By Vassil (Own work) Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The second place my mind goes is to the spirit behind fantasy — that special thing that draws me into these fantastical worlds of swords, horses, chivalry, good versus evil. That last one is the clincher for me. Good versus evil. I think that’s the one thing that keeps me coming back.

You see, my faith in God runs deep and what is Christianity based on? Good versus evil. The redeeming power of God in the face of an adversary who seeks to destroy mankind. I love to hear stories of good conquering evil, of hope to be found in dark, oppressive lands, or battles that can be fought — and won — in the face of ultimate evil.

I see fantasy fiction as an illustration of the unseen spiritual wars that influence all of our lives, wars that we become involved in all the time. To me, the good forces found in fantasy fiction provide a light. They remind us that there is good, that there is a God, the true champion of the human race. I believe that if we follow the true spirit behind this light, we will eventually find our way to the feet of God.

I recently received an email from one of my blog followers with a link to an article he and his brother (James Lang and Anthony Lang) wrote for Notre Dame Magazine. The article, entitled Flights of Fancy, explores the perceived good and bad of fantasy fiction. Does it enlighten or corrupt mankind? What do you think?

I found the article to be an interesting discussion of themes that I hold dear to my heart and, I’m the first to admit, the Lang brothers have expressed their thoughts on this topic much more elegantly than I ever could have. As such, I want to provide you a link and I encourage you to check it out.

Flights of Fancy
BY JAMES M. LANG ’91 AND ANTHONY F. LANG JR. ’90
Notre Dame Magazine, Autumn 2011 

What about you? What do you love about fantasy fiction? And science fiction too, for that matter. I think the same applies to this genre as well. Leave me a note in the comments section and let’s talk. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

But…I found the book a little hard to keep up with. Generally, I’m a pretty fast reader but it seemed like it took me longer than usual to work my way through this one. Maybe it was the sheer volume of characters and storylines, but I suspect the trouble I had following along was due to the rapid shift from one storyline to another. Just when I got interested in one character’s story, it was abandoned and we switched to another. Unfortunately, that happened several times, which made it difficult for me to stay engaged.

All of that aside, however, I’m still a bit intrigued by the premise of the book. In it, the characters travel through time and alternate realities, manipulating events in one world in order to change events in another. While that is not a unique premise, there is something different in The Bone House. That would be ley lines, straight paths of energy that form the “roads” between worlds. By his own admission, Lawhead drew his inspiration from the work of Alfred Watkins, who dubbed the term after noticing that familiar landmarks in England seemed to be linked in straight lines.

In The Bone House, the heart of the story still concerns the search for the skin map introduced in book 1. This parchment of human skin contains symbols one traveler tattooed on himself to keep track of the pathways leading from one world to another. Throughout The Bone House, the characters continue their search for the skin map in order to adroitly navigate the paths from one reality to another. In addition, the ultimate goal is to use the skin map is to find a hidden treasure, the contents of which remain unknown.

My comments aside, if you were intrigued by book 1 in this series, you should give The Bone House a try. If you are interested in the story as a whole, I recommend you start with book 1 (The Skin Map), otherwise you might find it a bit difficult to keep up in book 2.  

The Bone House
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publish Date: September 6, 2011
ISBN-10: 159554805X
ISBN-13: 978-1595548054

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Paradise War, Song of Albion, Book 1
By Stephen R. Lawhead, Amazon link here.

The official cover blurb:

From the dreaming spires of Oxford, Lewis Gillies drives north to seek a mythical creature in a misty glen in Scotland. Expecting little more than a weekend diversion, Lewis finds himself in a mystical place where two worlds meet, in the time-between-times–and in the heart of a battle between good and evil.

The ancient Celts admitted no separation between this world and the Otherworld: the two were delicately interwoven, each dependent on the other. The Paradise War crosses the thin places between this world and that, as Lewis Gillies comes face-to-face with an ancient mystery–and a cosmic catastrophe in the making.

Bright of the Sky, Book 1 of The Entire and the Rose
By Kay Kenyon, Amazon link here.

The official cover blurb:

Kay Kenyon, noted for her science fiction world-building, has in this new series created her most vivid and compelling society, the Universe Entire. In a land-locked galaxy that tunnels through our own, the Entire is a bizarre and seductive mix of long-lived quasi-human and alien beings gathered under a sky of fire, called the bright. A land of wonders, the Entire is sustained by monumental storm walls and an exotic, never-ending river. Over all, the elegant and cruel Tarig rule supreme.

This is high-concept SF written on the scale of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld, Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles, and Dan Dimmons’s Hyperion.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Skin Map is Book 1 in the Bright Empires series, which is currently planned to be 5 books in its entirety. By his own admission, Bright Empires is his most ambitious series yet. It’s something he’s been thinking about doing for 15 years and now feels the time is right. As Mr. Lawhead says, “Now I am finally writing it, because I think I can finally do justice to such an intricately woven storyline. Bright Empires is the most challenging work I’ve ever undertaken, and I’m alternately exhilarated and terrified by it.”

The first thing that impressed me about Mr. Lawhead’s latest book is the amount of research that must have gone into this novel–from ancient Egypt to theories surrounding ley lines purported by amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins in 1921. In fact, ley lines (alleged alignments running from ancient monuments and megaliths and thought to resonate with some type of mystical energy) are the underlying “technology” underpin of the book. It is these ley lines that transport the main character to places he didn’t expect to be in ways he never expected to exist.

I found an interesting 2-minute video trailer showing Mr. Lawhead talking about the books in his own words. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more information on Stephen Lawhead and his books, I encourage you to visit his website:
http://www.stephenlawhead.com

This post is presented as one installment of this month’s Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy (CSFF) Blog Tour. You might want to check out the other bloggers who are also posting reviews. You will find their URLs in the sidebar to the right. (For those of you receiving this via e-mail, visit my website’s home page, http://www.fantasyandfaith.com, and see the right sidebar.) A copy of The Skin Map was provided to me by the publisher for review purposes in connection with the CSFF Blog Tour.

About the book:
The Skin Map
Published by Thomas Nelson
ISBN-13: 978-1595548047
Hardcover, 448 pages
Retail price: $24.99 (currently on sale at Amazon for $16.49)

Here’s my Amazon affiliate link: The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The story of Rhi Bran y Hud concludes as Abbot Hugo and the Norman invaders attempt to wipe out King Raven and his flock once and for all. Their merciless attack, the first of many to come, heralds a dark and desperate day for the realm of Elfael. Bran and his few stalwarts desperately need encouragement and reinforcement if they are to survive. Bran and Friar Tuck, a most unconventional priest, ride north to rally the tribes of Wales to the fight, making new friends, and even more powerful enemies along the way . . . . 

The final installment of the completely re-imagined epic of the man known as Robin Hood-told in a far more eerie, earthy, and elemental way than ever before.

—————–

To receive future posts via email, you can subscribe to my blog here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”