Editing C. S. Lewis (section)

== On His Writing ==
[[Image:NarniaMap.jpg|thumb|Right|300px|A map of Narnia]]
When compared to his friend [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], Lewis was more of a philosopher and theologian than a world-builder. While Tolkien had beliefs and viewpoints which manifested in his writings, they usually came up as background details and a component of greater world building. Lewis, in contrast, wrote his works with the primary intent of arguing a point or presenting an idea  rather than creating a fantasy world. This isn't to say that Lewis' writings have poor world-building, it just wasn't as much of a priority for him as having a clear and consistent theme. Although his writings tend to be far more overt with their religious message, it should be noted that they're not written in a [[Cult of the Redemption|judgemental fire-and-brimstone]] style, but more like a neutral-toned fable or philosophy lecture. The Narnia series might basically be about a fantasy land with lion Jesus and ice witch Satan, but it is generally more readable than [[The Lord of the Rings]], as Lewis didn't feel the need to include songs on every other page, or detail the name and lineage of every single person who participated in each battle.

He is also known for The Space Trilogy, which is arguably the earliest example of the subgenre Christian science fiction (an obscure but existent subgenre almost unheard of in mainstream media unless they're adapting out the Christian aspects). The first book (''Out of the Silent Planet'') is about a man named Ransom being kidnapped and taken to a planet (called Malacandra by its inhabitants, the one we call Mars) where he meets aliens, the angel in charge of Mars under God and learns more about the way the universe works and the situation of Earth. The second book (''Perelandra'') is about Ransom being taken to the planet Perelandra - our Venus - to stop a demon from recreating The Fall of Man with Venus' equivalent of Adam and Eve. In the third book (''That Hideous Strength'') the main characters Ransom and Mark have to work together against a scientific institute which is actually a front for sinister supernatural forces (read: at first glance they seem like your typical dystopian organization bent on ruling humanity, until its revealed that they're being lead by a decapitated demonically-possessed head that plans to use the recently reawakened Merlin for his sorcerous powers. Shit gets weird, yo.). Tolkien did not care for it for being being full of strawman versions of people and ideas that Lewis did not like.

In the 1930s-40s, scientists had figured out that Mars was uninhabitable except by magic, but still didn't know anything about hellworld Venus under its clouds. You can pretend Perelandra is offset in time, when our Sun was cooler, as well as in space, if you like. Or just consider it all Magical Realism.

On topic of ''that'': the Space Trilogy makes reference to what would have been the Time Travel trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, except we never got anything more than unfinished manuscripts. Basically it would have been Tolkien's way of tying in the history of the Lord of the Rings with the known history and medieval legends of today's world. The closest thing we get is ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.

Also of note are Lewis' books about the afterlife, as they were unique... at the time. They also don't quite mesh with each other; but that's okay because Lewis himself was not proposing to any seminary that we accept them as orthodoxy. ''The Great Divorce'', for one, proposes a Hell that is a confused mess of a city always being torn down and rebuilt by its own dissatisfied inhabitants. (Certain planes in [[Baator]] may owe something to this.) If someone figures out how to get out of Hell, he will look back upon it as Purgatory; but those still down there, in their despair, cannot conceive of a way out, so just see it as Hell. The argument here is that miserable people are in misery due to their own choices and mindset, but could get out if they just ''choose'' to. That is, by choosing Christ.

''The Screwtape Letters'', by contrast, imposes more order upon the infernal reaches. This book is structured as a series of letters written by a demon, Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood, giving him advice on seducing people to the ways of [[Heresy|sin]] and [[Chaos|damnation]] using the man they're currently trying to tempt on as an example. [[Warp|Hell]] isn't depicted as a brutal prison as in Dante's Inferno, but more like a [[Administratum|diabolical bureaucracy]]; where [[Dark Eldar|demons consume human souls as we would consume wine]], and the more evil they are, the finer their vintage. Screwtape gives excellent advice on how to manipulate good intentions into bad deeds, and the book's unusual point of view lends itself to some creative ideas. In particular, the subplot where Wormwood and Screwtape subtly try to undermine the other by reporting them to Hell's [[Inquisition]] while maintaining correspondence is quite entertaining. Suffice to say, it's an excellent read for [[GM|GMs]] wishing to run a particularly [[Tzeentch|cunning or manipulative]] demon.