E. Stephen Burnett creates sci-fi novels as well as nonfiction, exploring fantastical stories for God’s glory as publisher of Lorehaven.com and its weekly Fantastical Truth podcast. He is coauthor of The Pop Culture Parent and other resources for fans and families. Stephen and his wife, Lacy, live in the Austin area and serve in their local church.
In this interview, Stephen discusses his new futuristic SciFi novel, Above the Circle of Earth.
FF: What inspired the story in your book?
Once upon a time, a tall and very homeschooled teenage lad witnessed a certain 1999 space franchise prequel hero printed on a pizza box. That’s when this teenage homeschooled student came up with a brilliantly original thought:
Say, what if there was an adventure story set in space—but, you know, about Christians?
Plot twist: That teen lad was me all along. And some decades later, I revisited this old idea with a lot more life experience and studies of biblical cultural engagement. This story wasn’t just about “Christians v. atheists, in space”! Above the Circle of Earth (ACE) orbits one heroic family. They are exiled to a frontier planet, then summoned to their homeworld to start a Space Mission in a future that’s hostile to their faith.
FF: What can you tell us about the main characters in your book?
Brock and Alicia Rivers grew up in a Christian “preserve” on Earth. But they longed for a greater purpose to act as missionaries in all the Earth. After one foolish “missionary journey,” they nearly lost their son to the secular world. Seven years later, they and their children may be the only Christian homeschool family on Mars.
Brock’s a bookish sort (like me) and an engineer (definitely not like me). His zeal has been refined by seven years of menial labor as a Martian repairman while yearning for a return to Earth. Alicia is a musician and educator who fights to hold together their family in a cold desert while longing for the security of home. Now they’ll get another chance to fulfill their dream, this time aboard the first missionary ship, flying this home into new worlds. That is, if their enemies don’t defeat them first.
Then there’s former Earth defense soldier Jason Cruz. And a quiet com tech who loves old cartoons. Plus an astrophysics genius and wannabe “youth pastor.” And many other crew members who represent the best and strangest of Christ’s people!
FF: Which character surprised you the most?
During one revision, I thought, “We need someone new in the crew.” And in walked Tameria Lightheart. I hope that every church has a single lady like Tameria, even if she often feels lost among Professional Christians or “useless” to the mission. Like any crew of saints—or any spaceship!—the Body needs every part to succeed.
FF: Why do you think storytelling is such a powerful way to share truth?
Ever since I was a child listening to the audio drama Adventures in Odyssey, I heard that God has given us His wonderful gift of imagination. This creativity is not just the “sweet stuff” we mix with truth so that people can consume the really nutritious stuff like a moral lesson or allegory. Instead, healthy imagination is a main course!
To be sure, obedient Christians must “take every thought captive” (2 Cor. 2:5), including our imaginations, so we can be faithful to Jesus. That takes spiritual discipline. Paul tells us, “Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4–5). Yet we know that our sovereign Author believes His true Story is the most powerful way to share truth with us. That’s worthy of imitation.
FF: W hat can you tell us about your next book?
Lord willing, ACE would lead to more Space Mission episodes for Brock, Alicia, and their crew versus the secular CAUSE. For now, let’s see how this story flies solo.
FF: What kind of research did you do for this book?
Some readers expect “hard sci-fi” to show most of their homework, sometimes at the expense of likeable heroes or even rational human motivations to settle other planets. I prefer to keep this “machinery” running quietly below deck. That way you can better enjoy the exciting journey aboard ship with adventures on the way.
Still, if you love science-y worldbuilding details, you’ll find those aplenty in ACE. If I did my job well, you will feel like you’re really visiting the deserts of Mars, amidst precious little oxygen, temperatures far below freezing, and gravity that’s barely half the gravity of Earth. Nerds can debate how the spaceships are powered, or whether we could develop quantum vaulting and communication. Plus, you’ll get not one but two Martian calendars, carefully synchronized with real Earth dates.
I have come to love Martian calendars. I want a T-shirt that says, “Ask me about my Martian calendars.” So far, I have a real and better T-shirt saying, “Evangelize Mars”!
FF: What do you want readers to take away after reading your book?
I’ll list a few ideas under the story’s big ideas, which you’ll want to explore yourself.
First—that God has created an amazing universe to help us worship Him. And yet before He does return, there’s only so much we can do out there before our own sins poison our souls, or that amazing universe kills us with radiation or vacuum.
Second—faithful missionaries are basically amazing. And so is the Church, despite all the challenges and conflicts we find among Jesus’s future-perfect bride.
Third—spaceships are epic. And the best ships would win in battles with dragons.
FF: What are the biggest challenges for you as an author writing in your specific genre?
Some readers haven’t been sure what to make of Christian-made scifi. We often liken the genre to classic books like C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy, or space-opera titles, or modern end-times thrillers. But if we know Jesus might not yet return in the next few centuries, and that people could really fashion amazing technologies to settle Mars and other planets, we can enjoy imagining what could happen.
Great sci-fi helps us anticipate more than one kind of future. And for Christians, great sci-fi also helps us imagine how we can survive and thrive in today’s world.
FF: What authors or books have inspired you as an author?
I mentioned Adventures in Odyssey, the audio drama that since 1987 has delved into all fiction genres: contemporary, mystery, historical, biblical, romantic, fantasy, just a touch of spooky, and scifi! Really, I think Christians should appreciate all kinds of genres because our divine Author has already “written” in all of them, in the Bible.
Along with Odyssey, I’ve grown up with Frank Peretti novels, the Left Behind Series, and of course all the required C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien titles. (Christians who create fantastical fiction must read Lewis and Tolkien; it’s in the contract.) I’ve also enjoyed a smattering of superhero stories, plus a host of Christian-made fantasy novels that have been slowly growing in popularity over the last twenty years.
In fact, I love these stories so much that I recruited a team of creatives to explore the best Christian-made fantastical novels we can find, at Lorehaven.com. My friend Zack Russell and I also do this each week on Lorehaven’s podcast, Fantastical Truth.
FF: How has your faith or world view impacted the way you tell stories?
As a child, I used to think the “best” Christian-made stories would be allegorical or have easy lessons spelled out by the pastor at the end. Then as a teenager, I thought stories ought not have specific Christian ideas—that is, that readers should not want “Christian stories,” only “stories that happen to be made by Christians.”
Now I love stories that feature thoughtful Christian heroes or else Christian-like heroes, meaning people who love, work, suffer, and grow to be like Jesus in their fantastical worlds. Sure, we do evangelism (or we should!), but that’s not all we do. Worship of Jesus takes many forms, and authentic Christian-made stories ought to explore them all. These stories encourage faithful Christian readers, because we can see heroes that closely resemble us. But these stories also share Jesus with any stray non-Christian readers, not by preaching sermons (our great preachers can do that!), but by showing readers a story of what the Christian life could really be like.
Above the Circle of Earth
E. Stephen Burnett
Enclave Publishing
Genres: SciFi,
Release Date: March 4, 2025
ASIN: B0DD6YMMRK
ISBN-13: 979-8886051827
Book Summary:
Brock Rivers never wanted to be a repairman on Mars. Years ago, he failed to protect his family, and now he labors across a frontier planet to keep his children alive and escape CAUSE. But the spacefaring humanist regime is taking over Martian colonies, forcing all to join the secular state.
Back in Brock’s homeworld, his people summon him to fulfill old hopes with a new dream. After decades of cultural isolation, they plan to restore missions for the 22nd century, voyaging beyond Earth to share the gospel in space. Brock must find a ship and recruit a team of misfit believers. They expect opposition from the formidable CAUSE, but not from a more deceptive enemy.
One adversary attacks from the shadows to destroy the faithful. Others unify to oppose the project. Brock and his family must fight to resist these enemies of the space mission or else return to exile forever.
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