Yesterday I finished reading Lars Walker’s book Wolf Time. Previously, I read his book Blood and Judgment. Both were worth the time to read. They may be categorized under something like science fiction or fantasy, but they are unlike anything I’ve read in either genre. Walker is a Lutheran living in Minnesota, and it shows. Though the stories are somewhat gritty in places, sin is not glorified. Instead, villains often receive appropriate consequences for their villainy, and the triune God is glorified as the story unfolds. In this age of pluralism and spiritual confusion, Walker sifts and sorts through many religious alternatives, letting their merits and weaknesses show in realistic fashion. Yet somehow he manages to distinguish Christianity from the rest mainly on the basis of the Gospel. It’s a refreshing thing to find in paperback.
These two books are also based upon some detailed scholarship mixed with a generous dose of creative license. Wolf Time particularly, reminded me of several things in Tolkien’s Silmarillion, and got me thinking that it would be interesting to read up a little on Norse mythology. That topic may not interest everyone, but I’ve been intrigued, now that these two Christian writers have put their gifts to work in a way that seems to reverberate between them. I probably won’t have the time to look into it, but Lars Walker’s book has proven stimulating.