Lewis populated his world of Narnia with talking animals and creatures from several mythologies and his own imagination, but used the world as a place to explore basic Christian themes-Christ himself is a major character in the series, in the form of the lion Aslan. The elements that make up this other world may or may not have anything to do with the author’s own cosmology. I can set aside my cosmology as I enter and accept a world where wizards cast true spells, or reincarnation happens, or several gods make occasional appearances, and there explore with the author some universal truths about morality and human nature. Another is the wonderful ideological neutral ground a secondary world can make.

One is the sheer delight and marvel of events not possible in the real world. There are several advantages to stories set in fantastic worlds. This type of literary belief happens to some extent with all fiction, of course, but it is an essential element with fantasy. I consider this to be a landmark work in contemporary fantasy and in Mormon fiction both but before I go into detail, let me make a few general comments about fantasy.Īs Tolkien took pains to explain in “On Fairy-Stories,” when someone reads a story that takes place in an enchanted world, he or she does not experience a “willing suspension of disbelief” but rather a “secondary belief.” If the author has done well, the reader can accept the world and its laws on his or her own terms, and believe in the story within that framework. The publication of Prentice Alvin brings us to the halfway mark of Orson Scott Card’s projected six-volume series The Tales of Alvin Maker, making a good point to evaluate what he has accomplished so far.

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