Fantasy Book Series - Updated

The magic/fantasy debate is prevalent in the Christian culture. Should Christians read these genres or not? Are we leading children astray by allowing them to consume these? Is magic bad?

Depends on what you mean by magic.

There are two types of magic: incantation and invocation. Invocation is used to conjure up an evil spirit. Think Saul and the witch of Endor when she called up Samuel's spirit. You could also call it black magic and Christians should stay away from it.

Incantation is more generic. In the fantasy world, it's usually distinctly good or evil, or it's neutral and can be used by either side.

Fantasy can reveal God and goodness in a unique way. It also portrays the battle of good and evil amazingly. Some of the greatest literary heroes are in the genre. Not all fantasy is good, but there are some amazing stories out there with magic and dragons and swords. Still exercise caution, but don't be afraid of fantasy. Below are some of the best fantasy book series to get you started.


~ The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
The first book, The Magician's Nephew, starts with the meeting of two children, Digory and Polly. They begin to play together and one day they accidentally stumble into Digory's Uncle Andrew's study. He tricks them into going to another world and they're catapulted into one adventure after another, ending with them in Narnia, a new world created by the great Lion, Aslan. But an evil queen is in the land and it's up to the children and a flying horse to bring protection to Narnia. The books in the series are:

~ The Magician's Nephew

~ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

~ The Horse and His Boy

~ Prince Caspian

~ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

~ The Silver Chair

~ The Last Battle


~ The Wingfeather Saga – Andrew Peterson
Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby's lives have been tainted by the dreaded Fangs of Dang since they were young. For years they've lived in Glipwood in uneasy safety with their mother and grandfather. But now the evil Gnag the Nameless is on the hunt for the Jewels of Anniera and the children are mixed up in the search. Somehow they all are involved in the fate of the lost, once beautiful island of Anniera. The books in the series are:

~ On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

~ North! Or Be Eaten

~ The Monster in the Hollows

~ The Warden and the Wolf King


~ The Chronicles of Prydain – Lloyd Alexander
Taran is an Assistant Pig-Keeper who longs to do more than watch over one pig. But then his charge escapes and while he goes searching for her, he meets a gaggle of characters who soon become his friends, including Princess Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam, part king, part bard, Gurgi, and the grumpy dwarf, Doli. Together they struggle to fight against Arawn-Death-Lord and his deathless warriors, the Cauldron Born, and set the land of Prydain free. The five books in the series are:

~ The Book of Three

~ The Black Cauldron

~ The Castle of Llyr

~ Taran Wanderer

~ The High King

~ The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain


~ The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
In the prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bilbo Baggins is content to stay at home, but Gandalf the Gray Wizard has other ideas. He volunteers Bilbo for an expedition who's in need of a burglar. A company of thirteen dwarves are on their way to slay a dragon and claim back their kingdom and a thief isn't a bad resource, especially if you want to steal part of the dragon's treasure. Reluctantly Bilbo goes along and encounters goblins, trolls, and a gold ring with more power than he realizes before reaching the mountain where Smaug the dragon sleeps.


~ The Lord of the Rings trilogy – J.R.R. Tolkien
Bilbo is one hundred eleven years old and he's leaving the Shire. He gives Frodo, his nephew,  his ring that he acquired on his travels. But there's more to that ring than was before known. Gandalf the Grey comes back and tells him that Sauron, who seeks to hold Middle-Earth in his power, knows the ring has been found. If he has the ring, then he can complete his goal. Frodo must take a journey and destroy the ring. But orcs and black riders search for the hobbit and others are greedy for the gold band. Frodo himself fights to want the ring. His band of friends is broken up, Aragorn, whom everyone believes is a simple Ranger, fights to reunite the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor, and Saruman the White is working his plans as well. The books in the trilogy are:

~ The Fellowship of the Ring

~ The Two Towers

~ The Return of the King

~ The Dark is Rising Sequence – Susan Cooper
In the first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, Jane, Barney, and Simon didn't expect much to happen on their vacation to Trewissick, a small fishing village. But unbeknownst to them, the forces of the Dark are trying to get their hands on the Grail, which will give them power over the Light. It's up to the three and their mysterious great-uncle to discover the Grail's hiding place before the Dark can snatch it away for their evil purposes. The other books are:

~ The Dark is Rising

~ Greenwitch

~ The Grey King

~ Silver on the Tree

Note: Arthurian legend is a strong influence on the series and comes up often.


~ Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series – Brian Jacques
After being rescued from an accursed ship by an angel, Ben and his dog, Ned, are forced to wander the earth for all time, never growing older or younger. Since they can never die, they can never stay in one place for long, but they're able to communicate telepathically. Their job is to go from one place and time to another and help those they come across. In the first book, the duo end up in the 1800s at an ancient village that is about to be destroyed. They must go deep into the village's history and find a way to save it before it's too late. The other books in the trilogy are:

~ The Angel's Command

~ Voyage of Slaves


~ Redwall series – Brian Jacques
In the first book, Lord Brocktree, the badger Lord Brocktree is on his way to the ancient mountain-fortress of Salamandastron. What he doesn't know is the fortress of surrounded by a fierce hoard of wildcats intent on ruling the mountain. Brocktree's father, Stonepaw, has few soldiers in condition to fight and is in no condition to fight himself. When Lord Brocktree finds out about the siege, he must use his wits and friends to muster an army in time to save the mountain and his father. There are twenty-two books in the series. Below they are chronologically listed, since each story refers to a character in a previous book.

~ Lord Brocktree

~ Martin the Warrior

~ Mossflower

~ The Legend of Luke

~ Outcast of Redwall

~ Mariel of Redwall

~ The Bellmaker

~ Salamandastron

~ Redwall

~ Mattimeo

~ Pearls of Lutra

~ The Long Patrol

~ Marlfox

~ The Taggerung

~ Triss

~ Loamhedge

~ Rakkety Tam

~ High Rhulain

~ Eulalia!

~ Doomwyte

~ The Sable Quean

~ The Rogue Crew