Although the epic fantasies The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings cast a large shadow over the field, there are actually several fine authors writing fantasy fiction today with a Christian worldview. Here 10 notable examples:
Bryan Davis
Author of the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracles of Fire series, Bryan Davis won the 2010 Clive Staples Award for The Bones of Makaidos (AMG). His latest books are Masters & Slayers: Tales of Starlight (AMG) and Warrior: Dragons of Starlight (Zondervan).
Donita K. Paul
Donita K. Paul’s popular DragonKeeper Chronicles series includes the 2005 Christy Award-nominee DragonSpell, the 2007 ACFW winner DragonKnight, and the 2009 Clive Staples Award winner DragonLight. Her latest fantasy is Dragons of the Valley (WaterBrook).
Wayne Thomas Batson
A middle school reading teacher, Wayne Thomas Batson’s novels include Isle of Swords, Isle of Fire and The Door Within Trilogy. His latest book is Sword in the Stars (AMG), book one in The Dark Sea Annals series.
Christopher Hopper
A modern renaissance man, Christopher Hopper is an author, recording artist, youth pastor, discipleship school president and motivational speaker for schools across the United States and Europe. His latest fantasy, co-written with Wayne Thomas Batson, is Venom and Song (Thomas Nelson).
Jonathan Rogers
Author of the acclaimed The Charlatan’s Boy (WaterBrook), Jonathan Rogers grew up in Georgia, where he spent many happy hours in the swamps and riverbottoms on which the wild places of The Charlatan’s Boy are based. He holds a Ph.D. in 17th-century English literature from Vanderbilt University.
Jill Williamson
A prolific webmaster, Jill Williamson maintains a number of popular websites. Her fantasy By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord) won the 2010 Christy Award for Visionary fiction.
Jeffrey Overstreet
An award-winning film critic and columnist, Jeffrey Overstreet’s Auralia Thread series launched with Auralia’s Colors, a thrilling adventure twice-nominated for a Christy Award. His latest fantasy is Raven’s Ladder (WaterBrook).
Andrew Peterson
Critically acclaimed singer/songwriter/author Andrew Peterson was honored with a 2010 Christy Award for Young Adult Fiction for North! Or Be Eaten (WaterBrook), the second book in The Wingfeather Saga series.
Anne Elisabeth Stengl
An art teacher, Anne Elisabeth Stengl made her fiction debut novel with the acclaimed Heartless (Bethany House), the first volume in the Tales of Goldstone Wood. Its follow-up, Veiled Rose, will be available summer 2011.
C.S. Lakin
C.S. Lakin is a novelist and professional copyeditor. Her fantasy series The Gates of Heaven launched in August with The Wolf of Tebron (AMG). Soon to follow are The Map Across Time and The Land of Darkness, allegorical fairy tales drawing from classic tales we all read in our childhood.
Originally published in FamilyFiction Digital Magazine Nov/Dec 2010