Book-Bat

Karlissa did a lot of xenofiction reading this year and has compiled a list of her top ten novels! She reveals her list to Jason, pitching to him the books he hasn’t read and contemplating with him the books he has. What makes these some of her favourite xenofiction tales? Xenofiction refers to a story where at least one of the primary point-of-view characters is nonhuman. Fantastical xenofiction...

A fox on a quest across a Nordic landscape, defeating a haunting parasitic growth using the magical energy present in blue flowers: this is Spirit of the North , a video game from an indie publisher that has wilderness vibes and creative storytelling. Jason and Karlissa discuss this unique game and what they found inspiring about it, while also reflecting on the themes of paganism. SPOILER WARNING...

‍ Karlissa has been promising an episode about Madeleine L’Engle, and here it is! We introduce the author, her famous fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time, and explore the Cold War and Genesis themes in her novel A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Madeleine L’Engle quote from Walking on Water: “That’s probably the chief difference between the Christian and the secular artist—the purpose of the work, be it story...

‍ For her latest book, To Narnia and Beyond , Karlissa has been getting to know four incredible Christian authors who wrote fantasy: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, and Madeleine L’Engle. Over the course of reading their fantasy novels and learning about their lives, she and Jason have both learned life lessons, interesting facts, and writing wisdom. (00:38) Getting to know dead peop...

‍ Since before the times when artificial intelligence took over our online experiences and philosophical discussions, writers have been using the concept of A.I. to craft characters that speak to who we are as humans, and to explore how we interact with beings that are not quite like us. Today, we are going to talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters: from robots to intelligences imbued in...

A peek inside To Narnia and Beyond ! What if fantasy stories hold spiritual insights that can be your pathway to a deeper faith? This brief, approachable guide invites readers into the major fantasy works of four writers of great fantasy:  C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, and Madeleine L’Engle.  They all share in the distinction of being outspoken about their Christian faith...

Do the ends justify the means? Jason walks us through three episodes from the animated Star Wars shows - one from The Clone Wars and two from Rebels - and the lessons they have taught him about how to approach podcasting better. If you enjoy Star Wars, you may want to listen to two of our previous episodes: Perelandra and Star Wars: https://www.book-bat.com/podcast/2024/6/13/episode-31-perelandra-...

Karlissa J’s most recent fantasy novel is Davy Jones’ Aquarium . Jason has described it as the perfection of the way she wants to write. And it is a xenofiction story, where the main character is a quirky teenage merman. What inspired Karlissa to write a tale about a merman, and what did she enjoy about creating the world he would inhabit? You can learn more about Davy Jones’ Aquarium and my other...

It’s Sonic the Hedgehog meets the Enneagram! Jason has made personality matches for a swath of Sonic-universe characters, and Sonic himself got the title of Peacemaker. Why did Jason decide this was a fitting label for the speedster? Jason Recommends… Sonic the Hedgehog Presents: The Chaotix Casefiles Blog about IDW Sonic characters: https://www.book-bat.com/blog/2026/3/4/sonic-the-hedgehog-new-ch...

Xenofiction - stories told from a nonhuman perspective - is all around us! In this episode, Karlissa and Jason explore the appeal of xenofiction from a writer’s perspective and dive into a few examples of xenofiction. They discuss… Does it matter that Superman is an alien? Are hobbits truly distinct from humans? And what’s up with the animosity between the human Dr. Eggman and animal-people like S...

Welcome to 2026! Our main goals for the new year: release a book about Christian fantasy authors and talk about xenofiction! For those who already knew what xenofiction is and how to pronounce it… sorry, we will aim to pronounce it correctly next episode! (“zehn” not “zeen”) Learn more about To Narnia and Beyond : book-bat.com/nonfiction Sign up to our newsletter to get updates and podcast highlig...

Does K-Pop Demon Hunters contain the best villain song ever? Is writing for a particular audience important? Why would Karlissa call Spy x Family an allegory? Jason and Karlissa reflect on what they’ve learned about writing this year and discuss stories they’ve been enjoying. Note: the director of K-Pop Demon Hunters is Maggie Kang (along with Chris Appelhans) To all our listeners: Merry Christmas...

Karlissa J’s latest book, To Narnia and Beyond , comes out next year! In this episode, she talks about the inspiration behind the book, her research process, and how she hopes readers will be inspired to pick up more classic works of fantasy! To Narnia and Beyond explores the fantasy novels of George MacDonald, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Madeleine L’Engle. More about To Narnia and Beyond : bo...

In this three-part series, Jason and Karlissa J each give their top fives in fantasy: top 5 animated fantasy shows, top 5 fantasy novels, and top 5 animated fantasy movies! It’s time for our top movie picks! Jason and Karlissa J each give their top 5 animated fantasy movies, reflect on when they first discovered these animated films, and explore what makes them stand out. SPOILER ALERT: some of th...

In this three-part series, Jason and Karlissa J each give their top fives in fantasy: top 5 animated fantasy shows, top 5 fantasy novels, and top 5 animated fantasy movies! Here on the Book-Bat podcast, we talk about movies, shows, even video games - but of course, we also talk about books! In Part 2 of our Rankings series, Jason and Karlissa J each list five fantasy novels that stand out as excep...

Here on the Book-Bat podcast, we regularly drop references to our favourite media and stories. Now, in this three-part series, Jason and Karlissa J each give their top fives in fantasy: top 5 animated fantasy shows, top 5 fantasy novels, and top 5 animated fantasy movies! In Part 1, Jason and Karlissa J discuss the animated fantasy shows they love and what makes these shows stand out!

After all our early hyping of the animated show The Dragon Prince , we ceased to talk about it as its final seasons released. Let’s just say our thoughts have changed. We review the show, discussing the good and the bad, and comparing it to the show it was designed to resemble, Avatar: the Last Airbender . SPOILER ALERT: this episode contains spoilers for the ending of both The Dragon Prince and A...

Last year, a Lord of the Rings movie was released that garnered little attention. We give our review of The War of the Rohirrim , along with thoughts on Tolkien-esque storytelling, Japanese perspective, spiritual themes in Tolkien’s books, and what people expect from tales about Middle Earth. SPOILER ALERT: we give notice when we are about to discuss an event that happens later in the movie (start...

With the release of Disney’s live-action remake on the horizon, Jason and Karlissa discuss what made 2002’s Lilo & Stitch among Disney’s best animated movies, diving into fun trivia about the art, voice acting, and storytelling. This episode contains SPOILERS for the 2002 Lilo & Stitch ! Join the conversation! Are you more optimistic about the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch ? Will...

Karlissa J is joined by Heidi Richardson, Canadian author of the Tower of the Deep series, to discuss what inspired her to write, why she chose to write fantasy, and some strategies she used in creating her fantasy world.   Synopsis for book one, The Prisoner and the Traitor : Hennelyn is only fourteen, born into a fierce, warlike race – the Starkhons. Her father, General Tai Kanow, has order...

“Gotta go fast!” Why does Jason like Sonic so much? And where might one find some fun Sonic the Hedgehog stories? Jason and Karlissa look at Sonic’s history, his current comic book run, and more! Also, check out this month’s blog post for a ranking of Sonic’s animated shows: http://www.book-bat.com/blog/2025/3/8/sonic-the-hedgehog-on-the-small-screen-ranked

Time to nerd out! When is a superhero story not a superhero story? Jason is given the chance to gush about one of his favourite subjects as he and Karlissa J discuss movies, shows, comics, Batman, Spiderman, and even Shadow the Hedgehog.

Announcements for the new year, how we and our fans rank Karlissa J’s seven books, and behind-the-scenes insight into Karlissa’s creative writing process! Be sure to sign up for the monthly Book-Bat newsletter for exclusive updates, as well as links to our latest podcast episode and blog posts.

Jason takes over to ask the question: why does the way a story ends matter so much to us? Are we being fair by judging the story by its ending? Or do we miss out on the journey by emphasizing the end? Karlissa and Jason give some insights into their own writing process, explore thoughts on genre, and reflect on what they read growing up. Spoilers for Treasure Planet (Disney)!

Is C.S. Lewis’ final novel deserving of more attention, or too difficult to understand and get into? Karlissa and Jason both came out of reading it with differing opinions, and now, they want to discuss why Till We Have Faces has been largely forgotten.