Christian Fantasy

Christian Fantasy

Author: Colin N. Manlove

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1992-06-18

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 1349125709

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This is the first account of invented stories involving the Christian supernatural. In their development a central concern is found to be the fantasy-making human imagination itself, at first seen as a obstacle to Christian purpose, but more recently given freer rein.


Fantasy Literature and Christianity

Fantasy Literature and Christianity

Author: Weronika Łaszkiewicz

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2018-10-04

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1476634831

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The debate surrounding the Christian aspects of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter has revealed not only the prominence of religious themes in fantasy fiction, but also readers' concerns over portrayals of religion in fantasy. Yet while analyses of these works fill many volumes, other fantasy series have received much less attention. This critical study explores the fantastic religions and religious themes in American and Canadian works by Stephen R. Donaldson (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant), Guy Gavriel Kay (Fionavar Tapestry), Celia S. Friedman (Coldfire Trilogy), and Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn). References to biblical tradition and Christian teachings reveal these writers' overall approach to Christianity and the relationship between Christianity and the fantasy genre.


Evil in the Christian Fantasy of C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling

Evil in the Christian Fantasy of C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling

Author: Sarah Fiona Winters

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2024-10-29

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1666959782

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Evil in the Christian Fantasy of C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling: From the White Witch to the Dark Mark argues that The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter series are essential reading for anyone committed to understanding the cultural constructions of evil in twentieth-century Europe, and the strategies of resistance available to different types of readers in response to those evils. This book also suggests that while the construction of evil in both series can and should be approached through a secular lens, it cannot be fully understood without a complementary understanding of religious transcendence. Sarah Fiona Winters explores the tension between theological evil on the one hand, and naturalist and politico-historical representations of evil on the other; and the tension within both the explicitly religious and the apparently secular between dualism, the belief that good and evil both exist and are locked in combat, and the belief in orthodox Christianity that evil is nothing. She examines the developments in theories about evil that arose from the experience of the Second World War, particularly those of Hannah Arendt and Stanley Milgram in 1963, arguing that Lewis presented obedience as a strategy against evil because he wrote before their work while Rowling presents disobedience as a strategy against evil as she wrote after their work.


The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian Fiction

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian Fiction

Author: Ron Benrey

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9781592576814

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They say there's nothing new under the sun, and the Christian fiction industry certainly didn't spring full blown with the advent of the Left Behindseries in 1996. Remember Christyby Catherine Marshall? Published in 1967, its inspiration was the life of Marshall's mother - and the Christy Award, presented annually since 1999 to recognize novelists and novels in several categories of Christian fiction, was named after it. What makes Christian fiction? There are several givens, despite the subgenres- the Christian worldview must be woven throughout both the book's plot and its character development. But must it put proselytizing before telling a good story? How much sex - if any! - is okay in a Christian romance? Is it all right to approach edgy subjects in a Christian mystery? Is it possible to seamlessly integrate a Christian message in a crackling good yarn? In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian FictionRon Benrey - himself the author of successful Christian fiction - offers readers chapter and verse of writing Christian women's, romance, thrillers and mysteries, warfare, historical, biblical, speculative, and young adult fiction that deliver strong, inspirational messages and sell!


The A to Z of Fantasy Literature

The A to Z of Fantasy Literature

Author: Brian Stableford

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2009-08-13

Total Pages: 568

ISBN-13: 0810863456

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Once upon a time all literature was fantasy, set in a mythical past when magic existed, animals talked, and the gods took an active hand in earthly affairs. As the mythical past was displaced in Western estimation by the historical past and novelists became increasingly preoccupied with the present, fantasy was temporarily marginalized until the late 20th century, when it enjoyed a spectacular resurgence in every stratum of the literary marketplace. Stableford provides an invaluable guide to this sequence of events and to the current state of the field. The chronology tracks the evolution of fantasy from the origins of literature to the 21st century. The introduction explains the nature of the impulses creating and shaping fantasy literature, the problems of its definition and the reasons for its changing historical fortunes. The dictionary includes cross-referenced entries on more than 700 authors, ranging across the entire historical spectrum, while more than 200 other entries describe the fantasy subgenres, key images in fantasy literature, technical terms used in fantasy criticism, and the intimately convoluted relationship between literary fantasies, scholarly fantasies, and lifestyle fantasies. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography that ranges from general textbooks and specialized accounts of the history and scholarship of fantasy literature, through bibliographies and accounts of the fantasy literature of different nations, to individual author studies and useful websites.


Writing Genre Fiction

Writing Genre Fiction

Author: H. Thomas Milhorn

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2006-03

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1581129181

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Several years ago, after many years of writing nonfiction, I decided to write a novel-a medical thriller in the mold of Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, and Michael Palmer. The problem was that, although I knew how to write and had received a number of awards for nonfiction works, I didn't know the how to write fiction. So, before putting fingers to keyboard I did a thorough search of the literature, which included reading numerous books and hundreds of website articles. What I discovered was that there simply wasn't one good source from which to learn the craft of writing genre fiction. "Writing Genre Fiction: A Guide to the Craft" is the book I was looking for when I set out on my quest to learn how to write fiction. It is an attempt to share what I learned from my research. It covers the six key elements of genre fiction; the various genres and subgenres; a large number of genre-fiction writing techniques; plot, subplots, and parallel plots; structure; scene and sequel; characterization; dialogue; emotions; and body language. It also covers additional information about copyrighting and plagiarism, where to get ideas, manuscript formatting and revision, and query letters and synopses. In addition, an appendix covers a large number of grammar tips.


Christian Writers' Market Guide 2008

Christian Writers' Market Guide 2008

Author: Sally Stuart

Publisher: WaterBrook

Published: 2009-02-25

Total Pages: 640

ISBN-13: 0307499162

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The Resource Guide to Getting Published A unique guide to publishing for Christian readers, the Christian Writers’ Market Guide 2008 offers the most proven and comprehensive collection of ideas, resources, and contact information to the industry. For more than twenty years, the Christian Writers’ Market Guide has delivered indispensable help to Christian writers, from a CD-ROM of the full text of the book so you can easily search for topics, publishers, and other specific names; to up-to-date listings of more than 1,200 markets for books, articles, stories, poetry, and greeting cards, including forty-three new book publishers, fifty-one new periodicals, and fifteen new literary agencies. Perfect for writers in every phase, this is the resource you need to get noticed–and published. “An indispensable tool. The reference you have to buy.” Writers’ Journal “Essential for anyone seeking to be published in the Christian community.” The Midwest Book Review “Stands out from the rest with its wealth of information and helpful hints.” Book Reviews for Church Librarians Completely updated and revised the Guide features more than… 1,200 markets for the written word * 675 periodicals * 405 book publishers * 240 poetry markets * 114 card and specialty markets * 37 e-book publishers * 120 literary agents * 332 photography markets * 98 foreign markets * 98 newspapers * 53 print-on-demand publishers * writers’ conferences and groups * pay rates and submission guidelines * more resources and tools for all types of writing and related topics.


Queering Faith in Fantasy Literature

Queering Faith in Fantasy Literature

Author: Taylor Driggers

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-01-13

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1350231746

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Fantasy literature inhabits the realms of the orthodox and heterodox, the divine and demonic simultaneously, making it uniquely positioned to imaginatively re-envision Christian theology from a position of difference. Having an affinity for the monstrous and the 'other', and a preoccupation with desires and forms of embodiment that subvert dominant understandings of reality, fantasy texts hold hitherto unexplored potential for articulating queer and feminist religious perspectives. Focusing primarily on fantastic literature of the mid- to late twentieth century, this book examines how Christian theology in the genre is dismantled, re-imagined and transformed from the margins of gender and sexuality. Aligning fantasy with Derrida's theories of deconstruction, Taylor Driggers explores how the genre can re-figure God as the 'other' excluded and erased from theology. Through careful readings of C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces, Angela Carter's The Passion of New Eve, and Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and the Earthsea novels, Driggers contends that fantasy can challenge cis-normative, heterosexual, and patriarchal theology. Also engaging with the theories of Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray, Marcella Althaus-Reid, and Linn Marie Tonstad, this book demonstrates that whilst fantasy cannot save Christianity from itself, nor rehabilitate it for marginalised subjects, it confronts theology with its silenced others in a way that bypasses institutional debates on inclusion and leadership, asking how theology might be imagined otherwise.


Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination

Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination

Author: Andrew D. Thrasher

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2023-07-31

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1978712197

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Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers analyses of the theological, philosophical, and religious imagination found in fantasy literature, the theological imagination, and table-top games. Part I offers an invocation to the study through a theological reflection of the “old magic.” Part II analyzes classical Christian fantasy—ranging from dogmatic theological reflection on the fantastic imagination to analyses of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Part III analyzes the post-Christian turn in fantasy after about 1960 through today—featuring methodological, theological, and philosophical essays that reflect a movement beyond Christianity in the fantasy literature and writings of Rabbi Shagar, Ursula le Guin, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan and David Eddings, and Brandon Sanderson and Orson Scott Card. Part IV closes with two analyses of the religious and philosophical dimensions of table-top games, including Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: the Gathering. Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers astute analyses of how theological fantasy actually is by articulating the religious, philosophical, and theological dimensions of the fantastic imagination.


Reader's Guide to Literature in English

Reader's Guide to Literature in English

Author: Mark Hawkins-Dady

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 1024

ISBN-13: 1135314179

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Reader's Guide Literature in English provides expert guidance to, and critical analysis of, the vast number of books available within the subject of English literature, from Anglo-Saxon times to the current American, British and Commonwealth scene. It is designed to help students, teachers and librarians choose the most appropriate books for research and study.