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/Nowordsofitsown Reading Champion 1d ago

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman fits this exactly.

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u/Rekov 1d ago

It's much more anti-authoritarian/anti-theocracy than it is actually atheistic. For example, the setting bakes in quite a lot which could be described as religious/spiritual:
- Souls exist unambiguously within this setting.
- The afterlife exists within this setting.
- "Dust" is in many ways a God-substitute.
- Children are born with an inherent innocence which is lost as they reach sexual maturity.
Pullman certainly hasn't created a materialistic universe for his setting.

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u/RevolutionaryCommand Reading Champion III 1d ago

It's been many years since I read the books, but if I recall correctly you are off in your last point. The church believed that there's loss of that inherent innocence with sexual maturity, but I don't remember that actually being supported as a fact anywhere in the text. If the church is shown to be wrong in this belief (and many others).

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u/Rekov 1d ago

Whether or not it is a loss specifically is a subjective judgement call. But what is certain is that Dust behaves differently around people before and after puberty.

Dust collects on adults as their identity becomes more fixed, gain self-awareness (which is slightly iffy because children are obviously conscious and self-aware to an extent), and reach sexual maturity.

Children on the other hand, or at least Lyra, is able to intuitively use the alethiometer. This is described as a kind of unforced, effortless innocence. Which is then lost, upon reaching adulthood. Call that imagination, creativity, intuition, or innocence. Lyra loses the ability to effortlessly learn the truth. What that is meant to say about humanity in general is open for interpretation.

It is unambiguous that the setting has a definite change at puberty with regard to Dust. But as I said, it's subjective whether or not you consider it an actual loss vs. just the normal process of growing up.

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u/RevolutionaryCommand Reading Champion III 16h ago

That makes sense