3/7/22

2/28/22

2/21/22

We wrap up this amazing trilogy with the inevitable destruction of Belbury. It is the culmination of the Tower of Babel brought on by the Deep Magic. There is so much to be discussed: the maturity of Jane, the rebirth of Mark, the death of Devine, etc.. Join us for the final installment!

This book of the trilogy is the best articulation of Lewis’s essay on “Transposition.” Where the Lower language can only parody the Higher but the characters have a moment where the get a close as humanly possible to speaking in the Higher.

There is always a tight thread between Lewis’s academic work and his fiction. In fact, it is the depth of his academic work that gives his fiction such life and atmosphere.

Belbury vs St Anne — the sides are being chosen. Ransom is the King Fisher of St Anne’s and Wither the Deputy Director of NICE. Both sides are pursuing Jane and another to be named later. We truly see the dichotomy of the choices of our heroes Mark and Jane. We are introduced to all the other characters who will play a role in either the salvation of England (the World) or the destruction of it. What part does the media play?? Will they be for or against the NICE?

The gang begins by talking about fireplaces and fuzzy socks. Haha! In this episode we remember and honor the life and death of Lewis as Nov 22nd is the anniversary of his passing. Nina and Wes have visited his grave and even placed a toy lion there in homage.

Once we get into THS we pull at many threads; mainly those involving the two protagonists: Jane and Mark. The are the feminine and masculine examples of the Everyman Archetype. The story masterfully weaves a fairy tale around these two as an epic battle over humanity and the world (Nature) are at stake. The core battlefield is the usage and application of Language. We see quickly how easy and devastating it is to follow the path of Relativistic Linguistics. This is a thriller and page turner that you won’t want to miss.

The innocence of the Green Lady, the deviance of the Unman, and the doubt and inadequacy of Ransom make for tantalizing dialogue. Lewis keeps us on the edge with gut wrenching questions and thoughts. One of thoughts Ransom has is devastating in our real fight against evil: “How could Maleldil expect him to fight against this, to fight with every weapon taken from him, forbidden to lie and yet brought to places where truth seemed fatal?” We’ve all been there!!

What philosophical and theological quandaries this book poses. Lewis is constantly bringing up the Steelman version of his opponent’s argument. He sets himself the impossible task, and yet emerges victorious. “Ransom, Ransom…Ransom…” These words spoken by the Unman still unnerve me every time I read it.

This is the introduction to the 2nd book in the Ransom Trilogy. This one begins without the Science aspect and moves directly to the Spiritual; Ramsom’s space craft is made by Maleldil. And he’s on a secret mission from Maleldil. He is brought to a new world, a new Eden and pondering the question, “Could man do what God desired freely, without falling, so God could fully bestow what he planned?”

Wes and the gang wrap up the end of this first book of the trilogy. There so many spiritual and metaphysical mysteries that Lewis delves into. He is a master of pulling apart complex topics with poignant dialogue. It is so interesting to see the dichotomy between Weston and Ransom in the judgement of the Malachanrian Oyarsa. We dissect both men’s responses and what we can pull from it to inform our lives.