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Christian Alternative to Harry Potter Released

MARLBOROUGH, MA, June 18, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Though sprung from Christian roots, the genre of fantasy/adventure is now largely the domain of postmoderns, neo-pagans, and even anti-Christians. For all the controversy stirred up by the Harry Potter series, the truth is that Harry Potter is mild compared to some of the material that can be found on the same shelf at Barnes & Noble. However, some critics warn that the clever plot developments and creativity driving millions to Potter make it the most insidious of the lot.

Emily Snyder is happy to buck that trend. Her new book, Niamh and the Hermit, is a wonderfully authentic revival of the classic fairy tale with all the imaginative complexity of a Tolkien-esque subcreated world. What's more, Emily is not shy about her decidedly Christian influences. Fantasy is the wonderful marriage of truth and storytelling, she opined in a recent interview. It is the splendour of God's creation, but through a glass darkly. Whereas much postmodern fiction despairs of the glass, fantasy looks to the truth beyond and turns the darkness to a strange and lovely pattern.

Professor Joseph Pearce, author of Tolkien: Man and Myth commented that Niamh and the Hermit, takes us through Celtic mist to a world of mystic wonder. Imagine Tolkien's true north sailing west. Imagine Gandalf wandering in the legendary footsteps of St. Patrick. Imagine the Numenorean Faithful sailing in the wake of St. Brendan....Imagine Middle Earth coloured in forty shades of green.

In a pre-publication review which appeared on catholicexchange.com, Kathryn Lively, author of Little Flowers, called Niamh and the Hermit "a rich narrative of various subplots which intertwine to offer the reader a vivid look at author Snyder's gift for world-building....The interworkings of fantasy and faith are seamed nicely into the story. The influences of Eddings, Lewis, and other writers of the genre are evident in Snyder's style, though Niamh is uniquely her own."

Emily Snyder is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville and is a teacher in Marlborough, Massachusetts. An avid writer and web designer, Emily is also the creator of the Christian Guide to Fantasy web site and the Tower of Ivory Literary E-Zine.

For more information and to order the book see:
http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Niamh.html

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