Which C.S. Lewis science-fiction novel features the philologist Elwin Ransom?

Out of the Silent Planet features the philologist Elwin Ransom, C.S. Lewis’s central character in the Space Trilogy.

Published in 1938, the novel follows Ransom after he is kidnapped and taken to Malacandra, a planet that humans call Mars. His knowledge of languages becomes crucial as he encounters several intelligent species and begins to understand the planet’s society.

The book combines planetary adventure with philosophical and theological ideas. Lewis wrote it partly as a response to what he saw as the moral and imaginative limits of some contemporary space fiction. The story contrasts scientific ambition, colonial exploitation, and the possibility of peaceful relations between worlds.

Out of the Silent Planet is followed by Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. The three books are commonly called the Space Trilogy, although their settings and styles differ considerably.