About
articles • book quests • news • library
reviews • podcast • gifts • archives
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

113. What If You Learned Bible Lessons from Singing Veggies and Dead Sea Squirrels? | with Mike Nawrocki
Fantastical Truth Podcast, May 24, 2022

When The English Fall
Reviews, May 20, 2022

Realm Makers Bookstore Returns to Orlando for FPEA Conference, May 26–28
News, May 19, 2022

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy · sci-fi · and beyond
middle grade · young adult · grown-ups
All novels Search Add a novel
Vivid, Ashley Bustamante
My Soul to Take, Bryan Davis
Into Shadow's Fire, Mark Castleberry
Deceived, Madisyn Carlin
Arena (2022 edition), Karen Hancock
Kurt Nickle-Dickle of Whiskers, N. J. McLagan
"In a city where debts are paid in blood, one young man will learn that everyone needs help sometimes if they want to survive." New in the Lorehaven library: A Matter of Blood, Lauren H Salisbury
Son of the Shield, Mary Schlegel
Maxine Justice, Galactic Attorney, Daniel Schwabauer
Mordizan, Alyssa Roat
Prentice Ash, Matt Barron
Etania's Calling, M. H. Elrich
The Choice, Bradley Caffee
The Obsidian Butterfly, Lani Forbes
Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review

When The English Fall
“When The English Fall tells a bittersweet tale of community and commitment that plunges fearlessly into hard questions about the end of the world.”
—Lorehaven on May 20, 2022

Clawing Free
“Clawing Free is an absorbing tale that seamlessly joins modernity and myth.”
—Lorehaven on May 13, 2022

Vivid
“Ashley Bustamante’s Vivid paints a world built on secrets and carefully controlled color palettes.”
—Lorehaven on May 6, 2022

Prophet
“If great fiction dares explore culture wars, it must show more than perfect people smiling before a flat backdrop. Frank E. Peretti’s 1992 novel Prophet reflects this reality.”
—Lorehaven on May 4, 2022

Book Quests

Join quests in our digital book club

All book quests
Lorehaven Guild Faith statement FAQs

Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney
Book Quests, May 2022

The Green Ember
Book Quests, April 2022

The Seventh Sun
Book Quests, March 2022

Power On
Book Quests, February 2022

Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Podcast sponsors | Subscribe links
Archives Feedback

113. What If You Learned Bible Lessons from Singing Veggies and Dead Sea Squirrels? | with Mike Nawrocki
Fantastical Truth, May 24, 2022

112. How Does Fiction Help Us Love Our Enemies Even If We Must Defeat Them?
Fantastical Truth, May 17, 2022

111. Why Do Your Kids Need Fantastical Stories for God’s Glory?
Fantastical Truth, May 10, 2022

110. Could We Enter a ‘Golden Age’ of Christian-Made Fantastical Fiction?
Fantastical Truth, May 3, 2022

Gifts

Find new gifts for Christian fans

Browse back issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

site archives | statement of faith
Articles Questions? Writers

Yes, Speculative Faith Is Closed, At Least For Now
E. Stephen Burnett, Dec 30

Last Stands, Custer, General Gordon, and Being a Christian Warrior
Travis Perry, Jul 2

How Christian Must Christian Fiction Be?
Rebecca LuElla Miller, May 24

Gender In Fiction: The Implication Of Failure
Rebecca LuElla Miller, May 10

Making a Story Visual UPDATE: Behind the Scenes of the Animal Eye Comic
Travis Perry, May 9

What Does “Woke” Culture Have To Do With Christian Fiction?
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Apr 26

About
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Gifts
Guild
Archives
SpecFaith
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.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ Podcast

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

Explore the creation and truths of R. J. Anderson’s Flight and Flame fantasy trilogy, in which a tiny heroine finds big adventure.
Fantastical Truth on Dec 15, 2020 · No comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:03 — 53.6MB) | Embed

What if you were a piskey girl, born without wings, raised underground, and desperate to learn to fly so she can venture in the strange world beyond? That’s the start of author R. J. Anderson’s series The Flight and Flame Trilogy, whose book 2, Nomad, just released in November. Now, R. J. is our guest on Fantastical Truth.

Lorehaven reviews Swift

A famous movie colonel stated, “You can’t handle the truth!” But just as often it’s even harder to handle getting to the truth itself. In R. J. Anderson’s Swift, book 1 of her Flight and Flame trilogy, a miniature young piskey woman named Ivy must handle many difficult situations. Only then can she learn many different truths about her mother, her real allies and enemies, the piskeys themselves and their real history, the outside world and whom she can trust, and herself. Ivy’s story feels self-contained, though not every question is answered or conflict resolved. This little novel packs big twists and turns that will keep readers engaged all the way through the end.

Lorehaven reviews Nomad

A tiny heroine finds big adventure in R. J. Anderson’s Nomad, book 2 of the Flight and Flame Trilogy series. It follows Ivy’s adventures as she explores the greater world, learns more about her gifts as a child of piskeys and fairies, and makes new friends as well as a powerful enemy. Her efforts to help her piskey clan appear largely thankless, and she becomes embroiled in the convoluted past of her companion Martin. Developments and discoveries abound, though as befitting the middle book of a trilogy, fans will find little resolution so far. Overall, Nomad is a rollicking read with some fascinating conflicts and plot twists that should be very satisfying to those who enjoyed the first book, Swift.

Introducing R. J. Anderson

R. J. AndersonR. J. (Rebecca Joan) Anderson is a Canadian author of fantasy and science fiction for older children and teens. Her debut novel Knife, which has sold more than 80,000 copies worldwide, was a Canadian Library Association Honour Book and won the Concorde Book Award in the UK, while her young adult thriller Ultraviolet was shortlisted for both the Sunburst Award in Canada and the Nebula Award in the US. Her latest release is the Flight and Flame Trilogy, beginning with the US editions of Swift and Nomad (formerly published only in the UK) and wrapping up with a brand-new third book, Torch (coming February 2021).

  • Follow her website at RJ-Anderson.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook.
  • Read her article “The Christian Roots of Fantasy” from Lorehaven‘s fall 2018 print issue.
  • You can also browse her novels, including any Lorehaven reviews, in the Lorehaven library.

We ask questions such as:

1. How did you find biblical truth and fantastical stories?

2. What other stories have you created, and what led you this universe of fairies and piskeys?

3. Tell us about book 3, and then what’s next for you?

"Every Knee Shall Bow," Gaye Frances Willard

This painting, “Every Knee Shall Bow,” is from contemporary artist Gaye Frances Willard. Prints are available here.

Fantastic fans

We had plenty of discussion surrounding episode 44, “How Might Santa Claus Serve in Your Christmas Celebration?:

Christian Jaeschke wrote:

My parents didn’t believe that he was a danger to my upbringing and imagination, I just never grew up with the belief in Father Christmas. So he never really made an impression on me. I remember being very young and getting in trouble at school for telling my classmates that he wasn’t real (no malicious intent, I was a curious child). At 7 years old, I remember being flummoxed by his appearance in Narnia, but I got over that quickly.

Denise Bryce wrote:

The American story of Santa Claus has evolved far beyond the European historical figure (and legend) of St. Nicholas. I distinguish between the American Santa and the historical St. Nicholas.

I see Santa Claus as a competitor to Jesus. Santa is omniscient (knows when you’ve been sleeping, etc), omnipotent (that’s a lot of toys to deliver!), and omnipresent (every home in the sorta-Christian world on the same night!).

December 6th is St. Nicholas Day in the Orthodox and Catholic traditions, and that’s a fine day to hang stockings.

Tim Steele wrote:

We made intentional time when our children were toddler / elementary age reading ” ‘Twas a Night before Christmas,” penned by Clement Clarke Moore, coupled with a book explaining the historical Saint Nicholas (4th century AD), in an age-appropriate way which led to some great conversations allowing our children to enjoy the Christmas season and yet also celebrate The Reason for the Season.

Stranger than fantastical fiction

  • “Former Israeli space security chief says aliens exist, humanity not ready,” The Jerusalem Post, Dec. 10, 2020

Next on Fantastical Truth

About fifteen years ago, in December 2005, many new fans first entered a wardrobe and passed into C. S. Lewis’s land of Narnia, at least as director Andrew Adamson interpreted The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in that film version produced by Disney and Walden Media. Then in December 2010, ten years ago, Fox and Walden Media released film 3, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But fans and casual viewers were less impressed. What made film 1 succeed, and then just five years later, film 3 sunk that Narnia franchise? We will explore these differences with help from an old friend who jaws about Narnia: “Rilian” of NarniaWeb.com and their Talking Beasts podcast.

Subscribe to
Fantastical Truth
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 your fantastical feedback. Cancel reply

    Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

    Wear the wonder:
    Get exclusive shirts and beyond

    Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

    Authors and publishers:
    Reach new fans with Lorehaven


    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.