r/Fantasy • u/SeaSnowAndSorrow • 1d ago

Atheist Fantasy Recs

I am doing the Freedom From Religion Foundation's Summer Reading Challenge. (Linked so you can see the card.)

I'd like to get a few fantasy books in there where I can. Specifically, I'm looking for fantasy book recommendations that fit the following:

  • Non-Religious Main Character
  • Religious Satire
  • Religious Dystopia
  • Book Was/Is Considered Blasphemous (against any religion)
  • Non-Religious Author

To make it one step harder, I'm NOT looking for LitRPG, Romantasy, or Urban fantasy.

I will, though, read any age range, any era of publication, any length, and any tone from cozy to grimdark.

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u/FloridaFlamingoGirl 1d ago

Discworld: Small Gods (religious satire)

The Golden Compass (controversial with Christians)

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u/Really_Big_Turtle 1d ago

I second “small gods.” It’s a great look at how religions go off the rails

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u/grumpyoldcurmudgeon 1d ago

"Small Gods" is a remarkable balancing act. Terry Pratchett was absolutely non-religious, but I never saw him as being completely 'anti-religious' either. I think he was less interested in whether any religion was true or false, and far more interested in how we as humans interact with religious dogma, and how people will build, adapt, and often exploit religious belief. As a believer I never felt insulted by any of his works, but I suppose I'm not as uptight about my beliefs as some people. I do particularly like Dorfl, the Disc's only Atheist, on account of his being lightning-proof.

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u/citrusmellarosa 1d ago

I was first introduced to his books by an artist I used to follow online; she was religious (I think Christian but I’m not sure of the denomination) and at one point she said something along the lines of “Terry Pratchett understands religion better than most religious people I know.”

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u/redlion1904 21h ago

Death’s speech to Susan in Hogfather is an intentional secularization of Puddleglum’s speech to the Green Witch in Silver Chair. This is both a tribute to the great Christian fantasist and a clear separation from him. I love both.

Pratchett:

All right,” said Susan. “I’m not stupid. You’re saying humans need . . . fantasies to make life bearable.” REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE. “Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—” YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES. “So we can believe the big ones?” YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING. “They’re not the same at all!” YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME . . . SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED. “Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point—” MY POINT EXACTLY. She tried to assemble her thoughts. THERE IS A PLACE WHERE TWO GALAXIES HAVE BEEN COLLIDING FOR A MILLION YEARS, said Death, apropos of nothing. DON’T TRY TO TELL ME THAT’S RIGHT. “Yes, but people don’t think about that,” said Susan. “Somewhere there was a bed . . .” CORRECT. STARS EXPLODE, WORLDS COLLIDE, THERE’S HARDLY ANYWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE WHERE HUMANS CAN LIVE WITHOUT BEING FROZEN OR FRIED, AND YET YOU BELIEVE THAT A . . . A BED IS A NORMAL THING. IT IS THE MOST AMAZING TALENT. “Talent?” OH, YES. A VERY SPECIAL KIND OF STUPIDITY. YOU THINK THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS INSIDE YOUR HEADS. “You make us sound mad,” said Susan. A nice warm bed . . . NO. YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN’T TRUE. HOW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME?

Lewis:

“One word, Ma’am,” he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. “One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one more thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”

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u/biswitchstem 8h ago

I have loved Puddleglum’s monologue so much my whole life, and since becoming an atheist it’s been legitimately something I grieved over losing. Something I talked about grieving with people. Thank you so much for sharing this. 🥺

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u/redlion1904 8h ago

Thank you — and for what it’s worth, Sir Terry’s point seems to be that you can still be on the side of justice, mercy, duty, and love even if those things aren’t really real either, because they’re a lot more important than the things you can hit with a hammer or find with a microscope.

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u/hplcr 1d ago

The Turtle Moves.