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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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‘Firebird’ Author Kathy Tyers on Fantastical Truth: My Next Novel May Release in 2021

After the Firebird series and “Crystal Witness,” novelist Kathy Tyers returns to her spacefaring world for a new trilogy.
E. Stephen Burnett on Apr 7, 2020
1 comment

On our new Fantastical Truth podcast episode, Zack Russell and I met minds with Kathy Tyers.1

Kathy Tyers created the well-loved five-book Firebird series, which first launched in 1987. She also wrote Crystal Witness, which Enclave Publishing plans to re-release this summer.

Oh, and as Kathy tells us, she’s now creating a new series: The Sunstone Saga, set in the same world as Crystal Witness.

Its first novel, The Long Silence, is already in progress. Lord willing, it could release as soon as 2021. Listen to learn more:

https://media.blubrry.com/fantasticaltruth/content.blubrry.com/fantasticaltruth/FT011-Firebird.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Lorehaven magazine reviews Firebird

We reviewed the Firebird series in our spring 2020 issue’s cover story, “The Best of Christian Fantasy“:Lorehaven, spring 2020

Lady Firebird Angelo has grown up knowing she might someday die for her people. As the thirdborn daughter of the royal family of the planet Netaia, she has trained for combat as a “wastling,” destined for suicide. Unfortunately, during her first engagement in space, she fails. Firebird is captured alive by the enemy. This galactic Federacy employs Firebird’s new captor, Field General Brennen Caldwell, who is both intriguing and supernaturally telepathic.

Their encounter leads to the first of Lady Firebird’s drastic life changes in Firebird, book 1 of Kathy Tyers’s Firebird series. Tyers described Firebird’s original version, from Bantam Books, as a “cultural conversion story.” Yet since then, newer versions from Christian publishers enhanced Brennen’s commitment to an Eternal Speaker. That unseen entity has promised a divine messiah who hasn’t yet arrived. …

Tyers deftly describes other worlds, adding color to landscapes and intensity to emotions, especially in those my-mind-to-your-mind entanglements. Firebird’s musical talent adds even more atmosphere, not often seen in fiction, much less space opera. This trilogy—continued years later in books 4 and 5, Wind and Shadow and Daystar—marks a fantastic find for Christian fans and beyond.

Crystal Witness, Kathy TyersOur questions include:

  • What’s your origin story? How did you jump into operatic space?
  • After the first Firebird trilogy, what brought you back for two more books?
  • How did your time at Regent College “reboot” your biblical creative engines?
  • What are the big “what if” questions that led to the Firebird universe’s alternate history and future for human space exploration?
  • What’s your view of Christian imagination?
  • What can sci-fi/space opera (or fantasy) do that other genres can’t?

Next on Fantastical Truth

We’re starting a new series for the season: Epic Resurrection. What does Jesus’s promise of “resurrection” really mean? How does resurrection change our view of ourselves? How does it change our whole planet, even the universe? Finally, how does resurrection change our view of fantastic stories?

Still seeking our biblical/fantastical risen Savior,

Stephen

E. Stephen Burnett, signature

  1. This article excerpts the episode’s complete show notes. ↩
E. Stephen Burnett
E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi and fantasy novels as well as nonfiction, exploring fantastical stories for God’s glory as publisher of Lorehaven.com and cohost of the Fantastical Truth podcast. As the oldest of six, he enjoys connecting with his homeschool roots by speaking at conferences for Christian families and creators. Stephen is coauthor of The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ from New Growth Press (2020, with Ted Turnau and Dr. Jared Moore). Stephen and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area, where they help with foster parenting and serve as members of Southern Hills Baptist Church.
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  1. Susan Pieters says:
    April 9, 2020 at 4:59 pm

    Great Interview with Kathy Tyers! Looking forward to reading the latest books.

    Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

  • Critiquing Critics Of Christian Fiction, Part 2Critiquing Critics Of Christian Fiction, Part 2
  • Exploring Doctrine Through Fiction, With Kathy TyersExploring Doctrine Through Fiction, With Kathy Tyers
  • Critiquing Critics Of Christian Fiction, Part 3Critiquing Critics Of Christian Fiction, Part 3
  • Realm Makers: Go Beyond The BlogsRealm Makers: Go Beyond The Blogs
Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

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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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