Some news you might be interested to know, though some of it is “old news.” 

Here’s part two of D. Barkley Briggs’s article “Star Wars.” This portion contains the real meat and potatoes of his thoughts. Enjoy. And don’t forget to look for The Book of Names in your local bookstore or on-line. I can hardly wait for my copy to arrive. I’ll be reading it in preparation for the January CSFF blog tour, yes, but I’ll mostly be reading it for pure enjoyment!

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Star Wars (continued)

by D. Barkley Briggs

This is the power of speculative fiction. This is the power of fantasy: to capture the mind, to both focus and liberate the emotional, imaginative faculties, to form real and symbolic connections, to viscerally associate yourself with a magical, desirable, grand-scaled life. The means by which this manifests, in speculative fiction as in life, are multi-faceted. My preferred subgenre being High or Epic Fantasy, the story usually involves a mission of such dire consequence that all must be sacrificed to assure its success. Evil is here too, real and dangerous and intoxicating. Magic abounds. The human drama plays out. Friendships form that add something transcendent to the journey. We/I/You will face hardship, but we are quietly assured that, though it will not be easy, it will
be worth it. Your life will matter. This transition from third person to first person, made within the context of imagination and adventure, is vital. Why? Because readers invested in the struggle of that other realm often find themselves taking up the good fight in this world.

Thus it was with me, in that darkened Tulsa theater. Launched by Star Wars, common stories no longer satisfied. I learned to depend on, and therefore trust, only those stories of sufficiently epic scale. Tolkien was High King of this realm, of course. But there were others: Guy Gavriel Kay, Stephen R. Donaldson, Ursila K. LeGuin, Terry Brooks. In Middle School, The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper supplied another lens for my world, when thirteen year old Will Stanton discovered he was really an Old One, servant of the Light, one of a mystical race of humans caught up in an ancient, perilous war against The Dark. That’s me, I thought. Or at least that’s what I wanted to be. I recommitted to the cause.

Much later in life when my wife died—leaving me with four
young boys and many questions of emptiness and rage — I bought a dozen or so grief books. They were all non-fiction because that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s what’s supposed to help inform and guide you through the bewildering process of grief. Some were very fine, and added a little to my comfort.

But truth be told, I didn’t finish a single one. Instead, I eventually returned to Patricia McKillip’s Riddle Master trilogy. Having read it many years before in high school, I remembered the agony and confusion which the protagonist endured. Over the course of three books, Morgan of Hed is shaped through a series of trials, pain and betrayal
into his ultimate destiny. Furthermore, and most important for me, was the shock that occurs when he finally discovered who was at work in the shaping.

Somehow, I was reminded of the sovereignty of God. What Morgan endured was necessary for a higher purpose. In the numbing devastation of my grief, needing a reminder of Higher Purpose, I found it in the land of the High One via the pen of McKillip. I even wrote her a note and thanked her—the first and only time I’ve ever written an author as a fan. Why? Because in the darkest, most grueling season of my life, her flight of fantasy reached me. Her and a guy named Job and various Psalms of Lament. Ironically, something that could be argued as utterly disconnected from “the real world” became a very real lifeline, thrown from shore to my sinking vessel, from typeset pages to my
soul.

I write fantasy because I read fantasy. I write it for my
own sons, for their journey through the world. I want them to see what is unseen, to live within a symbolic milieu. Do we need to be rooted in a biblical worldview? Of course. That was never the question. Just give it wings, people. Give it wings.

Below is the first half of an article by the author of The Book of Names, D. Barkley Briggs. You’ll be hearing more about this young adult novel and its author because in January the CSFF Blog Tour will be featuring this first in the Legends of Karac Tor series. For now, learn a little of his literary background in D. Barkley Briggs on Fantasy, Part 1.

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The original Star Wars changed my life. This is not hyperbole. I’m talking about the first one, of course, Episode IV — the only one that really counts (along with The
Empire Strikes Back). As for the rest,
well…whatever. By the time I was shystered onto the Teddy Bear world of Endor in Return of the Jedi, the pure,
cinematic joie de vivre of the
series had begun to fade. Not because I got older, mind you, but because the original vision was spoiling at the center.

But that’s another article. For a few bright shining moments in
1977, a 9-year old boy named Dean Briggs sat in a darkened theater in Tulsa, OK, with his jaw on the floor and his heart in outer space. What I saw was too real to be special effects, and too true to be untrue. Without reservation, I enlisted
in the cause. I collected the Burger King posters. I dreamed Star Wars. All told, I saw the movie probably 25-30 times, including various re-viewings throughout my adult life. But that first night was red-letter special. The movie became an instant, powerful metaphor. After the show, when my parents took me and my siblings back to my grandma’s house, we sat around her little kitchen table and discussed the various layers of Christian meaning. That’s when I joined the Rebellion against the Empire—against a world system led by a fallen, dark lord. That night, more than air or water or Atari, I longed to wield a glowing saber of light and be a servant to the powers of The Force against the dark side. I was utterly hooked. If it had been a poker game, having been dealt my Royal Flush of Obi-Wan, Luke, Han Solo, C-3PO and R2-D2, I was all in.

Young Skywalker expressed exactly how I felt. When Luke finally
left his old life as a sand farmer for a new life of danger and daring, he told his new Jedi mentor, “I want to come with you to Alderaan. There’s nothing left here for me now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father.” It was his decision. It was my decision, too.

Yes, I know all the ways The Force isn’t really an adequate or
accurate picture of the Holy Spirit. And no, the various symbolisms don’t really line up perfectly with Christianity. They could even be considered perverse or New Agey if you want to get downright cranky about it. You are correct, of course.

I don’t care.

At nine years old, the sum total of the story struck a chord
that still vibrates in my life. For all its theological imperfections, the chord was near enough to pitch perfect — meaning near enough to the heart of the matter — that it became a launching pad for my own faith. Even as a boy, I was a
rather devout follower of Jesus, but I had a wild imagination and it needed fuel. Bless ‘em, the Boxcar Children (or their “Christian” equivalent, the Sugar Creek Gang) just didn’t cut it! Star Wars offered a clear and decisive moment of critical mass, where faith and devotion were recast as adventure, as mission of cosmic scale and terrible importance. Choosing to walk the straight road was no longer merely submission to God, it was wild rebellion against everything else. If I was going to live on planet earth, I was going to be a force to be reckoned with.

This is the power of speculative fiction. This is the
power of fantasy: to capture the mind, to both focus and liberate the emotional, imaginative faculties, to form real and symbolic connections, to viscerally associate yourself with a magical, desirable, grand-scaled life.

The world of pop culture is all a-twitter, and probably twittering, about Twilight, the movie rendition of Stephanie Meyer’s novel by the same name. I couldn’t help but comment on it as well in my Friday post at A Christian Worldview of Fiction.

I’d love to turn this cultural phenomenon into a rant about how Mormon publishers capitalized on the fantasy craze still prevalent in our society, but the truth is, the Twilight Saga is published by a noted general market publisher. It makes me wonder if that isn’t the direction more of us Christian writers should go.That question aside, the writers and publishers who are striving to put out more Christian fantasy and science fiction should receive our support. It so happens that there are some good things to report.

One of the most exciting to me came via fellow CSFF member Robert Treskillard. He reports that Stephen Lawhead has signed a contract with Thomas Nelson for a five-book “high fantasy” series called the Bright Empires.

I am so happy to hear this because high fantasy or classic fantasy is my true love. The only down side is that the first book won’t release until September 2010.

But there is good news to counter that last. Marcher Lord Press, Jeff Gerke’s print on demand publishing endeavor, is producing books with a very quick turn around. Author Brandilyn Collins recently reported at Forensics and Faith that Stuart Stockton, originator of Speculative Faith, has signed a contract with MLP to publish his first novel, Starfire, scheduled to release April 2009.

Also going to print with Starfire will be The Blood of Kings, a medieval fantasy by Jill Williamson, a friend and former editorial client.

Clearly, Christian fantasy is on the march (so to speak!) And while I’m on the subject, here’s another announcement you might be interested in. Marcher Lord Press has employed a number of strategies to get the word out about their services. The latest is a planned special sale:

“Be here on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) for an amazing sale.”

Besides these upcoming titles, there are a couple young adult fantasies by first time authors that released this year, but you may not have heard about them yet. One is The Book of Names (Navpress), by D. Barkley Briggs. I’m hoping we can have Mr. Briggs as a guest blogger here at Spec Faith in the very near future.

Who knows? Maybe the combined efforts of the various publishing arms will finally make Christian fantasy widely available.

I owe all you faithful Spec Faith readers big time. I’ve neglected you sorely—not on purpose, to be sure, but in the crunch of deadlines. My schedule should ease up a bit now, so I have every intention of returning to Monday posts, with the hope that I can also draft a few other writers to fill in the rest of the week. Spec Faith is too good an idea not to work to make it work! 😉

This month the CSFF Blog Tour is featuring Shade, the vampireless vampire story by John Olson (B&H Publishing). As I was touring some of the other sites, I came to Karri Compton’s post in which she reveals that there is a sequel in the works. Many of the apparently loose ends dangling at the end of Shade just may unravel an entirely new tale.

More good news. As I was Web surfing to find out a little more about John Olson the man and writer, I found an interview he did not so long ago at TitleTrakk. Lo and behold, towards the end, he generously gave a sneak peak to that book. He says, in fact, that it is so rough it may not survive. So here’s your chance to read the unedited version of the opening paragraphs of Powers:

Smooth moonlight, soft and timid as a sleeping babe’s breath, seeped through the forest canopy, painting Old Man Oak’s mossy beard with twisting ribbons of silver and shadow. The swamp folks were full awake now. All stoked up with joy, singing hallelujah for the tolerable coolness of another summer night. Bachelor bullfrogs barking out their steady bass against a piercing cicada trillody. Crickets and peepers and creepers hollering their praise full on top the other, singing out to the Lord for the blessings He hath made.

It was a glorious song, filled with deep magic and considerations of awesome wonder. It made a body thankful to be alive. Squish-squashing through soft cool mud. Hopscotching dead wood and fresh fallen branches. Pausing to look out across dark star-dusted waters where the proud Cypress sisters, skirts hitched high above dark boney knees, waded through reflections of ringing light. Swaying and sighing to the night music. The sounds of blessed freedom and sweet never-ending joy.

Freedom. Mari turned from the water with a sigh and felt her way back into the pressing darkness. Grandfather would be getting home soon. He was going to be busting out mad when he found out she was gone. But she couldn’t just sit there and let him lock her up. She was a proper lady now. A full-grown woman. Miss Caralee said so herself. Proper ladies didn’t stay locked up in diddlecars. Proper ladies had work to do. Washing and cooking and tending to the nets.

Sounds like quite a different story than the one set in San Francisco with Melchi and Hailey, the protagonists of Shade. Except for that gateway in the basement of the hotel.

But if you haven’t read Shade yet, you don’t know about the gateway, do you. Easy solution. Buying Shade is a click away. Or a bookstore away. I wouldn’t want you to miss out.

And speaking of not missing out, take time to see what everyone else is saying about this book:

Brandon Barr/ Jennifer Bogart / Justin Boyer/ Keanan Brand/ Kathy Brasby/ Valerie Comer/ CSFF Blog Tour/ Stacey Dale/ Janey DeMeo/ Jeff Draper/ April Erwin/ Karina Fabian/ Todd Michael Greene/ Katie Hart/ Joleen Howell/ Jason Isbell/ Jason Joyner/ Kait/ Magma/ Margaret/ Rachel Marks/ Melissa Meeks/ Rebecca LuElla Miller/ Pam Morrisson/ Eve Nielsen/ Nissa/ John W. Otte/ Steve Rice/ Mirtika/ Chawna Schroeder / James Somers/ Robert Treskillard/ Steve Trower/ Jason Waguespac/ Laura Williams/ Timothy Wise —–

Special thanks to the members of CSFF who posted during the Motiv8 Fantasy Ficton Tour the first week in October. These are the ones I know, though there well may have been others: Merrie Destefano, Margaret, Robert Treskillard, Amy Browning, S.J. Deal, Jeff Draper, Laura Williams.

Today begins the tour for Bryan Davis’s Beyond the Reflection’s Edge, first in the Echoes from the Edge series. As it happens, book two, Eternity’s Edge, released this month. By all means, read book one first and don’t read the blurb about book two until you finish because there are major spoilers.

What’s especially interesting to me is that Bryan has almost created his own genre. Zondervan, the publisher of this series, accurately identifies it as adventure fantasy, though I’ve also seen the term contemporary fantasy referring to these books.

I’ve described Bryan’s writing as science fantasy at times, but in reality, it is a mix of contemporary, science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural suspense. Thus my claim that Bryan’s books are in a unique category. Nevertheless, I do think his work has much in common with what Philip Martin identifies as adventure fantasy in The Writer’s Guide to Fantasy Literature. Here are the high points of Martin’s definition:

This fantasy accepts the notion of adventure for its own sake … The escapades in adventure fantasy are shaped mostly by the internal desires of their protagonists, rather than epic struggles between Good and Evil … Similar to high fantasy, adventure fantasy is awash in magicians and magical beasts, in quests for any and everything, with enchanted rings, amulets, and swords with cryptic inscriptions stacked high in every castle closet and treasure hoard … These stories seldom offer the culminating quest or defining moment found in Tolkien or other high fantasists. Instead, the escapades often end with a return home—but you are left with the suspicion that the characters will venture out again soon … Evil in adventure fantasy is not grand Evil personified, but a more obscure cousin: Chaos … Throughout the fantasy adventure tale runs a distinct thread: a moral code. Adventure fantasy glorifies the cult of the good night, gallivanting about to save those in distress, freeing all from the cruel yoke of monster, dragon, or pirate … A moral code is what keeps the endless forces of chaos at bay, Like the samurai warrior or the knights of the Round Table, the heroes of adventure fantasy are chivalrous and charming, prone to honesty, willing to sacrifice to help the weaker.

It is in this latter area that Bryan’s work most nearly fits the cagegory.

An excellent group of bloggers are participating in the tour for Beyond the Reflection’s Edge, and I encourage you to take some time this week to read what all they have to say. We already have some debate generate at one blog about the cover. See what you think about these posts, then stop by A Christian Worldview of Fiction on Wednesday to vote for the October CSFF Top Blogger Award.

Brandon Barr, Jennifer Bogart , Justin Boyer, Keanan Brand, Kathy Brasby, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, Courtney, CSFF Blog Tour, Stacey Dale, D. G. D. Davidson, Shane Deal, Janey DeMeo, Jeff Draper, April Erwin, Karina Fabian, Marcus Goodyear, Andrea Graham, Todd Michael Greene, Katie Hart, Timothy Hicks, Joleen Howell, Jason Joyner, Kait, Mike Lynch, Magma, Terri Main, Margaret, Rachel Marks, Melissa Meeks, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Eve Nielsen, Nissa, John W. Otte, Steve Rice, Ashley Rutherford, Mirtika or Mir’s Here, Chawna Schroeder, Greg Slade, James Somers, Steve Trower, Jason Waguespac, Laura Williams, Timothy Wise.

We’re in a politically charged time in America.

November is just around the corner and with the election of a new president the course of our country will change drastically. People have taken sides, supporting their candidate with fierce determination. Some view this as a battle of good vs. evil. Liberal vs. conservative. Old School vs. New School. And then some are caught in the middle, still unsure of both sides, weary of the mudslinging but still desperate for real change. Whatever the outcome will be, it’s destined to be historic. These are epic times. And when it comes to epic stories we often turn to speculative fiction.

This made me think about some of the sci-fi tales that have presidents in somewhat significant roles. Because I’m more of a sci-fi movie/TV watcher one show came to mind most prominently: Battlestar Galactica.

BSG is adored by fans and critics. It combines complex characters, witty dialogue, a great cast and it revamped the original series in a real and relevant way.

Some other memorable movies that feature presidents are:

Independence Day – Bill Pullman plays a likable president who saves the word with Will Smith at his side.

The Fifth Element – Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister is big and zany, portraying a president who barely has a grasp on the situation, which makes good for good comedy.

Mars Attacks! – Jack Nicholson as president is just a funny thing to watch.

And the honorable semi-president award goes to John Conner, future leader of the revolution in the Terminator franchise because sometimes our world won’t be stable enough to have a president.

Which brings me to the question:

What will our elections be like in the future?

Will advanced robots handle voting day ballots to eliminate human error? Will cyborgs or genetically modified people be able to run for the top seat in government? Could an American-made robot be president? These kind of concepts could be a springboard for Christian sci-fi writers to explore. No matter how technological savvy our society becomes we’ll still need leaders and some kind of process that helps us chose them.

What are some of your favorite speculative fiction stories that deal with the presidency?

It’s underway! The Motiv8 tour began October 3 in Abbotsford BC, and the authors—Wayne Thomas Batson, Bryan Davis, Sharon Hinck, Christopher Hopper, L.B. Graham, Donita Paul, Eric Reinhold, and Jonathan Rogers—are making their way south. In just a few hours, they are scheduled to make a stop at Barnes & Noble, 1725 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95815 (916-565-0644).

The really cool thing is, you can join in the tour virtually because wherever the authors have internet, they are broadcasting the event at the Motiv8 Web site. There’s also opportunity for you to text questions or enter into live chat.

For the entire schedule, go here, but remember, all times are Pacific.

This is a great opportunity to let people on the West Coast know that Christian fantasy exists. If you know anyone in the cities where the tour will be, contact them and let them know they have a great opportunity.

These writers all come from different publishing companies. Some write primarily for adults and some for middle graders or for young adults. But despite the differences, a couple things unite them.

First, they are Christians. They understand that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, the life and no one comes to God except through Him. Secondly, they see the value of fantasy. Some stories these authors wrote are mildly fantastic, with nothing a reader would consider as “magic,” while other stories have much of the miraculous and supernatural. Some are set in places unknown or far, far away or long, long ago. Some are set in the world of today—with a twist. But all see these stories as ways of entertaining readers while at the same time saying something significant based on their Christian worldview.

But don’t take my word for it. Chat with the authors yourselves. Ask them questions and see what they have to say about fantasy. I understand there has even been some sword play as well as some readings to go along with a few fantasy apolegetics talks. If you can’t attend one of the events in person, as I plan to do on Friday, then the video version is the next best thing.

If you’re tied up and can’t view the events live, you can still see the reruns. And I plan to post pictures on A Christian Worldview of Fiction, as I suspect the authors are at their sites, so even those of you who might be unable to access the video won’t be left out.

The point is, one way or the other, you can be a part of Motiv8!