A biographer of C.S. Lewis once called a collection of preparatory schools a testimony to the fact that English parents do not enjoy the company of their children. However that is, the old system did separate parents from children; such separation is generally, in children’s fantasy books, a precursor to magic. In The Enchanted Castle,…
Month: February 2013
CSFF Blog Tour: Other Mills
Yesterday I mentioned G. K. Chesterton’s opinion that pagans practiced demonic rites because they knew they were terrible. Today I will provide excerpts from The Everlasting Man where he wrote this. This passage also touches on the issue of magic in Christian fiction, which Becky Miller raised in her post. I believe that Christians who…
CSFF Blog Tour: Fortress of Mist
Thomas has the city of Magnus, and other things his enemies want even more. He is not entirely sure who his enemies are, much less where they are, but they keep leaving him signs. The slaughtered bulls were a pretty clear hint. He has other hints – hints of help from the people who would…
CSFF Blog Tour: The Orphan King
We have all heard that knowledge is power. But few have ever known it, or demonstrated it, as well as Thomas. An orphan, and in effect little better than a slave, yet he has power. He has a rare ability, the ability to read. Rarer yet, he has books to read. Rarest of all is…
Doings
As I begin this blog post, I frankly hope that it won’t take me long.I have other things I need to get to, such as working through the edits for The Valley of Decision. I am reading the manuscript behind my editor, making my own changes and incorporating her suggestions. Nearly all of them, anyway….
Character Profiles: The Too-Powerful Sidekick
She wanted to scream. There were so many blasted ships and no way to stop one little boat from escaping. Though she was terrified of the sea dragons, she prayed that they would rise from the water. She prayed for another of Artham’s sudden, dashing arrivals, but she knew he was on the other side…
Review: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Stooges come in all shapes and sizes. Some are culpably stupid, some are innocently stupid, some are actively corrupt. Some stooges know that they’re stooges, and some don’t know even that. Many are bought men, and a few are only duped. Jefferson Smith was another type of stooge – a tall, thin, Lincoln-quoting patriot, a…