Out of the Silent Planet (Cosmic Trilogy)
Rowan Williams' excellent book The Lion's World set me off on the trail of C. S. Lewis' "Cosmic" trilogy, of which Out of the Silent Planet is the first part.
Published in 1938 it predates the space race by a generation and there is a simplicity to the "science" of this sci-fi which allows you to step over into the whole story without stumbling over the fact that we know lots about the destination, Mars/Malacandaria, which is incompatible with Lewis' narrative (especially reading it while NASA's Curiosity mission is expanding the boundaries of our knowledge of the Red Planet day by day).
However like a lot of sci-fi its main messsage is one about the here and now, our hero Ransom compares the treatment of the Malcandarians by his fellow travellers with the treatment of colonial officials with "the natives" of Empire (the very attitude we find in Union Castle). Lewis gives us 4 races or species which live in Malcandaria in diverse equality, poets, engineers, intellectuals, and philosopher spirits, and in so doing he offers a powerful critique of Western society that privileges profit driven utilitarian capitalism above all else.
This is a radical book albeit in sheeps clothing - and I am full of expectancy as to how the drama will unfold in parts 2 and 3
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