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How Reading Epic Fantasy Helps Me Be Brave
Articles | Josiah DeGraaf on Apr 9, 2021

All the Queen’s Sons
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Apr 9, 2021

Implicit Magic in Fantasy Fiction Can Stir Our Longing for Transcendent Myth
Articles | Elijah David on Apr 7, 2021

57. How Do Stories Help Us Imagine Suffering and the Hope of Resurrection? | Epic Resurrection, part 4
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Apr 6, 2021

The PRISM Conspiracy
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Apr 2, 2021

To Help Kids Learn Pop Culture Engagement, Parents Must Work Together
Articles | Jason Joyner on Mar 31, 2021

56. Which Biblical Qualities Empower Strong Female Characters? | with Elisabeth Wheatley
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Mar 30, 2021

Why We Long for Movies to Match Their Books
Articles | L.G. McCary on Mar 25, 2021

Lorehaven Features March 25–27 at Realm Makers Bookstore in St. Louis
News | Lorehaven on Mar 23, 2021

Songflight
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Mar 19, 2021

Library

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Aelafas, Peco Gaskovski
The Centauri Survivors, Andrew J. Chamberlain
The Father's Tree, Crystal Jencks
The Mermaid's Sister, Carrie Anne Noble
The Watcher, Sara Davison
Etania's Worth, M. H. Elrich
Cinderella Spell, Laurie Lee
When Desperate Measures Are All You Have Left, J. C. Morrows
Fractures, James C. Joyner
Torch, R. J. Anderson
The Terran Summit, Anna Zogg
The Xerxes Factor, Anna Zogg
The Paradise Protocol, Anna Zogg
The Awakened, Richard Spillman
Reviews

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All the Queen’s Sons
“All The Queen’s Sons from Elizabeth Kipps will delight both young and old fans of level-headed girls, charming princes, and lovely lands.”
—Lorehaven on Apr 9, 2021

The PRISM Conspiracy
“Mary Schlegel’s gentle sci-fi The PRISM Conspiracy offers an attractive blend of possibility and sweet romance.”
—Lorehaven on Apr 2, 2021

Songflight
“Songflight by Michelle M. Bruhn tells the gripping story of dragon singer Alísa, and is best for lovers of fantasy and dragons.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 19, 2021

Moonscript
“In Moonscript, H. S. J. Williams creates a classic fantasy and deeply weaves strong spiritual element into the world.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 12, 2021

Podcast

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57. How Do Stories Help Us Imagine Suffering and the Hope of Resurrection? | Epic Resurrection, part 4
Fantastical Truth, Apr 6, 2021

56. Which Biblical Qualities Empower Strong Female Characters? | with Elisabeth Wheatley
Fantastical Truth, Mar 30, 2021

55. Should Christians Embrace Cultural and Digital Enclaves? | with Austin Gunderson
Fantastical Truth, Mar 16, 2021

54. How Can Christian Fans React When Fantasy Creators Get Cancelled? part 2
Fantastical Truth, Mar 9, 2021

Webzine

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The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

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The Beauty of Short Horror Films
Parker J. Cole, Mar 31

Banning Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Mar 22

What Arouses Hatred of Fantastic Romantic Fiction?
Parker J. Cole, Mar 17

Here’s What Happened
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Mar 15

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

This month brings release anniversaries for two Narnia movies. The first roared, but the last sank hard. How did this fantasy franchise fizzle?
Fantastical Truth | Dec 22, 2020 | No comments |

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Want to feel old at Christmas? The first Narnia film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, released in 2005 and is now fifteen years old. Five years later, the third Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, released in 2010, so it’s now ten years old. Let’s explore these films’ successes and failures, as we’re joined by a special guest and “prince” of Narnia here on Fantastical Truth.

Introducing ‘Rilian’ of NarniaWeb

  • Rilian started a podcast called “Narnia News and Notes”
  • This became the NarniaWeb.com podcast, and it’s now called Talking Beasts.
  • The twice-monthly podcast explores Narnia books and films. It’s even featured actors from the film series.

“Of course he isn’t safe. But he is good.”

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

  • Walden Media produced, Disney distributed
  • Released in the U. S. on Dec. 9, 2005
  • Budget: about $180 million
  • Earned: about $745 million
  • We share our memories of the film’s anticipation
  • We share our initial and current response to the film
  • Briefly we also mention Prince Caspian (2008)

C. S. Lewis himself expressed his feelings about adapting Narnia for a visual medium.

  • From Lewis’s letter to Lance Sieveking in 1959:

But I am absolutely opposed—adamant isn’t in it!—to a TV version. Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare. At least, with photography. Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) wd. be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan wd. be to me blasphemy.

  • From Lewis’s letter to Jane Douglass in 1954:

Aslan is a divine figure, and anything remotely approaching the comic (above all anything in the Disney line) would be to me simple blasphemy.

2. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

  • Walden Media produced, 20th Century Fox distributed
  • (Now that Disney has bought Fox, this film is also owned by Disney.)
  • Released in the U. S. on Dec. 10, 2010
  • Budget: about $140–$155 million
  • Earned: about $415 million
  • We share our memories of the film’s anticipation
  • We share our initial and current response to the film
  • Caution: we’re a bit negative, especially about the humanistic hints in earlier films that flourish into non-book themes here.

3. What’s next for Narnia?

  • We lament the current limbo of further (and faithful) Narnia film adaptations.
  • Yes, Netflix technically has the rights to remake the series, and we express cautious pessimism.
  • Briefly we explore the pros and cons of making Narnia movies versus making Narnia miniseries, for certain books.

Stranger Than Fantastical Fiction

  • “Japanese Police Panel Proposes Crossbow Permits To Prevent Crimes,” The Daily Caller, Dec. 17, 2020
  • This isn’t for a citizen vigilante force.
  • There was apparently a crossbow attack in Hyogo province, back in June, that injured and killed four people.
  • So this is about preventing future crossbow attacks.
  • Apparently there have been other crossbow attacks in recent years in other countries. Is there a crossbow villain out there somewhere?
  • At any rate, the Japanese police want to limit crossbow usage to ” animal anesthesia, academic research or sports.”
  • Perhaps next we will see a Japanese, crossbow equivalent to the NRA? I can already see the bumper stickers.

Next on Fantastical Truth

  • Announcement: this episode is our last regular episode of this year.
  • Next year brings great topics, including many we couldn’t explore this year!
  • Well-wishes, merry Christmas, happy new year, further up and further in, etc.
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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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