Arcane Cage Review | BookLife Prize 2019 from Publishers Weekly

Critic's Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Arcane Cage: “Richly Imagined and Lavishly Depicted”

Historia|Research is pleased to share the Critic’s Report for Arcane Cage presented by Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize 2019.

The report lauds the overarching plot to Arcane Cage: “The great historical sweep of the entire book, and the account of Siddrah’s quest for the talismanic Archon, are richly imagined and lavishly depicted.”

Singling out the historical narrative for praise, the critic likens the prose and style of Arcane Cage to classics of fantasy literature. “There is a classical historian’s tone to this fantasy epic,” the Critic’s Report suggests, “with echoes of Tolkien and other fantasy greats.” The BookLife Prize 2019 credits the originality of the author’s realization of the Arcane Age, in particular, its “singular construction of an imaginary world, culture and even a literary heritage is impressive.”

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Despite the evident appreciation for the unique historical approach to the subject, Publishers Weekly’s critic for the BookLife Prize 2019 indicated less appreciation for Siddrah’s narrative arc. Assessing her historical role in the latter-day events of the Arcane Age, the critic adds, “the hero’s journey and the corruption that power offers are themes that have been pretty thoroughly explored already.”

“Poppycock!” Dr. Wycoff retorted, when asked for comment. “Leave aside the fact that our heroine’s, Siddrah’s, deeds predate Gilgamesh and similar heroic tales by centuries. Ignore the inapt analogy with fantasy literature and its obscene preoccupation with wish-fulfillment for the divine right and return of kings. The predominant subject of my work is the Arcane Age, the nature of democracy, and the consent of the governed—from the time of Pandema’s curse of the godhead, to the emergence of the Provenance as the Empire for Liberty, and ending with Siddrah’s subversive actions to regain the Archon.”

When asked to clarify whether such themes have not been explored already from every profitable angle, Dr. Wycoff scoffed.

“If these themes have been explored sufficiently and exhaustively, why do madmen, monarchs, and malcontents continue to plague the last free nations of the world during our so-called Golden Age?” Dr. Wycoff went on to answer, “The corruption that power offers pales in comparison to the power that corruption affords to the modern magnates of our mechanized, managerial and media-made globe. The ‘talismanic Archon’ was an instrument destined to manufacture the consent of the governed no less than social media, television, and the yellow press.”

He added, “If there is one lesson to take from the late American republic, it is that we may never cease to be vigilant against the technologies of unfreedom and the artificial intelligence of tyrants.”

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The BookLife Prize 2019 commends the character development of the main protagonist with one minor qualification, “Siddrah is really the only character that receives some depth, and that’s reasonable in an imagined history.” The Critic’s Report faults, however, the development of the other significant players in the Arcane Age events retold in the story: “it does render other characters as flat and set up to serve the heroine’s quest.”

“That is, of course, one interpretation of events I acknowledged and critiqued in the epilogue,” Dr. Wycoff contemplated. “Perhaps, like recent contributors to the special issue of the Journal of the Early Provenance, the critic believes that Siddrah used the Archon to her own benefit and bent the will of her colleagues to fulfill some sense of privilege or ambition for power that she desired for herself.” After a long pause, he noted, “But, if the other characters are merely plot devices, it suggests her story is an anti-heroine’s descent into villainy rather than the familiar hero’s journey. Both cannot be true.”

“As for myself,” Dr. Wycoff continued, “I remain convinced that Siddrah acted with the utmost honor and republican spirit given the circumstances. Although we must rely on her record of events, the primary sources provide ample evidence that she refused to abuse the Archon in order to bend the will of her party members to her own. I hope that others will read the book and see how her fellowship, or Sum, gradually came together in common purpose to defend the democratic principles and ideals of the Provenance.”

In the overall assessment, the Critic’s Report provides a solid review of Arcane Cage. As our first published work of fiction, Historia|Research welcomes the insights and wishes to express its immense gratitude to Publishers Weekly, the BookLife Prize 2019 and its Critic’s Report. While we regret to say that Arcane Cage likely will not take home the BookLife Prize 2019, we nonetheless value the competition and feedback.

“As I foretold in the prologue,” Dr. Wycoff reflected, “a small faction of critics will ‘countenance historical narrative and similar modes of analysis as worthy of the subject matter, but fault my knowledge of the literary canon or interpretation of the primary sources.’ More generous readers may see the Ouroboros in my account of events as Siddrah’s tale is swallowed by the maw of Provenancial history. The origin and the end of the Arcane Age are wrapped around how we understand Siddrah’s choices and whether or not she used the Archon to her own advantage.”