Mira Olvidneth is no engineer. Too bad she's set to become Minister of Engineering. Meanwhile, her goblin best friend has fallen ill. Time for a quest! Specifically, Starfall Quest, the new comedic adventure from author Emily Golus. @TiciaAIM reviewed this LitRPG-flavored fantasy at @Lorehaven: "Starfall Quest is a cozy comedic fantasy sure to bring a shine to your day," Ticia writes. "Emily Golus plays her adventurous romp with a light heart and LitRPG elements that are sure to surprise and delight readers." Subscribe free to escape bad books and find top Christian-made fantastical fiction!

No! @bauzilla was so fantastic in Coyote vs. ACME. And without his support, fans might have never seen the film. What a terrible loss.

"Bless that good, good woman who hung the crucifix round my neck! for it is a comfort and a strength to me whenever I touch it. "It is odd that a thing which I have been taught to regard with disfavour and as idolatrous should in a time of loneliness and trouble be of help. Is it that there is something in the essence of the thing itself, or that it is a medium, a tangible help, in conveying memories of sympathy and comfort? "Some time, if it may be, I must examine this matter and try to make up my mind about it." Jonathan Harker Dracula by Bram Stoker, chapter 3

Christians should absolutely read Dracula, one of the most anti-Satan and pro-Christ novels ever made. @conservmillen , the story even shows the evils of toxic empathy!

"Once there were four children ..." True Narnia fans can finish this sentence. (If you don't know the rest, you're in for a rare treat!) How did you first discover the magical lands of Narnia? Or how did you guide your own family members into C. S. Lewis’s world? New and returning readers of all ages do well to seek deeper magic in C. S. Lewis's faithful classic: Chronicles of Narnia book 1, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Do NOT miss this absolutely majestic Out of the Silent Planet concept art from illustrator Eli Ring. You will long evermore for an epic feature film version. And yet when you see his vision of Dr. Elwin Ransom, the hrossa, and beyond, you may not need a movie. artstation.com/artwork/x3yX1…

J. R. R. Tolkien vs. C. S. Lewis! A slew of memes shows their supposed literary clash. One claims obsessive-Tolkien crammed backstory into each tree and blade of grass. Then shallow-Lewis just blurts a line like, “Hurrr durrr, magic lion is Jesus allegory.” It’s cute. Fun to share for a quick laugh among nerdy-ish folks. But it’s drastically wrong. ‘Aslan is an allegory’ People keep repeating this old myth as fact: “Aslan and The Chronicles of Narnia are just allegory.” You may have heard a blogger, pastor, or religious schoolteacher say this. Often they mean well. They may want solid, biblical-sounding reasons to support fantasy stories. Or they believe the most “spiritual” stories will only be “allegories.” Reader revision < creator authority But today people repeat “Aslan is allegory” to dismiss Narnia as some shallow and simple children’s story. Some may do this to excuse new corporate perversions of Lewis’s world. After all, “allegories” can be reinterpreted. “Symbols” can get remixed. These revisionists ignore what Lewis clearly wrote about his own creative intent. (Then they assume readers will respect their own writing more than Lewis’s.) Lewis defines his own purpose of creation By now even the AI agents know well that Lewis denied that “Narnia” is allegory. Search for “Lewis allegory” on @Grok, Google, ChatGPT, and other bots. They give the right answers. And they don’t even have God-given thought, imaginations, or souls. Humans have no excuse. So don’t get trapped by memes and myths! Gain wisdom. Start by reading Lewis’s most direct quotes about his reasons for writing. You’ll debunk “Narnia is allegory,” and find greater delight in deeper meaning. ‘Pure moonshine’ “Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument; then collected information about child-psychology, and decided what age group I’d write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out ‘allegories’ to embody them. “This is all pure moonshine. I couldn’t write that way at all. “Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn’t even anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord.” —C. S. Lewis, “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s To Be Said” (1956 essay) ‘This is not allegory at all’ “If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair represents Despair, he would be an allegorical figure. “In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, ‘What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?’ This is not allegory at all.” —Letters of C. S. Lewis (paragraph breaks added) ‘I’m not writing in that way’ “You are mistaken when you think that everything in the book ‘represents’ something in the world. Things do that in The Pilgrim’s Progress but I’m not writing in that way. “I did not say to myself, ‘Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia’: I said ‘Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as He became a man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.’ If you think about it, you will see that it is quite a different thing.” —C. S. Lewis, Letters to Children ‘Not as much allegory as supposal’ “The Narnian books are not as much allegory as supposal. “‘Suppose there were a Narnian world and it, like ours, needed redemption. What kind of incarnation and Passion might Christ be supposed to undergo there?’” —James Higgins, “A Letter from C.S. Lewis,” The Horn Book Magazine, xlii.5 (19 October), 533-534. Why does it matter that Aslan isn’t ‘allegory’? Because authors have more rights than readers to decide meaning. Even tiny lies can cover up a good story’s truth. Big lies are worse. “Allegory” means Very Spiritual Ideas. It turns recreation into chores. Lewis didn’t write stories as propaganda. He wanted to give readers joy. If you see the hero of Aslan as Lewis showed him, you will literally be happier. Narnia is about happiness, not homework When I discovered Narnia at age ten, no one told me this was “spiritual.” No one said, “This is a Sunday school assignment. Find the hidden symbols.” Instead, I fell into this world. I grew to love its heroes. I learned to love Aslan. And I learned to love C. S. Lewis for showing me the wild goodness of our Lord. Learn to love Aslan by His other Name Allegory is often tame. You can make an allegory sit. Do tricks. Or follow you on a leash. Meaning draws you into new life-changing realities. It is not tame. But it is good. Learn to love the difference. Not to be a literary snob. Instead, by pursuing Narnia’s true meaning, you’ll know “Aslan” a little better in a magical world. Even better, you will find true eternal happiness by knowing Him by His other Name in this world.

Jonah can see creatures. Like the troll hiding in the shadows. And the harpy hanging in the tree. Or the demon lurking in the puddle. @TiciaAIM read this book and can confirm—demons are the bad guys. Which is exactly what faithful Christian fans want to see in spooky season. "Byron Leavitt creates fun characters for the vibrant world of this fun fantasy, with a touch of horror, drawing loose inspiration from the biblical book of Jonah." Thanks to Ticia for reviewing Bryon Leavitt 's The Fish in Jonah's Puddle. If you seek more excellent Christian-made fantasy for middle grade readers, splash into @Lorehaven dot com. There we've collected 1,630+ appropriate fantastical novels you can search by age, genre, even keywords like "fish" or "puddle." All titles from professing Christian authors. No actual demons allowed!

👿 Somehow the demons returned. Serious philosophers and flippant folks alike are saying “that’s demonic” about evil ideas or even “she’s a demon” about wicked people. For many Christians, this development may come as a surprise. That’s because many of us heard little about demons growing up, while some of us heard only demons blamed for other religions, the “wrong” cartoon shows, or even mental illness. I grew up hearing this and occasionally being taught this. Lately we often see these adapted for quasi-biblical YA fantasies. Some nonfiction authors teach “spiritual warfare” techniques. A few of those come from biblical texts that describe, not prescribe. Others come from popular lore or personal experiences. In response to “Satanic panic” and echoes, some overcorrected. Despite affirming that devils exist, they show no interest in real-life spiritual warfare. I have even heard sermons skip over the Bible’s few demon parts. This leaves many people in the audience most curious about this. So they look for answers in podcasts and parachurch groups that may mislead. Meanwhile, changing the spiritual-warfare subject subtly trains Christians to act like we are functioning materialists. We explain every evil in terms of human choice or mental illness. Then when some evils defy these easier answers, we are tempted to ignore reality—including serial killers, terrorists, and false teachers. And we have little to offer when even the pagans get shocked and start saying “that’s demonic.” (Enjoyed this conversation with @ztrussell in this week's new podcast episode from @Lorehaven!)

Do you celebrate Halloween? Or still subscribe to Netflix? Or try to avoid "cancelling" either? That's a big topic this month, just as it was six years ago when @capstewart joined us at @Lorehaven to ask whether Christians should boycott these parts of popular culture. You can find that whole episode by scrolling way back in the archive on any player. It'll likely drop off in the next few weeks. So you may also check our archive at Lorehaven dot com and search for the keyword HALLOWEEN. We explore: 1. Facts about Netflix and its movie problems, plus our response to this 2. How Christians have understood “boycotts” in the past and present 3. Whether this is just “culture war” or newer versions of "cancel culture" 4. Asking if we should avoid Netflix or Halloween for non-"boycott" reasons 5. Finding good and uniquely biblical reasons to avoid nudity in movies. 6. How we see the early Church avoiding/engaging their pagan culture 7. How we avoid/support so we can grow, and maybe influence others lorehaven.com/podcast/41-sho…

Yes, you're allowed not to like a particular director. @ztrussell says this in tomorrow's Fantastical Truth episode from @Lorehaven. And I meant to add this: Good fans of a director should absolutely agree. For example, I'm a fan of Zack Snyder's DC films: Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder's Justice League. Yet I recognize his work isn't for everyone. It's okay for you not to like Zack Snyder's work. Even if you think he's a decent fellow in a rough job. In fact, I have not been thrilled with his non-DC work. (I thought the Rebel Moon PG-13 films were just okay, with a few brilliant flashes, and I'm not going to watch the R-rated movies because of even more ... flashing.) Fans of all Snyder's work don't seem to mind my being selective. They're glad to have me alongside them calling for #RestoreTheSnyderverse. And the better Snyderverse fans also don't mind engaging with good-faith criticism of those three DC films. But we don't like criticism made in bad faith. Or based on willful misunderstanding or lies about the work. Snyder and Gerwig are both fairly transparent about their beliefs and the ways their worldview is seen in their films. I agree with Snyder maybe 50–60 percent about his views on myth and heroes. And so far I agree with Gerwig 0 percent when she says her "Narnia" is really all about "rock and roll" and all that. So when I say, "Nope, not for me or any true Narnian," about the Gerwig product, it's only after I've watched and seen quite enough of what she's making it about.

"Creation is the most difficult task to which humans aspire." — @JeremyDBoreing Jeremy, our great thanks to you and your team for this interview during a very busy week. To this we add our special thanks for not basing your design of Merlin on 1970s rock-and-roll stars or having him voiced by Meryl Streep. Here's the complete quote from our interview: "Creation is the most difficult task to which humans aspire. And part of the beauty of being a Christian is coming to understand that God allows us in His grace to participate in a fundamentally divine act. And that’s the act of creation. That the part of God that he most associates with man, which is Christ, is also the part through Whom all things were made and apart from Whom was nothing made that was made. "And so the part of God that He associates with man the most closely is the part of himself that He associates with creation. And when He puts man in the garden, He gives him a command to have dominion over the Earth, to subdue the Earth, to name the animals in the garden, which is fundamentally an act of creation on a sort of quantum level. A thing without a thing without a name may not even exist. "And I think that in all sorts of ways, quantum and more practical, we are participating actively in creation." Hear the whole interview with The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin showrunner (and Daily Wire co-founder) in our @Lorehaven Fantastical Truth ep. 331.

🦁Narnia fans had a rough week. That includes @ztrussell and I. At first we tried optimism about Netflix's new "Narnia"-ish movie. Yes, even when that rumor first dropped in April 2025 that claimed Meryl Streep was “in talks” to voice Aslan. We quickly released a podcast episode reminding people that yes, it would be terrible if the movie did this, but this was just a rumor. Then last week brought us this grave news that Netflix and/or director Greta Gerwig did indeed cast Streep, a female actress, to voice the male King of Narnia, Aslan. They included high-res art of a glammed-up lion with obvious chimera creature textures and colors inspired by 1970s music celebrities. They boasted about the new movie’s “rock and roll” influence. They showed preview images featuring Jadis in a glittery short-skirt go-go outfit squalling into the streets of 1950s London. And now Narnia fans are all in uproar over these perversions. Which of course brings pushback. Plenty of scoffers arrive on the scene, scoffing at fans for getting all worked up about a movie about a talking lion, or else "starting" "culture wars" over a product that, after all, could be very cool/fun/hip. If we feel called to engage, how then can we join the fight like true Narnians? Join this special edition episode with an abridged version of our Sept. 21, 2026 audio-livestream here on X (find that link below). Just look for LOREHAVEN on any podcast player. Or visit @Lorehaven dot com for this new episode atop the front page.

Many people are saying ... Deathwork. And it's not just meaning being destroyed in the original story of The Magician's Nephew, but greater delight being stolen from new fans. Narnia readers don't want that! We want others to find the deep joys Lewis imbued in his creations.

'Twas a delight to record this podcast episode last week. But then this morning @ztrussell and Jeremy Boreing joined me yet again for a replay while I opened my van to replace a bad spark plug. And the conversation was so in-depth that I got the repair right the very first time.