Fantasy Literature and Christianity

Weronika Łaszkiewicz, Ph.D., works at the Institute of Modern Languages at the University of Białystok (Poland). She has written a number of articles on fantasy fiction and American literature.

“A definite boon to scholars of the fantastic”—Fafnir-Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction1 Religion in Modern Fantasy Literature—A ­Cross-Disciplinary ApproachDefinitions and Classifications of Modern Fantasy LiteratureThe Influence of Myths on the Religious Aspects of Modern FantasyPhenomenology of Religion and the Study of Fantasy LiteratureChristianity in Fantasy Literature—Recent Studies2 The Christian Foundation of Stephen R. Donaldson’s The Chronicles of Thomas CovenantIntroduction to The ChroniclesImages of the NuminousThe Numinous and Institutionalized ReligionOther Faces of the NuminousSecondary Mythology, Instruments of Power, Sacred Places and EventsBiblical References in the Figure of Thomas Covenant, the UnbelieverChristianity and Donaldson’s Fictional GodsChristian Undertones in the Selected Themes of The ChroniclesChristian Symbols and Language in The ChroniclesThe Chronicles and Christian EthicsCriticism of Institutional ReligionStephen Donaldson and the Religious Dimensions of The Chronicles3 Christianity as a Constituent of Religious Pluralism in Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar TapestryIntroduction to The Fionavar TapestryImages of the NuminousOther Faces of the NuminousReligious Practices and Institutions in the World of FionavarThe Protagonists’ Experiences of the NuminousDiversity in the Structures of Fionavar’s Secondary ReligionsChristianity and the Fionavarian NuminousBiblical Motifs and Christian Ethics in The Fionavar TapestryGuy Gavriel Kay and the Religious Dimensions of The Fionavar Tapestry4 The Fantastic (De-)Evolution of Christianity in Celia S. Friedman’s The Coldfire TrilogyIntroduction to The Coldfire TrilogyImages of the NuminousThe Church on Erna and other Religious InstitutionsThe Church on Erna and ChristianityBiblical References and Christian Morality in the Portrayal of the ProtagonistsColdfire and the Motif of (Self-)SacrificeDivine Grace and Salvation Through FaithCelia S. Friedman and the Religious Dimensions of The Coldfire Trilogy5 The Alternative Vision of Salvation Through Christ in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn SeriesIntroduction to the Mistborn SeriesImages of the NuminousReligious Institutions and the Process of Religious ReformationDeificationReligious Pluralism in the Wax and Wayne SeriesChristian Elements in the Portrayal of the Fictional NuminousThe Christ Figure and the Fictional ChurchChristianity and Ascension to GodhoodBrandon Sanderson and the Religious Dimensions of the Mistborn SeriesConclusionChapter NotesWorks CitedIndex