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Fantastical books for middle grade readers!

Best for older children ages 8–12
Hamelin Stoop: The Battle of Parthogen by Robert B. Sloan
Beneath the Swirling Sky, Elizabeth Groening
Skate the Seeker by Jeff Ayers
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 Mermaid's Tale, L. E. Richmond
The Looking-Glass Illusion, Sara Ella
The Eternity Gate, Katherine Briggs
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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  • 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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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
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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:
C. S. Wachter
Ages:
adults
Genres:
fantasy
BookTags:
demons epic portals prophecies romance swords The Seven Words series
Publisher:
Indie published
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““The third installment in C. S. Wachter’s epic fantasy series crystallizes the series’ Christianity.””
—Lorehaven review,

The Deceit of Darkness

Sigmund puts a new plan to thwart prophecy into action while Rayne struggles to face the residual darkness coiling within him.
C. S. Wachter · August 2018 · No comments · fantasy for adults

With a mighty whirlwind and a commanding light, Rayne expels the mercenaries, and brings light to Veres. But will his victory be short-lived? When Rayne and his friends return to Emporium City, they find an old foe waiting.

“Soon, my strong-willed little slave, soon. When you least expect it, I’ll be there to claim you once again.”

Accused of a crime he didn’t commit and hunted by bounty seekers, Rayne struggles against the mounting odds. Helped by his friends, he escapes to Amathea, where Travis joins them and the quest for the scrolls continues.

New foes arise and old ones threaten, as Rayne seeks the next scrolls. But will the deceit of friends bring his journey to an unexpected end?

Book 3 in The Seven Words series.

Review of Sponsored Review: The Deceit of Darkness

“The third installment in C. S. Wachter’s epic fantasy series crystallizes the series’ Christianity.”
Lorehaven Review Team,

It is said that prophecy makes sense only in retrospect. But what if your fate had been foretold, and wasn’t looking bright? Would you attempt to escape?

For Rayne Kierkengaard, disowned heir of Ochen’s royal line, the question isn’t academic. As the One’s Light Bringer, charged to reconcile all seven worlds to their Creator, Rayne has had to make peace with a decade’s worth of brutal abuse inflicted on him by an evil sorcerer. But as Rayne’s successes mount and his circle of supporters expands, his future grows uncertain. His once-loving parents, bewitched by his jealous cousin, put a system-wide bounty on his head. Demons once thought dead go shopping for new skin-suits. And prophecies once relied upon for comfort reveal an ominous edge. Rayne has the strength to live with past pain. But what about his forthcoming fate?

The Deceit of Darkness, the third installment in C. S. Wachter’s epic fantasy series, crystallizes the series’ Christianity. In this story, the One has a Son who paid sin’s deadly wages, yet in a forgotten past when everyone lived together on one world.

The novel begins with a Gideon-esque triumph, gets bogged down in the minutiae of Rayne’s life on the lam—during which he bumbles through a divinely orchestrated romance with the plucky Alexianndra—and then picks up speed in its second half before hurling readers over the proverbial cliff. It’s tough to imagine anyone finishing this third book without immediately going in search of the fourth.

Ochen continues to be a land of extremes: its light often seems just a little too warm and bright, but then night falls again and leaves the reader longing for even the briefest glimpse of sunshine. Divine interventions feel cheap, but in their absence, fear returns. And isn’t that a sign of realism? Christians should know better than anyone that a story’s hardships can’t be skipped just because the ending is known.

Best for: Older teens and adults.

Discern: Graphic violence, sadistic bullying, drunkenness, references to vampirism.

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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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