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Lord Of The Fantasies: Looking Back on ‘FotR’

Ten years ago, “The Lord of the Rings” still sounded too “classical” to me. I had my Narnia. Why add another fantasy world? Then, before reading the books or seeing the film, I heard Howard Shore’s film score. And I was drawn into Middle-earth. · E. Stephen Burnett

The “Alien Work” Of God Part V

So last time, we sat at the foot of the master, C. S. Lewis, and discussed the theological underpinnings of his Space Trilogy. For those of you just joining us now (or who don’t feel like going back and reading […] · John Otte

Jack And John In Conversation

In lieu of our planned article, then, I offer you a fascinating dramatization of a dialogue between C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, with thanks to Fred Warren who found it and passed it along to me because of its relevance to the just concluded series on Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-Stories.” Enjoy! · Rebecca LuElla Miller

‘Hobbit’ Hopes and Other Happenings

“The Hobbit” teaser finally arrives, Gandalf’s and Dumbledore’s first-century ancestors seek the newborn King, the dangers of appearance-based book discernment, Christmas un-specials, and: why should Christians hype “The Hobbit”? · E. Stephen Burnett

The Making Of A Myth, Part 7 – Tolkien And The Gospel

Few people, even those not well-versed in fantasy, will argue against the idea that J. R. R. Tolkien is the master of the fantasy genre. In that he wrote his thoughts about this type of tale in his essay “On […] · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The “Alien Work” Of God Part IV

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Not this blog series. At least, I hope none of you think that. But I’ve noticed a pattern. Whenever I sit down to write one of these columns, NASA announces that they’ve found more extra-solar planets. · John Otte

The Making Of A Myth, Part 6 — Tolkien On Romance

Would J. R. R. Tolkien, if he were alive today, be a fan of prairie romance? The question is appropriate because of what he wrote in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” regarding escapism. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Restorer—Expanded Edition

About the Book Susan Mitchell thought she was an ordinary homemaker. She was wrong. When she’s pulled through a portal into another world, she finds a nation grappling for its soul and waiting for a promised Restorer to save their […] · Sharon Hinck

The Making Of A Myth, Part 5 – The Use Of Primary Colors

I wonder what J. R. R. Tolkien would think about Harry Potter. Or Twilight. Or dystopian fantasies like Veronica Roth’s Divergent. Would the author of “On Fairy-Stories” be a fan of the darker forms fantasy has taken in the last decade or so? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Making Of A Myth, Part 4

Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for, nor obscure the perception of, scientific verity. On the contrary. The keener and the clearer is the reason, the better fantasy will it make. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Magic Realism, Part 2

Stories with “magical realism” may show us that not only are there monsters in the mind, there are hopes and dreams. They also remind us that we cannot practice a form of divination upon our unexplainable moments — claiming that this must always mean exactly that. · C.L. Dyck

The Making Of A Myth, Part 2

Fairy stories are for children. Or are they? J. R. R. Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy Stories” built an argument that challenged the usual assumptions. First, he believed that fairy stories had significance beyond entertainment. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Retelling Biblical Stories For A Modern Audience, Part 2

The ancient Jews loved to retell their Bible stories with embellishments. And they did so, not with a disdain for “the facts of history,” but rather with deep respect for the original message as they understood it. · Brian Godawa

The Making Of A Myth, Part 1

Tolkien is specific. Fairy stories are certain things and definitely not others. First they are stories about Faerie, “the realm or state in which fairies have their being,” though this realm contains much more than elves or fairies · Rebecca LuElla Miller

Retelling Biblical Stories For A Modern Audience, Part 1

The Bible doesn’t fear pagan imagination. Rather, it subverts and redeems it, using its motifs and baptizing them with altered subversive definitions that support Yahweh the true God against the false god Baal and other pagan deities in the ancient Near East. · Brian Godawa

The “Alien Work” Of God Part I

No, I’m not talking about this kind of alien work of God. Instead, I want to talk about how it seems that I’ve always had aliens on the brain. I mentioned two weeks ago that my earliest forays into writing […] · John Otte

Magic Realism, Part 1

One speculative fiction genre points us to what truly matters, by refusing to draw a solid line between the everyday and the fantastical. Welcome to the world of magic realism. · C.L. Dyck

Why I Wrote The DarkTrench Saga

Now that I’m done writing The DarkTrench Saga (from Marcher Lord Press), I’ll talk about it. The three-volume futuristic series has had some interesting criticisms, but surprisingly, the strongest reproaches have come from the Christian community. · Kerry Nietz
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