Home

Explore the best Christian fantasy.

articles | news | library | reviews | podcast
Advertise Seek Review Questions?

Nomad
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Mar 5, 2021

Legend of the Storm Sneezer
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Mar 5, 2021

53. How Can Christian Fans React When Fantasy Creators Get Cancelled? Part 1
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Mar 2, 2021

My Novel ‘The Mermaid’s Sister’ Arose from True Depths of Mourning
Articles | Carrie Anne Noble on Mar 1, 2021

The Icarus Aftermath
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 26, 2021

My Screenwriter Mom Introduced Me to Fantastic Sci-Fi in the 1960s
Articles | Jason William Karpf on Feb 25, 2021

52. Do Christians Really Need Science Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 3
Podcast | Lorehaven on Feb 23, 2021

Join Our March 11 Livestream Exploring Christian Reactions to Fandom Cancel Culture
News | Lorehaven on Feb 22, 2021

The Hourglass and the Darkness
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 19, 2021

Venus is More Than Just a Love Goddess
Articles | Shannon Stewart on Feb 18, 2021

Introducing Fantasy Enthusiast and New Lorehaven Writer Shannon Stewart
News | Lorehaven on Feb 17, 2021

Stories with Bad Ideas Can Still Help Us Grow
Articles | L.G. McCary on Feb 15, 2021

Gretchen and the Bear
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 12, 2021

The Mandalorian is a Religious Fundamentalist, and Here’s Why That’s Awesome
Articles | Josiah DeGraaf on Feb 11, 2021

Introducing Fantasy Creator and New Lorehaven Writer Josiah DeGraaf
News | Lorehaven on Feb 10, 2021

51. Do Christians Really Need Fantasy? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 2
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Feb 9, 2021

The Death and Rebirth of Magic in Children’s Fantasy
Articles | R. J. Anderson on Feb 8, 2021

Torch
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Feb 5, 2021

Fictional Magic Systems Can Go Beyond Rules and Reveal Deeper Characters
Articles | Elijah David on Feb 4, 2021

How God Uses Story Villains for Our Good
Articles | Zackary Russell on Feb 3, 2021

Introducing Sci-Fi Creator and New Lorehaven Writer Zackary Russell
News | Lorehaven on Feb 2, 2021

50. Do Christians Really Need Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 1
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Feb 2, 2021

Frank E. Peretti to Give Keynote Address at Realm Makers Writers Conference This July
News | E. Stephen Burnett on Feb 1, 2021

Fugue for the Sacred Songbook: In Eb Minor
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Jan 29, 2021

How A Year Without Superhero Films Rebooted Our Universe
Articles | Jason Joyner on Jan 28, 2021

New Book ‘Reading Evangelicals’ Will Focus on Famous Christian Fiction
News | E. Stephen Burnett on Jan 27, 2021

Introducing Superhero Novelist and New Lorehaven Writer Jason C. Joyner
News | Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2021

49. How Can We ‘Terraform’ the Church to Enjoy Fantastic Fiction?
Podcast | Fantastical Truth on Jan 26, 2021

Militant Secularism Could Force Christians to Create New Subcultures
Articles | Mike Duran on Jan 25, 2021

Flight of the Raven
Reviews | Lorehaven Review Team on Jan 22, 2021

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy | sci-fi | supernatural and beyond
All novels Search Add a novel
Explore all: Middle-grade books | Young-adult books | Adult books
The Mermaid's Sister, Carrie Anne Noble
Etania's Worth, M. H. Elrich
Cinderella Spell, Laurie Lee
When Desperate Measures Are All You Have Left, J. C. Morrows
Fractures, James C. Joyner
Torch, R. J. Anderson
The Terran Summit, Anna Zogg
The Xerxes Factor, Anna Zogg
The Paradise Protocol, Anna Zogg
The Awakened, Richard Spillman
The Ascension, Richard Spillman
Love's Sacrifice, Kelsey Norman
Unbroken Spirit, Kelsey Norman
Seed: Judgment, Joshua David
Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review Share review

Nomad
“R. J. Anderson’s fantasy Nomad is a rollicking read with fascinating conflicts and plot twists.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 5, 2021

Legend of the Storm Sneezer
“Teen readers fond of lengthy, lighthearted ghost-and-zombie tales will enjoy Legend of the Storm Sneezer by Kristiana Sfirlea.”
—Lorehaven on Mar 5, 2021

The Icarus Aftermath
“Arielle M. Bailey’s The Icarus Aftermath spins a golden yarn of vivid characters and gripping emotion, set in a world ripe for exploration.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 26, 2021

The Hourglass and the Darkness
“Kyle L. Elliott’s novel The Hourglass and the Darkness posits a world before the great Flood, starting a promising series.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 19, 2021

Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Apple | Google | All subscribe links
Archives Feedback

53. How Can Christian Fans React When Fantasy Creators Get Cancelled? Part 1
Fantastical Truth, Mar 2, 2021

52. Do Christians Really Need Science Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 3
Fantastical Truth, Feb 23, 2021

51. Do Christians Really Need Fantasy? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 2
Fantastical Truth, Feb 9, 2021

50. Do Christians Really Need Fiction? | Fiction’s Chief End, part 1
Fantastical Truth, Feb 2, 2021

Webzine

Browse back issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
SpecFaith

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

site archives | statement of faith
New articles Questions? Pitch to us

The Fantastical Elements of Romantic Fiction, part 2
Parker J. Cole, Mar 4

Settling the Solar System in Science Fiction, part 3: the Moon
Travis Perry, Feb 24

The Fantastical Elements of Romantic Fiction, part 1
Parker J. Cole, Feb 17

Settling the Solar System in Science Fiction, part 2: Venus
Travis Perry, Feb 11

Beyond

Find more from Christian creators

Order the book! E. Stephen Burnett

Get exclusive shirts and beyond
in the Lorehaven store

Explore the book The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ

Does ‘Engaging Popular Culture’ Include Right-Wing Talk Radio?
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 9

Join My Livestream This Thursday: Seven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic Stories
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 6

Home
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Webzine
SpecFaith
Store
Beyond Edit content
Lorehaven serves Christian fans by finding the best of Christian fantasy. Our free webzine, an online library, positive reviews, a thriving blog and community, and weekly podcast episodes help fans explore fantasy, science fiction, and other fantastical genres for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ SpecFaith /

Fiction Christians From Another Planet! I: Invasion Of The Child-People

Why do some Christian novels keep presenting only equivalents of kid-Anakin or Wesley Crusher, instead of Han Solo or Captain Picard, and expect readers to like them?
E. Stephen Burnett on Jan 10, 2013 | Series: Fiction Christians from Another Planet! | 22 comments

If you love Star Wars, either casually or intensely, you have a favorite character especially from the prequel films, right? Surely that favorite would be Anakin Skywalker, eight years old, from Episode I: The Phantom Menace. That childlike innocence and free spirit just gets to you every time, doesn’t it? Powerful Darth Vader (as an adult) or roguish, shoot-first Han Solo? Pfshhh. You’ll take that blond-headed “now-this-is-pod-racing” waif any day.

Or switch Star universes. You think all those adults on the starship Enterprise, Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock — or Captain Picard, Cmdr. Data, First Officer Riker and the rest — can don red shirts and head off on away missions. On any stardate you’d much prefer hanging out with (or being) Wesley Crusher in that trim little gray shirt with the rainbow stripes.

serieslogo_fictionchristiansfromanotherplanetOf course all that is sarcasm. More likely, you have no such inclinations.

Such desires do not belong to most readers from planet Earth.

In that case, why do so many (not all) Christian novels keep presenting only kid-Anakin or Wesley Crusher, instead of Han Solo or Captain Picard, and expect readers to like them?

Alas, this applies to some Christian speculative novels, including one that I read months ago. (No, I won’t give the title here. Anyway, this applies to more than one author or novel.)

starwars_hansoloIn such novels, I keep wanting to meet and empathize with characters who are, for lack of a better adjective, heroic Christians. A Christian Han Solo or a Christian Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Or for that matter, someone of the robust personality, ambitions, and deep suffering of the Apostle Paul. Someone who despite his faults is committed to Christ and has been for years. Someone to whom I can look up, rather than looking down at or even across to him.

Please don’t misunderstand. I don’t desire only such “tough” good-guy characters. Any story needs to have a protégé, a trainee or newcomer. This is especially true in fantasy universes full of strangeness: you need someone who is “normal,” an audience access-point or avatar.

But I am referring to stories whose “Christian” access-point characters are only ever naïve, silly, simplistic, “folk theologians,” and/or dairy factories of spiritual milk (Heb. 5: 12-13).

And note that when I refer to “Christians” in this column, and throughout this new serial, I also cover any fantasy-universe equivalents. People of the Path, the king’s mages, Light-Bearers, White Knights, resistance movements, Forces of Truth, Greater Galactic Guilds, Followers of the Eternal Flame, whichever — I cover them all by the term “Christian.”

starwars_thephantommenace_anakinskywalker

Do adults prefer kid-Anakin to Han Solo? Who do even children prefer?

In these novels, rather than an appealing ensemble cast of accomplished heroes along with newcomers, I meet only kid-Anakin or Wesley Crusher, without even the redemptive arc for Anakin in the original Wars films or the maturity and better storylines for Wesley in later TNG seasons. Rather than questers, I meet jesters. Instead of Jedi knights, I meet naïve little children — or worse, Jar Jar Binks — along for the mission mainly to cause difficulties.

Here’s what I mean. In one novel set in the real world, one character was a non-Christian. Of the Christian characters he meets on his journey, all are one or more of the following:

  1. Reclusive,
  2. Spiritual-milk generators or “folk theologians,”
  3. Child-People.

Furthermore, it’s the non-Christian lead who is the most empathetic of the whole bunch. He’s more balanced, has a steady and professional job, and time enough for a long Jedi-like quest. Meanwhile, the Christians are simple farm boys who never leave the farm. And yet one of the novel’s themes is how he should become more like them. What’s all this?

Even Wesley Crusher became a more-complex, serious, and heroic figure in later Star Trek: The Next Generation seasons.

Even Wesley Crusher became a more-complex, serious, and heroic figure in later Star Trek: The Next Generation seasons.

Here lies some legitimacy behind the (often-wrongly persistent) claim that Christian fiction is lame. These stories don’t introduce non-Christians to Christian heroes. Instead they’re asked to watch an Invasion of the Child-People. Then they’re told it’s best to be assimilated.

Meanwhile I, as a real-life Christian who would prefer meeting more people whose heroism and accomplishments I should want to imitate, instead meet dumbed-down folk “heroes.”

That doesn’t help me as a reader. It doesn’t challenge me. It’s not even fun. I don’t feel at home. Such stories, even the contemporary ones with speculative elements, instead have bizarre, otherworldly glows. Their skies are green and purple even on planet Earth. And I don’t know these people. Even the actual “folk theologian” heroes I know in reality have profound depth. They’re not silly like Jar Jar Binks. They’re not annoying like kid-Anakin.

So I can only conclude one thing: such stories’ characters are not even from planet Earth. They are — queue echoic retro 1950s Republic Pictures sci-fi serial announcer — creatures from beyond reality! They are: Fiction Christians from Another Planet!

We must explore this alien culture and its odd beliefs. That’s what I hope to do in this serial.

E. Stephen Burnett

E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi and fantasy as well as nonfiction, such as The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ (coauthored with Ted Turnau and Jared Moore, from New Growth Press). Stephen explores biblical truth and fantastic stories as publisher of Lorehaven.com and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. He and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area, help with foster parenting, and serve as members of Southern Hills Baptist Church.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter |
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • WhatsApp
  1. Speculative Faith Blog — Fiction Christians from Another Planet! I … | ChristianBookBarn.com says:
    January 10, 2013 at 12:03 pm

    […] Recommended Article FROM http://www.speculativefaith.lorehaven.com/2013/01/10/fiction-christians-from-another-planet-i-invasion-of-the-… […]

    Reply
  2. Kaleb says:
    January 10, 2013 at 12:11 pm

     Fiction Christians from Another Planet!
    Part 1, 2, 3, or 8? 
     
    I haven’t noticed this before, but I’ll probably start paying more attention now to see if I can find them. 

    Reply
  3. Johne Cook says:
    January 10, 2013 at 12:28 pm

    You had me at Han Solo.  (It is perhaps no mystery that my favorite OT character is the bold, earthy Elijah, taunting the prophets of Baal and fleeing the wrath of Queen Jezebel and being ministered to in his desperation by perhaps a pre-incarnate Christ.)

    Reply
  4. Jill says:
    January 10, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    So it seems you are simply looking for a different archetype than the most popular ones in Christian fiction?? I’m not sure I’ve read the same books you have, and I may be misunderstanding you. Are you saying the heroes of Christian spec-fic are anti-heroes with no growth or spiritual arcs? I can’t imagine telling a story like that. I know you don’t want to bash Christian authors in your article. Still, it would help if you gave some examples.

    Reply
    • E. Stephen Burnett says:
      January 10, 2013 at 1:30 pm

      So it seems you are simply looking for a different archetype than the most popular ones in Christian fiction?

      Not a replacement, but as I phrased it: “an appealing ensemble cast of accomplished heroes along with newcomers.” In some novels, the author limits himself to a Christian cast of “farm boys who never leave the farm.” That sells himself and readers short.

      I refrained from some specific examples here because of a need to summarize the issue. In future installments I hope to explore more in-depth some specific tenets.

      Reply
      • Jill says:
        January 10, 2013 at 4:20 pm

        I, for one, would love to see a great Christian male warrior archetype.  It would be even cooler if were a warrior scholar. He could mentor a team of up and coming warriors. That, I’m sure, had nothing to do with anything.

        Reply
      • E. Stephen Burnett says:
        January 10, 2013 at 4:24 pm

        I, for one, would love to see a great Christian male warrior archetype.  It would be even cooler if were a warrior scholar.

        Hear, hear!

        Reply
        • Eldar says:
          January 10, 2013 at 7:06 pm

          What about Teo from “The Chiveis Trilogy” by Bryan M. Liftin? He’s both a warrior and a scholar…

          Reply
          • Jill says:
            January 12, 2013 at 12:52 pm

            I haven’t read it. I might add it to my growing reading list, however.

            Reply
          • Lauren says:
            January 13, 2013 at 12:12 am

            I think Teo did meet most of the characteristics in the article.
            But the women in the series . . . Well, they were disappointing. It’s a little bit depressing to read about a young woman who becomes the Proverbs 31 woman as soon as she reads a Bible for the first time. In fact, every woman was either Proverbs 31 or Jezebel.
            But Teo was great!

            Reply
  5. Esther says:
    January 10, 2013 at 1:37 pm

    I understand the need for a hero, but I also understand the need for the child-hero. We all often FEEL like children, even if we are grown-ups with lots of grown-up problems to try to solve, and that is why we identify with them. Furthermore, we enjoy thinking that if the breaks would just come our way, we could be the hero even though we’re really young and stupid!
    Part of that is our current culture’s emphasis on self-esteem: tell ’em they’re special even if they’re not–we’ve all been effected by that and we all believe that we are just a little more special; that we could pull off a heroic action just by being us.
    So it’s not all good, that child-hero thing; but on the other hand it’s not all bad, either. I do prefer having BOTH a child-hero that occasionally wins the day even though the adults in the room ignore or abuse him, and also a grown-up, mature, godly hero to whom the child-hero can aspire.

    Reply
  6. Keanan Brand says:
    January 10, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    Gotta admit, one reason I don’t read a lot of fiction aimed at the Christian audience is the immaturity of its characters or its theology.
    I, too, want robust heroes who aren’t afraid of “boldly going”, even if no one goes with them, even if the counsel doesn’t consent, even if he (or she) is seen as politically or culturally incorrect. Pure and impure motives may mingle in the same character. Pride and humility may struggle inside her. Fear and courage may get all tangled up in his head. Sometimes they view God rightly, and sometimes they need a course correction. That’s the way with most real folks; why not fictional? I’m weary of the too-nice heroes who are almost inhuman, they’re so perfect in speech and behavior and choices. Or who are so cute that they set my teeth on edge.
     

    Reply
    • Kaleb says:
      January 10, 2013 at 3:08 pm

      “I’m weary of the too-nice heroes who are almost inhuman, they’re so perfect in speech and behavior and choices. Or who are so cute that they set my teeth on edge.”
       
      Yes! I have the same problem. It drives me insane. Those characters are so unreal it kills any enjoyment I have for the rest of the series, and I definitely have no inclination to read any of the author’s other books. 

      Reply
  7. E. Stephen Burnett says:
    January 10, 2013 at 3:37 pm

    Gotta admit, one reason I don’t read a lot of fiction aimed at the Christian audience is the immaturity of its characters or its theology.

    That’s what I’m after, Keanan: not characters who are legitimately immature or still growing — such as, say, a Luke Skywalker — but someone who is in effect comic relief — a Jar Jar Binks — or worse, a naive character who is held up as the ideal Christian.

    Jesus endorsed the humility of a child, but also urged being “shrewd as serpents.”

    Reply
  8. Galadriel says:
    January 10, 2013 at 3:55 pm

    I have to say, I haven’t seen Anakin or Wesley, but I found similar elements to be annoying with some Doctor Who companions. I don’t know if I’ve noticed similar elements in Christian works, but those characters without adult examples can be very annoying.

    Reply
  9. Kessie/NetRaptor says:
    January 10, 2013 at 6:32 pm

    I just finished reading Diana Wynne Jones’s Reflections, a collection of her essays. One thing she says that fantasy fiction ought to do is to present a problem that we all encounter–an abusive parent, racism, whathaveyou–and set it someplace so strange that the reader can get outside the problem, walk around it and look at it from a different angle. The abusive parent becomes the monster in the wood the hero has to deal with. Racism becomes the story of the people who burn witches, even though the witches are born that way and can’t help being what they are.
     
    Aspects of Christianity ought to be the same way–get outside them, walk around them, and evaluate the bizarre claims of the Gospel without all the man-made trappings that have built up over the centuries. But people don’t seem to have the imagination for that–they drag the trappings into the story, rather than getting outside them entirely.
     
    One of the things that totally put me off Ted Dekker’s Green was the “church” service”. I’d been reading other fantasy, and that “church service” would have been an orgy in any other place. But instead it was a bunch of polite, Christian people celebrating love in the woods with no sexuality whatsoever.

    Reply
  10. D.M. Dutcher says:
    January 10, 2013 at 8:07 pm

    It will be interesting to see where you will go with this. I tend to like skewed characters, so I’m not so much the best at commenting on the desire for Picards or Solos. Looking forwards to see your next post.

    Reply
  11. Alassiel says:
    January 11, 2013 at 11:16 pm

    Actually, I liked and related to Wesley when I first watched TNG. I was a teen at the time and enjoyed the idea of a bright youngster getting a position of responsibility on this prestigious and sometimes overly serious starship. It wasn’t until I got further into the world of Star Trek that I learned that Wesley was almost universally reviled and criticized. Of course, that only made me like him more.
    I think I see your point anyway. I’ll have to wait until your follow-ups for it to be fleshed out and see if we’re on the same page.

    Reply
  12. Speculative Faith Blog — Fiction Christians from Another Planet! II: The Blind Ones says:
    January 17, 2013 at 11:11 am

    […] is one alien belief of the invasive Christian novel-character “Child-People” I introduced last week: exclusive promotion that is not simply of childlike trust to believe in Christ’s own words about […]

    Reply
  13. Speculative Faith Blog — Fiction Christians from Another Planet! IV: Terror of the Megachurchians says:
    January 31, 2013 at 8:45 am

    […] Childlike beings whose beliefs are limited to blind faith and voices from beyond. […]

    Reply
  14. Speculative Faith Blog — Fiction Christians from Another Planet! VII: The Invisible Body says:
    February 28, 2013 at 11:45 am

    […] From Another Planet(!) series. That novel included Christian characters, more or less, of the child-people, blind-faith, living-the-voices-driven-life sort. But Biblically speaking, they were separate from […]

    Reply
  15. Speculative Faith | Eight Actions To Resurrect Christian Fiction says:
    March 20, 2019 at 4:50 pm

    […] Christianity. In some (not all) novels—and this includes some fantastical novels—Christians are “local color” side characters who assist weak seeker-friendly non-Christian heroes. Or they are members of a single, vaguely […]

    Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

  • Pretense or RealityPretense or Reality
  • Star Trek's first 50 yearsEngage Polls: The Best Of Star Trek's First 50 Years
  • Veterans Day: Mayhem And Its Meaning, A RepriseVeterans Day: Mayhem And Its Meaning, A Reprise
  • Speculative Love, Part 6: Love Does Not ComputeSpeculative Love, Part 6: Love Does Not Compute
Lorehaven magazine, winter 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors: Reach new fans with Lorehaven