This week, several fans of Christian fantasy are highlighting the genre on our blogs.
I’ve added a link to Tim Frankovich’s “Focus on Fantasy” page. He has reviewed several of the major CBA novels to come out in recent years.
My love affair with fantasy began in my early reading years. In high school I stumbled across Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength, all by C.S. Lewis. The power and beauty of these sci-fi novels showed me that Christian writers can use a variety of genres to tell stories that reflect the passion of their spiritual journey. Perelandra remains one of my favorite novels of all time, and did more to help me understand the issues of temptation, free will, the fall, and redemption that some of my college theology classes.
Because I read Stephen Donaldson, Anne McCaffrey, and other prolific fantasy authors, I was delighted to discover Stephen Lawhead. And of course, in college I immersed in Lord of the Rings (appropriately right before a rigorous back-packing trip…gave me true appreciation for all the hiking and slogging the poor fellowship endured).
Recently, Karen Hancock’s Legends of the Guardian King series has made me sigh with joy with the sheer pleasure of getting lost in a different world and following epic journeys that inspire me when my own life feels overwhelming.
Ted Dekker’s Black, Red, and White series has described another fantasy world that helps inform our understanding of the battle between good and evil.
If fiction is sometimes better able to convey truth than non-fiction (which I believe is true)…then fantasy fiction is especially powerful in conveying underlying truths–especially in themes of courage, quest, temptation, sacrifice, and hope against all odds.
Take a peek at Tim’s site, and the Edenstar website this week. If you’ve never dipped into a fantasy before, I encourage you to try it. Fantasy is not just for geeky high school boys. I’m a soccer mom. Not the typical demographic. But my life and faith have been enriched by fantasy novels.
BLESSINGS!
Sharon Hinck
Well, said, Sharon! And thanks for the plug, too. (wink)
Congrats on the book. I found you through the other Becky Miller’s blog tour. 😛
You might want to try some fantasy by Gene Wolfe, like ‘The Devil in A Forest,’ or ‘The Knight’. He’s definitely rooted in the tradition of Lewis and Tolkien, and he’s a Christian.
I absolutely LOVE fantasy novels — especially some of the excellent ones like Karen Hancock’s series that have released recently. On the sci-fi end of things I also LOVE Kathy Tyers’ Firebird trilogy. Thanks for the great links!
Karen, I can’t give you ENOUGH plugs. Valerie, welcome to my blog! Be sure and snoop around my website when you have a moment (www.sharonhinck.com). Elliot, thanks for recommendation. Ruth, I also adore Kathy Tyer’s Firebird trilogy.
Aren’t Karen’s stories great?? *grin*
Sharon, it’s always fun to find a fellow Lewis fan. *That Hideous Strength* used to be my favorite till my last re-reading of *Perelandra* … oh, and have you read *Till We Have Faces*?
Anyway, thanks for posting, Sharon! I’ve enjoyed reading up on you … and I’m looking forward to getting your book. (I read your comment somewhere about journaling with your kids, and have started implementing it. My kids think it’s kind of weird, but we’ve had some unexpected benefits from it already.)