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A Crown of Chains
Reviews, Jan 27, 2023

The Magician’s Nephew Taught Me Christ’s Compassion in the Midst of Grief
Elijah David in Articles, Jan 26, 2023

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, Jan 25, 2023

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Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
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146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
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145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
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144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
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143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
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142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
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141. Ten Years After ‘An Unexpected Journey,’ Must We Really Hate The Hobbit Films? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
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On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
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A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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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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8. How Does Pandemic Fiction Help Us Seek God’s Strength in Scary Times? | The Line Between

Pandemic stories, such as Tosca Lee’s 2019 novel The Line Between, can help Christians prepare our imaginations for these trials.
Fantastical Truth on Mar 17, 2020 · No comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:08 — 39.9MB) | Embed

In episode 7, we promised our next episode would focus on Frank E. Peretti’s This Present Darkness.

But first, a word from our biggest news of 2020.

In this episode, E. Stephen Burnett and Zackary Russell share a few “favorite” pandemic stories, including the recent Planet of the Apes film trilogy and Tosca Lee’s 2019 novel The Line Between.

These stories can actually help Christians prepare our imaginations for these trials—or even worse suffering.

Lorehaven reviews The Line Between

These truth glimpses give The Line Between surprising heart-warmth amongst the chill, while its road-trip quest drives fast through mad territory and never once feels bogged down in snowbanks. Even by the finale, we get hints that our heroes have learned that yes, sometimes you must stay preserved from a world gone mad, but for the greater mission of helping others in that world. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote, you can’t simply separate from evil people—not even cultists—in order to avoid evil. That very line between evil and good cuts through every human heart.

  • Read the full review in Lorehaven magazine’s spring 2019 issue.
  • Read our interview with bestselling novelist Tosca Lee.
  • Subscribe free to get every issue.

Quotes and notes

  • In 2017, Mark Carver wrote at Speculative Faith, “It’s interesting how the biggest threat to human existence rarely gets news coverage. It’s not North Korea or global warming or white privilege; it’s disease.” (Down With the Sickness, Sept. 20, 2017)
  • Big lessons of pandemics: we’re not in control. These events challenge us to ask ourselves, “Where is my hope?”
  • We blame politicians or countries or each other, or downplay the problem versus panicking, and/or buy into conspiracy theories—all because doing so gives us a sense of control.
  • Christians may be material “preppers,” but we must always be preppers for times of suffering.

Most of us don’t give focused thought to evil and suffering until we experience them. This forces us to formulate perspective on the fly, at a time when our thinking is muddled and we’re exhausted and consumed by pressing issues. Readers who have “been there” will attest that it’s far better to think through suffering in advance.

—Randy Alcorn, If God is Good, page 14

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

—Romans 8:18–25

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

—Revelation 6:7–8 (emphasis added)

Action points

  • Worship: we follow a Savior who touched the sick but didn’t get sick.
  • Serve: help your neighbors who cannot take care of themselves, or shouldn’t go out in public. Who do you know who is at high risk if they get infected? How can you serve them?
  • Pray: for revival, not just a cure.
  • Evangelism: share the Power Over Fear tool.

Next on Fantastical Truth

This month we’re releasing our next Lorehaven issue. Its cover story explores our favorite Christian-made fantastical novels. This includes that classic of the 1980s, Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness, a classic (especially for Christians!) supernatural thriller that asks: What If the Armies of Hell Tried to Invade Your Hometown? Lorehaven’s review chief, Austin Gunderson, will join the podcast to explore the Peretti-verse with us.

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