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‘One Piece’ Manga Reaches Chapter 1000: How Did This Pirate Become King?
Articles | L. Jagi Lamplighter, Jan 20, 2021

To Shape a Story is to Shape a Soul
Articles | L.G. McCary, Jan 18, 2021

Author Ted Turnau Finds The Hidden Grace of Pixar’s ‘Soul’
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 15, 2021

Introducing Thriller Novelist and New Lorehaven Writer L. G. McCary
News | Lorehaven, Jan 15, 2021

Join Our Jan. 21 Livestream: How Can We ‘Terraform’ the Church to Enjoy Fantastic Fiction?
News | Lorehaven, Jan 14, 2021

How Political Punditry Has Taken Over Christian Popular Subcultures
Articles | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 14, 2021

TheOneRing.net Reveals Synopsis for Amazon’s Middle-Earth Streaming Series
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 13, 2021

One Month Left Until the Realm Makers Virtual Retreat, Feb. 11–13
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 11, 2021

Thomas Kinkade Studios Now Making ‘The Mandalorian’ Products
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 8, 2021

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ Collides with Itself
Articles | Josh Hugo, Jan 8, 2021

Library

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The Terran Summit, Anna Zogg
The Xerxes Factor, Anna Zogg
The Paradise Protocol, Anna Zogg
The Awakened, Richard Spillman
The Ascension, Richard Spillman
Love's Sacrifice, Kelsey Norman
Unbroken Spirit, Kelsey Norman
Seed: Judgment, Joshua David
The Rooster and the Raven King, John Paul Tucker
Brimstone 1, Jasom William Karpf
The Horse Queen, Lavay Byrd
King of Aethon, Lavay Byrd
Tales of Elhaanai, Nicole Thomas
Still Small Voice, Allen Brokken
Reviews

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Flight of the Raven
“Exciting twists make Morgan L. Busse’s Flight of the Raven, book 2 of the Ravenwood Saga, a very enjoyable read.” —Lorehaven

The Eternal Struggle
“Esther Wallace’s novel The Eternal Struggle forms a dark sequel that brings hero and heroine into close fellowship with loss and brutality.” —Lorehaven

Dark is the Night
“Mirriam Neal’s vampire novel Dark is the Night keeps the punches and the fangs rolling.” —Lorehaven

Blood and Bond
“This book is brilliant and engaging, expanding on the series’ world and characters while building its own plot.” —Lorehaven

Podcast

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48. What Were the Top Seven Issues for Lorehaven Readers in 2020?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 19, 2021

47. Why Do Some People Long for Escape to a Galactic Community?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 12, 2021

46. Ten Years Later, Why Did ‘Dawn Treader’ Sink the Narnia Movies? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 22, 2020

45. How Can a Wingless Piskey Learn to Fly? | The Flight and Flame Trilogy, with R. J. Anderson
Fantastical Truth, Dec 15, 2020

Webzine

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What Tolkien Taught About Fighting Evil
Travis Perry, Jan 21

The Messages of Black Horror Films
Parker J. Cole, Jan 20

The Worldview of Biocentrism–You Are One With The Force
Travis Perry, Jan 14

Who Can Put a Price on Daring Love, Loyalty, and Swordsmanship?
Azalea Dabill, Jan 12

Beyond

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Explore the book The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ

Does ‘Engaging Popular Culture’ Include Right-Wing Talk Radio?
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 9

Join My Livestream This Thursday: Seven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic Stories
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 6

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Lorehaven serves Christian fans by finding the best of Christian fantasy. Our free webzine, an online library, positive reviews, a thriving blog and community, and weekly podcast episodes help fans explore fantasy, science fiction, and other fantastical genres for the glory of Jesus Christ.
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15. What if NASA Finally Launched for Mars, But One Astronaut Was a Saboteur? | Oxygen with Randy Ingermanson

Randy Ingermanson joins us to explore his foray into sci-fi with his 2001 novel Oxygen.
Fantastical Truth | May 5, 2020 | 3 comments |

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:41 — 35.8MB) | Embed

This time we’re going sub-orbital: Randy Ingermanson joins us to explore his foray into sci-fi with his 2001 novel Oxygen (co-written with John B. Olson).

We also spoke with Randy about his return to his aspiration to write Tom Clancy–style thrillers set in first-century Jerusalem. This year he launched his new Crown of Thorns series. Book 1, Son of Mary, released in April. It follows the biblical quest of the greatest Hero of all time.

Randy Ingermanson is the award-winning author of six novels, all written at the intersection of Science Avenue and Faith Boulevard. He earned a PhD in theoretical physics from UC Berkeley and would love to travel back in time to first-century Jerusalem. So far, the closest he’s come has been working on an archaeological dig on Mount Zion, right in the heart of the City of God. Connect with him at Ingermanson.com.

Exploring Oxygen

Lorehaven magazine reviewed Oxygen in our last issue‘s “The Best of Christian Fantasy” article:

Once every two years, Mars veers closer to Earth, and at about the same rate the red planet orbits back into the news. Usually this happens when NASA launches another probe, or SpaceX founder Elon Musk insists his latest rocket-related antics really will someday send humans to colonize other worlds.

For Christian speculative fans, however, a minor Martian invasion occurred in 2001 with the publication of Oxygen. This sci-fi thriller from John B. Olson and Randall Ingermanson followed the first human mission to Mars, starting in the year 2012.

In this now-alternate history, there was no Curiosity probe, no Olympic Games or presidential election hogging the headlines, and no grand promises for amazing NASA missions followed only by budget cuts. Instead, readers join the Ares program, in progress, to send a four-member team of actual people to Mars.

. . . Despite Oxygen’s then-futuristic starting year, the books don’t feel like sci-fi. That’s by design, the authors conclude. For humans to reach Mars, “technology is not an issue. Most of what we need exists right now, and the rest is well within our grasp” (page 366). Still, plenty of factors prevent this journey. Christians wanting to explore harder science fiction, set in our own world, might empathize. In theory, we have all we need to explore more Christian-made sci-fi realms for God’s glory. Yet until our crafts get faster and better, Oxygen (and The Fifth Man) will help satisfy this yearning.

We asked Randy questions like these:

  • What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?
  • How did you discover fantastical stories? And how did you start writing them?
  • What’s the origin of Oxygen and its sequel, The Fifth Man?
  • How do “extraterrestrial life” themes play a role in this series?
  • In the last 20 years, what has changed in the world of Christian-made sci-fi?

Fantastic fans

L. G. M. shares a story about discovering fantastical stories:

My first taste of fantastical fiction was when my dad and I read The Hobbit together when I was in third grade. I finished The Lord of the Rings in high school and re-read it for a college course where our final was to go see Return of the King opening weekend. I will never lose my love for Tolkien even though I’m more of a sci-fi fan now.

L. G. names other stories, A Wrinkle in Time and two Star Trek series. Then:

Arena by Karen Hancock. I read it over the summer of my freshman year of college and couldn’t believe Christians wrote GOOD sci-fi. Arena gave me hope that I could write Christian sci-fi, and it would find an audience. I recently sent the author an email thanking her for such a cool story that I’m convinced will stick with me until I die.

L. G. also left us this five-star review on Apple Podcasts:

I love Lorehaven in general … And this podcast is just one more reason to love it! So many cool topics that no one else is talking about!

Jesse R. shares his testimony about finding fantasy:

My earliest fantastical story that blew me away. happened when I was 9 ish years old. A now well-known movie came out called Jurassic Park and to a young boy with a very very active and well-used imagination, it was the greatest movie that ever was and will be. I saw it in the theater with my best friend for his birthday. (my parents didn’t know). Seeing dinosaurs come to life and having the thrill of interacting with them and escaping from their jaws blew me away. They truly did bring dinosaurs to life and did it in a really believable way. this movie helped stretch my imagination and greatly helped influence my curiosity toward visual storytelling.

Next on Fantastical Truth

A virtual-reality enemy once said that humans are a virus. Lately we’ve heard similar statements during the pandemic. By contrast, some people (even a certain leader of the Catholic church!) has spoken about the earth in very personal terms. How should Christians view The Environment, and discern stories that want us to view creation in particular and even mystical ways?

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    Fantastical Truth
    In the Fantastical Truth podcast from Lorehaven, hosts E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell find the best Christian fantasy, and apply the wonders of these imaginary worlds to the real world our Creator has called us to serve. Join the best Christian fantastical authors and other creative friends on this joyful journey, to find the happiness and holiness of Jesus through his gift of truthful imagination.
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    1. Speculative Faith | Fantastical Truth Explores the Aborted Future of 2001's Suspense Thriller Oxygen says:
      May 5, 2020 at 6:46 am

      […] on the Fantastical Truth podcast, we’re exploring the past-future with first-century thriller novelist Randy Ingermanson. He’s helping us explore his foray into sci-fi with his 2001 novel Oxygen (co-written with […]

      Reply
    2. Brennan S. McPherson says:
      May 5, 2020 at 8:30 am

      Hey! I know that guy! 😉

      Reply
    3. Speculative Faith | Podcast: R. S. Ingermanson Explores Jesus's Speculative Early Life in 'Son of Mary' says:
      May 16, 2020 at 11:58 am

      […] Episode 15: We explore Randy’s original foray into sci-fi with Oxygen, which follows a sabotag…. […]

      Reply

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