History YMMV / TheSpaceTrilogy

* AuthorTract: The 'judgment' scene in ''Out of the Silent Planet'' forces secular-humanist Weston to attempt to justify his worldview to an angel that doesn't speak his language. He has to resort to the interpretive services of Ransom, who is hardly going to be sympathetic. Although it's definitely an amusing scene, it's also a cheap device to cloak Weston's opinions in LoadedWords and AppealToRidicule.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: ''Perelandra'' can get rather trippy at times...

* OlderThanTheyThink: ''That Hideous Strength'' addresses the issue of transhumanism and many of its implications. Its first printing was in 1945.

* CompleteMonster: The Un-Man, who is heavily implied, if not outright stated to be Satan. He is a source of all evil, trying to corrupt Perelandra in order to lead it to destruction. While he isn't "working", he tortures all the he can get [[FateWorseThanDeath to the brink of death without killing.]]

* CompleteMonster: The Un-Man, who is heavily implied, if not outright stated to be Satan. He is a source of all evil, trying to corrupt Perelandra in order to lead it to destruction. While he isn't "working", he tortures to the brink of death without killing.

*** This wasn't just a debate between two people with equally valid points. It was literally the devil incarnate, trying to convince another world's Eve to sin and duplicate the fall of man, thereby wrecking another paradisal world ForTheEvulz. Ransom's task was to prevent this from happening by any means necessary.

** You must also take into account that this was his last resort. He came to this conclusion only after being dragged through weeks of argument.

* CompleteMonster: The Un-Man, who is heavilily implied, if not outright stated to be Satan. He is a source of all evil, trying to corrupt Perelandra in order to lead it to destruction, While he isn't "working", he tortures to the brink of death without killing.

* ValuesDissonance: You're in a theological debate. You find yourself losing the argument and fear that your audience might be swayed towards the opinions of your opponent. What do you do? If you're Ransom, you follow the advice of a "divine voice" and simply kill the bastard. The ''intended'' message is supposed to be an anti-appeasement one (the book was published in 1943): sometimes it's not enough to be right - some people can't be reasoned with, and for the good of all you have to use force. However, in the context of the story, it accidentally comes more across like, "If you're losing an argument, just beat the crap out of your opponent because you know you're right."

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: At the time the trilogy was first published, most aliens in SF stories were hostile savages intent on destroying humanity. For Lewis's aliens to be morally superior to man was a radical departure... which was widely adopted by later writers, somewhat diluting its impact today. Though, the thing that remains the most original with Lewis' premise is that his aliens still believe in a deity, [[OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions while most other sci-fi examples don't]].

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: At the time the trilogy was first published, most aliens in SF stories were hostile savages intent on destroying humanity. For Lewis's aliens to be morally superior to man was a radical departure... which was widely adopted by later writers, somewhat diluting its impact today. Though, the thing that remains the most original with Lewis' premise is that nearly any other time aliens are morally superior, [[OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions they tend to not believe in any Deity]].

* ValuesDissonance: You're in a theological debate. You find yourself losing the argument and fear that your audience might be swayed towards the opinions of your opponent. What do you do? [[spoiler:If you're Ransom, you give up arguing the point and just kill the dirty satanic villain with your bare hands.]]
** Ransom himself thought that particular solution seemed crass, until he realized that his opponent was playing similarly dirty. The Un-man was using manipulative rhetoric to make his point, and was abusing the fact that he didn't need to sleep in order to physically wear down his opposition.
** It could also be considered ValuesResonance. After all, if you found out Satan was trying to make another Eden a CrapsackWorld/ CrapsaccharineWorld like ours, wouldn't ''you'' feel obligated to beat the ever-loving shit out of him?
** You must also take into account that A) Ransom's opponent was literally Satan. There was no possible meeting of the minds or compromise here. It was victory and life or defeat and death (of an entire world). And B) This was not his first solution, but his last. He came to this conclusion only after being dragged through weeks of argument. It also required tremendous courage. Ransom fully expected to die, as he was a mortal entering physical combat with a demon. [[spoiler: He quickly discovered, to his relief, that it was, physically, one middle-aged scholar against another. And Ransom was a trained boxer.]]

* CompleteMonster: The Un-Man, who is heavilily implied, if not outright stated to be Satan. He is a source of all evil, trying to corrupt Perelandra in order to lead it to destruction. While he isn't "working", he tortures everything he can.

** The battle with the Unman and the CrapsackWorld speech by Weston in ''{{Perelandra}}''.

** The detailed description of the head and the creepy paintings in ''ThatHideousStrength''. Also Dr. Frost's POV segments.

* CompleteMonster:
** The Un-man, aka the Bent One and {{Satan}}. It is a being so evil that even to look at its face can cause an unprepared human to pass out, and while it is a highly intelligent [[ManipulativeBastard tempter]] with [[TheChessmaster solar system spanning plans]], it derives at least as much pleasure from torturing animal life to death.
** The transhumanist psychologist, Dr. Frost, in ''That Hideous Strength''.

** Also in ''Perelandra'' pretty much the entire underground section can be incredibly creepy. Not ''just'' because most of it takes place in total darkness, but because there are ''lots'' of hints that all sorts of bizarre persons and places exist down there and the reader only sees enough of them to hint at it. And what little we see is hinted to be not necessarily ''evil'' but so ''foreign'' to human experience that it's incomprehensible.

** Also in ''Perelandra'' pretty much the entire underground section can be incredibly creepy. Not ''just'' because most of it takes place in total darkness, but because there are ''lots'' of hints that all sorts of bizarre persons and places exist down there and the reader only sees enough of them to hint at it. And what little we see is hinted to be not necessarily ''evil'' bot so ''foreign'' to human experience that it's incomprehensible.

* BetterThanItSounds: In the words of Christian theologian [[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scriptorium/2013/12/the-praise-of-perelandra/ Fred Sanders]]:
--> If I told you that a Christian novelist wrote a book about [[AdamAndEvePlot Adam and Eve]] [[InSpace in space]], and that after the plot is resolved he devotes a whole chapter to the characters having a church service where they praise {{God}}, many of you would vomit. If I told you the chapter where they sang praises was the best chapter, you might be polite, but in your heart you’d question my literary judgment. [[TropesAreNotBad But it’s the truth.]]

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: At the time the trilogy was first published, most aliens in SF stories were hostile savages intent on destroying humanity. For Lewis's aliens to be morally superior to man was a radical departure... which, of course, was widely adopted by later writers, somewhat diluting its impact today.
** Of course, though, the thing that remains the most original with Lewis' premise is that nearly any other time aliens are morally superior, [[OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions they tend to not believe in any Deity]].

* CompleteMonster: The Un-man, aka the Bent One and {{Satan}}. It is a being so evil that even to look at its face can cause an unprepared human to pass out, and while it is a highly intelligent [[ManipulativeBastard tempter]] with [[TheChessmaster solar system spanning plans]], it derives at least as much pleasure from torturing animal life to death.

** The detailed description of the head and the creepy paintings in ''ThatHideousStrength''.

** You must also take into account that A) Ransom's opponent was literally Satan. There was no possible meeting of the minds or compromise here. It was victory and life or defeat and death (of an entire world). And B) This was not his first solution, but his last. He came to this conclusion only after being dragged through weeks of argument. It also required tremendous courage. Ransom fully expected to die, as he was a mortal entering physical combat with a demon. [[spoiler: He quickly discovered, to his relief, that it was, physically, one middle-aged scholar against another.]]

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel:

** Of course, though, the thing that remains the most original with Lewis' premise is that nearly any other time aliens are morally superior, they tend to not believe in any Deity.