Christian Speculative Fictions?

[chongjasmine]

Do you know of any publishers of christian speculative fictions, especially short ones?
I am interested in reading christian speculative fictions.

 

[Extollager]

This source might be of interest -- I know little but the name.

Mysterion

www.mysteriononline.com

I liked Voyage to Alpha Centauri, but it wasn't short. Ignatius publishes other fiction -- just novels, perhaps.

Voyage to Alpha Centauri Archives - Ignatius Press Novels

ignatiusnovels.com

 

[Astro Pen]

I would imagine you have already come across the "Left Behind" novels. But if not they may well be of interest.

Left Behind - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

As it happens that is also the theme of my current WIP novel. Though I stopped work on it a couple of weeks back since what I thought was the ragged edge of my imagination is being overtaken by reality.

 

[Danny McG]

Not short stories, but Lamb among the stars is quite a good Christian SF series

Chris Walley's Lamb Among the Stars books in order

Chris Walley's Lamb Among the Stars book series in order, with the latest releases, covers, descriptions and availability.

www.fantasticfiction.com

 

[Margaret Note Spelling]

N.D. Wilson writes Christian fantasy, and I highly recommend his Ashtown Burials series. It's not overtly Christian until the third book, but the themes and worldview are there. What rough level of saturation are you looking for?

There's also Lee Duigon's Bell Mountain series, going on its tenth book now I think--getting a bit unfocused now to my taste, but the first four were pretty good and almost like a quartet in themselves. They seem to take place in another world, but with analogues to God and the Bible and events all over the place. Interesting worldbuilding, if the author could have kept his plotting consistent. Still, pretty fun.

Then there's Michael Bunker's Last Pilgrims, which is a single, post-apocalyptic book with a cliffhanger that has yet to be resolved in a sequel--but it's definitely Christian, and while there are some amateurish mistakes in it, it's an okay book. Just mentioning it, not necessarily recommending it.

I realize most of this is fantasy-oriented. I can't think of many scifi books that qualify, which is sad. The only one I can think of right now is C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet trilogy.

 

[Boaz]

By speculative, you mean sci-fi, right? I don't know any.

Expressly Christian fiction is not really my cup of tea, but Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness (1986) and it's sequel are page turners... though I am not going back for more. The novelty of the presentation of the supernatural made TPD a fun read.

Did you ever read In His Steps by Charles Sheldon? That's the book that ushered in the phrase What would Jesus do?

For me, JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth and CS Lewis' Narnia, although fantasy, offer up rich and full bodied themes and principles of Christianity. You can find discussions in the Tolkien forum: Tolkien's good and evil races reflect Christian eschatology and Redemptive Themes: Religious Imagery in Tolkien... and for Lewis in the general Book forum: Christian Fantasy: Lewis, Williams, and ???

 

[tobl]

you might like The Sparrow (1996), is the first novel by author Mary Doria Russell

 

[ginny]

Anything by CS Lewis

 

[tobl]

Anything by CS Lewis

is c s really christian fiction? i read it a long time ago and... not so sure. really, except from the one i said and left behind series i don't know any

 

[Guttersnipe]

is c s really christian fiction? i read it a long time ago and... not so sure. really, except from the one i said and left behind series i don't know any

Both the Narnia series and The Space Trilogy are steeped in Christian allegory. Aslan is a Christ-like character and there are angellic beings that watch over more physical creatures and even extraterrestrials are said to have souls in the Space Trilogy.
Check out:
The Road to Revelation series by Clifford T. Wellman, Jr.
The Dry Bones Society by Dan Sofer
The God Portal by Tim Ferguson
Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

 

[Boaz]

I like the comment by @tobl

In my opinion, CS Lewis' works are undoubtedly Christian... but I think the Chronicles of Narnia are fiction written by a Christian as much as Christian fiction. In the Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis displays real foresight, skill, and respect for his readers by telling stories about friendship, loyalty, redemption, death, betrayal, divine intervention, endurance, evil in the world, fighting the good fight, and more. These themes, in his method of telling a children's tale, can be taken at face value. The children and their interaction with Narnia can be taken at face value. Narnia can just be a fantastic world. And yet the direct parallels to Christianity are right there to be seen.

I loved the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and I accepted them at face value. I did not know they could be interpreted in view of Christian theology until I was about twenty-six.

On the other hand, the Frank Peretti Darkness books cannot stand as just fiction. They are Christian fiction.

Like Lewis, I think Dickens and Tolkien were also authors of fiction who happened to be Christian. Their stories feature strong themes of good v. evil, selfishness v. love, revenge v. forgiveness, and more, that stem from their beliefs.

 

[Danny McG]

 

[Don]

The Great Divorce is my favorite Lewis. At 146 pages in double spaced, large font (ISBN 0060652950), it's a breeze to read; as easy as a book half its size.

The Great Divorce - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ambrose]

Try Charles Williams. Lots of parallelism with Christian concepts, though he takes some getting used to. He was a member of The Inklings, that included Lewis, Tolkien, and worked as an editor with Oxford UP. Lewis liked his writing.

 

[AlexH]

Sci Phi Journal ~ A Universe of Wonder publish some.

 

[AlexH]

You could also check out "A Word That Means Everything" by Andy Dibble (in Writers of the Future Volume 36). I didn't think of it as overtly Christian, but it is about someone attempting to translate the Bible to aliens!

 

[Brian G Turner]

Do you know of any publishers of christian speculative fictions, especially short ones?
I am interested in reading christian speculative fictions.

I'm not sure whether it's what you're looking for, but one of my favourite novels is Byzantium by Stephen Lawhead, about an Irish monk who goes on a journey through Europe to present an illustrated book of the Gospels to the Byzantine Emperor. Although it's written as historical fiction, it has an epic fantasy feel about it, even though it's only one book. Issues of faith are a core part of the book.

 

[biodroid]

Doesn't Frank Peretti write Christian type fantasy novels?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I would recommend anything by Charles Williams. Also Lewis's space trilogy.

And though I haven't read it myself, I know that Russell's The Sparrow is highly regarded.

 

[Parson]

Doesn't Frank Peretti write Christian type fantasy novels?

This Present Darkness, and it's sequels were HUGELY POPULAR and were Christian to their core. Now if they were Biblical or not is a more open question.