Christian fantasy and science fiction publisher Marcher Lord Press (MLP) has launched a new fiction imprint with Vox Day’s 854-page hardcover novel, A Throne of Bones ($34.99). The company said that the Marcher Lord Hinterlands imprint, or simply Hinterlands, will “house more mature content that some readers may find objectionable.”

“The core MLP readership is conservative and Christian, but many who need Christ will never read one of our regular novels,” said Jeff Gerke, MLP publisher. “A Throne of Bones, which we’re pitching as the Christian answer to George R.R. Martin [author of Game of Thrones, now an HBO series], we can engage fans of secular epic fantasy and introduce them to the gospel.”

Though the new titles will not be for every MLP reader, Gerke pointed out that some readers will not be bothered by their content.

“Just as some Christians have the ability to watch R-rated movies without stumbling and others do not, so it will be with A Throne of Bones and other titles to come in the Hinterlands line,” he said.

But Gerke promises the company is “not going crazy” with this imprint. “It’s not going to be erotica, and the characters aren’t going to be dropping f-bombs left and right,” he said. “But these books will still have more mature content than other Christian novels. Having these books in their own imprint will allow our fans to find the Marcher Lord Press books they’re interested in and avoid the ones they would rather avoid.”

On the MLP website, a special mature content icon is used to indicate the type of books the Hinterlands titles are, and a caution is also provided: “Hinterlands books may contain vulgarity, profanity, nudity and/or sexual content, but never for gratuitous purposes. Hinterlands allows us to pursue crossover publishing that will put the word of the gospel before people who would never otherwise pick up a Christian novel. It also allows us to examine mature themes in a realistic manner that some Christians will appreciate. We know that not everyone will want to read these books, so we have set them apart into the Hinterlands imprint.”

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected since its original publication. Retailers, publishers, authors, do you have an opinion on Marcher Lord’s new imprint? Click here to share your comments with us on Facebook.

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