Land of Giants by Laurie Christine—Adventure-packed Biblical Fiction for Boys
What if your dad was building a giant boat in the middle of the desert—and the entire world thought he was crazy?
What if the one thing you wanted most came from someone you weren’t supposed to trust?
What if fighting dragons and defying giants wasn’t just fantasy—but the battle you were born for?
Welcome to The Sword and Story Podcast—where we help Christian families find exciting, faith-filled books for their boys.
Our mission is to raise strong, courageous warriors for the Kingdom of God. Join us on a quest to discover stories that inspire our boys to grow into godly young men.
Back Cover of Land of Giants, Book 2 in the Dragon Slayer Bible Series
A secret alliance. A dangerous mission. A deadly enemy.
Twelve-year-old Shem wants one thing—to become a warrior. But his father, Noah, is too busy building a giant ark to train him. The world mocks his family, and Shem is tired of feeling left out and embarrassed. He’s ready to trade his tools for a sword and show the Cobras, the toughest gang in the city, that he’s not just some weird kid with a crazy dad.
When Shem makes a secret deal with the son of a family rival, he finally gets the training he’s always wanted. But something isn’t right. Monstrous giants called Nephilites have invaded the land. And the dragon they serve is more dangerous than Shem ever imagined. If Shem wants to protect his family, he’ll have to learn what it really means to be a warrior.
Land of Giants is an action-packed Biblical adventure, perfect for readers who long to battle dragons, defy giants, and discover the true strength that comes from the King.
Appeal to Boys
- Fast-paced action: raids, chases, ambushes, and edge-of-your-seat battles with giants and beasts
- Weapons training, axe throwing, and sword fights
- Dangerous missions and secret alliances
- Epic foes: the evil dragon, Nephilites (giants), and ferocious beasts
- A relatable 12-year-old hero wrestling with approval, courage, and competence
Key Themes
- Where do I find my identity? Do I crave the approval of others more than the approval of the King?
- Doing the right thing isn’t always popular. Will you act courageously and choose to obey the King even when your friends do not?
- Choosing friends wisely – balancing your desire to fit in with the King’s command to show love to others.
- Spiritual warfare – we don’t battle against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil, dark forces that want to destroy us.
- Fighting the enemy in our own strength, with our own weapons, is futile. But with the King fighting for you, you can win any battle.
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW
Land of Giants—Adventure-Packed Biblical Fiction by Laurie Christine
Laurie Christine:
We have a special show in store for you today. I’ve invited my friend and fellow author, Jonathan Shuerger, to come on the show. He’s going to interview me about my newest book, Land of Giants, which just launched on Kickstarter today. Hello, Jonathan. Welcome to the Sword and Story Podcast.
Jonathan Shuerger: Heyo!
Laurie Christine: I’m going to tell you a little about Jonathan and then give him the mic. Jonathan is a Christian author who writes fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and military fiction. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who brings authenticity, faith, and a love of story to every page. He’s the author of the Exorcism of Frosty the Snowman series, the dark fantasy Shades of Black series, and the post-apocalyptic Marines-vs.-zombies series, Semper Die. His books are written for adults but are appropriate for older teen boys. If you have older boys who love zombies and things like that, you can find Jonathan and his books at jonathanshuerger.com.
I was privileged to have Jonathan as the developmental editor for Land of Giants. I’m excited about how the story has taken shape based on his feedback. Jonathan, tell us a little about your family. You’re the dad of five girls. How are you holding up over there?
Jonathan Shuerger: Absolutely. I’m doing great. God knew there was so much man in this house that He’s balancing it out with all these females He keeps cramming in here.
Laurie Christine: Jonathan and I can commiserate a little because I’m the only female in a family of four boys and my husband. When I asked you to be the developmental editor for my book, I asked, “Are you qualified to edit this book for middle-grade boys?” and you said, “I’m basically an 11-year-old boy.”
Jonathan Shuerger: I’m basically an 11-year-old. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Laurie Christine: It’s a perfect fit. I was very pleased with the feedback I got from Jonathan. I’m excited for all of you to get this book in your hands because it’s my favorite so far in the Dragon Slayer Bible Series. Without further ado, I’m going to turn the mic over to Jonathan and let him take it from here.
Jonathan Shuerger: All right, let’s do this. First, let’s talk about why you, as a mom, think you are qualified to write for boys.
Laurie Christine: As you all know, my family is full of boys. There’s a lot of testosterone in our household. I’ve never been a 10-year-old boy, but I have raised four of them. I feel uniquely qualified to write for boys. That may not always be the case as my boys grow up and become adults—one day I might be out of touch with current “boy culture”—but right now I feel like I know what makes boys tick: what excites them, what makes them sad, what they struggle with, how they talk, and the shenanigans they get into. I’ve even based several of the characters in my books on my boys’ personalities. One of my other editors told me she was impressed with my characterization. In my head I was thinking, “They’re my kids.”
Jonathan Shuerger: You’ve asked this question on the show many times, and I want to turn it on you. You always ask, “You know there are boys in your house because…?” How would you answer that?
Laurie Christine: So many things. My mom came over the other day, walked into one of the boys’ bedrooms, and said, “It smells like a locker room in here.” I said, I know. I try not to go up there very often. I was deep-cleaning my house and pulled out the sofa. I found at least ten smashed soda cans, fifteen snack wrappers, and probably half a dozen Nerf darts under the sofa.
Jonathan Shuerger: That’s ammunition and supplies, Laurie.
Laurie Christine: Yes, they were prepared for battle—ammunition and sustenance.
Sometimes I’ll go to my refrigerator, and we currently have a box of worms that live there. They’re alive—so we can feed our axolotl. Then there was the time there was a dead squirrel in my refrigerator. That’s boys.
Jonathan Shuerger: It’s an adventure. Who knows what you’ll get when you open the fridge?
Laurie Christine: You never know. I’ll look for leftovers and think, “Ground beef—perfect.” No. Those are the worms.
Jonathan Shuerger: Let’s not eat that. That’s going to be interesting spaghetti. All right, Land of Giants is the next book in the Dragon Slayer Bible Series. Maybe some listeners aren’t familiar with your series. Can you give me the plot overview of the books you’ve done so far? Then we’ll get into the meaning and why you wrote them.
Laurie Christine: Sure. The Dragon Slayer Bible Series is adventure-packed biblical fiction for kids ages 8–12. It’s especially appealing to boys, but many girls have told me they love the books as well. The stories are based on characters and events in the Bible, but they also appeal to a boy’s love of adventure and fantasy. There’s lots of sword fighting, dragons, angels, giants, and ferocious beasts—all the elements of a great fantasy epic—but it’s based on Scripture.
The overarching plot is that the King has prophesied a Dragon Slayer will one day destroy the evil dragon who has been deceiving and corrupting humanity. The dragon is doing everything in his power to thwart the King’s plan and prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. The stories feel a little like fantasy because we see battles between the dragon’s forces of evil and the King’s army of angels. There’s a clear theme of spiritual warfare that challenges boys to stand firm and fight back against the dragon’s lies.
Jonathan Shuerger: And this one is called Land of Giants, so I’m assuming the bad guys—at least those under the dragon—are giants?
Laurie Christine: Yes. This takes place pre-flood. If you’ve read Genesis, you may have read about the Nephilim. In this book, they’re the Nephilites—prehistoric, pre-flood giants under the dragon’s power. They are his servants and minions.
Jonathan Shuerger: So our characters will be building the ark while being attacked by giants? Is that what’s happening?
Laurie Christine: Yes. It takes place before the flood. Noah and his son Shem are the main characters. Shem is a 12-year-old boy who’s been looking forward to his birthday because he knows that when he turns 12, his father will train him to be a warrior. He’s grown up using bows and arrows, but when he turns 12, he expects to train with swords, spears, and axes because he wants to protect his family. He knows about the giants in the land. He knows there are clans often fighting each other. Just last week there was a raid and some livestock were stolen. He wants to protect his family, but he’s not allowed to use more advanced weapons until he turns 12.
Just before his birthday, Noah gets instruction from the Lord to build an ark. Noah no longer has time to train Shem in the art of warfare. Shem is frustrated and disappointed. He sees other kids in the city using iron weapons—swords, axes, and javelins—since they were toddlers, and he’s still waiting. He decides to take matters into his own hands and finds someone else to train him. Throughout the story, we see Shem make some bad choices—pursuing the wrong way to become a warrior. In the end, he learns that the real battle is more than what we can see and that true warriors fight not only with swords and spears but also with faith, courage, and sacrifice.
Jonathan Shuerger: Why will this book specifically appeal to boys? There were things I found fantastic while editing. He wants to learn weapons because he wants to be capable. There’s a gang of boys in town providing negative peer pressure. That pushes him to equate manhood with being good at violence. What I appreciated is that your story presents the opposite: a man can be violent if he has to be, but that’s not his first choice. You see that in Noah and Lamech. They don’t choose violence first, but they don’t shy away from it either.
Laurie Christine: That’s one of the things Shem has to learn. He thinks becoming a man, a real warrior, means fighting like those city boys. If you’ve read Genesis, you know the world was evil at that time. Every intention of every heart was bent toward evil. They were not following the Lord. Shem sees boys pursuing manhood in ways that are not in accordance with what the King wants—selfish and violent.
He thinks he needs to take things into his own hands. We see throughout the story that the choices he makes aren’t necessarily because he’s trying to be bad. He’s making choices he thinks will help him achieve a good end, but he’s going about it the wrong way.
Jonathan Shuerger: He’s doing it in a culture of violence. In Genesis, cultures were based on what you could take. There were no police to stop it. People with more sons and more physical power could take whatever they wanted. People relied on the idea of their gods to protect them. If you didn’t have power, you hoped your god did. Children were trained for violence extremely young because they had to be for safety’s sake. You can tell how a culture is doing by when they start teaching their children to kill things. I dealt with that in the Middle East. I appreciated that Noah kept Shem from learning violence until around 12, while the other children—part of the terrible culture, the dragon’s world—were inculcated into violence far too young.
Laurie Christine: And when Noah did eventually train Shem—without giving too many spoilers—it wasn’t in the way of violence. He said, “I’m going to teach you these skills so you can use them for good—to defend and protect our family.” They weren’t going to go on a raid and take other people’s stuff. That’s a good lesson for boys: What strength has God given you? What skills has God given you? How can you use those for God’s glory and His Kingdom in a way that helps others and doesn’t hurt them?
Jonathan Shuerger: That’s a fantastic segue into the question you ask every guest on the show: How will Land of Giants help boys become strong, courageous warriors for the Kingdom of God?
Laurie Christine: Several themes come up. One is identity. Shem craves the approval of other boys. He thinks he needs to live up to their standards to fit in. He seeks their approval more than the approval of his family or, ultimately, the King. Boys are challenged to think about that.
Another theme: doing the right thing isn’t always popular—often it isn’t. Will you act courageously and obey the King, even when your friends are not, even when there’s evil all around you? Will you stick out and be the “weird” one to obey Him?
There’s also the theme of choosing friends. Shem gets in with the wrong crowd. Boys need wisdom to choose friends who encourage and guide them in the right direction.
There’s definitely the theme of spiritual warfare. We don’t battle against flesh-and-blood enemies. We battle against evil, dark forces that want to destroy us. And as we battle, we don’t fight in our own strength. Shem has to learn this. Our weapons aren’t strong enough against the enemy’s power. But when the King fights with you and for you, you can win any battle.
As the story wraps up, Shem learns that the weapons he thought would be his salvation—what he thought would make him strong and make him a man—turn out not to be very useful when it comes to fighting the dragon.
Jonathan Shuerger: One thing I like about this story is it’s not preachy. It’s not, “Shem did this thing, and in his heart he knew it was wrong…” He gets to make his mistakes. After he makes them, he moves forward, is still taken care of, and learns the right way by experiencing it. That’s important for the reader. You intend these stories to help boys rely on the Lord rather than the strength they feel developing in their bodies or the way the world does things—the dragon’s people. They’re learning the Lord’s way of success.
And they get to live through it while facing awesome bad guys—dragons and giants, riding what’s basically a dinosaur—having a good time with all this action. It’s better for readers, especially kids with active imaginations, to experience the lesson in a story rather than sit at a desk and be told what to do. Then when someone says, “Punch the bully in the face,” they can ask, “What did Shem do? What did he learn not to do? What was the lesson?” Now they have a choice and they get to see the results. That’s so important about this book.
Laurie Christine: I appreciate that. I don’t want the book to be preachy, but I do want it to clearly communicate biblical and spiritual truths so kids are immersed in the story, get wrapped up in it, and don’t even realize they’re learning. Then it’s a great opportunity for parents to have conversations with their kids: “What happened in the story? What did he do? What would you do in that situation?”
That’s a great segue to mention the companion devotional that goes with Land of Giants. If you want more direct instruction—more overt teaching—that’s what the devotional does. We go through scenes from the story and talk about what Shem experienced and the choices he made, walking through the themes and spiritual content in a more organized way.
The devotional also includes short Bible studies on the Genesis passages surrounding the flood. Land of Giants doesn’t actually cover the flood. It takes place about eighty-some years before. The ark is there, but we don’t go into the ark with the animals. There’s no water yet. In the devotional, you can dive into the flood passages, what Noah and his sons experienced on the ark—filling in some of those gaps.
Jonathan Shuerger: Now that we’ve talked about the book and why it’s beneficial to kids, let’s talk about the platform you’re using: Kickstarter. A lot of listeners aren’t experienced with using Kickstarter to buy books or back a project. Why did you choose crowdfunding to launch this book?
Laurie Christine: This is the third book I’ve funded on Kickstarter. The first two in the Dragon Slayer Bible Series successfully funded there. I love that it allows me to connect with readers. Kickstarter is designed to launch creative projects, but it’s not just a way to collect money—this isn’t GoFundMe. The goal is to connect personally with readers and provide special rewards and services you can’t get anywhere else.
I could just put my book on Amazon—which I will do in March 2026—but I wouldn’t get to know my readers. I wouldn’t know your name or have the opportunity to say thank you for joining me on this quest to raise strong, courageous warriors for God’s Kingdom. I’m excited to connect with readers and offer fun rewards. When you back a Kickstarter, you’re actually ordering a copy of the book (or multiple copies or the entire series), and each reward level has different perks.
Jonathan Shuerger: What’s your favorite reward—the one you’re most excited to give to backers?
Laurie Christine: Rewards range from a $15 ebook up to an in-person author visit. If you live within an hour of me, I’ll come to your school for a presentation. My two favorites:
• The Courageous Warrior level. You can get your children’s names on the Courageous Warrior list in the back of the book. I’ve done this for each campaign so far, and it’s very popular. This level includes a signed paperback of Land of Giants and the companion devotional, plus all digital rewards—ebooks for all three books in the series (Garden of Mysteries and Rise of the Enemy as well), and audiobooks for the entire series. If you have multiple kids, I’ll put all their names in the back.
• The Theosodon Bundle. You get the complete series—five paperbacks—plus the entire digital collection and a stuffed Theosodon, handmade by me. If you don’t know what a Theosodon is, you’ll have to read the book (or look it up). It’s a fun level kids will enjoy.
Jonathan Shuerger: Is there anything parents can do to check out the book beforehand? Parents are careful about what their kids read.
Laurie Christine: Absolutely. Go to the Kickstarter page via dragonslayerbible.com—there’s a button that says “Kickstarter.” On the Kickstarter page, you can download the first two chapters to get a taste of the book. At dragonslayerbible.com, you can also get a free ebook of the prequel to the series (Rise of the Enemy). It’s not Land of Giants, but it gives you an idea of my writing style.
Jonathan Shuerger: So to learn more about you and your book, go to dragonslayerbible.com. That’s where they’ll find everything.
Laurie Christine: Yep—dragonslayerbible.com. You can learn more about Land of Giants. There’s a big green button that says “Kickstarter.” Click it to back the campaign or to learn about it. Clicking the button takes you to the Kickstarter page with information, videos, and graphics about Land of Giants.
My goal is for you to get the book in time for Christmas. That’s a big perk of doing the Kickstarter now. If all goes smoothly, I plan to get books into your hands for Christmas so you can give them to your kids. Several people have asked when the next book is coming out because their son’s birthday just passed. It’s not quite ready for birthdays, but hopefully in time for Christmas. I wasn’t planning to launch until March 2026 on Amazon, but I want you to get a copy ahead of time.
The campaign runs from October 7 through October 23, 2025, ending at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. It’s short—just a little over two weeks—so head to dragonslayerbible.com.
Jonathan Shuerger: Here’s something I do with Kickstarters, especially around Christmas. I add several copies of the book as add-ons. I make my pledge level, then on the add-ons page I add more copies. I’m doing my Christmas shopping at my desk. I know it’s good for friends and their kids, and I’m done. That appeals to me—I don’t shop. I love doing this on Kickstarter. Get the whole series, several copies, spread it around, and your shopping is done. It funds your favorite author, you get stretch goals, and it’s a win-win-win for everybody.
Laurie Christine: I’m glad you mentioned add-ons. After you choose a level, you’ll get what’s included, and then at checkout it asks if you want to add additional books. If you buy the series set but have a niece or nephew who’d love a copy, you can add one more of each. Maybe you have three kids and they all want their own copy—you can add additional copies during checkout. Thank you for mentioning that, Jonathan.
