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A Crown of Chains
Reviews, Jan 27, 2023

The Magician’s Nephew Taught Me Christ’s Compassion in the Midst of Grief
Elijah David in Articles, Jan 26, 2023

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, Jan 25, 2023

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Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
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146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

141. Ten Years After ‘An Unexpected Journey,’ Must We Really Hate The Hobbit Films? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 13, 2022

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Rose Petals and Snowflakes
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Prince Caspian
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Dream of Kings
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On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
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A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“New and returning readers of all ages would do well to seek deeper magic within C. S. Lewis’s faithful classic.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

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Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
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/ Library
Author:
Aidan Russell
Ages:
adult
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 · fantasy for adult readers · January 2018

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.

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

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 magazine, spring 2020

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Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
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