With all the old science fiction I've been reading, thanks to the magic of public domain literature and ebook readers, I figured perhaps I would try once more to revisit C S Lewis's Space Trilogy; they'd probably last me most of the way through the flight to England. When I attempted the series before, I made it through Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, but never did manage to fight my way through That Hideous Strength. Well, I was twelve at the time, so perhaps I could make my way to the end by now.

I don't have the books anymore, I haven't been able to find them in the used bookstores around here, and unfortunately they're not for sale in ebook format. And a trip to the Large National Chain bookstore left me with a case of sticker shock — $13 each for the first two (rather slender) volumes, and $15 for the third! I suspect a large portion of that cost is justified by the phrase "By the author of The Chronicles of Narnia" emblazoned on each cover.

Now, I know I'm dating myself here, but I do recall that at the time I bought the series the first time, $2.50 seemed like an exorbitant amount to pay for That Hideous Strength, given that science fiction novels generally went for $1.25 or $1.50 in those days; if I remember correctly, the third volume equaled or exceeded the cost of the other two combined. So, around $5 for the whole trilogy, as opposed to the $41 of today...

Fortunately, thanks to the magic of the Intarweb, I was able to snag a used (but in good condition) trade paperback containing all three for $12 (plus shipping). Once it arrives, I'll have to avoid the temptation to read it immediately, as I did with the last couple of books I picked up for the trip.