DragonSpell Book

This is a-- pretty bad book, and not worth reading at all unless you're a Christian.

Basically, it's Dragonlance + Evangelical worldview - ANY in-group tension. (That would be, take away Raistlin Majere and make Tanis not a half-elf. Instead, give all the uber-nice NPCs in "Dragons of Autumn Twilight" their own book.) It's the Dragonlance that the Bible Belt can put its seal of approval on. (And they did, if you look at the awards this has won.)

I guess you could argue that there's some tension regarding Kale's "growth," (e.g. having her agree immediately and completely with whatever 'lesson' the various nicety nice perfect people come and tell her, and become even more two-dimensional and Mary Sueish than ever) but if you're not reading this with an eye toward applying the didactic life lessons... well...

I should note here that this is not the sort of book that I would choose to read these days. I read it at the recommend of a dear friend, a missionary, who (I am all but certain) wants to use it as a springboard to talk about Jesus.

Faith becomes such an awkward topic, when one leaves a religion. Talking to old friends becomes like talking to dearly-loved former in-laws after a divorce. There is this-- subject-- that neither quite knows how to broach or if one ought to.

So I've read this amateurish fantasy book for no other reason than to let a friend have a way to preach to me about something I know I don't believe. I deserve cookies.

Years ago, my sister read this book, and I remember she was really put off by the "God" character's name being "Wulder." I thought she might be being a tad finicky, but it actually is really distracting to me, too. Every time they say "In Wulder's Name, Amen." or "Let me do the Will of Wulder" (which is, like, every other paragraph) I think... "Wulder? Seriously?"


Not Elelyon or Petra or Aslan.

Wulder.


Wulder the Magnificent. Wulder the All-Powerful. Where's Wulder?
I keep thinking of Walder Frey from Game of Thrones. And I can't stop.

Also, I KNOW it's really hard to write a Jesus character. But this is one of the smuggest, most annoying Jesuses ever. He starts off with this really pat, smarmy summation of theodicy (the study of the problem of pain-- all religions have a 'problem' and Christianity's is that an omnipotent, omniscient God allows suffering). The answer, in case you were wondering, is that Wulder is only giving you these struggles so that you can better serve him as a new instrument that he is making you into. Awesome. As long as you live in the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies.

Toss in some painful fantasy anachronisms (where the writer seems to forget that this is supposed to be a fantasy world), an ad-libbed plot that runs out of steam halfway through and starts filling space with sermonizing, and a horrendously anti-climactic villain (who of course we don't kill to make room for sequels) and you have one ... pretty terrible book.

There are PLENTY of EXCELLENT Christian fantasy writers. Lewis and Tolkien are the most oft-cited, but see also Stephen R. Lawhead and Orson Scott Card (Mormon. Not sure if he counts.) Read them.