BooklistThose of us who love Christian speculative fiction are sometimes frustrated because we think nothing is being or has been published in the genres we like. A trip to our local Christian bookstore does not usually disabuse us of this notion. But the truth is there are hundreds of Christian novels in the genres we love. The current version of this list has over 400 titles. Some are old, some are new, and some are yet to be published. Many you will have heard of. Some may be new to you. One way to tell Christian publishers that we want more of this kind of fiction is to buy the Christian speculative novels they do publish. These genres are a risk to them, you see. They are way outside the box and, frankly, many speculative novels that have been published have not sold well at all. This tells publishers not to publish more in those genres. By purchasing what they do publish, we tell them there is a market out there for Christian speculative fiction. Let's send that message loud and clear. I have the pleasure of knowing many of these authors. Some of these novels I have had the great honor of editing. And some I even acquired, effectively "discovering" some fantastic new voices in the Christian speculative fiction community. This list begins with important figures in the modern era of Christian speculative fiction. Then it moves on to what you'll find in each of the major genres of Christian speculative fiction. It concludes with a sampling of classics in the genre and, finally, links to sites of our brothers and sisters exploring Christian speculative media in exciting new directions. I have made every effort to be accurate in this list but no doubt I have made mistakes or left off authors or novels that should be here. It is my desire to make this the finest list of its kind on the Web, so please don't hesitate to contact me with corrections and suggestions. Read on and enjoy. Frank PerettiLet's start with the man whose fiction gave birth to Christian fiction in the modern age, Frank Peretti. Before him, the shelves didn't have much more than Janette Oke, Catherine Marshall, and C.S. Lewis. Fine fiction, for sure, but not entirely broad. It is worth noting that the novel that ushered in the modern era of Christian fiction was clearly Christian speculative fiction.
Tim LaHaye and Jerry JenkinsAnother watershed event both for Christian fiction and for Christian speculative fiction was the release and subsequent popularity of the Left Behind novels. Christian novelists owe much to LaHaye and Jenkins (the latter especially, since he did most of the writing). As with Peretti, with the success of these books came a new openness from Christian publishers and, more importantly, Christian bookstores to Christian fiction. It's worth noting that once again the thing that advanced Christian fiction was a speculative tale. More than any other type of fiction, speculative fiction best belongs to Christian writers and readers. It's our native language.
Ted DekkerThe new kid on the block, relatively speaking, is Ted Dekker. Ted's creative speculative ideas, rock star persona, and aggressive marketing efforts have broadened the popularity of Christian speculative fiction even further.
Speculative GenresI've broken the rest of this list into the various genres of Christian speculative fiction. Christian FantasyKaren HancockEach of Karen's first four novels won the Christy Award in the visionary category. That's an impressive feat and tells you how good her fantasy is. Donita K. PaulDonita's cover for DragonSpell was the first cover I'd ever seen that told me someone in the publishing industry might actually get Christian fantasy. Donita's books are for a youth audience. Stephen LawheadIt would be easy to argue that Stephen Lawhead ought to be placed in the category of industry-shaping giants of Christian speculative fiction. His Pendragon series was among the first I discovered in Christian bookstores. Some of the images from Taliesin—the bull leaping, for instance—stick in my mind to this day. Stephen has moved on to mostly secular publishing now, as this is where he's found a larger audience. But his origins are with us and he has still provided some of the most wonderful Christian fantasy of the modern era. His novel Byzantium, though technically a historical and not speculative, is still the finest Christian novel I've ever read.
Bryan DavisBryan is a Christian fantasy novelist with a lot of marketing savvy and energy. His Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire novels have succeeded largely because of his extensive speaking schedule where he addresses home school groups and local libraries. He's also a skilled craftsman in the craft of fiction. His books are for a youth audience. Miles OwensIt was my great pleasure to bring Miles to the reading public. I "discovered" his fantasy fiction while I was at Realms. Daughter of Prophecy became one of the four novels (and the only fantasy) that we launched Realms with. It was also my pleasure to be his editor. I have, hanging on my wall in my home office, an oversize poster of the original Cliff Nielsen illustration we commissioned for Daughter of Prophecy. Miles remains one of my favorite Christian fantasy authors.
Sharon HinckSharon has published some fun (and even a little speculative) chick-lit fiction with Bethany House. But her first love is Christian fantasy. With no contracts and only the love of her stories burning in her, she wrote the entire manuscripts for her Restorer trilogy.
Watch for her fantasy trilogy coming from NavPress. G. P. TaylorGraham is a Brit dark Christian fantasy. His first two novels co-released in the U.K. first and then in the US through Penguin/Putnam for secular publishing and Realms for the Christian market. Michael D. WardenMichael has created a fascinating world in which words themselves contain devastating magical powers.
Jefferson ScottJefferson Scott is one of my best friends. In fact, I know him like a brother. More accurately, I know him as myself. Because he's me! Jefferson Scott is my pen name. Since this is my Web page I get to tout my own writing occasionally. You'll see the name listed again later in the list. But if I could be known as anything as a Christian novelist, my goal would be to be known as an author of Christian fantasy. My own epic fantasy trilogy—Fog, Fire, and Foe—is the book of my heart. You can read the prologue and first chapter here, though I'm rewriting and may throw some or all of that out. But it's a good taste of the world. Wayne Thomas BatsonWayne is one of a new generation of authors writing Christian fantasy for the youth/teen/young adult market. This is his The Door Within trilogy.
L. B. GrahamAnother novelist writing Christian fantasy for young people. This is his Binding of the Blade series. One striking feature of this series is that the cover illustrations are done by the legendary Larry Elmore, of D&D and TSR fame. Chuck BlackChuck is another author writing youth/young adult Christian fantasy. This is his Kingdom series. This series is essentially the entire Bible written as a fantasy. Cool, huh? Kingdom's Reign is the book of Revelation. Jonathan RogersJonathan is another author writing youth/young adult Christian fantasy. This is his Wilderking series. Linda Wichman
John WhiteJohn is the author of The Archives of Anthropos, which appear to be for a youth audience.
Robin HardyThe first three below constitute The Annals of Lystra, with the following three being The Latter Annals of Lystra.
Calvin MillerCalvin Miller is best known for his Singer trilogy of poetry, which every Christian should read. But he has also produced a fantasy trilogy called The Singreale Chronicles. Though mainly for a youth audience it is still an interesting read for adults. And he is coming out with a new series from B&H: The Kinta Chronicles.
R. K. MortensenThe Landon Snow novels are an exciting new series for young readers (ages 9–12). The awesome covers are done by none other than Kirk DouPonce of Dog-Eared Design, who designed the graphical look of WhereTheMapEnds.
Thomas WilliamsThe Seven Kingdoms Chronicles is a fantasy series for young readers. Note that The Bride of Stone is listed as being authored by T. M. Williams. That novel is actually a prequel to The Crown of Eden. George Bryan PolivkaThe Trophy Chase Trilogy is new fantasy with a seafaring theme, from Harvest House. L. A. KellyL. A. "Leisha" Kelly is the author of some Depression-era historical fiction, but this series is inspirational fantasy. Kathleen MorganKathleen is the author of the Guardians of Gadiel series, the second of which is currently in publishing limbo. Caprice HokstadCaprice's fantasy novel is one of the many fine POD (print-on-demand) titles I'm happy to promote. Joseph BentzJoseph's fantasy novel is now out of print, but you can find copies online. F. W. FallerFred's Portals of Tessalindria fantasies didn't get the exposure they deserved. Check them out. Randall ThornThis is a Christian fantasy set in the Dark Ages. Leathel GrodyWith a name like Leathel the guy's got to be someone to be reckoned with, wouldn't you think? And Leathel certainly is. He's an author, a Web design genius, and a computer game designer. His Web site dedicated to Christian science fiction and fantasy is easily the coolest-looking such site on the Web. And who's ever heard of a Christian MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game)? Well, he's designing one! Check it out. I'm very impressed with Mr. Grody. He's definitely a kindred spirit. Here are his novels, the Foundations of Hope trilogy. Books 1 and 2 are due out in paperback in May 2007. Book 3 is coming soon.
David MurrayDavid is a talented illustrator and author. Check out his Web page to see the awesome animated intro for the book. This novel is targeted to young readers. Gene CurtisGene's novel is one of the fine POD (print-on-demand) titles I'm proud to promote. In this fantasy, sword-wielding magi fight for Good. Carole McDonnellCarole's fantasy novel is one I looked at while acquisitions editor at Realms and NavPress. Excellent writing and bold vision, and by an African-American woman author, to boot! This novel is being published by a secular publisher but it's Christian through and through. Check it out. Christopher HopperChristopher was one of the Fantasy Four authors that made their book tour in summer 2007. These novels comprise his White Lion Chronicles. Gregory SpencerThese appear to be young adult fantasies. They are published by Howard Books, a Christian publisher. Russell KirkpatrickRussell is an an interesting guy. He's a professional mapmaker (which comes out in his world-building) and a New Zealander, to boot. This series, "The Fire of Heaven" trilogy, was originally released in Australia/NZ but has now come to the U.S. I've been told he's a Christian author and these are Christian novels. They look fun. Maureen Doyle McQuerryMaureen's YA fiction is fun because it takes its imagery and themes from fairy tales. Not the Disney kind, but the original Grimm's kind, or the kind from Celtic mythology, in which there really are monsters and in which singing princesses get quickly eaten. The title of the first novel, for instance, comes from the story of the three little pigs.
Ronald G. PattersonRon's Ballad of Penumbria series is a historically rooted fantasy retelling of the story of the church from Christ's first advent and on through to the Millennial Kingdom. Christian Science FictionKathy TyersBefore coming to Christian SF Kathy had written Star Wars and other secular SF novels for Random House. Her Firebird trilogy was the first that made me pay attention to Christian SF.
John B. Olson and Randall IngermansonJohn and Randy wrote Oxygen, perhaps one of the first Christian novels that used real science in its fiction. That novel won the Christy Award in the visionary category and launched John's individual writing career. Note that Randy Ingermanson had won a Christy on his own (for Transgression) before he won another for Oxygen. See his other books under the Time Travel category.
Jefferson ScottMe again. My first three novels were near-future technothrillers featuring virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and genetic engineering. The second trilogy is a Christian military thriller series, which has nothing to do with speculative fiction, but it's my site so I get to promote them anyway! Bwahahahaha! And did I mention I've co-written two nonfiction books, too? Check out my Web page here.
Stephen LawheadAs I mentioned above, Stephen Lawhead did some early Christian science fiction that bears mentioning.
Shane JohnsonMost of Shane's fiction better belongs in the "Chiller" category. But Ice is clearly SF. James BeauSeigneurThe lines can get a little blurry when talking about speculative fiction. James' Christ Clone trilogy could fit in a "pure speculative" category, but I've put them in SF for convenience. L. A. MarzulliLynn Marzulli (who is male) wrote the Nephilim series, which is great Christian science fiction. Also, if you're interested in UFOs from the worldview of Christianity, be sure to check out my white paper on the subject. Bill MyersBill has a great speculative mind. He's written Christian speculative fiction for the adult audience, but he's got much more for the young adult market. His Forbidden Doors series is groundbreaking (see listing for these under Christian Chills). R. E. BartlettRuth is a wonderful speculative author living in New Zealand. She has many novels in her—several of which are already written, but unpublished. The only one that has so far been published is another of the four we launched Realms with. I was thrilled with Ruth's vision of a futuristic world in which humans can prolong their lives indefinitely through the use of artificial bodies called personifids. Austin BoydAustin, a former NASA astronaut finalist, writes true science fiction, meaning fiction that is built directly atop actual science. His Mars Hill Classified series (released through NavPress) is about human spaceflight to Mars, the possibility of intelligent life on Mars, and all manner of deception, danger, and interpersonal struggle. Sigmund BrouwerLike Bill Myers, Sigmund has written both for adult and young adult audiences. His recent series with Hank Hanegraff is good end times fiction and his Mars Diaries series for young adults is great SF fun. Note that this is just a sampling of Sigmund's many speculative novels, primarily for the young adult market.
Jim KrausNot all of Jim's novels are SF, but this one is. Bit of trivia for you: the title "the silence" was typed on my own keyboard and photographed by Chris Gilbert, the designer who did this cover. Cool, huh? Chris WalleyChris is the author of the 4-book The Lamb Among Stars series for young readers. D. Shane BurtonShane's Orianus Creation trilogy is among the fine POD (print-on-demand) titles I'm proud to promote. Note that he and Josh Michael Burton are brothers. Chase DaltonAtlantyx is a technothriller with a cool cover and a fun premise. Josh Michael BurtonThis is Josh's first novel. It's another fine POD book. He and D. Shane Burton are brothers. Steve TrowerSteve's SF novel is not available through Amazon in the U.S. (but it is available through www.amazon.co.uk). You can also find it at his Web page: www.stevetrower.co.uk.
John RobinsonJohn has published the Joe Box trilogy, which is in the thriller genre. But he's got an unpublished speculative series that will hopefully be available soon.
James SomersJames's novel is part SF part fantasy. It takes place in a faraway sector of space, but it's a battle between good and evil, like those done so well in fantasy. Frank CreedFrank is a great encourager and leading proponent of Christian speculative fiction. His near-future novel takes place in an America ruled by a one-world government. Tom HornTom is one of the fine self-published authors I'm proud to feature on WhereTheMapEnds. His novels have UFO and government cover-up storylines. The first novel listed below is co-written with Nita Horn. On the second novel Tom lists his name as Thomas R. Horn. T. Russell BenedictTim published this spacefaring SF through PublishAmerica. He is one of the fine self-published Christian speculative novelists I am proud to promote. Julie RollinsJulie has written a SF series, The Vadelah Chronicles, in which spacefaring aliens worship the God of the Bible (or not). Also catch my white paper called UFOs and the Christian Worldview. Lelia Rose ForemanThis is juvenile SF from Eerdmans. Far-future novel about a Christian colony's attempts to survive on a planet a thousand light-years from earth. Grace BridgesGrace is a New Zealander with Irish roots. She's also an active member of The Lost Genre Guild and the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blogtour. This is a dark future SF in which the Awakened try to survive despite a brutal one-world government. Christian Time Travel and Alternate HistoryTime travel stories have thrilled us for over a century, at least since H. G. Wells' The Time Machine. Here are stories of time travelers and alternate histories by some of the most creative thinkers writing in Christian speculative fiction today. Douglas HirtDoug's Cradleland Chronicles is a great envisioning of life at the beginning of mankind's time on earth. RiverOak, who published this series, is trying some innovative things with podcasting for these books. Randall IngermansonI wrote about Randy in the Christian Science Fiction section, but since several of his novels are more accurately time travel, I've put them here. Transgression won a Christy award for excellence in Christian fiction. T. L. HigleyTracy (who is female) has written some excellent novels in the speculative category. She's great in all aspects of writing, but I think she really shines when she has stories that take place in historical eras. Tracy's Fallen from Babel was a time travel novel that constituted one of the four books we launched Realms with. Watch for a new series from Tracy releasing through B&H. Nancy MoserNancy is best known for her women's fiction and thrillers, but two of her novels are clearly speculative. Time Lottery won the Christy Award for the visionary category. I was honored to be her editor.
Brian ReavesBrian is a young writer with a bright future in Christian speculative fiction. His Portal is a self-published novel about friends who invent a time machine and try to repair their past mistakes. I think Brian's real forte is in supernatural thrillers but so far none of those novels of his has been published. Gilbert MorrisGilbert Morris is a well-known author of Christian historical novels, but he has also written speculative fiction. Though there are several genres represented here I've put them all under this one category. The Omega Trilogy is technothriller fiction that he co-wrote with Lynn and Alan Morris. The Far Fields is a fantasy series co-written with Robert Funderburk, now out of print. The other series are all for young adults. (Complete series not shown)
Jeremy RobinsonJeremy Robinson writes time travel novels with a great premise. His first novel, at least, is one of the fine POD (print-on-demand) titles I'm proud to promote. Note, though, that he tends to use profanity in his fiction.
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