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The Little Mermaid’s Live-Action Remake Fares Better Than Critics Forecast

Some new songs may flounder, but Ariel’s voice and Triton’s character redeem the 2023 Disney film. · Marian Jacobs

Fantastical books for middle grade readers!

Best for older children ages 8–12
Hamelin Stoop: The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge, Robert B. Sloan.
The Oasis King, Mark David Pullen
Bear Knight, James R. Hannibal
boys’ fiction · girls’ fiction · all fiction
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  • Try These Three Practical Questions to Discern Fictional Magic
  • How Do We Discern Good and Bad ‘Magic’?
  • Three Fantastical Christian Stories to Help Your Kids Head Back to School
  • The Death and Rebirth of Magic in Children's Fantasy

The Little Mermaid’s Live-Action Remake Fares Better Than Critics Forecast

Some new songs may flounder, but Ariel’s voice and Triton’s character redeem the 2023 Disney film. · Marian Jacobs

New books for teens + young adults

Best for readers ages 13–18—and beyond!
Hamelin Stoop: The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge, Robert B. Sloan.
Radiant, Ashley Bustamante
Hunt for Eden's Star, D. J. Williams
boys’ fiction · girls’ fiction · all fiction
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Top resources

  • Beware the Real Danger of Entertainment
  • Christian-Made Fantasy Can Shine Light in the Grimdark
  • How to Disciple Your Kids with Dangeous Books
  • How Reading Epic Fantasy Helps Me Be Brave
  • Engaging Fictional Violence in Our Real Worlds
  • Engaging That @&*% Our Stories Often Say

The Little Mermaid’s Live-Action Remake Fares Better Than Critics Forecast

Some new songs may flounder, but Ariel’s voice and Triton’s character redeem the 2023 Disney film. · Marian Jacobs

New fiction for adults

Challenging novels for wise readers 18 and up.
The Soul Mark, Jasmine Fisher
The Kingdom of Heaven, Evelyn M. Lewis
War of Torment, Ronie Kendig
men’s fiction · women’s fiction · all fiction
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Top resources

  • Even If We Like Fantasy and Sci-Fi, We Can Still Practice Accidental Legalism
  • How God Uses Story Villains for Our Good
  • Sensual Scenes in Fiction Pose Unique Temptations for Women
  • Stories With Bad Ideas Can Still Help Us Grow
  • Engaging Fictional Violence in Our Real Worlds
  • Engaging That @&*% Our Stories Often Say

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Top resources

  • Let’s Not Excuse Movie and TV Porn For the Sake of ‘Redemptive’ Stories
  • Christians Can’t Consistently Blame Leftist Fiction While Pushing Our Own Propaganda

The Little Mermaid’s Live-Action Remake Fares Better Than Critics Forecast

Some new songs may flounder, but Ariel’s voice and Triton’s character redeem the 2023 Disney film. · Marian Jacobs

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Hints at Redemption from Postmodern Pain

Marvel’s new space adventure is here to remind us of what the MCU used to be, with clear conflict and competent villains and no political preaching. · A. D. Sheehan
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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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/ Library
Author:
Ian V. Conrey
Ages:
adults
Genres:
fantasy
BookTags:
dark restoration steampunk war
Publisher:
Indie published
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“Ian Conrey creates a fantasy that borrows from steampunk, forging a thought-provoking and richly constructed war story.”
—Lorehaven review, 2021

Haelend’s Ballad

When a young orphan drowns and comes back to life, rumors begin to spread that the end of the world is coming.
Ian V. Conrey · fantasy for adults readers · November 2021

“Some call me Murderer, others call me Lord. I’ve been called Savior and Enslaver. But no one has ever called me Child.”

A young man signs his own death warrant when he joins an already failing militia. A teenage girl is haunted by her childhood abuse and begins to crave the very things she hates. A childless mother finds herself on the run as a convicted murderer. Yet they are all unaware that their own fates are tied to a young orphan who has drowned and come back to life in a foreign land where he will be the death of everyone he meets.

Hælend’s Ballad is a tale about what happens when men and women from two colliding cultures realize they may not be on the right side. Heroes are villains. The persecuted are oppressors. And when rumors begin to spread that the world is dying, the darkness of their own hearts betrays them.

Lorehaven may use referral links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Review of Hælend’s Ballad

Ian Conrey creates a fantasy that borrows from steampunk, forging a thought-provoking and richly constructed war story.
Lorehaven Review Team, 2021

Arnon knows the old stories and songs. He knows how the world is supposed to end. Still, it’s hard to know if his world’s cruelty and hopelessness means the end draws nigh. Maybe this is just another war. Either way, maybe the world deserves to end. In Haelend’s Ballad, Ian Conrey creates a fantasy that borrows from steampunk, staging a war for freedom that does not follow expected courses, in which characters fall short of ideals. Heavy themes dominate the story—suffering, evil, and sin that darkens every human heart. Content is sometimes brutal, but not without purpose. Some readers will may struggle to see in the novel’s darkness or to track its many characters. Nonetheless, Haeland’s Ballad forges a thought-provoking and richly constructed war story.

Best for: Adult fans of dark fantasy with deep Christian themes.

Discern: Graphic violence, from battles to executions; war atrocities, including mutilation of corpses, abuse of prisoners and wounded soldiers, and sadistic experimentation in a Nazi-like prison camp; child abuse as well as rape and prostitution, mostly between the lines.

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Lorehaven helps fans of all ages explore fantastical stories for God’s glory. Find the newest fiction for young readers plus teens+YA and adults. Get articles and podcasts that engage the best Christian-made fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond. Subscribe free to join the Lorehaven Guild for monthly book quests!
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