What do you think?
Rate this book
Arcane
This copy shows little wear and some sun fading on the outside of the pages. Ships very quickly and packaged carefully!
- GenresFantasy
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1978
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 7, 2021
In his Preface, the author states that he used the Tarot deck as the inspiration for this novel; each of its 22 chapters is inspired by a card randomly drawn from the deck. Accordingly, the book's opening chapter is titled The Fool, with succeeding chapters titled The High Priestess, The Magicians, The Tower, The Moon...
"Arcane" is set in a bucolic land where the people enjoy lives free of want or oppression under their cantankerous leader, an elderly man named Niko. As the novel opens, a young man named Abeth descends from the nearby mountain range and makes the acquaintance of Niko. At first glance, Abeth seems to be a simpleton, but to Niko's consternation, Abeth soon displays skills at magic and telepathy that indicate this is no ordinary man.
Abeth installs himself as the ruler of Arcane and under his guidance and tutelage the people of the land begin to build larger settlements, expand their borders into adjoining territories, and adopt new technologies. Niko can only look on in dismay as Arcane takes steps towards becoming an empire.
Niko finds allies in his efforts to undermine Abeth's rule. The victims....or victors...... of this power struggle will be the people of Arcane........
"Arcane" has an offbeat narrative, dictated as it is by the random drawing of a Tarot card. This prevents the novel from becoming too predictable; each chapter introduces some new twist or wrinkle in the plot. At the same time, the lack of an overarching storyline makes it difficult for the reader to feel overly invested in the characters or the fate of Arcane.
Author uses a spare, straightforward prose style that is devoid of the usual trappings of a fantasy novel: there are no elves, dwarves, Evil Lords, orcs, goblins, ruined cities, spirits of long-lost heroes, or mystical artifacts present in Arcane (although a dragon does make a brief appearance).
Carl Sherrell (May 10, 1929 – February 7, 1990) was an American artist, illustrator and author of pulp fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. He is most famous for the sword and sorcery trilogy started with "Raum".
Sherrell was a commercial artist for most of his life, occasionally working as pulp illustrator for publications such as Fantasy Newsletter or even esoterical non-fiction works such as Frater Albertus's From "One" to "Ten".
"Arcane" is set in a bucolic land where the people enjoy lives free of want or oppression under their cantankerous leader, an elderly man named Niko. As the novel opens, a young man named Abeth descends from the nearby mountain range and makes the acquaintance of Niko. At first glance, Abeth seems to be a simpleton, but to Niko's consternation, Abeth soon displays skills at magic and telepathy that indicate this is no ordinary man.
Abeth installs himself as the ruler of Arcane and under his guidance and tutelage the people of the land begin to build larger settlements, expand their borders into adjoining territories, and adopt new technologies. Niko can only look on in dismay as Arcane takes steps towards becoming an empire.
Niko finds allies in his efforts to undermine Abeth's rule. The victims....or victors...... of this power struggle will be the people of Arcane........
"Arcane" has an offbeat narrative, dictated as it is by the random drawing of a Tarot card. This prevents the novel from becoming too predictable; each chapter introduces some new twist or wrinkle in the plot. At the same time, the lack of an overarching storyline makes it difficult for the reader to feel overly invested in the characters or the fate of Arcane.
Author uses a spare, straightforward prose style that is devoid of the usual trappings of a fantasy novel: there are no elves, dwarves, Evil Lords, orcs, goblins, ruined cities, spirits of long-lost heroes, or mystical artifacts present in Arcane (although a dragon does make a brief appearance).
Carl Sherrell (May 10, 1929 – February 7, 1990) was an American artist, illustrator and author of pulp fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. He is most famous for the sword and sorcery trilogy started with "Raum".
Sherrell was a commercial artist for most of his life, occasionally working as pulp illustrator for publications such as Fantasy Newsletter or even esoterical non-fiction works such as Frater Albertus's From "One" to "Ten".
Displaying 1 of 1 review