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Arcana Book I: I Am The Grave
728 pages, Paperback
Published February 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 21, 2025
I love books about music bands—I've even written one—and this book has a very potent opening. Just look at the opening paragraph:
"After hours of tossing and turning, I awake in a cold sweat from yet another nightmare. A sliver of moonlight casts its shadow across my twin-sized bed, basking everything it touches in an eerie blue light. My hand grazes something cool and damp. Above me, dripping from the ceiling onto the bed, Uisce is here, just like always. No matter where I go, it always finds me."
...and the prose, at its best moments, is incredibly beautiful. Also, I loved the central characters—Kaleb, Harley, Beau, and Z; some more than others, but that is only to be expected. I loved the way the author treated addiction and the way the characters dealt with their traumas, especially when someone close to them died from an overdose. It's also admirable how brilliantly all of the characters are built, and the whole coming-of-age part of it is perfectly done. The scenes of music shows are also beautifully portrayed.
However, I found that I personally couldn’t care about the fantasy elements in this one, maybe because I liked the otherwise realistic elements so much? Moreover, the book is a bit too long: though the well-paced prose helped, I still think it didn’t do justice to its 700+ pages.
The story surrounds four deeply troubled young men residing in Portland, Oregon, in the early 2000s, with a passion for music and a desire to escape. They come together and form a music band. The author has a method of changing narrators in every chapter, and the chapter is titled with the name of the narrator (which is helpful). This also has the advantage of letting readers see things from multiple perspectives.
Coming back to the fantasy element in the story, it’s all about tarot, and that’s why these characters are given power. And what is tarot? It’s some sort of ancient system of power that has been divided into two parts: the minor arcana is related to physical elements, and the major arcana relates to societal systems. We learn all this when we are about a third of the way into the book, and things get weirder after that. The only redeeming part of the fantasy stuff is the introduction of Felicity Featherstone, whose character quickly gripped my attention:
".... in front of a strange-looking woman. She sits cross-legged on the ground, looking up at the four of us with an abysmally crooked grin. She wears dark-rimmed glasses that seem to be made of plastic, and when I look closer, I notice they are without lenses."
She is the inheritor of card number 0 of the major arcana, by the way, and the founder of tarot. Her card shows she is a fool. She calls it a misnomer, but:
"I scan Felicity. The crooked teeth. The strange glasses. Frizzy hair. I hold back a chuckle. She really does look a bit like a fool."
Overall, I think I have somewhat mixed feelings about the book because I couldn't appreciate it in its entirety and only felt engaged by bits and elements. I mean, I do believe that the fantasy elements have the capacity to mature in the sequels, while the real-life elements have already been brilliantly done. Highly recommended to those into urban fantasy, books about music bands, and young adult novels.
"After hours of tossing and turning, I awake in a cold sweat from yet another nightmare. A sliver of moonlight casts its shadow across my twin-sized bed, basking everything it touches in an eerie blue light. My hand grazes something cool and damp. Above me, dripping from the ceiling onto the bed, Uisce is here, just like always. No matter where I go, it always finds me."
...and the prose, at its best moments, is incredibly beautiful. Also, I loved the central characters—Kaleb, Harley, Beau, and Z; some more than others, but that is only to be expected. I loved the way the author treated addiction and the way the characters dealt with their traumas, especially when someone close to them died from an overdose. It's also admirable how brilliantly all of the characters are built, and the whole coming-of-age part of it is perfectly done. The scenes of music shows are also beautifully portrayed.
However, I found that I personally couldn’t care about the fantasy elements in this one, maybe because I liked the otherwise realistic elements so much? Moreover, the book is a bit too long: though the well-paced prose helped, I still think it didn’t do justice to its 700+ pages.
The story surrounds four deeply troubled young men residing in Portland, Oregon, in the early 2000s, with a passion for music and a desire to escape. They come together and form a music band. The author has a method of changing narrators in every chapter, and the chapter is titled with the name of the narrator (which is helpful). This also has the advantage of letting readers see things from multiple perspectives.
Coming back to the fantasy element in the story, it’s all about tarot, and that’s why these characters are given power. And what is tarot? It’s some sort of ancient system of power that has been divided into two parts: the minor arcana is related to physical elements, and the major arcana relates to societal systems. We learn all this when we are about a third of the way into the book, and things get weirder after that. The only redeeming part of the fantasy stuff is the introduction of Felicity Featherstone, whose character quickly gripped my attention:
".... in front of a strange-looking woman. She sits cross-legged on the ground, looking up at the four of us with an abysmally crooked grin. She wears dark-rimmed glasses that seem to be made of plastic, and when I look closer, I notice they are without lenses."
She is the inheritor of card number 0 of the major arcana, by the way, and the founder of tarot. Her card shows she is a fool. She calls it a misnomer, but:
"I scan Felicity. The crooked teeth. The strange glasses. Frizzy hair. I hold back a chuckle. She really does look a bit like a fool."
Overall, I think I have somewhat mixed feelings about the book because I couldn't appreciate it in its entirety and only felt engaged by bits and elements. I mean, I do believe that the fantasy elements have the capacity to mature in the sequels, while the real-life elements have already been brilliantly done. Highly recommended to those into urban fantasy, books about music bands, and young adult novels.
July 19, 2025
As an adult, YA is not my go to genre anymore, but as a fan of music, concerts, and magic, this book intrigued me.
The novel follows 4 troubled young men who find community in their punk rock band, all while finding they serve a greater purpose of wielding powers inspired by the Tarot. The more they understand about their powers, the more danger, conflict, and strength of their relationship with each other builds. There is some heavy content in regards to self harm and addiction, so keep that in mind while reading the book. I feel the themes were explored in ways that give deeper understanding to the characters.
I think as an adult I would rate this book 4/5 stars but I will give a 5 as I think I would have been more engrossed and less critical if I was a teenager reading this book. Overall it was a quick, entertaining read and I’m curious to see where the story leads in the future!
The novel follows 4 troubled young men who find community in their punk rock band, all while finding they serve a greater purpose of wielding powers inspired by the Tarot. The more they understand about their powers, the more danger, conflict, and strength of their relationship with each other builds. There is some heavy content in regards to self harm and addiction, so keep that in mind while reading the book. I feel the themes were explored in ways that give deeper understanding to the characters.
I think as an adult I would rate this book 4/5 stars but I will give a 5 as I think I would have been more engrossed and less critical if I was a teenager reading this book. Overall it was a quick, entertaining read and I’m curious to see where the story leads in the future!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews