Ransom the rest of the way to see Oyarsa on the island of Meldilorn. On the island, Ransom meets a pfifltriggi, the third race on Mars. The pfifltriggi are craftsmen, and tinkerers.
Finally Ransom meets Oyarsa, and discovers the whole story. Oyarsa questions Ransom about Earth and the two men who brought Ransom to Mars. Because of his greater mastery of the language Ransom is able to explain and learn many things from Oyarsa. Weston and Divine are brought before Oyarsa for killing three hrossa. Oyarsa banishes them by sending them back to earth in their ship with 90 days worth of food and air. Their ship is rigged to be unmade in 90 days, and the men barely make it home before it disappears.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in space/time travel or philosophy.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, paperback 158p and audiobook read by Geoffrey Howard, 5:26)
2- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
This is one of my favorite stories: the story of Nobody (Bod) Owens, a boy who is raised in a graveyard. Now, before you get all weird and judgey, hold on. It’s not a horror story. It’s a kid story like The Hobbit is a kid story. The Man Jack kills Bod’s family when he’s a toddler, but Bod escapes into a nearby graveyard. The dead in the graveyard protect and adopt the boy. Silas agrees to be the boy’s guardian. Bod is given the freedom of the graveyard, meaning its protections, and secrets and powers to share with the dead. I love the descriptions, characters, and dialogue. I especially like the part when Bod is trying to learn how to fade. Bod makes friends who teach him powerful things, which come in handy when the Man Jack comes back to finish what he started all those years ago. The author has a remarkable voice and gift as a narrator. If you are an audiobook skeptic, this one might change your mind.
I recommend this book to everyone. It’s so good.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, Audiobook read by the author, 7:37)
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