Turn Back the Night

by Stephen R. Lawhead

Lawhead, Steve

180 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1985

About the author

Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium, Patrick, and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion.

Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephenlawhead...

Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.

After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.

He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.

Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.

also write under the name Steve Lawhead

Reviews

[Megan]

It's passionate and I do love Lawhead, an interesting delve into to some of the reasons behind his fiction. At times I found the book rather grumbly, opinionated, and outdated but there are some thought provoking points made throughout. I feel like this was an address to a particular generation's complaints which have largely subsided, possibly in an ominous way.

[Alexis Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, if amusingly dated. Lawhead's pop culture examples range from Dynasty to Dukes of Hazzard to Olivia Newton John to Flashdance. The times, they have a-changed. And the industry has changed with them--I think television is not quite as simplistic and straightforward as it was in the '80s; the gap between popular literature and "serious" literature is closing; and with the rise of the indie music scene, many musicians actually do care about artistic integrity and technical excellence. The '80s were admittedly an insanely commercial era--substance was not particularly prized. Still, many of Lawhead's conclusions remain valid. He opposes a wholesale rejection or acceptance of pop culture, and advocates instead for discerning and selective consumption. He also has some very harsh things to say about the contemporary Christian genre, which was particularly unimpressive (from a quality and excellence standpoint) in the '80s. Indeed, many of his recommendations have come to pass. For example, it is much easier now to find Christian reviews of secular books/movies/television/music. Indeed, the advent of the internet has provided a glut of reviews of all shapes and sizes. A consumer wishing to do his due diligence is more than adequately equipped to do so.

All in all, a decent read. Lawhead's theology is a bit wonky, but the bulk of the book is about practical application of Christian morality, and that does not seem to be too affected by his unusual theological beliefs.

[Eric Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on engaging culture through the arts.