October (Web-only) 2004

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Expensive book burning
Anglican priest Graham Taylor's bestselling fantasy novels deal with occult themes, including human sacrifice. So one may not be surprised to hear that, just as copies of Harry Potter novels were burned in earlier years, Taylor's novels too have been put to the flame.

But these weren't just any copies of Taylor's books. These were original manuscripts: one for Shadowmancer, one of only two originals for the sequel, Wormwood, and the full manuscript of his new book, Tersias, which wasn't due to be published until fall 2005.

And the book burner? Taylor himself. He says he accidentally destroyed them when cleaning out his house, which he'll be moving out of shortly.

They're now "a very expensive pile of ash," he told the BBC.

Meanwhile, it appears that the film versions of Shadowmancer and Wormwood may be animated. Variety reports that Fortitude Films, which bought the rights in July, just bought Film Roman, an animation studio run by former Simpsons and King of the Hill producer and Charlie Brown director Phil Roman. Fortitude executives had earlier told Variety that it planned to ask Mel Gibson to direct.

Update
The Supreme Court will consider the prisoners' religious freedom case after all. See yesterday's Weblog for commentary on this case.

Books:

• Faith-boosting genes | Dean Hamer's The God Gene details the search for the genetic basis of spirituality (Scientific American)
• Blood in the aisles | Jonathan Bartley assesses Stephen Bates's straight-talking account of the profound divisions in the Church of England, A Church at War (The Guardian, London)
• Theologian delves into what's holy in Hobbits | Ralph Wood found himself turning to Tolkien in the 1970s when he wanted to revitalize theology classes for students who had adopted a more secular outlook on life (The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.)