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Realm Makers Opens Registration to Eleventh Annual Speculative Fiction Writers Conference
News, Feb 1, 2023

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

A Crown of Chains
Reviews, Jan 27, 2023

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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
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
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
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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

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

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Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, January 2023

Prince Caspian
Book Quests, January 2023

Dream of Kings
Book Quests, December 2022

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Book Quests, November 2022

Reviews

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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

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“New and returning readers of all ages would do well to seek deeper magic within C. S. Lewis’s faithful classic.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

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The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

Speculative Faith | archives

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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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Who Am I?

Hi, my name is Beth Goddard and … oh, wait. Beth was up for today, but due to a melding of our minds, errr, a sharing of our brains … well, anyway, Beth and I will be trading off on […]
Shannon McNear on Jul 19, 2006
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Hi, my name is Beth Goddard and … oh, wait. Beth was up for today, but due to a melding of our minds, errr, a sharing of our brains … well, anyway, Beth and I will be trading off on Thursdays and I offered to go first.

Okay, so … I’m Shannon, and I’ve been dreaming up stories and living in alternate realities as far back as I can remember. I grew up listening to Star Trek on syndication after The Tonight Show, because although my mom would put me to bed at 8 pm or so, I’d lie awake for a long while. I think I’ve heard every episode at least twice.

My discovery of written SF/F came at age ten, when a slightly older friend corrupted me with my first reading of Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara. (Of course, I didn’t know then that it’s a “Tolkien ripoff” because I hadn’t yet read Tolkien.) Then came Heinlein, with Door Into Summer—I still remember the cat insisting on trying all the doors because he didn’t want to go out in the snow—and Anne McCaffery’s Pern series—until at last, in junior high, a fellow student loaned me The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. When my mom explained that Aslan was symbolic of Jesus, my world was transformed. Science fiction and fantasy could be merged with my Christian faith? What an absolutely cool idea!

Much later came the discovery of contemporary SF/F written from a Christian worldview—Stephen Lawhead, Robin Hardy, Calvin Miller. I devoured all I could get my hands on, even when I thought it was a bit cheesy.

Then, the wave of Christian speculative fiction just subsided. At least I still had C.S. Lewis.

Tune in next time for a discussion of the “current wave” of Christian spec fic …

Shannon McNear
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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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