From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1587431335
Manufacturer: Brazos Press
Release Date: 2006-05-01
Average Customer Review: 
(From 8 total reviews)
List Price: $19.99
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Editorial Reviews
Product Description:
The allure of fantasy continues to grow with film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. But how should Christians approach modern works of fantasy, especially debated points such as magic and witches? From Homer to Harry Potter provides the historical background readers need to understand this timeless genre. It explores the influence of biblical narrative, Greek mythology, and Arthurian legend on modern fantasy and reveals how the fantastic offers profound insights into truth. The authors draw from a Christian viewpoint informed by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien to assess modern authors such as Philip Pullman, Walter Wangerin, and J. K. Rowling. This accessible book guides undergraduate students, pastors, and lay readers to a more astute and rewarding reading of all fantasy literature.
Customer Reviews
A Christian Focus by L. Anderson-Pomeroy
The authors evaluate fantasy from a Christian perspective. While they have interesting things to say, it is a rather narrow focus. For instance they judge Le Guin’s The Wizard of Earthsea series to be morally ambivalent, whereas many readers would recognize her as presenting a Taoist point of view. Judging the worth of a work of fantasy this way, to me, does not shed much light on the relevance of the genre to our modern society as a whole. It also misses or misconstrues many works that can not be read favorably from their world view. The authors are not necessarily close minded toward other religions. But their focus generally detracts from this book’s broader appeal.
Stories on the boundaries by Ann Castro
I came across this book somewhat by accident and am very glad that I did. It is an absolute treasure trove of information. And, as I said to a friend when recommending it, the authors quote all the right people, especially Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
I was in synch with the authors from the beginning, having long ago been converted, along with Lewis, to the concept of “true myth” and to an understanding of the Christian story as the one True Story. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I deeply appreciated the authors’ Christian viewpoint, one which is becoming increasingly rare these days. Since I considered their discussion of works I know (e.g., Ursala LeGuin’s “Earthsea Trilogy” and Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series) to be accurate and insightful, I am also willing to trust their judgment regarding Pullman’s “His Dark Materials.”
Although I am very well read in the genres under discussion, I still found some material that was new to me, e.g., the “Heliand” and the writings of Patricia McKillip. But what I found most beneficial was the application of several key concepts to the understanding of myth, fantasy, and fairy tale. These are borrowed from Tolkien: the great cauldron of story, the three faces of myth and faerie, and the fact that these stories take place on or near the boundary between worlds. The application of these concepts to the writings discussed was extremely helpful, along with the examination of the worldviews of the writers.
My only disappointment was with the last chapter on Harry Potter. I do not agree with John Granger (whom several reviewers cited) the Rowling is writing Christian fiction. I think Dickerson and O’Hara got too caught up in the magic issue instead of applying the same criteria to the Harry Potter books that they used for the other writings they discussed. To be fair, they had only the first five books to go on, but even by that point I was convinced that Rowling is a secular humanist.
Nevertheless, this is an extremely valuable book and I would recommend it (and have done so) to anyone with an interest in the genres under consideration.
Tacked-on HP by K. J. Kebarle
I’ve only read the last couple of chapters of this book, but my advice is, don’t buy it for the Harry Potter part. There are a few pages on HP, and they say things everyone has said before by John Granger and others. John Granger’s books are hard to follow at times, but he really engages with the HP books in a way this book doesn’t.
I also read the His Dark Materials chapter which seemed biased against Pullman, but I need to read the rest of the book to rate it fairly.
Misleading, false and biased book - christian propoganda by Lauren E. Patton
I was very excited about this book as an intellectual investigation into myth and fantasy used through out world literature.
How dissapointed I was. This book is initially very interesting but the more you read the more clear it becomes that these are Christian fundies writing this book and the only purpose they see for art is one that converts more people to Christianity. Ironically the Book rails against the author Bill Pullman for having an anti Christian “axe to grind” when they clearly have their own “Christian Axe to grind”. This book pretends to be critical discourse. All it really is is christian propoganda that states anything that isn’t “christian” is bad.
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Tags: amber spyglass, atlantis, christian propoganda, christian theology, christianity, classic mythology and literature, cs lewis, earthsea, edda, faerie, faeries, fantasy, harry potter, myth, mythology
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