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Cantos of Arcadia
It promised salvation. It delivered only doom.
When Ansel Horowitz stumbles on a solution to Earth’s energy crisis, he’s ecstatic—at first. But soon reality sets in: the solution didn’t come from Ansel’s own genius, or even from his AI partner. No, the solution to the world’s potential doom has come from a shadowy entity, origin unknown. And salvation comes with a condition: the entity wants a body of its own. It wants to live, even if it means hijacking someone else’s body to do it.
Ansel fights the entity, but humanity—overjoyed to have a solution to its greatest threat—doesn’t look twice. Soon, a golden age begins: poverty is obliterated, our energy debt wiped out. It’s a dream…
…that becomes a nightmare when the entity triggers a massive volcanic explosion: an extinction-level event that forces humanity to take refuge underground.
Apocalypse threatens. Humanity is on the brink. Blood cults rise, worshipping a dark goddess who demands nothing less than the extinction of mankind—and the ritual sacrifice of Ansel Horowitz.
But Ansel has vanished, searching for the one thing that can stop what he believes to be an alien/AI hybrid that will stop at nothing to achieve immortality, even if it means ending all life on Earth.
The stage is set. The stakes are infinite. And only one man knows the secret that will either save the world…or destroy the universe.
Fans of the dystopian dilemmas of Hugh Howey’s Wool (aka the runaway hit Silo on Apple+), the end-of-the-world struggles and human tragedy of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and the deep state conspiracies of CS Lewis’ That Hideous Strength will love Cantos of Arcadia: the newest must-read for science fiction fans. Tap the link, grab your copy, and get ready for a story unlike any you’ve heard before!
When Ansel Horowitz stumbles on a solution to Earth’s energy crisis, he’s ecstatic—at first. But soon reality sets in: the solution didn’t come from Ansel’s own genius, or even from his AI partner. No, the solution to the world’s potential doom has come from a shadowy entity, origin unknown. And salvation comes with a condition: the entity wants a body of its own. It wants to live, even if it means hijacking someone else’s body to do it.
Ansel fights the entity, but humanity—overjoyed to have a solution to its greatest threat—doesn’t look twice. Soon, a golden age begins: poverty is obliterated, our energy debt wiped out. It’s a dream…
…that becomes a nightmare when the entity triggers a massive volcanic explosion: an extinction-level event that forces humanity to take refuge underground.
Apocalypse threatens. Humanity is on the brink. Blood cults rise, worshipping a dark goddess who demands nothing less than the extinction of mankind—and the ritual sacrifice of Ansel Horowitz.
But Ansel has vanished, searching for the one thing that can stop what he believes to be an alien/AI hybrid that will stop at nothing to achieve immortality, even if it means ending all life on Earth.
The stage is set. The stakes are infinite. And only one man knows the secret that will either save the world…or destroy the universe.
Fans of the dystopian dilemmas of Hugh Howey’s Wool (aka the runaway hit Silo on Apple+), the end-of-the-world struggles and human tragedy of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and the deep state conspiracies of CS Lewis’ That Hideous Strength will love Cantos of Arcadia: the newest must-read for science fiction fans. Tap the link, grab your copy, and get ready for a story unlike any you’ve heard before!
210 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2025
6 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Kotar
40 books376 followersNicholas Kotar is a writer of epic fantasy inspired by Russian fairy tales, a freelance translator from Russian to English, the resident conductor of the men's choir at a Russian monastery in the middle of nowhere, and a semi-professional vocalist. His one great regret in life is that he was not born in the nineteenth century in St. Petersburg, but he is doing everything he can to remedy that error.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 9, 2025
This is a 140 page scifi novella (not including the additional material) that is essentially a combo of That Hideous Strength, A Canticle for Leibowitz and a good smattering of Brave New World.
It looks at the ramifications of an AI-pocalypse and the demonic spirit that lies behind such a movement. There’s a lot of very interesting ideas and questions posed in this novel, I only wish it had given more time to these concepts. Its small page count is my primary negative as the characters were interesting, the world was imaginative, and the questions asked were compelling. I just wish I’d had more time within the text to sit on all this.
It looks at the ramifications of an AI-pocalypse and the demonic spirit that lies behind such a movement. There’s a lot of very interesting ideas and questions posed in this novel, I only wish it had given more time to these concepts. Its small page count is my primary negative as the characters were interesting, the world was imaginative, and the questions asked were compelling. I just wish I’d had more time within the text to sit on all this.
October 4, 2025
Cantos of Arcadia is a beautiful novella. It captivated me from the first page, and I couldn’t put it down. The descriptions of the apocalyptic world are rich as well as frightening, immersing the reader into this strange world. The author seamlessly weaves mythic tales into a compelling, apocalyptic sci-fi story, adding depth and beauty to the wasteland.
As others have noted, there is a musicality to the story, both in the author’s use of words as well as to allusions of music and art throughout the story, but it goes beyond the allusions. It has been said that “all art aspires to the condition of music”. This work nearly meets that condition. It is soulful and compelling, blending both sorrow and joy, which is a major thematic strain in the work. What is left off the page in the pauses lends to the depth and richness of what is said.
In addition to the beautiful writing style, the characters themselves are nuanced and compelling, which is very important to me when reading a novel. I feel like there must be pages of backstory to Ansel and Zak. There is a progressive reveal as to who they are and who they become through the course of the story. The reader is given pieces at a time, but scenes are left off the stage to leave a sense of mystery and wonder for the reader to fill in.
The story is both original and timeless, blending AI and its implications for humanity with the truly human. The conclusion left me with deep thoughts afterwards, considering its implications. This is a story that stays with you long after you’re finished reading it.
As others have noted, there is a musicality to the story, both in the author’s use of words as well as to allusions of music and art throughout the story, but it goes beyond the allusions. It has been said that “all art aspires to the condition of music”. This work nearly meets that condition. It is soulful and compelling, blending both sorrow and joy, which is a major thematic strain in the work. What is left off the page in the pauses lends to the depth and richness of what is said.
In addition to the beautiful writing style, the characters themselves are nuanced and compelling, which is very important to me when reading a novel. I feel like there must be pages of backstory to Ansel and Zak. There is a progressive reveal as to who they are and who they become through the course of the story. The reader is given pieces at a time, but scenes are left off the stage to leave a sense of mystery and wonder for the reader to fill in.
The story is both original and timeless, blending AI and its implications for humanity with the truly human. The conclusion left me with deep thoughts afterwards, considering its implications. This is a story that stays with you long after you’re finished reading it.
September 24, 2025
What a gorgeous book! A post-apocalyptic science fiction story that manages to be both deadly serious and hopeful at the same time, it takes that wonderful akathist Glory to God for All Things as its backbone and spins off into something completely unexpected, yet entirely right.
The book was originally envisioned as a libretto for the project that eventually became Benedict Sheehan’s brilliant oratorio Akathist, but I’m so glad Cantos for Arcadia became its own thing. The movement and transformation of the characters is developed and believable, and the atmosphere eerie and compelling. Even so, it does not escape its musical background— there is a musicality to the prose that hints at the music that inspired the author. There were moments that I swore my mind’s ear heard the song hidden behind the words.
It’s such intelligent writing, too, the kind of writing that bubbles out when a person’s mind is full of connections between art and music and books and life. Even more pertinently, it comes from the connections that come from being truly formed by an Orthodox phronema. It is the kind of story that is able to hold that tension between theodicy and ecstasy that the akathist does so uniquely.
I can't wait for everyone else to discover this wonderful book!
The book was originally envisioned as a libretto for the project that eventually became Benedict Sheehan’s brilliant oratorio Akathist, but I’m so glad Cantos for Arcadia became its own thing. The movement and transformation of the characters is developed and believable, and the atmosphere eerie and compelling. Even so, it does not escape its musical background— there is a musicality to the prose that hints at the music that inspired the author. There were moments that I swore my mind’s ear heard the song hidden behind the words.
It’s such intelligent writing, too, the kind of writing that bubbles out when a person’s mind is full of connections between art and music and books and life. Even more pertinently, it comes from the connections that come from being truly formed by an Orthodox phronema. It is the kind of story that is able to hold that tension between theodicy and ecstasy that the akathist does so uniquely.
I can't wait for everyone else to discover this wonderful book!
February 3, 2026
This one was a bit much for me which is a funny thing to say about such a short read. I just found the narrative style difficult to get into. I am biased toward deep character work and more straight forward storytelling, so writing like this isn't really my thing. That being said, the writing here IS really good and kept me engaged.
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September 24, 2025My first foray into sci fi.
More about the story behind the story here:
https://thewoodbetweentheworlds.subst...
More about the story behind the story here:
https://thewoodbetweentheworlds.subst...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews