Book-Bat
Exploring the world of fantasy from a Christian perspective!
Is C.S. Lewis’ final novel deserving of more attention, or too difficult to understand and get into? Karlissa and Jason both came out of reading it with differing opinions, and now, they want to discuss why Till We Have Faces has been largely forgotten.
Karlissa has recently read Watership Down (Richard Adams), so we’re going to talk about novels with animal protagonists, with a focus on the rabbit tale – including thoughts about the movie!
New vocabulary: Animal Xenofiction (stories told from the perspective of an animal)
Books Mentioned: Warriors (Erin Hunter), Redwall (Brian Jacques), Guardians of Ga’Hoole (Katherine Lasky), Silverwing (Kenneth Oppel), The Incredible Journey (Sheila Burnfield), Jim Kjelgaard books, Walt Morey books, Sonic the Hedgehog stories, The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud (Jenny L. Cote), Runt the Brave (Daniel Schwabauer), The Green Ember (S.D. Smith).
What is your favourite animal-led novel? Let us know in the comments!
Are the characters in Redwall Abbey religious? Karlissa explores spiritual themes in Brian Jacques’ Redwall series, and Jason brings his love of and familiarity with Jacques’ books to the conversation!
Time to talk about George MacDonald, and his final novel, Lilith! Karlissa gives six reading tips for understanding what's going on under-the-surface in this philosophical, magical story.
What does CS Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce have in common with Dante’s Divine Comedy? Is The Great Divorce a fantasy book, or not quite? Jason and Karlissa have finished reading The Great Divorce, and discuss its themes, before Karlissa tells Jason about her experience reading The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso).
Much of Karlissa’s understanding of The Divine Comedy comes from Jason M. Baxter’s guide, A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Jason finished reading CS Lewis’ Perelandra! What did he think? Karlissa and Jason use this as a launch point for talking about hard and soft sci-fi, Star Wars, CS Lewis’ novels, and more!
Spoiler warning for Perelandra! This is the second book in CS Lewis’ Space Trilogy, between Out of the Silent Planet (book one) and That Hideous Strength (book three).
Books Referenced:
Perelandra (CS Lewis); Sonic the Hedgehog, Volume 10: Test Run! (IDW Comics); Paradise Lost (Milton); Shivering World (Kathy Tyers); Out of the Silent Planet (CS Lewis); That Hideous Strength (CS Lewis); The Divine Comedy (Dante); The Great Divorce (CS Lewis); Till We Have Faces (CS Lewis);
Notes:
Milton’s (Paradise Lost) first name is John. John Milton.
Perelandra was referenced in the Language of God podcast, “166. Molly Worthing – Science and the Journey to Faith.” Molly Worthing states, “For the most part, I don’t find Mere Christianity to be this very powerful apologetic intervention that I think many people think it is, and for me, The Space Trilogy is most absolutely his most powerful apologetic work.”
Alister McGrath has talked about the racism concerns in Lewis’ books on the CS Lewis Podcast.
Karlissa came up with a list of ten fun things to say about John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings, among other books!
Resources mentioned: the CS Lewis Podcast with Alister McGrath; J.R.R. Tolkien’s letter to Milton Waldman; “On Fairy Stories” (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Jason Fisher’s Article “Reluctantly Inspired: George MacDonald and J.R.R. Tolkien”: https://digitalcommons.snc.edu/northwind/vol25/iss1/8/
Karlissa and Jason share their lists of fantasy books that deserve more attention: forgotten books from renowned authors, personal favourites, and recognized classics that are just hard to market.
Recommended books: Phantastes (George MacDonald), The Children of Hurin (J.R.R. Tolkien), Lilith (George MacDonald), The Thrawn Trilogy (Timothy Zahn), Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis), Tales of the Diversity trilogy (Karlissa J.), Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis).
Resource mentioned: The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis (Jason M. Baxter).
This episode is from back when the Book-Bat podcast was focused on Christian fantasy books. Visit book-bat.com/about to learn more about who we are and our goals for the podcast!
What fantasy books, Christian or otherwise, do you think are underrated? Let us know in the comments!
Who was George MacDonald? And why are his works a vital part of Christian Fantasy? Ten things you should know about this oft-forgotten author.
George MacDonald's stories include: "Phantastes," "Lilith," "At the Back of the North Wind," "The Princess and the Goblin," "The Golden Key," "The Light Princess," and more.
Karlissa and Jason answer an array of questions about books, reading, and Christian fantasy! Do we take Lewis’ advice and reread books? Do we need more thoughtful influences shaping Christian fantasy authors, and does the level of academic rigor found in Lewis and Tolkien still exist in the Christian fantasy landscape? We share our opinions, tangents, and queries!
Correction: Phantastes (George MacDonald) doesn't end with it all having been a dream, though his other novel Lilith leaves things ambiguous as to whether it was a dream.
Books mentioned: C. S. Lewis "Different Tastes in Literature" (article); Phantastes (George MacDonald); Amish Vampires in Space (Kerry Nietz); The Thrawn Trilogy (Timothy Zahn); Redwall series (Brian Jacques); Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis); The Children of Hurin (J.R.R. Tolkien); The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis); The Wingfeather Saga (Andrew Peterson).
This episode is from back when the Book-Bat podcast was focused on Christian fantasy books. Visit book-bat.com/about to learn more about who we are and our goals for the podcast!