Karlissa has recently read Watership Down (Richard Adams), so we’re going to talk about novels with animal protagonists, with a focus on the rabbit tale – including thoughts about the movie!

New vocabulary: Animal Xenofiction (stories told from the perspective of an animal).

Books Mentioned: Warriors (Erin Hunter), Redwall (Brian Jacques), Guardians of Ga’Hoole (Katherine Lasky), Silverwing (Kenneth Oppel), The Incredible Journey (Sheila Burnfield), Jim Kjelgaard books, Walt Morey books, Sonic the Hedgehog stories, The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud (Jenny L. Cote), Runt the Brave (Daniel Schwabauer), The Green Ember (S.D. Smith).

Join the conversation! What is your favourite animal-led novel?

Are the characters in Redwall Abbey religious? Karlissa explores spiritual themes in Brian Jacques’ Redwall series, and Jason brings his love of and familiarity with Jacques’ books to the conversation!

Why is it so rare that we see stand-alone fantasy books? Is it a marketing scheme? Is this what readers really want?? Jason cracked some numbers, and he has some questions!

Time for more sci-fi! Jason contemplates themes in the Star Wars animated shows. Then, Jason and Karlissa discuss their favourite scenes from The Bad Batch.

Books Mentioned: George MacDonald, “Lilith”; H.M. Richardson, “The Prisoner and the Traitor” and “The Winged Warrior”

Time to talk about George MacDonald, and his final novel, "Lilith"! Karlissa gives six reading tips for understanding what's going on under-the-surface in this philosophical, magical story.

Fernando Soto’s article “The Worm as Metaphor in Lilith” was published in 2006 in North Wind: A Journal of George MacDonald Studies, and can be found on the George MacDonald society website, at https://digitalcommons.snc.edu/northwind/

What does CS Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce have in common with Dante’s Divine Comedy? Is The Great Divorce a fantasy book, or not quite? Jason and Karlissa have finished reading The Great Divorce, and discuss its themes, before Karlissa tells Jason about her experience reading The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso).

Much of Karlissa’s understanding of The Divine Comedy comes from Jason M. Baxter’s guide, A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Jason finished reading CS Lewis’ Perelandra! What did he think? Karlissa and Jason use this as a launch point for talking about hard and soft sci-fi, Star Wars, CS Lewis’ novels, and more!

Spoiler warning for Perelandra! This is the second book in CS Lewis’ Space Trilogy, between Out of the Silent Planet (book one) and That Hideous Strength (book three).

Books Referenced:

Perelandra (CS Lewis); Sonic the Hedgehog, Volume 10: Test Run! (IDW Comics); Paradise Lost (Milton); Shivering World (Kathy Tyers); Out of the Silent Planet (CS Lewis); That Hideous Strength (CS Lewis); The Divine Comedy (Dante); The Great Divorce (CS Lewis); Till We Have Faces (CS Lewis);

Notes:

Milton’s (Paradise Lost) first name is John. John Milton.

Perelandra was referenced in the Language of God podcast, “166. Molly Worthing – Science and the Journey to Faith.” Molly Worthing states, “For the most part, I don’t find Mere Christianity to be this very powerful apologetic intervention that I think many people think it is, and for me, The Space Trilogy is most absolutely his most powerful apologetic work.”

Alister McGrath has talked about the racism concerns in Lewis’ books on the CS Lewis Podcast.

Davy Jones’ Aquarium is now available through Kobo ebooks! Karlissa and Jason talk about some changes to the podcast, what Karlissa has been up to in getting her latest book published, and where physical copies of the book will be available!

Did you know that Karlissa’s latest book, “Davy Jones’ Aquarium,” is coming out soon?? After Jason’s impromptu ad, he and Karlissa discuss the things that make them love the fantasy genre!

What are the pros and cons of the recent state of Christian Fantasy? Jason and Karlissa consider the value of Christian-written fantasy, and areas where the ‘genre’ could grow by moving away from market trends.

Currently Reading: “Silverwing” graphic novel (Kenneth Oppel), “Sonic Volume 16: Misadventures” (Ian Flynn, Evan Stanley), “The Divine Comedy” (Dante, English translations), “A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy” (Jason M Baxter), “Perelandra” (CS Lewis).

Correction: “The Divine Comedy” was written about 700 years ago (not 600)!