Speculative Series

The Knights of Arrethtrae: In my opinion, this series is the best Christian speculative fiction out there. These are stories written for and enjoyable by all ages. They are allegorical fantasy without any magic or other objectionable features. Knights of the Prince fight against the warriors of evil to protect the innocent and serve their true King. While these books are never preachy, each story carries a powerful message. I have read most of the books several times and always put them down with a strengthened desire to serve God. I highly recommend this series. (Read my reviews of Sir Kendrick and Sir Dalton.) Amazon recommends these books for readers age 12 and up, but, as I mentioned, they are good for all ages. There are 6 books in this series.

The Kingdom Series: This allegorical series comes before the Knights of Arrethtrae series. The first book begins with the story of the fall and the series carries its allegorical tale all the way through to the Prince taking His followers to his home across the sea. Again, solid story telling with no objectionable content and a great message. If you’re looking for good fantasy, look no further. Amazon suggests these books for readers age 14 and up, but they are definitely well suited for younger readers as well. There are 6 books in this series.

The Chronicles of Narnia: No list of Christian fantasy would be complete without these timeless classics. Join Digory and Polly as they witness the creation story of Narnia. Explore with the Pevensys as they step through the wardrobe into a land of talking animals, a wicked witch, and a wonderful lion. Travel with Shasta and the talking horse Bree as they escape captivity. Set out to find a missing prince with Eustace and Jill. And return for a final time to meet new friends and renew old acquaintances as Narnia comes to an end and all the faithful humans and soulish beasts enter Aslan’s country. This series begs to be enjoyed over and over again. Amazon recommends these books for readers age 8 and up. There are 7 books in the series.

The Door Within Trilogy: In world that parallels our own, a battle is raging. When Aiden, a teenager from earth (known as the Mirror Realm), enters Alleble, he is pulled into an adventure that surpass his wildest dreams. These books get off to a slightly slower start than the ones listed above, but they are well worth reading. I read the entire trilogy in less than a week. Great values and a Biblical worldview tucked into the pages of fantasy. (Read my review of the first book.) Amazon recommends these books for readers age 10 and up.

The Cooper Kids Adventures: I’m not quite sure what these books genre classification is. They’re not quite fantasy, sci-fi or spiritual warfare. I call them Adventure Novels, which covers all of the above. Jay and Lila are the children of an archaeologist. Their father’s work carries them to adventures across the world. They work together to figure out all kinds of bizarre happenings. The final two books in the series (The Legend of Annie Murphy and Mayday at Two Thousand Five Hundred [also titled Flying Blind]) are my favorites. There is a lot of intense action in these books, so I’d advise parents of young readers to use discernment. Amazon recommend these books for readers age 8 and up. There are 8 books in the series.

Supervillain of the Day: I think this series is officially classified as science fiction. The earth is experiencing an outbreak of supervillains, but no superheroes exist to fight them. The main character? A lovable (if geeky) reporter named Floyd. Despite his staunch disbelief in the existence of superheros, Floyd may be the world’s only chance of defeating the supervillains. To be frank, I wasn’t really expecting to like this series when I downloaded the first book onto my kindle. However, as the author is a homeschool graduate, I was willing to give it a try. The lovable, quirky characters ended up being more than enough to make me buy the second book. There are six books planned for this series. Book three is scheduled for release in May 2013. I recommend these books for readers age 10 and up.

The Seventh World Trilogy: A mysterious scroll, a growing evil, unlikely heroes and new friendships. The Seventh World is getting closer and closer to a terrible fate. Molly, Nicolas, Virginia and others band together to protect the people they love and prepare the way for the true King. Will he come in time? These books, written by a homeschool graduate, are faintly allegorical and extremely well written. (Read my review of the first book.) Because the evil portrayed in this book tends to be rather dark, I recommend this trilogy for readers age 14 and up.

Dragons in Our Midst: This series is built around an innovative blend of Arthurian legend, allegory and modern fantasy. The story follows the adventures of Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver, two teenagers who discover they are half dragon. They must learn to trust and serve God as they struggle to stay a step ahead of a malicious dragon slayer. I put this series in orange because dragons are portrayed as being able to turn into human beings complete with the ability to receive salvation. There are also some slightly magical happenings. As this is fantasy, such things are to be expected, but I feel it appropriate to forewarn you. If you enjoy Lord of the Rings, you should find nothing objectionable about this series. One tip. The sword Excalibur is an allegorical symbol of the Bible. I missed this the first time I read these books and it gives the story a whole new dimension. Amazon recommends these books for readers age 13 and up. There are 4 books in this series.

Ranger’s Apprentice: When Will, an orphan at Redmont castle, is passed over on Choosing Day, he is devastated. When a legendary ranger, Halt, selects Will as his new apprentice, Will isn’t sure if he is being rewarded or punished. Halt is an intimidating person. He and the grim-faced ranger soon develop a close bond, and Will shows signs of becoming one of the best rangers Araluen has ever known. This series has provided many hours of entertainment in our family. While the first two books contain fantasy creatures, none of the books have any magic. The first four books are perfectly clean. Later books contain some light romantic material and occasional jibes that may or may not be intended to be anti-religious. Author John Flanagan writes with trademark humor and creates likeable heroes. Amazon recommends these books for readers age 10 and up. There are 11 books in the series.

The Navigator Trilogy: This trilogy was recommended to me by a close friend. While it’s not something I would have picked up without prompting, my mother, brother and I enjoyed all three books. The adventure begins when time starts running backward and Owen finds a second dimension to his world. A battle rages between the Resistors and the Harsh. Owen discovers that he himself has inherited the legendary role of Navigator and must play a key role in rescuing the world. This book is in the orange zone simply because it does not contain any allegorical content and is not written from a Christian viewpoint. Amazon recommends these books for readers age 8 and up, but I personally would recommend them for readers age 10 and up.