C. S. Lewis

CS Lewis was JRR Tolkien's good friend and another influential early modern fantasy writer.

His Works

• The Space Trilogy
  • Out of the Silent Planet (1938)
  • Perelandra (1972)
  • That Hideous Strength (1974) (AKA That Hideous Book, according to JRR Tolkien).

• The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956)
  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  • Prince Caspian
  • The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  • The Silver Chair
  • The Horse and His Boy
  • The Magician's Nephew
  • The Last Battle

• The Screwtape Letters

Why he was influential

With the Narnia series CS Lewis brought to the table the "everything in mythology but the kitchen sink" approach to fantasy writing. Norse, Grecco/roman, Folklore, Judeo-Christian (more on that latter), even modern things like Santa got worked in. If Tolkien gave modern fantasy RPGs Halflings, Orcs and Dark Lords, Lewis gave them Centaurs, Minotaurs and Merfolk.

On his writing

Tolkien had his beliefs and viewpoints and they manifested in his writings. His preference for the English Countryside and Forests, his dislike of pollution and the destruction of wild spaces by Industrialists all come up in the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, though they come up as background details and a component of greater world building. In contrast, for Lewis wrote his works with the intent to expose his viewpoints to the audience. They are far more preachy, often in a literal sense as they preach Christianity. The Narnia series is basically the bible in fairytale land with Lion Jesus and female ice magic Satan.

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