Favorite Fantasy Christian book?
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Hey guys! I know reading is the best way to research, so I was wondering, what are some of your favorite Christian Fantasy books? 🙂
My personal favorite would be Bryan Davis’s Dragons In Our Midst series, as well as his Oracles of Fire series. Worth checking out!
"I set a melody upon the scenery I saw outside my window;
It's beginning in my spacy world."
- TK@noodle-mum WING. FEATHER. SAGA. FOR. LIFE!!!
*grin* You asked. . .
Hearts are like matter--they can be beaten down, torn, and burned, but they cannot be destroyed.
That Hideous Strength
Maybe not technically fantasy but Lewis calls it a fairy tale for adults in the introduction, so I’m claiming it. I’ve read it once a year for seven years running and I still find new things.
Well, obviously The Silmarillion. 😏
But if we’re talking more traditional novels, Dreamlander is very good. The Mark of the Raven seriously drew me in with the first half and wasn’t bad the second half of the book. I definitely like The Wingfeather Saga, particularly book 3.
@naiya-dyani Y E S! Don’t listen to those reviews saying that The Wingfeather Saga is just for children. Kids do love it, but the depth and messages it holds for adults are amazing.
If Tolkien’s Middle Earth works count as Christian, though, then I’d probably go with The Children of Hurin. It’s tragic but so beautiful!
Ted Dekker’s Circle Series is also a powerful fantasy story, with a sprinkle of modern-day thriller.
Or if you like quick reads, Chuck Black’s Knights of Arrethtrae series is entertaining, despite the questionable amount of “telling” instead of “showing.”
HOT DOG!! SOMEONE’S READ THE CIRCLE TRIOLOGY!!!
Probably Stephen Lawhead’s King Arthur books. They sort of lean toward historical fiction more but they have a definite fantasy tinge.
Other than that, I haven’t read many explicitly Christian fantasy novels.
Ceud mile failte
@deeprun
And someone’s read the Space Trilogy! I haven’t reached That Hideous Strength yet; I just finished Out of the Silent Planet and started Perelandra. So far, so good.
Hmm, I’m really not sure. One of my all-time favorite fantasy novels is A Wrinkle In Time, which has sort of Christian elements, but not is explicitly Christian. (I’m not even sure of the author meant for them to be Christian elements, to be honest. XD) Edit: I actually googled it to find out once and for all, and it turns out L’Engle was a Christian. So yeah, A Wrinkle In Time is my favorite fantasy novel. 😉
I also really enjoy The Hobbit, mostly for the humor and the grans sense of adventure all rolled into one. Eragon is another of my favorites, but lower ranking because I find the prose less interesting. Tolkien has such a pleasant voice to read and you really can’t beat it. 😉
Other than that, I really haven’t read a whole lot of explicitly Christian fantasy. I’m looking forward to reading more Sanderson, specifically the Mistborn Saga and Elantris. I’m also really excited to read Jill Williamson’s Kinsman Chronicles. I unfortunately have so little time to read much of anything at the moment that I haven’t even bought new fantasy books since Fawkes came out. 😐 But hopefully once graduation is over and I’m a little more free with my brain time I can sit down and pick up a few new books.
(Oh – and if anyone doesn’t mind more spell-type magic systems, the book Howl’s Moving Castle is one of my absolute favorite non-Christian novels of all time. It’s wacky, weird, and one of the few books that’s ever made me both laugh and cry. Do be warned, it has more of wizard/witch style magic system however, though I wouldn’t call it dark or explicit. It’s more of wacky adventure than anything with moments of good humor and warmth.)
"A hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head."
- C. S. Lewis
@noodle-mum I’m surprised no one has mentioned the Chronicles of Narnia yet! C. S. Lewis even said it isn’t a good kids book if adults can’t enjoy it and adults can definitely enjoy it! I read it for book club last year and it was great! The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is my favorite of the series.
The cake is a lie. acaylor.com
I love the Codebearer series written by the Miller Brothers. Also enjoy Chronicles of Narnia.
Only one I can think of that hasn’t been mentioned yet is The King Sword by Micah Cooley. It’s one of the only “Christian” fantasy I’ve enjoyed.
I also really liked Broken Arrow by Azaria Durant. It’s not explicitly christian, but I know the author is, so for whatever that’s worth.
If you read the Circle (trilogy) Series, do not read Green. Just don’t do it.
Just a warning That Hideous Strength gets very weird. And very much unlike the other two books.
The Green Ember Series and Mistmantle Chronicles are both middle grade, but in my opinion they have as much worth and weight as adult books. I’ve also really liked all five of Nadine Brandes’s books, probably Fawkes the most. And I thought the Story Peddler did a pretty good job of being unconventional while still being…conventional. XD
"...by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."
Have any of you read the Sea of Trolls books by Nancy Farmer? They’re middle grade books that aren’t written terribly deeply, but I really dig the stories even as an adult. They’re definitely more culturally Christian than Biblically based, but for people with a modicum of spiritual maturity who like middle grade fantasy, there’s some poignant beauty to them.
The series (three books, each about 500 pages long) is about a Christian Saxon boy who goes on adventures after being captured by Vikings. There’s a weird bit of universalism to it where all faiths have their place on the World Tree, with Christianity at the top. But, like, there’s a bit of “believing other things results in you being given over to terror and horror in the big picture,” as those who believe in Ragnarok will suffer it, but Jack stands up to Thor (I think… it’s been a while since I read the book), telling him that he is a Christian who looks forward to Heaven, and Ragnarok has no power over him.
There’s really no Jesus to it, sadly. It’s a very odd series.
he Jack ends up harnessing magic as a bard, but remains a Christian despite meeting gods and spirits, and the series treats this is as a noble thing.
Also it has fallen-angels-as-elves, riffing on the same mythology Tolkien did, which is pretty sweet, and there’s an elf girl who wants to get a soul and become human and it’s so precious.
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