Have you ever seen the Futuristic Christian Fiction bestseller list on Amazon?

When I first spotted it, I was excited. This is going to be my hot Earl Grey cup of tea. I clicked the link, ready for Christian stories of spaceships, nefarious robots, and planetary colonies. But I was surprised to discover most of its books had titles like Revelation’s Dawn, Tribulation Beckoning, and Apocalypse Force.

End times novels dominate the Christian sci-fi market

Twenty years after Tim LaHaye’s and Jerry Jenkins’s twelfth Left Behind book, why are these newer books still so popular?

And for readers unenthused with end times fiction, what alternatives might they consider exploring?

1. End times fiction features a popular eschatology

John Darby, Lewis Chafer, and C.I. Scofield popularized dispensationalism over a century ago. This belief caused denominations like Baptists, Pentecostals, Brethren, and others to focus on the imminent return of Jesus. This eschatology proposes that we live in a narrow sliver of time right before the end of days. The systemized approach of dispensationalism has made us struggle to imagine a distant future where Christ hasn’t yet returned. Since Jenkins and LaHaye, both strong dispensationalists, proved there was a demand for the subgenre, we have seen a steady flow of end times books made in the image of the Left Behind series.

2. End times fiction feels more biblical

In the church where I was raised, other Christians implied that acceptable reading material included only “biblical” books. The elders of my little home church would have struggled to see why stories about space pirates should be on my “biblical” reading list. For some, imminent end times novels are the farthest genre boundary allowed before readers fall off the edge of the “biblical” map. End times novels often receive church leaders’ stamp of approval, and so many hungry readers flock to them.

3. End times fiction avoids associations with atheism

Atheistic ideals have often been celebrated in science fiction through the works of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, H. G. Wells, and many more. This negative association often makes it difficult for end times novels to be a gateway into other sci-fi works. The uninitiated might think, “If there’s a spaceship on the cover, it’s probably written by an atheist.” As a result, many Christians read end times fiction but don’t go any deeper into the genre.

4. End times fiction preserves an Earth-centric return

Some may struggle to fit the idea of a multi-planetary human race into their vision of Christ’s return. When Jesus comes back, what happens to people on the moon, Mars, or beyond? Many readers prefer to avoid the complexity and focus on stories where people stay firmly on terra prime.

5. End times fiction is easier for nonfiction readers

Many believers only read nonfiction. Fiction written about as-of-yet unfulfilled prophecy sits in a unique genre location. Where historical fiction blurs the lines but must adhere to known data points, prophetic fiction can interpret even the data points. End times novels thus appeal to nonfiction readers who have the gratification of reading something less fictional, even theological. A similar fiction/nonfiction blur arguably favored Frank Pereti’s Darkness series and the many other novels this inspired.

What should readers do about end times fiction?

If you love the end times genre and that alone, read no further. You’ve found your thing, and that’s great.

However, if you’re on a quest for more space-fairing pirates, planet-gobbling AIs, or time-warping mayhem, you have a role to play in this grand adventure.

Fantastical stories are valuable not because they are true but because they are truth-filled. I believe in the power of sci-fi to reach past the bible study genre line into realms virtually untouched by overt theology. I have friends who won’t read a book about Bible topics, but if the cover designer slaps a space ranger fighting a vacuum-dwelling cockroach on the front, they’re elbowing their way through the line to join the early reader crew. Christian speculative fiction is powerful, and I believe the Lord is calling readers to find stories they’re passionate about and share them. In so doing, a Christian sci-fi lover can point other fans toward the ultimate hero, Christ.

Fortunately, plenty have already heard this call and are flying forward with the cause.

Some novels for Christian sci-fi fans to consider

My all-time favorite Christian science fiction books are the three in the Cosmic Trilogy by C.S. Lewis. See the Lorehaven reviews of Out Of The Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength to learn more. Since he published the final installment in 1945, additional fantastic novels have wowed Christian Sci-fi lovers. Here are three from recent years that are noteworthy.

I recently read The Magnetar by Jo Boone, published by Theogony Books. This multi-species space fleet novel offered a charming adventure complete with intelligent space-fairing octopi. For more information about this book, see the Lorehaven review of The Magnetar.

Another read I enjoyed was Water’s Break by Sophia L. Hansen, published by Enclave. The rich language and robust world-building in this liquid adventure carried me away with its narrative tide. You can learn more from this Lorehaven review of Water’s Break.

Another from Enclave Publishing is an upcoming novel entitled Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett.¹ I’m particularly excited about this book, as it merges two of my favorite subjects. Here is an excerpt of my Advance Reader Copy review on Goodreads:

… Burnett’s deep well of genre knowledge shows through as he effortlessly navigates into a universe where the Christian faith is in peril from a solar system-wide autocracy that aims to choke out its existence. The author’s approachable prose allows this work to avoid being campy in its Christian content or trope-ridden in its sci-fi set pieces. This book was one small step for man but a giant leap for Christian sci-fi-kind …

Above The Circle Of Earth, by E Stephen Burnett, is a Sci-fi novel that will inspire sci-fi-loving believers to share their faith. It is packed with action, is clean, and has a great Christian message.

Spread hope and faith with Christian sci-fi

I hope you’ll lay hands on a copy of Above the Circle of Earth or any of the above-mentioned novels. If you are bold enough, books like these can be a gateway read beyond the niche of end times fiction, introducing you to an entire universe of great Christian speculative fiction waiting to fill you with awe and excitement.