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

Tilly
Reviews, Jun 24, 2022

The Wonderland Trials
Reviews, Jun 24, 2022

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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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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

Elite
“Elite explores parallels to the early Church, beautifully intertwining faith and action in this high-stakes post-apocalyptic adventure.”
—Lorehaven on Jun 10, 2022

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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
Fantastical Truth, Jun 14, 2022

115. How Do Lorehaven Creators Strive to Follow Biblical Statements of Faith?
Fantastical Truth, Jun 7, 2022

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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

What Does “Woke” Culture Have To Do With Christian Fiction?
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Apr 26

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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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‘König’s Fire’ Blazes With Dark Beauties and Truths

“Deus et natua non faciunt frusta.” “God and nature do not work together in vain.” Neither do the history and paranormal, and evil and good of this superb thriller.
E. Stephen Burnett · Jul 5, 2012 · No comments

Last year, König’s Fire by Marc Schooley kept me up until at least 2 a.m., forging fast to the story’s end. Even especially great fiction doesn’t usually do that to me. Moreover, I am not known to enjoy novels featuring zombie-like plant-monsters, paranormal horror, and great evils. You likely aren’t either. But this story changed that for me and it may also change you.

If nothing else, you, like me, may never think of Romans 8: 19-22 the same way again.

This is a novel for mature readers who can imagine the worst and creepiest horrors, but not fall into temptations to dwell on them in ways that dismiss God’s sovereignty over evil. Thinking teens could read it. But be aware: this isn’t edgy-for-the-sake-of-edge. Despite the story’s great evil, it ends in light, not darkness. Again I feel chills just thinking about it.

1. Hero and plot. In a Nazi prison mine surrounded by a besieging, organic army, Sascha König, a German soldier, arrives with orders to heat the mine’s furnace seven times hotter. His superior, Colonel Hayner, is determined on using the furnace to kill “inferior” people.

Here is historical truth, raw and terrible. Schooley doesn’t shy from showing it. Yet before long the historical gives way to the paranormal: something is attacking the mine, from without and within. To say more about that would be a crime. So would be saying more about König himself. Early on we receive hints about him — that despite his profession, he will be no antihero. This light stands out even more against the story’s black backdrop.

God is reflected, certainly with human flaws, by the novel’s human hero. God’s sovereignty, truth, and beauty are implicit when needed, and explicit at exactly the right times. And the story, as I said before, shows the darkness of humanity at its worst — more Biblical truth.

2. Enemies and characters. Hayner and other German officers are plainly evil and shown as such, though Schooley never lapses into stereotypes. Their heat stays on. This is another element that kept me reading late into the night: the enemies’ constant threat. To say more would yield more spoilers. Yet I can say this much: unlike other novels, the reader — and characters — recognizes how much he himself is part of the enemy. Only mercy prevents their, and our, just fate at the hand of God, and just consequences at the “hand” of Another.

All throughout, I was inwardly rooting for König’s Fire’s supporting heroes. Though I need to re-read the novel, a year later I vividly recall names, backstories, impressions, seemingly conveyed directly into my imagination. The story never needs to pause for info-dumping. Everyone feels real — just as real as the dark, musty, evil atmosphere of the mine.

3. Story-world and style. König’s Fire never rings false. From what I can tell, Schooley has done his research on German culture and language. Authenticity matters when this world of symbolism, paranormalcy, and horror crosses over into historical events. Moreover, one theme, central to the story, sounds even better when phrased in Latin:

Deus et natua non faciunt frusta. […] “God and nature do not work together in vain.”

Schooley’s descriptions draw you in; I felt no choice but to keep reading. And the author’s pace, while pulsing up and down like the best dark-majestic music, is nearly addictive.

Visions spiritually source the real world’s events, with original imagery that never feels forced. Despite the story summary’s overt reference to Nebuchadnezzar, Biblical parallels, especially because they are explained by an unlikely source, are genuinely surprising. And Schooley has in mind an entirely alternate story rather than a retelling based on Daniel.

Summary. I love all of Marcher Lord Press’s repertoire, yet König’s Fire must rank among my favorites. This is not because I’m inherently drawn to paranormal tales with zombie-like plant-men, either. Perhaps its themes resonated more with me. Perhaps I was dealing with life struggles at the time. Perhaps it’s because one of my favorite Biblical truths is that of restoration — and that we often treat creation as the problem, and man the victim. Yet themes aside, König’s Fire is a deceptively simple, God-exalting story. And I groan for more.

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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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.