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Christian-Made Fantasy Can Shine Light in the Grimdark
Tim Pietz in Articles, Aug 18, 2022

125. Why Do ‘False Prophets’ Predict Doom for Movie Theaters and Other Cultural Experiences?
Fantastical Truth Podcast, Aug 16, 2022

The Choice
Reviews, Aug 12, 2022

Library

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Blood Secrets, Morgan L. Busse
When Legends Rise, Daphne Self
The Withering, P. S. Patton
The Wonderland Trials, Sara Ella
Shadow of Honor, Ronie Kendig
Lost Bits, Kerry Nietz
Rats of Dweltford, Matt Barron
Vivid, Ashley Bustamante
The Godot Orange, Bruce Roberts
My Soul to Take, Bryan Davis
The Gift of Dragons, Rachel A. Greco
Into Shadow's Fire, Mark Castleberry
Deceived, Madisyn Carlin
Arena (2022 edition), Karen Hancock
Reviews

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The Choice
“Bradley Caffee’s tight prose makes The Choice a quick Empire Strikes Back–style dystopian sequel that is difficult to resist.”
—Lorehaven on Aug 12, 2022

100 Cupboards
“With thoughtful narrative voice and emotional honesty, N. D. Wilson’s 100 Cupboards (2007) opens doors to worlds of mystery and adventure.”
—Lorehaven on Aug 5, 2022

Blood Secrets
“Blood Secrets charts a satisfying conclusion to the Skyworld duology, with dashing prose that draws readers into this world of steam and mystery.”
—Lorehaven on Jul 22, 2022

Jabberwock’s Curse
“In Jabberwock’s Curse, R.V. Bowman blends different elements from Lewis Carroll’s classic into a quick-paced coming-of age story whose three heroes must learn who they were created to be.”
—Lorehaven on Jul 8, 2022

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100 Cupboards
Book Quests, August 2022

Phantastes
Book Quests, July 2022

Lost Bits
Book Quests, June 2022

Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney
Book Quests, May 2022

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125. Why Do ‘False Prophets’ Predict Doom for Movie Theaters and Other Cultural Experiences?
Fantastical Truth, Aug 16, 2022

124. How Should Christian Novels Help Secular Readers?
Fantastical Truth, Aug 9, 2022

123. Which Fantastical Novels Won Big at the 2022 Realm Awards?
Fantastical Truth, Aug 2, 2022

122. Why Are More Fans Turning Against Their Favorite Franchises?
Fantastical Truth, Jul 29, 2022

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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

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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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65. Why Do Homeschool Families Love Christian-Made Fantastical Fiction?

At the traveling Realm Makers Bookstore, homeschool families love to find Christian-made fantastical fiction. What can they teach us?
Fantastical Truth on Jun 8, 2021 · No comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:32 — 49.4MB) | Embed

Thousands of people from hundreds of families attended the Florida Parent-Educators Association conference in Orlando on Memorial Day Weekend. Our cohost E. Stephen Burnett was there as an author and Lorehaven publisher. He joined the Realm Makers Bookstore to share novels of fantasy, sci-fi, and beyond, all from Christian authors. In March, he also joined the bookstore for events in Nashville and St. Louis.

Why do homeschool families love Christian-made fantastical fiction?

Creators who featured at the Realm Makers Bookstore included:

  • Fantasy novelist Julie Hall
  • Fantasy/suspense novelist and DragonRaid game owner James Hannibal
  • Audio drama writer Darby Kern
  • Adventures in Odyssey voice actor Keith Leigh
  • Adventures in Odyssey founding father Phil Lollar
  • Fantasy novelist Matt Mikalatos
  • Realm Makers co-founder and fantasy novelist Rebecca P. Minor
  • Realm Makers co-founder Scott Minor
  • Sci-fi and fantasy novelist Steve Rzasa

We can learn from homeschool conferences

  1. What kind of books are families looking for?
  2. Which books can they find at the Realm Makers Bookstore?
  3. What fantastic conversations do we enjoy at the bookstore appearances?
  4. BONUS: How can Christian authors meet these readers’ needs?

Fantastic fans

Brielle from Australia wrote about episode 63:

I found this a very interesting episode. I’m in the category of loosely holding the belief that there isn’t life on other plants. It’s not impossible biblically, but i see no reason to expect it.

Regarding the connection between aliens and demons and the fact that there’s certainly a physical component for some of the phenomena, I would mention that angels can definitely interact with the physical world and even have what seems to be a physical body. (Lot’s escape from Sodom comes to mind and well as the angels who ate with Abraham). So I wouldn’t entirely rule out demons doing something physical.

Interestingly the question of how the fall and redemption would affect aliens actually can be asked of fantasy races too. Does God become incarnate as a man, an elf, or whatever other sentient species you’ve come up with? I don’t know if I’ve seen a fantasy novel that takes that question into account. (though I know Tolkien wrote a bit about incarnate and the mending of the world, so I suppose it can work if the problem is that the world was broken, not a specific man sinned.)

The idea that it’s inconsistent for the curse and the sin nature brought by Adam’ sin to spread to all sentient beings, but for the redemption of Christ to only be open to humans was one I hadn’t thought of before and find interesting. I still don’t think their aliens out there, but there’s plenty of room for people to explore possibilities in books.

Caleb C. also wrote about episode 63:

Just listened to your episode on Aliens. I checked your website to see if Lorehaven has reviewed but only found a a brief [description] for The Dream Thief by Stephen R. Lawhead. I read this in [the] [19]80s and remember that the last survivor of an ancient Martian civilization who guards the archives of the salvation story of the Christ who became a Martian and died a sacrificial death to save them. I only thought it deserved a mention in the larger discussion. Thanks for your podcast!

Kevin R. wrote about episode 64:

When I read the title of this latest episode on masks and the virus I couldn’t have rolled my eyes any harder. I have to confess, I almost skipped this one out of sheer fatigue on the subject, but alas, I pushed through and found gold! You guys really have a way of presenting things that keeps me hooked and I found myself Amening you when you mentioned how this analogy you guys were using would PREACH!! As a pastor, I found myself very much thinking the same thing and now feel like I may have to incorporate some of your analogy elements into a future sermon. What a great idea to use the vaccine/mask dialogue to model Grace vs Works. And so I went from a mentality of “skip this one” to “preach this one!” Thanks again for thoughtful and grounded discussion and bringing the usual balanced blend of theology and imagination through the tool of speculation. Bravo!

Next on Fantastical Truth

What if dancing could control your world, and your world was a floating island, and you had just escaped from a legalistic Order that had ruled the island? That may sound familiar, because we visited this world in one of our first episodes, about the novel Hidden Current. This time, author Sharon Hinck joins us to explore grace and true heroism versus legalism and false leadership in her recently concluded fantasy trilogy, The Dancing Realms series.

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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 of these imaginary worlds to the real world Jesus calls us to serve.
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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.