Brian Tubbs

I have a confession: I’m a Christian, and I love fantasy and science fiction.  There, I’m out of the closet. So, let me say it plain: I love reading about dragons, monsters, wizards, Jedi, sword fights, epic battles, and more. That’s right. I’m a Bible-believing Christian (and a pastor, no less), and I love reading (and watching) science fiction and fantasy. Some Christians will not approve of this, and they will see me as caving in to "worldly entertainment" and/or being seduced by "worldly pleasures" bolstered by paranormal influences. Since I take my faith seriously and genuinely respect many of those who will likely feel this way, I want to take some time to politely address their objections. Since not all of my readers share my Christian faith, I feel I must offer an aside here (as I have in a few of my other blog posts). If you don’t believe in God or the Bible, you’re going to find this article ludicrous. This is written for my fellow Christian reader...

Taylor Anderson’s Into The Storm , the first book in his exciting Destroyermen series, opens with the US Navy losing World War II. Badly. Three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Navy is unable to stop the Japanese as they sweep across the Pacific Ocean. Having suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Java Sea, American ships are fleeing, in Anderson’s words, “the implacable juggernaut that was the Japanese Imperial Navy.” The retreating American vessels include Destroyer Squadron 29, a group of aging destroyers from the Great War era pressed back into service for what is now the Second World War. One of those destroyers is the four-stacker USS Walker, commanded by Anderson’s main protagonist, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, USNR. As the Japanese fleet presses forward, Reddy takes his vessel into a squall hoping to escape certain destruction. When they emerge from the squall, they are in an alternate world with dinosaurs, monstrous fish,...

What happens when anger, rage, and a desire for power all mix together? According to Travis Bagwell, you become an evil necromancer who unleashes a torrent of death and destruction in a digital world. That’s the premise of Awaken Online: Catharsis , one of the most absorbing and thought-provoking science fiction and fantasy novels I’ve read in a long time. Awaken Online: Catharsis is another entree in the fast-growing, highly popular genre known as “LitRPG.” LitRPG stands for Literature Role-Playing Game, and it’s all about immersing the reader in a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. In other words, it’s a virtual reality adventure with the protagonist having to progress through skill development, resource acquisition, quest achievement, the building of alliances, and so forth -- as is the case with any typical role-playing game (RPG). The science fiction and fantasy genre has long been known as an effective platform through which to explore moral and philosophical questio...

Hello Everyone! Are you a Christian? And do you love fantasy and science fiction? Do you wonder why so many Christians have hang-ups about fantasy movies, science fiction and fantasy literature, and role-playing games? If you love Jesus and, at the same time, find yourself enjoying fantasy and science fiction, then.... You're in the right place! My name is Brian Tubbs. I'm a huge fan of fantasy (including Christian fantasy), science fiction, and historical fiction. And I'm currently working on a few fiction projects in the Christian fantasy and gamelit genres. In the meantime... This blog will include reviews of books (and occasionally movies and TV programs) in the science fiction and fantasy genres - with a special focus on Christian fantasy. I recommend you read " Is it Wrong to Read Fantasy Literature? " for my personal take on the issue of Christians and fantasy entertainment as well as my interview with Christian fantasy author James Somers . ...