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Fantastical books for middle grade readers!

Best for older children ages 8–12
Beneath the Swirling Sky, Elizabeth Groening
Skate the Seeker by Jeff Ayers
The Red Door, Chris Solaas
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’?
  • Three Fantastical Christian Stories to Help Your Kids Head Back to School
  • The Death and Rebirth of Magic in Children's Fantasy

New books for teens + young adults

Best for readers ages 13–18—and beyond!
The Looking-Glass Illusion, Sara Ella
The Eternity Gate, Katherine Briggs
Calligraphy Guild, R. M. Archer
young men’s · young women’s · all fiction
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  • 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

New fiction for adults

Challenging novels for wise readers 18 and up.
The Looking-Glass Illusion, Sara Ella
Light of Eidon, Karen Hancock
Wandering, Loren G. Warnemuende
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

Film, streaming, TV, video games

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  • 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
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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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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:
Steve Rzasa
Ages:
adults teens + young adults
Genres:
fantasy
BookTags:
adventure fantasy magic The Relic Cycle series
Publisher:
Indie published
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“Rzasa’s first-person, present-tense delivery proves surprisingly versatile.”
—Lorehaven review, summer 2018

The Bloodheart

Bowen Cord seeks only treasure, and despises his heritage as an ice-summoner. Magic could not prevent his wife’s death. What allegiance, then, should he owe it?
Steve Rzasa · June 2015 · No comments · fantasy for adults, teens + young adults

The world is gripped by magic. Islands soar. Ships fly. And whispers abound: the Bloodheart.

Bowen Cord seeks only treasure, and despises his heritage as an ice-summoner. Magic could not prevent his wife’s death. What allegiance, then, should he owe it?

When he learns of a priceless relic abandoned in the ruins of a floating island, he leaps at the chance to earn a fortune. But when a king’s ruthless agent threatens his stalwart crew and ship, Bowen is thrown into a quest for something far greater than treasure. He must harness the ice and confront enemies far more powerful than any he’s ever faced.

There is no return from his path. It ends only with the answer to one question: Who controls magic?

Book 1 in The Relic Cycle series.

Review of The Bloodheart

Rzasa’s first-person, present-tense delivery proves surprisingly versatile.
Lorehaven Review Team, summer 2018

Some Christians may spurn depictions of fantastic magic, yet Steve Rzasa’s Relic Cycle series reverses this belief. Here, magic is a person’s innate ability granted by the Most High, and anyone repressing magic offends God’s created order. That’s one blessing, for in this realm of airborne islands and sky-high piracy, our band of heroes—ragtag even amid a melting pot of fantasy races and real-world nationalities—needs all the magical help it can get.

We first encounter Captain Bowen Cord in The Bloodheart, where he’s caught up in a desperate scramble for a legendary MacGuffin (an object vital to the plot). And as if one ferocious and intelligent villain wasn’t challenge enough, Bowen works to keep peace among his strong-willed crew—comprising a were-fox, a winged woman, a faithful dog, and a cryptic orphan—while grappling with the latent threat of his own ice-summoning power. In the end, survival may require a very personal surrender.

Rzasa’s first-person, present-tense delivery proves surprisingly versatile, and the intensity of his action scenes compensates for the minimalism of his worldbuilding.

Best for: Older teens and adults seeking a swashbuckling sword-and-sorcery spectacle.

Discern: Unflinching violence, a smattering of language, and brief strong sensuality.

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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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