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148. Why Do Some Christians Revile ‘The Chosen’? | with Josiah DeGraaf and Jenneth Dyck
Fantastical Truth Podcast, Feb 7, 2023

Into the Darkness
Reviews, Feb 3, 2023

The Chosen Succeeds Where ‘Woke’ Stories Fail
Jenneth Dyck in Articles, Feb 2, 2023

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The Wayward, Tabitha Caplinger
Fortified, V. Romas Burton
Canaan Sleeps, Daniel Camomile
Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
The Genesis 6 Project, Michael Ferguson
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
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148. Why Do Some Christians Revile ‘The Chosen’? | with Josiah DeGraaf and Jenneth Dyck
Fantastical Truth, Feb 7, 2023

147. Why Can Christians Celebrate Stories about Merlin and King Arthur? | with Robert Treskillard
Fantastical Truth, Jan 31, 2023

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

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Rose Petals and Snowflakes
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Prince Caspian
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Dream of Kings
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On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
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Into the Darkness
“Charles Hack’s Into the Darkness summons a close-range science fiction story, focusing on the personal challenges of space warfare among alien cultures with a steady pace and serious tone.”
—Lorehaven on Feb 3, 2023

A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

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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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Victory

Who wants to read about death, disability, disease, or defeat? Sure, we have stories that contain all those things, but the great thing about speculative literature is that it pits life, ability, strength, and victory against the things that ravage […]
Rebecca LuElla Miller on Sep 11, 2017
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Who wants to read about death, disability, disease, or defeat? Sure, we have stories that contain all those things, but the great thing about speculative literature is that it pits life, ability, strength, and victory against the things that ravage humanity—the things, as it happens, which are a result of sin in our world. The point is, we like the “good guys” to win. We want stories about triumph. We want to read about overcoming. We want victory!

Speculative fiction, by its nature, pits good versus evil. Though darkness has its day, in the end, good triumphs. The White Witch may turn many animals to stone, she may even appear to defeat Aslan, but in the end, he wins.

Though the forces of Mordor may appear to be overwhelming in numbers and strength, there’s still a hobbit climbing the side of Mount Doom with a ring he intends to destroy.

Though Voldomort may seem as if he’s back in control, there’s still a boy willing to sacrifice himself to destroy the last piece of the evil ruler’s soul.

Victory. That’s what speculative fiction is really all about. We don’t want to see Spiderman fail. We don’t want to see Superman succumb to kryptonite. We want the hero to be heroic; we want him to save the day. We long for life in Hobbiion, away from orcs and Sauron and dragons and mad kings and lurking spiders and selfish, twisted creatures that pit themselves against us. We long for freedom from the power of the corrupt and enticing ring.

Speculative stories don’t simply promise victory, They show it.

Or most do. Even the more obscure ones that not so many people have heard of. There’s a classic five-book children’s series called The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander that illustrates this point. The first book entitled The Book Of Three (see Wikipedia for the plot summary) introduces Taran, an Assistant Pig Keeper. He wants, above all else, to be a hero. And we readers want him to be a hero. But Taran seems all too familiar—wanting to do what’s right but ending up, more often than not, as a victim. Sometimes a victim of his own best intentions. In the long run, though, victory awaits, not the victory we supposed, but a victory brought about by his kindness and compassion. And now a victory that immediately gave him hero status—that has to wait for a later book.

But victory is very much a part of the story—victory over Taran’s dissatisfaction with an ordinary life as much as victory over the forces of evil.

Of course there are twists. Twilight introduced a character who’s victory is tied to his triumph over his own desires. More than a century earlier, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which brings to bear the struggle of good and evil within the life of an individual.

The Hunger Games series seems to approach good and evil from a different point—not so much as a personal struggle but as a societal issue. For a time President Snow seems to be the embodiment of evil, but he’s not. The revolution in the hands of the new president, Alma Coin, and the war they are conducting are just as evil. Katniss is both hero and victim. She’s a winner with an asterisk next to her name. Things are better, but . . .

The Divergent series by Veronica Roth also had a twist. In that instance, victory wasn’t for the main character. Tris died in the end. The victory was what she won for everyone else.

All this winning, over personal evil, societal evil, evil forces, is little more than a mirror of the real world. Because of sin, we much deal with the spiritual enemy of our souls, the sin within our own hearts, and the sin in our world. As a result we strive, day in and day out, against some form of evil. And we long for victory. We hope for victory. We have faith that one day we will live in victory.

Speculative fiction simply reminds us of what we hope for.

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.
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