"A Better Country" The Worlds of Religious Fantasy and Science Fiction

Subjects:

• Literature » Science Fiction & Fantasy

Reviews:

• Sammon's book is a study of the theory of the Christian fantasy novel, based primarily on criticism by C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and G.K. Chesterton, but with a number of current writers, including Madeleine L'Engle, also cited. Inside this framework, Sammons--the author of two books on Lewis--uses examples of modern writers, some from religious. Passing comments indicate the didactic heaviness and poor artistry of some of these writers, but Sammons is interested in the theory of the genre, not the achievement. Fantasy of the adventures-in-another-(symbolic)-world type gets four chapters (1-3,6); two chapters are mixed, with topics including fairy tales, science fiction, and animal fables. . . Recommended for religious colleges with writing programs and for public libraries. . .
  —Choice

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• "The Perilous Realm": Elements and Themes of Secondary World Fantasy
• The "Fairyland of the Soul": Heroes and Their Spiritual Journeys
• "Walking the Tightrope": Qualities of Good Fantasy
• "Past Watchful Dragons": Supposition and Re-mythologizing
• "The Tree of Tales": Other Forms of Fantasy
• "A Far-Off Gleam": The Effects of Fantasy
• Bibliography
• Index