A Voyage to Arcturus

A Voyage to Arcturus is a novel by Scottish writer David Lindsay. First published in 1920, it combines fantasy, philosophy, and science fiction in an exploration of the nature of good and evil and their relationship with existence. The book has been described by the critic and philosopher Colin Wilson as the "greatest novel of the twentieth century," and it was a central influence on C. S. Lewis's Space Trilogy. The strange lands visited in the novel represent philosophical systems, or states of mind, through which the main character, Maskull, passes on his search for the meaning of life. Longing for adventure, Maskull accepts an invitation from Krag, an acquaintance of his friend Nightspore, to travel to Tormance. The three set off from an abandoned observatory in Scotland, but Maskull finds himself alone on Tormance, a planet of Arcturus. In every land he passes through, he usually meets only one or two people, and these meetings often end in their deaths. Then, learning of his own impending death, he meets Krag again but learns that he himself is Nightspore. The book concludes with a final revelation from Krag (who claims to be known on Earth as "pain") to Nightspore about the nature and origin of the Universe.