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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

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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
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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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Phantastes
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Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney
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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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E. Stephen Burnett, Dec 30

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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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70. Why Did A 1980s Televangelist Try to Cancel the RPG DragonRaid? | with James R. Hannibal

Suspense and fantasy novelist James R. Hannibal joins us to explore this true story of dice-rolling, discipleship, death, and rebirth.
Fantastical Truth on Jul 13, 2021 · 3 comments

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What if you grew up learning Scripture memory and biblical virtue from a Christian-made tabletop game system? Then you discovered that game had been “cancelled” by an irritated televangelist in the 1980s? That’s a decent setup for a contemporary novel. But in fact, it’s a true story. Now suspense and fantasy novelist James R. Hannibal, owner of the role-playing game known as DragonRaid, joins us to explore this story of dice-rolling, discipleship, death, and rebirth.

James R. HannibalFormer stealth pilot James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. He has been shot at, locked up by surface to air missiles, has hunted insurgents with drones, and was once chased by an armed terrorist down a winding German road. James is the Carol Award–winning author of the Clandestine Service series and a three-time winner of the Silver Falchion Award for Juvenile Fiction for his Section 13 series. He also stewards the discipleship learning system game DragonRaid, soon to be relaunched as LightRaiders.

1. James, how did you discover biblical truth, fantastic faith, and DragonRaid?

  • How did the game help fans love biblical truth and fantastic imagination.
  • What’s the game like? Origin? Uniqueness? How does it help train disciples?
  • What other memories do fans have about of the game? What about misconceptions?

2. How was the game “cancelled,” at least for a time, starting in the 1980s?

  • In general terms, speaking as kindly as we can, what happened to the game?
  • How did this “cancel” campaign fit with the general 1980s “Satanic panic”?
  • What did you think about that cancelling then, and how do you think now?
Wolf Soldier, James R. Hannibal

Wolf Soldier, inspired by the world of LightRaiders, arrives this fall

3. Today, how are you blessed to help redeem the game and expand its world?

  • What’s happening now with the game.
  • Updates about the late game founder, Dick Wolfe.
  • What’s next for the redeemed game: renaming, Wolf Soldier, and beyond.

Explore more

  • JamesRHannibal.com
  • DragonRaid page on Wikipedia
  • LightRaiders.com: DragonRaid complete vintage boxed set
  • LightRaiders.com: First Watch Scripture memory game fundraiser

Episode sponsors

Seed: Judgment, Joshua DavidSponsor 1: Joshua David’s novel Seed: Judgment

Seed: Judgment, a science fantasy tale of biblical proportions from Joshua David is available now, exclusively on Amazon.

Seed falls from the heavens and judges humanity. One foretells of the coming calamity, but the words are heeded too late.

Few remain after the war against the cosmic demon. Long confined to one of the few outposts left on Earth, Sal accepts an unauthorized mission to find a survivor lost in the Vegas wastes.

He believes his target is special, imbued with a spirit that might finally turn the tide against the darkness. But to save her from the risen still haunting humanity, he’ll have to fight alone and outgunned against enemies that have already conquered the world.

“Joshua David’s Seed: Judgment marries The Thing, Resident Evil, and Mad Max to generate a post-apocalyptic tale of frenetic intensity. … There’s a beauty to the brutality, a dance in the destruction.”

—Lorehaven (sponsored review)

Urban Angel, A. J. Chamberlain

Sponsor 2: A. J. Chamberlain’s novel Urban Angel

Urban Angel is a story of courage, redemption, and spiritual warfare, set in contemporary London.

One day the church will be made perfect, but for now she bears the scars of war. Alex Masters knows all about that war. For her the journey to faith has been marked by grief and loneliness, but still she chooses to believe.

Daisy is a child of the social media generation, lost in every belief and none. When tragedy strikes, she seeks out her cousin Alex because she knows that Alex understands what it is to face the darkness.

They come together, believer and unbeliever, hunted by an enemy that will do whatever it takes to achieve its goal. Alone, Alex and Daisy would be defenseless, but this is not a struggle against flesh and blood, and not every weapon is visible.

Urban Angel launched in ebook and paperback format on July 1 and is available from all the major ebook platforms and your local bookshop. Urban Angel is the first book in the Masters Series.

Urban Angel is distinctly different [from] standard Christian fiction; it doesn’t shy away from the tough issues faced by Christians, it’s gutsy, frank, and relevant.

—reviewer

Come Back to Me, Jody HedlundSponsor 3: Revell Books, Jody Hedlund’s Come Back to Me

The ultimate cure that could heal any disease? Crazy.

That’s exactly what research scientist Marian Creighton has always believed about her father’s quest, even if it does stem from a desire to save her sister from the genetic disease that stole their mother from them. But when her father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of holy water believed to contain traces of residue from the Tree of Life, Marian must question all of her assumptions. He’s left behind tantalizing clues that suggest he’s crossed back in time. Insane. Until Marian tests his theories and finds herself in the Middle Ages during a dangerous peasant uprising.

William Durham, a valiant knight, comes to Marian’s rescue and offers her protection . . . as his wife. The longer Marian stays in the past, the more she cares about William. Can she ever find her father and make it back to the present to heal her sister? And when the time comes to leave, will she want to?

“Brimming with wonder, Come Back to Me will keep you riveted until the last page, captivated by the possibilities.”

—Melanie Dobson, award-winning author

Next on Fantastical Truth

This week, we’re both heading to Realm Makers, live from St. Louis (and also online!). This is the premier Christian-led conference for faith-based creators of fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. I’ll captain the Lorehaven booth and talk about our mission. Zack will basically run the audio-visual for streaming classes. Please pray for this event and for the gospel faithfulness and Christ-exalting creativity of every Christian storyteller attending there. Meanwhile, we’ll share more about this event either next week, or as soon as we return!

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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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    1. notleia says:
      July 14, 2021 at 11:33 am

      So we can’t roleplay on its own merits, we need to make up an excuse that it’s “educational” in order to roleplay? Welp, baby steps for paranoid parents, I guess.

      But remember, kids, a team made up entirely of paladins is bad party balance in regular DnD and your DM will nuke you on principle.

      Reply
      • E. Stephen Burnett says:
        July 16, 2021 at 3:57 pm

        We actually address this in the full episode: the fact that paranoid folks in the 1980s had a lot of assumptions about DragonRaid being evil, while others fell into the “ohhh, so it’s a replacement for ‘Dungeons and Dragons'” trap. In fact, DragonRaid-soon-to-become-Lightraiders is neither.

        Reply
        • notleia says:
          July 16, 2021 at 6:22 pm

          I did listen a bit, but while I only have a broad understanding of gameplay mechanics from half-listening while my dude watches Shut Up and Sit Down, the parts that are different — the memorization bits — do not seem to be the parts that are fun, which seem to be the DnD knockoff parts.

          Granted, mitigating the reliance on dice rolls is nice, but there are other methods. My dude prefers Arkham Asylum (not actually related to the DC universe) to Call of Cthulhu because he likes the card-based approach.

          Reply

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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.