In the first novel of C.S. Lewis's classic science fiction trilogy, Dr Ransom, a Cambridge academic, is abducted and taken on a spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra, which he knows as Mars. His captors are plotting to plunder the planet's treasures and plan to offer Ransom as a sacrifice to the creatures who live there. Ransom discovers he has come from the 'silent planet' – Earth – whose tragic story is known throughout the universe.

"Not only does Lewis take his readers to other worlds but he also teaches new ways of seeing our own world. We learn to look through the eyes of other beings. In Out of the Silent Planet he shows that things ‘as they are’ (here on earth) are not the only way they have to be, nor are they the way they should be, nor are they the way they have always been."

"This world was so much more than I was anticipating! It's magical, and realistic.... designed to drag you along on a marvelous adventure. The ending was so heartwarming and only those who look really close and are willing to find it, will discover the deep truth this book hides."