Chapter 17 - Venus at St. Anne's

 Part 1 - Mark makes his way to St. Anne's, on the way, stopping at a hotel & reading a book he enjoyed in childhood.

Part 2 - The women of St. Anne's select formal dresses for the farewell to Ransom. They have no mirror, so they must each help the others select theirs, and admire them. At the end of the chapter, there is a great disturbance from the direction of Edgestow.

Part 3 - Feverstone, abandoning the wrecked car, makes his way towards Edgestow. On the way, he notices an unusual amount of traffic flowing the other way, but makes nothing of it. Just as he arrives, he finds himself caught up in a series of earthquakes, culminating in a vast explosion.

Part 4 - At St. Anne's, the company says farewell to Ransom. They discuss the difference between the heavenly nation (Logres) and the corrupt nation (Britain) and England, which is caught in between the two. At the end of the section, Mr. Bultitude makes his way home.

Part 5 - Mr. Curry, on a train back to Edgestow, is stopped before arriving by the catastrophe ahead. He immediately begins planning, in his head, how he will become the founder of the new Bracton College.

Part 6 - A series of animal escapees from N.I.C.E. make their way to St. Anne's. They immediately begin seeking partners, under the influence of Venus, who is arriving to carry away Ransom to her planet to recover there. Ransom sends Jane to meet with Mark and reconcile.

Part 7 - Mark approaches St. Anne's, contemplating in his mind how poorly he treated Jane, and how little worthy he is. He is welcomed by Venus (though he does not know her).

Part 8 - Jane finally meets with Mark again, although we do not see the meeting.

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And that's the book. Thanks for joining us. We don't seem to do nearly as well for participation with fiction as with non-fiction. Should I cut that out of our schedule? I'm open to the idea. I'm planning to do a midweek post with my thoughts on the book as a whole, and obviously welcoming yours as well.

And shortly, we'll be starting Centrism Games. Talk with you soon.

Chapter 16 - Banquet at Belbury

Part 1 - Jules gives his speech before the assembled Institute, but partway through, begins speaking gibberish. Then everyone's speech (and writing) becomes gibberish. Hardcastle, drunk amid the chaos, shoots Jules. And wild animals invade the banquet hall and begin bloodily killing.

Part 2 - We see both Mr. Bultitude & Mr. Maggs mourning their indefinite captivity. Merlin (who had inflicted the curse of Babel upon the banquet hall) releases both, as well as the other prisoners and animals. Most of the animals he directs to the banquet hall. Mr. Bultitude (one of the great bears of Logres whom he prophesied would do a great work for Logres) follows Merlin.

Part 3 - Merlin rouses Mark and sends him to St. Anne's with a warning to stay away from Edgestow.

Part 4 - Wither and Straik, having escaped the slaughter in the banquet hall, seize Filostrato and drag him to the Head. The Head demands sacrifice and they behead Filostrato. Realizing that the head would demand another sacrifice, they fall upon each other. Wither manages to kill Straik. Wither then meets with a raging bear.

Part 5 - Lord Feverstone sees disaster coming and manages to escape the institute by car. However, before he's gone anywhere, he finds himself controlled by an unseen passenger and forced to drive by the most direct (but not comfortable) route to Edgestow.

Part 6 - Frost, under an impulsion he does not understand, but unable to really reason any longer, locks himself in the objective room and sets it all ablaze.

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This has, for the most part, been a slow novel with a lot of talking. Well, that all changed in this chapter.

Next week we're wrapping up Lewis and will soon start with Centrism Games. I look forward to your thoughts.

Chapter 15 - The Descent of the Gods

Part 1 - Five of the planetary eldils descend upon St. Anne's. We see the effects of their personalities upon the human inhabitants of the house.

Part 2 - A stranger is brought to Belbury to interview "Merlin." He begins translating for Frost & Wither and finishes with "Merlin" ordering them out (by way of his translator) and then he puts Mark to sleep.

Part 3 - Frost & Wither debate what is to be done with "Merlin." The notice that it very much appears that the translator is in command, but don't know what to make of this. Wither forgets an important appointment, and upon realizing this, finds it very disturbing. The machinery that has, for most purposes, replaced his personality, seems to be breaking down. They return to the room to find "Merlin" ordering one of them to take him on a tour of the facility.

Part 4- Frost takes Mark to the Objective Room and tells him to trample a crucifix. After a long internal struggle, Mark refuses. Before Frost can react, Wither, "Merlin" and Merlin burst into the room.

Part 5 - The nominal director Jules arrives before the banquet. He finds the N.I.C.E. in some disarray, with Wither unaccountably missing. Finally, Frost, and Wither show up along with a couple of others. Wither attempts to introduce him to "Merlin," but this does not go well.

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So for those intending to continue with Centrism Games, I hope you've ordered your copies, since we're almost finished here. The story of N.I.C.E. comes to a rather jarring conclusion and Lewis wraps up the more personal stories.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Chapter 14 - Real Life Is Meeting

Part 1 - Mark and Frost talk once again in Mark's cell. Frost explains that existence is self-justifying and that terms such as "good" and "bad" are meaningless. Therefore, whatever is, should be. And whatever is growing more so, should grow more so and be encouraged. Mark is sent to the Objectivity Room for training. He is then sent to keep watch on "Merlin" who wakes up and speaks to him in course English.

Part 2 - Jane and Mrs. Dimble prepare for Mr. Maggs's return and reuniting with Ivy, setting them up in a little cottage on the property. They talk about marriage. Jane contemplates the coldness of her own marriage. She then has a chaotic vision of giantess and several dwarves disrupting the house.

Part 3 - Mr. Bultitude wanders out of St. Anne's grounds and is captured by N.I.C.E.  staff, apparently intended for some sort of animal experimentation.

Part 4 - Mark has further "objectivity training" and develops a strange friendship with "Merlin".

Part 5 - Jane tells the director about her vision. He explains to her that she likely saw a terrestrial copy of Perelandra, and that she is in a dangerous position, being neither pagan nor Christian, and that she must find a home. The house gets word that Mr. Maggs is not being released, but instead will be subject to the rehabilitative treatment of N.I.C.E.

Part 6 - Jane walks in the gardens and argues within herself about God & her role, whether she has understood her real place. Then she finds herself seized by God, and sees a brief glimpse of who she is in and for him.

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So if you would like to join us for the next book, go ahead and order your copy of Centrism Games by Rachel Fulton Brown and the Dragon Common Room. Considering its length, once we've started that, we'll soon be talking about what will follow.

I look forward to your thoughts on this chapter.