CSFF Blog Tour—Christian Fandom, Day 2

The CSFF Blog Tour Group continues with the July focus on Christian Fandom.

There are some great posts about this site, which focuses predominantly on science fiction, from other tour participants, notably Kameron Franklin and his interview with Greg Slade. Others you may wish to check out include

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
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Mirtika Schultz
Stuart Stockton
Speculative Faith

I feel a little shaky regarding what I am about to say, primarily because I want to support all things related to CSFF. The problem is, not all things merit an A+ or a highly recommended rating.

In perusing Christian Fandom, I ran into a couple things that gave me pause.

First, I was troubled by the presentation of fantasy. Having read more of how Fandom came into being (the organization forming as a direct result of Star Trek conventions), I understand WHY the fantasy work is weak, but I still don’t like it.

Weak? Yes. First, the list of fantasy titles is approximately half the number of Sci Fi titles. Secondly, the list is … somewhat outdated. Finally, although the inclusion of some secular fantasy is commendable, I don’t think the site does justice to Christian fantasy, especially not the work that’s been done in the last two years (which may be a reflection of the second point).

For example, none of the four books in Bryan Davis’s Dragons in Our Midst, though listed, has a review, despite the promise of one. Granted, not all four books came out in 2004 as posted, but the last one was released in the fall of 2005, allowing for enough time to post the advertised review.

Then there are the books that have not been mentioned—Jonathan Rogers’s The Wilderking Chronicles, R. K. Mortenson’s Landon Snow Series, L. B. Graham’s Binding of the Blade Series, Kathleen Morgan’s Giver of the Roses, Donita Paul’s DragonKeeper Chronicles (see the June CSFF Blog Tour posts), Linda Wichman’s Christy Award finalist Legend of the Emerald Rose. I’m sure my list is not exhaustive, but I think these omissions are disappointing at best in a site the magnitude of Christian Fandom.

I don’t like the message that this kind of shoddy treatment of current fantasy sends out. If only I had thought to interview Greg Slade, then I could have asked him about this issue and given him a chance to defend what Fandom is doing regarding fantasy. I can only hope he’ll drop by A Christian Worldview of Fiction and offer some defense, if one is to be made.

Unfortunately I have other issues, though, which I’ll touch on next time.