3 ms·

Didn't CS Lewis cover this in his highly prophetic sci-fi "That hideous strength" /s ;-)

by sideshowb 7y ago

jacobush 7y ago
Pretty much. And more. Why the sarcasm tag? :) That book is fantastic.
- sideshowb 7y ago
  From what I remember the transplanted head quite literally became a conduit for Satan and was worshipped by the evil scientists.
  - jacobush 7y ago
    Yep - read it as allegory or literally, it's still helluva book.
    - sideshowb 7y ago
      I guess on reflection the blatancy of the Christian dogma destroyed my willing suspension of disbelief. This was never an issue for me in the Narnia series, which I enjoyed. Nor even in the Screwtape letters which are pretty much a collection of sermons! Maybe it's the way it breaks genre rules, starts out as straight sci-fi then busts out the dogma part way through. Whereas Screwtape starts with a premise that Satan is personified so I accepted that from the beginning. Still interesting to see another side of Lewis's mind though. Maybe I'll give it another go one day.
      - jacobush 7y ago
        I know what you mean. I'm a confessing but as an adult I even had a hard time reading Narnia. I didn't want it to be a thin veneer or allegory but it can be read as such, but as a child I never made the connection. I mean, I understood it was about God and stuff, but I took it more at face value. Lewis even says in the preface it's not an allegory but I have a hunch he just preemptively defended against that accusation from his friend Tolkien, who apparently hated allegories. :-D I have to re-read Hideous Strength too, I don't know what I'd make of it nowadays... I do remember I very much enjoyed the Arthurian legends come alive, it spooked me out.
AnimalMuppet 7y ago
Or Robert Heinlein in Recalled to Life. In that book, the tech works, except that one time out of six the person wakes up insane.
- ThrowawayR2 7y ago
  > Or Robert Heinlein in Recalled to Life. Silverberg, not Heinlein. (Had me wondering if there was a Heinlein I hadn't read for a second.)
  - AnimalMuppet 7y ago
    Ah, my error. Silverberg is correct.

Didn't CS Lewis cover this in his highly prophetic sci-fi "That hideous strength" /s ;-)

jacobush 7y ago

Pretty much. And more. Why the sarcasm tag? :) That book is fantastic.

sideshowb 7y ago
From what I remember the transplanted head quite literally became a conduit for Satan and was worshipped by the evil scientists.
- jacobush 7y ago
  Yep - read it as allegory or literally, it's still helluva book.
  - sideshowb 7y ago
    I guess on reflection the blatancy of the Christian dogma destroyed my willing suspension of disbelief. This was never an issue for me in the Narnia series, which I enjoyed. Nor even in the Screwtape letters which are pretty much a collection of sermons! Maybe it's the way it breaks genre rules, starts out as straight sci-fi then busts out the dogma part way through. Whereas Screwtape starts with a premise that Satan is personified so I accepted that from the beginning. Still interesting to see another side of Lewis's mind though. Maybe I'll give it another go one day.
    - jacobush 7y ago
      I know what you mean. I'm a confessing but as an adult I even had a hard time reading Narnia. I didn't want it to be a thin veneer or allegory but it can be read as such, but as a child I never made the connection. I mean, I understood it was about God and stuff, but I took it more at face value. Lewis even says in the preface it's not an allegory but I have a hunch he just preemptively defended against that accusation from his friend Tolkien, who apparently hated allegories. :-D I have to re-read Hideous Strength too, I don't know what I'd make of it nowadays... I do remember I very much enjoyed the Arthurian legends come alive, it spooked me out.

AnimalMuppet 7y ago

Or Robert Heinlein in Recalled to Life. In that book, the tech works, except that one time out of six the person wakes up insane.

ThrowawayR2 7y ago
> Or Robert Heinlein in Recalled to Life. Silverberg, not Heinlein. (Had me wondering if there was a Heinlein I hadn't read for a second.)
- AnimalMuppet 7y ago
  Ah, my error. Silverberg is correct.