CSFF Blog Tour—Christian Fandom, Day 1

It’s here. IT’S HERE. I’m referring to the July leg of the Christian Sci Fi and Fantisy Blog Tour. We’re focusing on the fiction site, Christian Fandom.

In preparation for my post over at Speculative Faith, I learned that Fandom has been around since 1982 and was developed for the sake of genre readers.

I can’t help but be impressed with the organization and scope of the web site. To have separate sections for science fiction and for fantasy seems revolutionary, but those of us who write appreciate the recognition of the uniquenesses of the two genres.

One look at Fandom reveals the inclusion of a section for Horror, so I might as well address the issue.

Recently I did a little research on the subject which brought me to the Wikipedia definition:

Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle or horrify the reader. Historically, the cause of the “horror” experience has often been the intrusion of an evil, or occasionally misunderstood, supernatural element into everyday human experience. Since the 1960s, any work of fiction with a morbid, gruesome, surreal, exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme has come to be called “horror.” Horror fiction often overlaps with science fiction and/or fantasy, all of which have sometimes been placed under the umbrella category speculative fiction.

So how does “Christian” fit with that definition of horror? Fandom explores this topic, with a number of essays, stories, and reviews. I reserve further comment until I’ve read more on the subject.

Obviously, I’ve done more thinking about fantasy (see the 25 part series Fantasy and a Christian Worldview beginning with the introduction May 12), so, for the most part, I will concentrate my observations and comments on that section of Fandom.

For today, I highly recommend for your reading the interview with Karen Hancock.

Also, check out what the other participants of this month’s CSFF Blog Tour have to say about Fandom. This great group includes:

Carol Collett
Valerie Comer
Kameron Franklin
Beth Goddard
Rebecca Grabill
Leathel Grody
Karen Hancock
Elliot Hanowski
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Pamela James
Tina Kulesa
Shannon McNear
Mirtika Schultz
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower

Tomorrow, what I wish Fandom included.