Karlissa J's Top Ten Xenofiction Reads!

October 15, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Book Review, Fantastic Xenofiction, Rankings & Lists

Karlissa did a lot of xenofiction reading this year and has compiled a list of her top ten novels! She reveals her list to Jason, pitching to him the books he hasn’t read and contemplating with him the books he has. What makes these some of her favourite xenofiction tales?

Xenofiction refers to a story where at least one of the primary point-of-view characters is nonhuman. Fantastical xenofiction is a story where at least one point-of-view character is a made-up creature, and naturalistic xenofiction is a story with animal characters who behave in largely realistic ways.

Rules for the top ten list: includes graphic novels and novels; only first-in-series and stand-alone books (except where the complete series exists as one book); no serious plot spoilers.

Outline:

0:00) Introduction and rules

4:09) Books #10-8: the graphic novels

15:46) Books #7-4: modern books

27:10) Books #3-1: classics over 50 years old

38:58) The longevity and value of classics

TOP TEN LIST IS REVEALED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOW NOTES – scroll with caution if you wish to be surprised!

What are your favourite xenofiction books? How about you give us your top ten list in the comments on our website at book-bat.com/podcast/top10xenofiction

Full top ten list in ascending order: Bone (Jeff Smith); Petals (Gustavo Borges & Cris Peter); Silverwing (Kenneth Oppel, graphic novel version illustrated by Christopher Steininger); Sing to Me of Rain (E.B. Dawson); Wingless (Catherine Witzaney); Beasts within Our Blood (S.N.C. Fletcher); The Wild Robot (Peter Brown); Watership Down (Richard Adams); The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle); The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)

To all the Molly Gru fans: Karlissa apologizes for messing up her name.

A Journey Into The "Spirit of the North"

September 17, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Fantastic Xenofiction

A fox on a quest across a Nordic landscape, defeating a haunting parasitic growth using the magical energy present in blue flowers: this is Spirit of the North, a video game from an indie publisher that has wilderness vibes and creative storytelling. Jason and Karlissa discuss this unique game and what they found inspiring about it, while also reflecting on the themes of paganism.

SPOILER WARNING! We refuse to spoil the end of the game, but we do spoil other parts.

Spirit of the North blog post:

https://www.book-bat.com/blog/2026/8/31/video-game-review-spirit-of-the-north

(0:00) Introduction

(0:43) Our video games growing up

(6:13) Let’s talk about a fox

(8:50) Summary of Spirit of the North

(11:59) Nonverbal storytelling and xenofiction

(16:05) Nature, the fantastical, and the spiritual

(18:33) Communicating emotion through setting

(21:46) Spiritual themes in the game

(28:25) Tolkien and Norse mythology

(32:14) What is the aim of Spirit of the North?

(34:05) A question for the fantasy author

(38:44) To Narnia and Beyond update

(40:51) Coming soon on the podcast

Have you played Spirit of the North? What did you think of the storytelling in this game? Let us know! You can leave a comment on our website at Book-Bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com.

Let's Talk L'Engle

August 20, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Classic Novels & Authors

Karlissa has been promising an episode about Madeleine L’Engle, and here it is! We introduce the author, her famous fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time, and explore the Cold War and Genesis themes in her novel A Swiftly Tilting Planet.

Madeleine L’Engle quote from Walking on Water: “That’s probably the chief difference between the Christian and the secular artist—the purpose of the work, be it story or music or painting, is to further the coming of the kingdom, to make us aware of our status as children of God, and to turn our feet toward home.”

Are you a fan of Madeleine L’Engle’s books? Let us know! You can leave a comment on our website at Book-Bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com.

Curious about Madeleine L’Engle and other classic fantasy authors who wrote from a Christian perspective? Check out Karlissa J.’s book To Narnia and Beyond - book-bat.com/nonfiction

Lessons Learned from Four Legendary Authors

July 16, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Classic Novels & Authors, Author Insights, Rankings & Lists

For her latest book, To Narnia and Beyond, Karlissa has been getting to know four incredible Christian authors who wrote fantasy: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, and Madeleine L’Engle. Over the course of reading their fantasy novels and learning about their lives, she and Jason have both learned life lessons, interesting facts, and writing wisdom.

(00:38) Getting to know dead people

(2:26) The Unexpected C.S. Lewis

(5:35) The Influential George MacDonald

(7:46) The Thoughtful J.R.R. Tolkien

(10:24) The Creative Madeleine L’Engle

(15:18) Overview: being shaped as a writer

(19:12) Our favourite authors

(23:14) A lesson from each author

(27:27) News from Book-Bat

Out of these four authors, how many have you read? And who is your favourite? Comment on our website at book-bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com to let us know!

If you like this episode, you may enjoy:

Episode 57 - "To Narnia and Beyond" Preview!

Episode 50 - To Narnia and Beyond

Episode 45 - War of the Rohirrim Review

Our Top Nine A.I. Characters

June 18, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy, Fantastic Xenofiction, Graphic Novels & Manga, Rankings & Lists

Since before the times when artificial intelligence took over our online experiences and philosophical discussions, writers have been using the concept of A.I. to craft characters that speak to who we are as humans, and to explore how we interact with beings that are not quite like us.

Today, we are going to talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters: from robots to intelligences imbued into swords. Who are they, how do they interact with their world, and what draws us to them?

These characters come to us from comic books, a video game, tv shows, a movie, and a novel – and no, absolutely none of these are from live-action movies, dystopian worlds, or more cynical what-if fare. These are from fun, positive, hero-filled fantasies and soft sci-fi tales that treat their A.I. characters less like real-life A.I. and more like an opportunity to explore aspects of human nature and even animal nature.

So, without further ado: nine A.I. characters whom we enjoy!

(1:49) Becoming Embodied: Nicole from the Sonic comics Archie run

(5:46) Children of a Difficult Dad: Belle, Sage, and Metal Sonic from the IDW Sonic comics

(12:21) The Spirit Inside a Sword: Fi from the video game Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

(20:56) The A.I. Who Hated Feeling Emotions: Aya from Green Lanterns: The Animated Series

(24:47) The Robot Who Studied Nature: Roz, from The Wild Robot novel by Peter Brown, and the Dreamworks movie adaptation

(29:10) She’s Combat-Ready: Penny from RWBY

(32:07) The Robot with Cat-Ititude: Chopper from the animated show Star Wars Rebels

(33:00) A.I. as characterization shortcut

Thank you for listening to us talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters. Who are some of your favourite A.I. characters? Comment on our website at book-bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com to let us know!

"To Narnia and Beyond" Preview!

May 21, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Classic Novels & Authors, Sneak Peek

A peek inside To Narnia and Beyond!

What if fantasy stories hold spiritual insights that can be your pathway to a deeper faith? This brief, approachable guide invites readers into the major fantasy works of four writers of great fantasy: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, and Madeleine L’Engle. They all share in the distinction of being outspoken about their Christian faith, as well as having written stories of fantasy that have endured and inspired generations.

Whether you are discovering these authors and their works for the first time or are a fan seeking fresh insight, To Narnia and Beyond presents spiritual themes, historical background, and scholarly analysis in an accessible manner.

Learn more about the book: https://www.book-bat.com/nonfiction

May The Fourth Be With You; Lessons from Star Wars

May 04, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Thoughts on Fantasy

Do the ends justify the means? Jason walks us through three episodes from the animated Star Wars shows - one from The Clone Wars and two from Rebels - and the lessons they have taught him about how to approach podcasting better.

Read the blog version of this episode: http://www.book-bat.com/blog/2026/lessons-from-star-wars

If you enjoy Star Wars, you may want to listen to two of our previous episodes:

Perelandra and Star Wars: https://www.book-bat.com/podcast/2024/6/13/episode-31-perelandra-and-star-wars

Exploring The Bad Batch: https://www.book-bat.com/podcast/2024/7/25/episode-34-exploring-the-bad-batch

Learn more about Book-Bat and what we do: https://www.book-bat.com/about

Learn more about To Narnia and Beyond: https://www.book-bat.com/nonfiction

A Merman in the Deep Sea: Exploring Davy Jones' Aquarium

April 16, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Fantastic Xenofiction, Sneak Peek, Author Insights

Karlissa J’s most recent fantasy novel is Davy Jones’ Aquarium. Jason has described it as the perfection of the way she wants to write. And it is a xenofiction story, where the main character is a quirky teenage merman. What inspired Karlissa to write a tale about a merman, and what did she enjoy about creating the world he would inhabit?

You can learn more about Davy Jones’ Aquarium and my other books by visiting book-bat.com/books.

If you have read and enjoyed Davy Jones’ Aquarium, be sure to post a review, we’d greatly appreciate it.

Sonic Meets the Enneagram

March 19, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Fantastic Xenofiction, Graphic Novels & Manga

It’s Sonic the Hedgehog meets the Enneagram! Jason has made personality matches for a swath of Sonic-universe characters, and Sonic himself got the title of Peacemaker. Why did Jason decide this was a fitting label for the speedster?

Jason Recommends… Sonic the Hedgehog Presents: The Chaotix Casefiles

Blog about IDW Sonic characters:

https://www.book-bat.com/blog/2026/3/4/sonic-the-hedgehog-new-characters-from-the-comics

Last year’s Month of Sonic episode and blog post:

http://www.book-bat.com/podcast/2025/3/18/episode-42-the-first-month-of-sonic-the-hedgehog

http://www.book-bat.com/blog/2025/3/8/sonic-the-hedgehog-on-the-small-screen-ranked

What do you think of where Jason has placed each of these characters? Let us know in the comments!

What Is Xenofiction?

February 19, 2026 by Karlissa Koop in Fantastic Xenofiction

Xenofiction - stories told from a nonhuman perspective - is all around us! In this episode, Karlissa and Jason explore the appeal of xenofiction from a writer’s perspective and dive into a few examples of xenofiction. They discuss… Does it matter that Superman is an alien? Are hobbits truly distinct from humans? And what’s up with the animosity between the human Dr. Eggman and animal-people like Sonic the hedgehog? And of course, Karlissa sneaks in a quote from C.S. Lewis!