On arriving on Mars the highly advanced beings and species living there are found to call Earth 'the silent planet'. These are some of the most interesting and original aliens in all the science fiction that I am familiar with. They, like us, are a fallen race, but they have almost completely recreated a Paradisal way of life. They deal with the evil Weston and the innocent Ransom in very different ways. Devine was a classmate who selected Ransom for kidnapping to Weston, the other alien.
Ransom goes to planet and learns about life there.
The Insectoids have destroyed most of the fleet in a cowardly sneak attack. With humanity enslaved, the last survivors of a small fleet led by War Admiral Norman North try to escape the advancing Insectoid fleets while searching for a new weapon that they can use to fight back.