Tag Archives: Fictional Universes

Is Narnia an Allegory?

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

No. It’s not. While tempted to leave it at that and produce the shortest blog of history, I think it is important to let the Narnian himself address the question. C.S. Lewis was, after all, a literary scholar who had … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, On Writing | Tagged allegory, books, C.S. Lewis, children's literature, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, fantasy, Fictional Universes, J.R.R. Tolkien, Narnia, Ransom Trilogy, Reading, Science Fiction, The Fellowship of the Ring, writing | 68 Comments

Faërie Stories in The Labyrinth: A David Bowie Tribute Post

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

David Bowie is dead. We woke up to the news as weather giants threw the sky against our windows and rocked the house in their rollicking. I had just been thinking about Bowie yesterday, but I suppose everyone has. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds | Tagged David Bowie, Escher, faerie, fairytales, fantasy, Fictional Universes, film, intertextuality, jennifer connelly, Jim Henson, Labyrinth, muppets, music, Ziggy Stardust | 19 Comments

2015: A Year in Books

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

Last year I posted a bright year-end reading blog, talking about how I fail at all New Year’s resolutions, except for reading. “It was a cool year,” I wrote, “with rich reading from beginning to end.” I had set a 2014 … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged academic, blog, books, C.S. Lewis, fantasy, Fictional Universes, literature, PhD, Ransom Trilogy, Reading, Science Fiction, theology, writing | 24 Comments

George Orwell’s Review of C.S. Lewis’ “That Hideous Strength”

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

This week we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the publication of That Hideous Strength (THS). While George Orwell’s 1984 is considered among the great 20th c. dystopian novels and C.S. Lewis’ THS is read mostly by fans of dystopia or of Lewis’ work, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged 1984, Animal Farm, books, C.S. Lewis, dystopia, fantasy, Fictional Universes, g k chesterton, George Orwell, Nazism, Newspeak, Ransom Trilogy, technocracy, technology, That Hideous Strength, totalitarianism, WWII | 55 Comments

On Pretending to be in a PhD (pt. 2)

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

In my 400th blog post I noted that in 2011 I began pretending I was in a PhD. It is doubtless an odd thing to say, though it has been normal for me for so long I didn’t even think … Continue reading →