Lorehaven Magazine Reviews Christian-Made, Fantastical, Published Novels
Today I happily announce that my old piece Can You Review My Novel? is null and void.
Previously, whenever authors asked Speculative Faith, Can you review my novel? we had to answer, “Probably not.” Why? Because Speculative Faith is run by volunteer writers. Most of the time we have our hands full with our weekly articles. (Some of us also maintain the Library, write for other websites, attempt our own novels, try to start magazines, etc.)
Anyone is welcome to share reviews with Speculative Faith. But if someone offers “get a free novel if you write a review”—we haven’t been able to say yes in 98 percent of cases.
Until now.
Now, if someone asks Can you review my novel?, then we’ll have only three questions:
- Is the novel Christian—that is, by a Christian author?
- Is the novel fantastical—in genre, such as fantasy, sci-fi, or supernatural/horror?
- Is the novel published—either independently or traditionally?
If so, then yes, we would like to see this novel for possible review at Lorehaven.
This digital webzine, starting this spring, will feature micro-reviews of Christian-made, fantastical-genre, published novels—the newer and more excellent, the better.
Later, after each issue releases, reviews will also join the book in the Lorehaven Library.
Readers, this means you can find the kinds of books you want and that we recommend.
Authors, this means we’re working to put your book in the hands of new fans.
Lorehaven review standards
Each Lorehaven book review will be:
- Efficient. You can read the review in a flash.
- Smart. But not cynical or snarky-for-its-own-sake. We like great stories.
- Biblical. We’re Christians. So we review like Christians, while respecting stories’ right to go overt or subtle with any naturally occurring biblical themes.
- Current. We’re prioritizing newer novel releases.1
- Positive. We strive to review only the best we get. 2
- Balanced. We watch for truth, beauty, goodness, and all three of their opposites.
- Excellent. We have high standards for books’ themes, imagery, and artistry.
- Useful. See at a glance which readers would best like this book.
- Practical. Parents, you can read about a book’s challenging content.
- Diverse. Different reviewers, subgenres, ages, maturity levels.
I’ve already begun editing existing reviews, and I’ve found many books I can’t wait to read. And you’ll love our sterling crew of reviewers (including several creatives from Speculative Faith): Austin Gunderson, Avily Jerome, Shannon McDermott, and Zachary Totah.
Click here to send your book for possible review by Lorehaven’s staff.
Lorehaven library
If we select a book, then due to demand and our quarterly schedule, its review could take some months. Then the review will only appear—at least at first—exclusively in Lorehaven digital magazine. (Sponsored reviews are also available; you can ask about this below.)
However, fans and authors can always recommend the book for a free listing in our online library of Christian-made, fantastical-genre, published novels.
Each listed book also gets shared with our social-media platforms, tagging the author in the process (that is, if he/she has shared social-media links with us). Book titles will also be linked in digital copies of Lorehaven, giving readers more info about any book we mention.
Click here to send your book (or favorite book) to the Lorehaven Library.
Any other questions?
If so, you can share a comment below.
Or ask us anything more confidentially with the suggestion box.
We look forward to using these new resources to help you, your family, and your church explore, review, and find truth in fantastic stories.
- Authors can still share older novels. A reviewer with spare time may pick one up, read it, and be unable to help him– or herself from writing a fantastic review. ↩
- Lorehaven will decline to review some novels solely because of limited space. However, our emphasis on positive reviews does mean that we would rather not review a book than review it poorly. ↩
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.
Are you looking for more reviewers? I review for Christian Library Journal and my own blog. I would be glad to share my older reviews of Jill Williamson’s books, Kathy Tyer’s Firebird series, and many Enclave books, etc.
Hello Carol! Thanks for your interest. Right now for Lorehaven magazine we’re focusing on flash-format reviews for newer titles. However, we definitely invite you to share your reviews, new or previously written, of any fantastical story (especially by Christian creators) for possible publication here on Speculative Faith. Just click the link in the third paragraph in the above article!
What a wonderful offer! I would love it if you’d review Skipjack and the Baleful Banshee whenever you had time. But I’m not sure how to use your platform to send my e-book to you free from Amazon. They don’t call me Mr. High-tech for nothing. (I have to pay them.)
G. K., if you have a .mobi file, you can send that to Lorehaven for consideration.
I uploaded it to Lorehaven from the Word document I used uploading it to Amazon. Hope that’s okay. Thank you so much for your help, for listing Skipjack on your site, and considering it for review. What a great service you and the others have offered Christian authors and readers alike at the expense of your own time!
Does this also apply to graphic novels/comics? Also, will this also include reviews for speculative films(animated or live action) and video game projects?
So far we haven’t been sent any graphic novels or comics, much less any that are Christian-made, fantastical, and published. However, we can decide on case-by-case basis. Any in particular you’re considering?
As for non-book media, again, we haven’t been sent these. But for now we will stick with promoting books, mainly for enjoyment by book clubs.
I know there’s some illustrated versions of the Bible out there, and on Tapas there’s a fantasy story that tells some of the angel and demon’s side of things in the Garden of Eden, but the author doesn’t seem anywhere near done with it yet. I’ll link it here for anyone that wants to read it, though I know it probably isn’t a candidate for review yet:
https://tapas.io/episode/380544
I was mainly inquiring because I will be publishing some comics that would probably fit the requirements in the future. But one is where the Christian Fiction element is barely mentioned in the first book and doesn’t start having a big emphasis until the second story, so I do wonder how that would work as far as the submissions go. Would that mean submitting the second book in the series for review instead of the first one?