Authored by: David Lindsay

This is a fantasy book from 1920. I read it because the blurb was pretty good and because it was old. It reminds me a bit of C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength). I call it fantasy because the book is set in a different place and the story is old enough and odd enough to in some ways defy the science fiction label. Maybe it is science fiction. The story arc is sometimes described as metaphysical with characters that are points of view or principles similar to C.S Lewis’ Space Trilogy and Pilgrim’s Progress characters.

Interestingly, this book was also made into a movie (1979) (Youtube). It’s a 70’s movie, so be prepared for pretty terrible.

In A Voyage to Arcturus, Maskull (the protagonist) the book opens with a seance, and Maskull is convinced to visit a certain place on earth by a mysterious man. He travels to a planet called Tormance which orbits a double-star called Arcturus.

The description of that travel is bizarre. The climbs steps in a house on Earth and experiences Tormantic gravity the further upward he travels. With help, he gets to the top and after ingesting something, he travels in to Tormance.

Maskull ends up alone there and he grows new sensory organs. His journey is troubling and nightmarish. The land and characters on Tormance are supposedly allegorical and represent philosophical and states of mind. It’s weird and hard too follow.

All existence is pain… Perhaps the philosophical nature is what makes it still a good read 105 years later. Still, at times I found this book to be a bit of a slog.

All told, there is a lot of depth in the story and writing. The reader just has to wade through the older language and writing style.

Overall, this book isn’t for everyone. If you’re into strange stuff and want to broaden your reading horizons, I recommend it.