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Into the Darkness
Reviews, Feb 3, 2023

The Chosen Succeeds Where ‘Woke’ Stories Fail
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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
The Genesis 6 Project, Michael Ferguson
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
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147. Why Can Christians Celebrate Stories about Merlin and King Arthur? | with Robert Treskillard
Fantastical Truth, Jan 31, 2023

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

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On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
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Into the Darkness
“Charles Hack’s Into the Darkness summons a close-range science fiction story, focusing on the personal challenges of space warfare among alien cultures with a steady pace and serious tone.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 3, 2023

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

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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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11. What If Your Suicidal Space Battle Failed, Then You Defected to the Enemy? | Firebird with Kathy Tyers

Come aboard the good ship Fantastical Truth for our first interview with space opera novelist Kathy Tyers.
Fantastical Truth on Apr 7, 2020 · 1 comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:34 — 35.7MB) | Embed

Come aboard the good ship Fantastical Truth for our first interview with space opera’s Kathy Tyers.

E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell start by exploring the Firebird series, which first launched in 1987.

Lorehaven magazine reviewed this series in our spring 2020 issue’s cover story, “The Best of Christian Fantasy“:

Lorehaven, spring 2020Our review of Kathy Tyers’ Firebird series

Lady Firebird Angelo has grown up knowing she might someday die for her people. As the thirdborn daughter of the royal family of the planet Netaia, she has trained for combat as a “wastling,” destined for suicide. Unfortunately, during her first engagement in space, she fails. Firebird is captured alive by the enemy. This galactic Federacy employs Firebird’s new captor, Field General Brennen Caldwell, who is both intriguing and supernaturally telepathic.

Their encounter leads to the first of Lady Firebird’s drastic life changes in Firebird, book 1 of Kathy Tyers’s Firebird series. Tyers described Firebird’s original version, from Bantam Books, as a “cultural conversion story.” Yet since then, newer versions from Christian publishers enhanced Brennen’s commitment to an Eternal Speaker. That unseen entity has promised a divine messiah who hasn’t yet arrived. …

Tyers deftly describes other worlds, adding color to landscapes and intensity to emotions, especially in those my-mind-to-your-mind entanglements. Firebird’s musical talent adds even more atmosphere, not often seen in fiction, much less space opera. This trilogy—continued years later in books 4 and 5, Wind and Shadow and Daystar—marks a fantastic find for Christian fans and beyond.

Kathy Tyers, profileInterview with Kathy Tyers

Kathy Tyers created the Firebird series along with many other space-opera and science fiction novels, such as the Christy Award–winning Shivering World and Crystal Witness, which Enclave Publishing re-releases this summer. She wrote two novels in the original Star Wars Expanded Universe series (now called Star Wars Legends)

Our questions include:

  • What’s your origin story? How did you jump into operatic space?
  • From a Firebird fan: “I want a full history of Brennen Caldwell. I still want to know what went down, that mission that won him a reprimand and a commendation.” What happened with Brennen before?
  • From a Shivering World fan: “[What happened to everyone?! Did] they all survive? Is the little wildcat kitten okay?”
  • After the first Firebird trilogy, what brought you back for two more books?
  • How did your time at Regent College “reboot” your biblical creative engines?
  • What are the big “what if” questions that led to the Firebird universe’s alternate history and future for human space exploration?
  • What’s your view of Christian imagination?
  • What can sci-fi/space opera (or fantasy) do that other genres can’t?
  • Crystal Witness, Kathy TyersWhat’s the story of the now re-releasing Crystal Witness?
  • What comes next in your creative timeline?

Hint: Kathy Tyers is returning to her Crystal Witness universe for a new trilogy, The Sunstone Saga. This series will begin with The Long Silence, which may release in 2021.

Explore more

  • Exploring Doctrine Through Fiction, With Kathy Tyers
  • Secrets Of The ‘Firebird’ Story
  • Kathy Tyers: Defeating Gnostic Forces In Fantasy Fiction

Exploring Doctrine Through Fiction, With Kathy Tyers

Secrets Of The ‘Firebird’ Story

Kathy Tyers: Defeating Gnostic Forces In Fantasy Fiction

Fantastic fans

Azalea D. writes on SpecFaith about episode 10:

I really appreciated your podcast.
A lot of good points and food for thought.

Your points about “how you are feeding your imagination, what are you enjoying, and how is it magnifying your desires” struck a bell, since I’ve been thinking along these lines concerning reading fantasy and how to tell good from bad. As well as how to relate that “good and bad” to others in a way they can understand.

This is a subject close to my heart. I feel our Christian reading family needs to gain discernment in this area, since we are supposed to at least be trying to see truth, and to see what is false. If we do not see it, we may swallow it whole, with ramifications we don’t realize at first.

Jason V. writes about episode 9:

You guys are incredible, dredging up all these half-forgotten memories of my youth. First Psalty the Singing Songbook, now This Present Darkness! This book was the talk of my junior high youth group in 1987-88. I remember reading it then as a 7th grader, but can’t recall many specific reactions or thoughts I had at the time other than that it was a good, scary read. Thankfully, our leaders didn’t go so far as to use the book as a literal spiritual warfare manual.

I did meet Frank Peretti years later when he was touring with his country/folk/bluegrass band Northern Cross. A very nice guy, great storyteller, and a talented banjo player to boot.

Thanks for the great episode, keep up the good work!

Grant J. shares his fantastical reader origin story:

[My] love of reading started with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Blew my mind when I found out there were 6 more [books]!

Have you read Firebird? Or other Kathy Tyers stories? Share your thoughts below.

Next on Fantastical Truth

We’re starting a new series for the season: Epic Resurrection. What does Jesus’s promise of “resurrection” really mean? How does resurrection change our view of ourselves? How does it change our whole planet, even the universe? Finally, how does resurrection change our view of fantastic stories?

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    In the Fantastical Truth podcast from Lorehaven, hosts E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell explore fantastical stories for God's glory and apply their wonders to the real world Jesus calls us to serve.
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    1. Speculative Faith | 'Firebird' Author Kathy Tyers on Fantastical Truth: My Next Novel May Release in 2021 says:
      April 7, 2020 at 7:15 am

      […] our new Fantastical Truth podcast episode, Zack Russell and I met minds with Kathy […]

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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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