Austin Gunderson says:

Hello Teddi. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback! As Lorehaven’s reviews editor, I can speak to some of your concerns.

The highly-concise “flash” format of Lorehaven’s reviews does, unfortunately, require some compression of thought, so relevant context may end up implied rather than explained outright. Since the purpose of the “Discern” section is simply to highlight potentially-objectionable content, it’s just a brief summary of anything that might be of concern to more sensitive readers.

In the case of “Orphan’s Song,” the reference to scruples is meant to refer to the actions of some of the characters, not to the story as a whole. The reference to dudgeon is likewise meant to encapsulate the intense emotionalism of some of the characters, after the manner of the “thematic elements” tag sometimes used in MPAA film ratings.

In the case of “Earthcore: Roto Vegas,” the word “unreconstructed” is meant to indicate that the story’s animistic spirituality is presented without any in-world reservations or explicitly-Christian contextualization—i.e. “straight-up.”

In the case of “Walking on the Sea of Clouds,” the phrase “briefly referenced Christianity” is intended to set the reader’s expectations: the story contains religious references, but they don’t rise to the forefront. This reference shouldn’t necessarily be taken as a gauge for any of the other reviews, however: Lorehaven has multiple reviewers, and each book they review is evaluated separately. The content that gets referenced in the “Discern” section is simply what that book’s individual reviewer thought might be of interest to the discerning reader.

Thanks again for your feedback! We’ll keep it in mind moving forward.

Further up and further in!