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119. Will Congress Disclose the UFOs Our Favorite Alien Stories Ask Us to Believe In? | with Colin Samul
Fantastical Truth Podcast, Jul 5, 2022

The Governess of Greenmere
Reviews, Jul 1, 2022

Phantastes
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Shadow of Honor, Ronie Kendig
Lost Bits, Kerry Nietz
Rats of Dweltford, Matt Barron
Vivid, Ashley Bustamante
My Soul to Take, Bryan Davis
Into Shadow's Fire, Mark Castleberry
Deceived, Madisyn Carlin
Arena (2022 edition), Karen Hancock
Kurt Nickle-Dickle of Whiskers, N. J. McLagan
"In a city where debts are paid in blood, one young man will learn that everyone needs help sometimes if they want to survive." New in the Lorehaven library: A Matter of Blood, Lauren H Salisbury
Son of the Shield, Mary Schlegel
Maxine Justice, Galactic Attorney, Daniel Schwabauer
Mordizan, Alyssa Roat
Prentice Ash, Matt Barron
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The Governess of Greenmere
“Obscure Arthurian and Celtic references blend with biblical imagery and high heroism in this brief yet old-souled story.”
—Lorehaven on Jul 1, 2022

Tilly
“Written in 1986, Frank E. Peretti’s novelette Tilly may feel melodramatic to today’s readers, but remains a tearful tale of brokenness and redemption.”
—Lorehaven on Jun 24, 2022

The Wonderland Trials
“Although indebted to a classic, The Wonderland Trials is inventive and colorful in its own right, abundantly able to charm and to intrigue.”
—Lorehaven on Jun 24, 2022

Rise of the Earthborn
“Societal intrigue plus steampunk flair and a dash of romance help make Emma Buenen’s Rise of the Earthborn a solid extra-biblical adventure.”
—Lorehaven on Jun 17, 2022

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119. Will Congress Disclose the UFOs Our Favorite Alien Stories Ask Us to Believe In? | with Colin Samul
Fantastical Truth, Jul 5, 2022

118. Which Fantastical Stories Help Us Celebrate Human Life?
Fantastical Truth, Jun 28, 2022

117. Why Should You Build a Fantastical Lending Library? | with L.G. McCary
Fantastical Truth, Jun 21, 2022

116. Why Do Homeschooled Students Love Fantastical Fiction? | with Ethan Nunn
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Yes, Speculative Faith Is Closed, At Least For Now
E. Stephen Burnett, Dec 30

Last Stands, Custer, General Gordon, and Being a Christian Warrior
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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

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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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Characters Matter, And Their Character Matters

What we see in Christian novel after Christian novel is a flawed character in need of a Savior. The impression this gives is that people without Christ aren’t likable, that their flawed character means they won’t do heroic deeds or stand up for right.
Rebecca LuElla Miller on Sep 26, 2016
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In a Writer’s Digest interview some years ago about how to write fantasy, author Steven Harper Piziks demonstrated that characters matter. He named five books he would recommend to fantasy writers and explained why he felt they were important. One thing jumped out at me from his list—he repeatedly mentioned “character.”

First he referred to “an entirely empathetic, hugely likeable main character.” Later he identified one of the books as “The best character novel I’ve ever read. It made me laugh and cry and ache and want to go into the book to live with these people” (emphasis mine).

While I might or might not agree with Piziks about the characters in the particular books he mentioned, I think the point is clear: an engaging character is one readers are willing to spend time with.

312012_lazy_manHowever, one of the things I’ve noticed lately about a lot of the Christian speculative fiction I read, is that the main character isn’t all that likable. In an effort to show the reality of sin in a person’s life, a good number of authors are depicting flawed characters who aren’t very nice. Some are whiny, others are too caught up with their own interests to care about other people. Some are lazy or disinterested or foolish.

In other words, it’s hard to imagine readers saying, I want to live in that world with those people.

I’m wondering if we might be looking at a theological problem. Christians understand that sin mars human beings: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). What we tend to forget is that human beings are nonetheless the image bearers of our Creator: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our Image, according to Our likeness’ ” (Gen. 1:26a).

Consequently, what we see in Christian novel after Christian novel is a flawed character in need of a Savior. The impression this gives is that people without Christ aren’t particularly likable since their flawed character means they won’t do heroic deeds or stand up for right.

As I see it, we are turning our fiction characters into a “their side and our side” duality, and the goal is to win over as many as possible to our side. Perhaps this is the view a number of people have of the real world as well.

The problem with this approach is that Scripture is clear when it teaches the believer who our enemy is: “your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8b).

Our approach, then, ought to be that of rescuers, not that of conquerors, when we approach people without Christ. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves—Christian or not. When our neighbors are being stalked by a lion, we ought to be heading up the rescue team.

vagabondI’m wondering if the the characters in our novels ought not reflect these same truths. The character without Christ doesn’t have to come across as a hopeless case–the guy who has ruined his marriage, abandoned his kids, who lives one step this side of the gutter. The Christian character, on the other hand, doesn’t need to have all of life figured out, but shouldn’t he be on a rescue mission more than engaged in hand-to-hand combat against vile sinners?

So I’m wondering, what Christian speculative novels have you read in which a person on the wrong side of faith is portrayed in a positive light? Are too many of us Christian writers stereotyping non-Christians?

This post is an edited version of one that first appeared here in June 2013.

Rebecca LuElla Miller
Best known for her aspirations as an epic fantasy author, Becky is the sole remaining founding member of Speculative Faith. Besides contributing weekly articles here, she blogs Monday through Friday at A Christian Worldview of Fiction. She works as a freelance writer and editor and posts writing tips as well as information about her editing services at Rewrite, Reword, Rework.
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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.