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‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Responds to On-Set Pride Flag Criticism

Jenkins: “I don’t celebrate Pride Month. I don’t celebrate the pride flag. If I wore a shirt, it would probably say Humility on it, just because pride has gotten me in trouble.” · E. Stephen Burnett

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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Top resources

  • Try These Three Practical Questions to Discern Fictional Magic
  • How Do We Discern Good and Bad ‘Magic’?
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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

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
young men’s · young women’s · all fiction
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Top resources

  • Beware the Real Danger of Entertainment
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165. How Does Science Fiction Help Us Escape Real-World Gravity? | with B. L. Dean

‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Responds to On-Set Pride Flag Criticism

Jenkins: “I don’t celebrate Pride Month. I don’t celebrate the pride flag. If I wore a shirt, it would probably say Humility on it, just because pride has gotten me in trouble.” · E. Stephen Burnett

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
articles · podcast · reviews · subscribe

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
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  • Engaging Fictional Violence in Our Real Worlds
  • Engaging That @&*% Our Stories Often Say

165. How Does Science Fiction Help Us Escape Real-World Gravity? | with B. L. Dean

‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Responds to On-Set Pride Flag Criticism

Jenkins: “I don’t celebrate Pride Month. I don’t celebrate the pride flag. If I wore a shirt, it would probably say Humility on it, just because pride has gotten me in trouble.” · E. Stephen Burnett

Film, streaming, TV, video games

Help your kids engage their world for Christ!
Explore The Pop Culture Parent

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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Thirty Questions for Critics of ‘The Chosen’ or Other Christian Creators Who Hire Heathens

Yes, we must judge any creative work with righteous judgment, but don’t strain at gnats while swallowing camels. · E. Stephen Burnett

Shazam Sequel Can’t Appease The Fans’ Fury

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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:
Aidan Russell
Ages:
adults
Genres:
fantasy
BookTags:
dwarves elves knights parallel worlds quest swords The Judges Cycle series
Publisher:
13Thirty Books
Lorehaven may use referral links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
“Aidan Russell creates action-driven fantasy of all the good old things.”
—Lorehaven review, summer 2018

Road of the Lost

Reslo wants nothing more than to be home in time for supper, but ancient evils want to drown his forest homeland in blood.
Aidan Russell · January 2018 · No comments · fantasy for adults

Reslo wants nothing more than to be home in time for supper, but ancient evils want to drown his forest homeland in blood. An outsider from birth, he is at last given an opportunity to serve alongside his people and save their mother forest. But if Reslo thought fighting against the cruel and dark Narfür and their Ogre allies would test his endurance, he must also keep alive two bungling, novice knights from a foreign kingdom to find their lost champion.

Book 1 of the The Judges Cycle series.

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Review of (Sponsored Review) Road of the Lost

Aidan Russell creates action-driven fantasy of all the good old things.
Lorehaven Review Team, summer 2018

Every knight must have a quest. Jerah and Gratas might have hoped for better than chasing lost knights and lost Elven crystals through a haunted forest, with a condescending Elf for company and man-eating Ogres to make things interesting.

But a knight pursues his quest until it ends—or he does.

In Road of the Lost, Aidan Russell creates action-driven fantasy of all the good old things: knights, damsels, Elves, monsters, magic.

But despite all these sturdy standbys, the novel never has quite the feel of classic fantasy. Vampires and animated skeletons add a light shade of horror, and the fast pace and vivid sequences of violence suggest a video-game aesthetic.

The world-building is extensive, with politics, history, and religion all tangling together. At times, too many names and too little clarity foster confusion.

Aidan Russell self-published Road of the Lost in 2018. He’s a Marine Corps veteran and a fantasy fan since childhood.

ReadAidanRussell.com
@AidanInNod

Road of the Lost opens with a vignette of Cain and occasionally resorts to terms like saint, church, Pharisee, and Knights Templar. Although the main protagonists are deeply religious, Christianity has almost no presence in this novel. Instead, the religion practiced and proclaimed is thoroughly pagan, from its many gods to its incantations and magic. The final scene suggests that there is a religion of only one God almost lost among other faiths. If so, this concept is held over for the sequel.

Although it turns to religion and international politics, Road of the Lost is above all an intense fantasy, moving rapidly from one action sequence to the next.

Best for: Adults as well as any fans of fantasy, elves, quests, and video games.

Discern: Frequent battles; graphic violence, often including dismemberment; and moderate language.

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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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