Malacandra is the fictional planet visited in C.S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet.
Published in 1938, the novel follows the philologist Elwin Ransom after he is abducted and taken into space. The planet is called Malacandra by its inhabitants, while Earth is known as Thulcandra, the “silent planet.” Lewis uses the journey to explore language, culture, morality, and humanity’s place in the universe.
Out of the Silent Planet is the first book in Lewis’s Space Trilogy. Its sequels are Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. Because the second novel is titled Perelandra, readers sometimes supply that name when asked about the destination in the first book.
Malacandra is not another name for Narnia. Narnia belongs to Lewis’s fantasy series, while Malacandra belongs to his science-fiction setting. The novel’s invented terminology reflects Lewis’s interest in philology and comparative language.