Home

Explore the best Christian fantasy.

articles | news | library | reviews | podcast
Advertise Seek Review Questions?

‘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

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy | sci-fi | supernatural and beyond
All novels Search Add a novel
Explore all: Middle-grade books | Young-adult books | Adult books
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

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review Share review

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

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Apple | Google | All subscribe links
Archives Feedback

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

Browse back issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
SpecFaith

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

site archives | statement of faith
New articles Questions? Pitch to us

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

Find more from Christian creators

Order the book! E. Stephen Burnett

Get exclusive shirts and beyond
in the Lorehaven store

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

Home
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Webzine
SpecFaith
Store
Beyond Edit content
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.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ Podcast

29. What If You Escaped from Captivity but Left Your Brother Behind? | These Nameless Things, with Shawn Smucker

Novelist Shawn Smucker joins us to explore memories and mystic challenges at life’s margins.
Fantastical Truth | Aug 18, 2020 | No comments |

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:45 — 39.6MB) | Embed

What if eternal life was a curse, and the Tree of Life was reappearing in a place even angels dare not tread? What if you didn’t know whether you’d killed your own father? And most recently, what if you escaped from captivity but left your brother behind? Novelist Shawn Smucker explores such mystic challenges at the margins of life, and he’s our guest on today’s episode.

Exploring memory and magical realism with Shawn Smucker

Two-time Christianity Today Book Award winner Shawn Smucker captivated readers with his genre-bending novels The Day the Angels Fell in 2017 and Light from Distant Stars in 2019. Now, Smucker is back with his newest novel, These Nameless Things, a stunningly distinctive contemporary novel that grapples with the hard question, Is there a limit to the things we’ll do to assuage our own guilt and rescue the ones we love?

Once held captive and tortured on a mysterious mountain, Dan was lucky to have made it out alive. But freedom comes at a cost. Left with little memory of the horrific ordeal, Dan remembers one thing—his escape meant having to leave his brother behind.

With each day that passes, Dan waits with other survivors in hope of his brother’s escape. But just as long-forgotten memories start rising to the surface, the sudden appearance of a wounded woman throws everything further into question. As Dan struggles to know whom to trust, he is caught once again in a paralyzing moral dilemma—but this time, will he choose to save his own life or his brother’s life?

A poignant tale of the bonds of brotherhood, These Nameless Things will have readers frantically flipping pages for answers in this thought-provoking narrative.

Shawn Smucker is the author of The Day the Angels Fell, The Edge of Over There, Light from Distant Stars, as well as the memoir Once We Were Strangers. He lives with his wife and six children in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. You can find him at ShawnSmucker.com.

Light from Distant Stars, Shawn Smucker

We ask questions such as:

  1. Shawn, how did you discover biblical truth and fantastic imagination?
  2. Your latest novels skirt the edge of the fantastical. For example, in Light from Distant Stars there’s a strong element that I would call magical realism, especially with the Beast and two mysterious children. Yet most of the story enhances Cohen’s traumatic and happy memories to a level beyond mere “contemporary” exploration. How would you describe this element?
  3. You said your first novel, The Day the Angels Fell, started with the question, “Could it be possible that death is a gift?” How do themes of life and mortality drive your thematic pursuits?
  4. Which images and ideas drove you to create These Nameless Things?
  5. How does “normal life,” and your writing in nonfiction such as memoir, help inspire the themes of your fiction?
  6. What comes next in your stories, both nonfiction and fiction?
  7. How can fans connect with your ongoing work and your podcast?

Lorehaven, summer 2019Explore more in Lorehaven magazine

From our summer 2019 cover story, ‘I’ve Always Loved the Magic at the Margins’:

Shawn said he wants to keep making contemporary stories with fantastical edges.

“As a kid, you wonder if there really are gnomes or fairies, and you think you see them,” he said. “I really enjoy reading and writing stories that could be true, even though they’re fantastical . . . creating something that happens in this real world, but challenges the boundaries between real and magical or fantastical.”

For example, Light from Distant Stars (releasing July 2019) does not start with any fantasy backstory or map of a distant star system. It begins with Cohen Marah, very much a person of our world, staring down at his dying father in a funeral home. Cohen must then reckon with his father’s impending death, and his own childhood brokenness when his father was caught cheating with a Sunday school teacher.

Still, the story gets fantastical as Cohen flashes back to a side quest involving two mysterious children, an escaped arsonist, and a shadow-creature called the Beast.

“I got the idea from mythology—Thanatos and Hypnos,” Shawn explained. “What I was really exploring with this book was the questions of: How accurately do we really remember things from our childhood? And how do these memories that we think we remember impact our very real lives in the present?

From our summer 2019 featured review of Light from Distant Stars:

. . . For readers who must continue imagining their way through such trauma, or need to accompany loved ones who do, Light from Distant Stars is a Godsend. In the real world, we need more than platitudes or devotionals to help us heal. Instead, to start imagining our way through any family trauma, in the light of our Father and his truly good gifts, we need more fierce and compassionate stories like this one.

From our spring 2019 review of The Edge of Over There:

With The Edge of Over There—sequel to The Day the Angels Fell—Shawn Smucker unveils a masterwork of lyrical grandeur. It’s a tale of deep mystery and fast friendship, told with the poignancy of half-remembered dreams and the immediacy of pelting rain.

Fantastic fans

About episode 28 (exploring The Chosen) and today’s episode, Andrea writes:

I am so glad I listened to this before I watched The Chosen. I think it prepare me well. Also, I’m so excited to hear your talk with Shawn Smucker. Thank you for all your wonderful episodes..

On Twitter, @TheophanyMedia asked about ep. 28:

On the must recent episode of the “Fantastical Truth” podcast by @Lorehaven they discussed “Biblical Fiction”—narratives that expand or add to what is shown in Scripture. Do you think Christians are allowed to create / consume this type of art? Why or why not?

To this, @richey_paula replied:

As long as it’s clearly “inspired by” rather than attempting to be a substitute for Scripture, I don’t see why not. I think the Word for Word Bible Comic is doing an excellent job of visually expanding upon the Bible, using historical & archaeological resources for accuracy.

And @RedHedgeDragon replied:

I agree. They key is in the genre label “Fiction.” No matter what kind of media you are consuming, as a Christian you should always be taking in a steady diet of Bible. God appears as a character in all kinds of fiction, but only the Bible is true.

Evurandi B. left a comment on our YouTube channel about episode 26 (about top Narnia myths):

Can I like this more than once? (Like, a hundred times?) I’m SO tired of people acting like Lewis was this horrible, sexist person because of what happened with Susan. If I could get everyone who believes she was “denied salvation” for growing up or liking sex to listen to this I would. You explain Lewis’ real meaning so well!

Next on Fantastical Truth

How does one novelist go from “Babylon Bee”-ing a political satire writer to creating his own fantastical worlds with a comedic edge? We’ve invited Frank Fleming onto the podcast to share how such often-misunderstood genres can uniquely glorify God and reflect our crazy realities.

Subscribe to
Fantastical Truth
Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotifyAndroidPandoraiHeartRadioStitcherBlubrryby EmailTuneInRSS

Or subscribe with your favorite app by using the address below

Share your thoughts with Fantastical Truth!

    Okay to quote from your comment in a future episode?

    YesNo

    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.
    Website | Facebook | Twitter |

    Share this:

    • Tweet
    • Share on Tumblr
    • Pocket
    • WhatsApp

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Lorehaven magazine, winter 2020

    Wear the wonder:
    Get exclusive shirts and beyond

    Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

    Authors: Reach new fans with Lorehaven