Fantasy and Your Family: Exploring the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Modern Magick

This book was very insightful and helpful in clearing up any doubts about whether or not children should be reading or watching Harry Potter. The author had lots of works cited referenced and really showed he had done his homework on what he was talking about. It's rare now-a-days to find a book that takes a factual look at such impassioned topics.

With a professional, well-researched,and objective approach Mr. Abanes examines the world of fantasy. He expertly documents each explored aspect with solid research.This text is considered as the "Consumer Report on Fantasy."

As a Christian artist who enjoys reading fantasy literature, I was a bit skeptical of FANTASY AND YOUR FAMILY before I read it. I had listened to arguments against the THE LORD OF THE RINGS and HARRY POTTER and quite frankly, none of them impressed me or caused me to think. However, I was rather surprised with Richard Abanes book. The book is well researched, documented, and supported.The book is divided into four parts. The first section examines fantasy literature in general. The second section discusses J.R.R. Tolkien and THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The third part deals with Harry Potter and the fourth section deconstructs the arguments both for and against Harry Potter.As mentioned earlier, I was surprised at how well documented and supported this book is. Even though I have enjoyed reading the Harry Potter novels and will probably continue to do so, FANTASY AND YOUR FAMILY helped make me aware of just how large the occult has influenced the writings of J.K. Rowling. For example, I had no idea that many of the characters refered to in the Harry Potter books (not main characters, but people mentioned in history, etc.) were actual occult leaders.This is a great book for any thinking Christian or any parent to read.

This book is a well-written and well-reasoned one that does not conveniently overlook opposing arguements, but fearlessly accepts their challenge and incorporates them into the discussion. Even if you disagree with Mr. Abanes' conclusions, any thoughtful and well-informed reader can appreciate the arguments he uses to reach them. I would recommend this book to anyone who is uncertain about the fantasy question, as well as anyone who has already made up their mind one way or the other.

This book is an essential tool for parents and teachers who would like a better understanding of children's fantasy and see comparisons between various popular books labeled as fantasy. Despite the fact that Tolkien did not write for children and the Harry Potter books are marketed to ages 9-12, comparisons between the Harry Potter books and Tolkien's books inevitably come up. This book thoroughly reviews Harry Potter and Tolkien and shows the vast differences between them. The book also delineates the parallels between some of the occult practices Harry learns and real occultism, such as astrology, divination, numerology, and others. As a former professional astrologer and teacher of astrology who also practiced other forms of divination as well as spirit contact, I certainly have recognized in Harry Potter an endorsement of the practice of the occult and magick, even if it is presented in a make-believe context. In the back of the book, Abanes answers every objection made to the valid criticisms of the Harry Potter books and shows the flaws of the most popular defenses of the Harry Potter series, as well as responding to statements made by people such as author Connie Neal. This section reveals that arguments made against the critics of Harry Potter are usually sraw men arguments or are based on faulty reasoning and assumptions, not on the facts. This book is a great handbook for responding to the Harry Potter propaganda machine which has ignored scholarly and knowledgeable criticism of the Harry Potter books.