Glavlok: The Dragon who Behaved

The latest Harry Potter book and movie have given a higher media profile to the Christian fantasy fiction book market.

Parents are looking for a "safe" alternative to the secular fantasy worlds that often include gore and witchcraft, moral grey areas, depth of character development and thought-provoking themes. The Christian "speculative fiction" niche was developed to meet this need.

The new Christian fantasy tome Glavlok: The Dragon who Behaved is being pushed as the best alternative this season. Author Lance Wainwright, who writes under the pseudonym Jefferson Plotz (which itself is a nom de plume for his real identity as Bob Anderson, copywriter for a Lutheran ad agency in Minneapolis) says he's glad his stories are getting wider attention.

Glavlok, part of the "Naughty Dragon" series, begins when a boy discovers a musty journal written by Glavlok, a dragon-in-training. It mostly consists of Glavlok's inner struggles with the desire to toast innocent villagers with his super-heated breath, fight the human authorities sent to stop him, and accumulate stolen treasure in his cave lair. Several of the chapters are merely punishment assignments by his mentor/trainer-- for example, 500 repetitions of the sentence, "I will not wreak havoc."

"These stories help reinforce moral teachings while at the same time giving adolescent readers the adventure and action they crave," Wainwright said.

Wainwright's next book series, he said, will push the envelope somewhat. It's titled Lackula: The Vampire Who Didn't Suck.

That, um, remains to be seen.



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Movies: Better to reign in Hell...

..than to serve in Heaven.

It's a busy season for filmgoers who are also fans of 17th-century epic poet John Milton. Yeah, all three of you.

A group of Christian writers, producers and directors has put together a plan for a Paradise Lost film with Legendary Pictures and a budget of $100 million. A war between God and Satan, complete with archangels and Adam and Eve, could be bigger than Lord of the Rings, they're thinking.

Also currently in production for New Line is The Golden Compass, the first of Philip Pullman’s best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy of young adult novels, which are based on Paradise Lost.

Milton's take on Satan was to portray him first as heroic rebel, then reveal the terrible emptiness and self-aggrandizing narcissism underlying his character, according to the New York Times article.

In other words, it'll remind us all of ourselves in high school. Can't wait.



Technorati Tags: Paradise Lost,The Golden Compass,
Christian humor, satire, humor