Monthly Archives: April 2017

Ragnarök’n’roll! The Poetic Edda and Tolkien’s Sigurd and Gudrún

My son and I have been talking about Ragnarök. Besides the super cool sound of this Norse word and the deep world behind it, we are being fueled by Neil Gaiman’s new book, Norse Mythology. I listened to the author read it … Continue reading

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Sad Peninsula by Mark Sampson

My mother was a voracious reader. I remember watching her as she read on the couch or a deck chair, slowly turning the leaves as if she was counting the pages rather than gobbling up hundreds of words at a … Continue reading

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“Between the Altar and the Stars: Science Fiction and Catholic Storytelling” by Stephen Kotowych

One of my favourite events to attend–and the talk I have perhaps most enjoyed giving–is our local Theology on Tap. Hosted in the taproom above an Irish pub in Charlottetown, we get a diverse perspective of Christian theology, sponsored by … Continue reading

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Stephen King on the Supernatural

On Tuesday I spent time thinking about my Stickin’ Huge Awesome Novel Winter Awesome Read (SHANWAR) read for 2017, Stephen King’s The Stand. As the snows of winter pen me in, I want a big, long, great book that I … Continue reading

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Stephen King and the Genre of Genius

This year for my Stickin’ Huge Awesome Novel Winter Awesome Read (SHANWAR), I chose Stephen King’s The Stand (1978) I have never read it before and I don’t think I have ever had a conversation with someone about it. Still, … Continue reading

Posted in On Writing, Reflections, Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Introducing Why Read Lewis with William O’Flaherty (Friday Feature)

William O’Flaherty is introducing a new occasional podcast series designed to encourage you to read books that C.S. Lewis wrote (or edited). Even those who have read a variety of works by him are surprised to learn he wrote more … Continue reading

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Approaching “The Silmarillion” for the First Time

As brilliant as lovers of Middle Earth recognize that it is, there are few books as daunting as The Silmarillion. It is a dense and complex text of genealogies, places, and characters, each woven together with multiple names in multiple languages … Continue reading

Posted in Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

A Call for a Silmarillion Talmud

Though we live in a digital age, we are sometimes artificially constrained by older technologies. Like modern cars and trains that are largely designed according to the size of Roman cart paths, our reading is still shaped by a time … Continue reading

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When Tolkien reinvented Atlantis and Lewis went to Mars

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Originally posted on John Garth:
Discovering the dates of The Fall of Númenor and Out of the Silent Planet A few months ago I revealed what I think is an exciting new find about the origins of J R R Tolkien’s Atlantis story,…

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From the Mouths of Atheists: Faith Lessons from Terry Pratchett

In creating the Discworld, Terry Pratchett set for himself an interesting problem for an atheist of his era: he created a world where gods are a reality. From an artist’s perspective, this is no particular problem at all. Pratchett made what … Continue reading

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