Sample Chapter | Free PDF File
| Arcane Cage is my first foray into fiction after a lifetime of nonfiction writing–but I cheated a little.
The fantasy story is told from the perspective of a historian who must rely on documents and knowledge of the past. The main character, Siddrah, was sent by the High Council to investigate mysterious troubles at a distant outpost in a sprawling empire settled by a magical civilization (the “Provenance”). Her record of events and personal journal offer much of the evidence for the main narrative as well as a window into Siddrah’s own thoughts and feelings about her mission.
Like any historical narrative, however, the author/historian crafts an interpretation of events from multiple and often contradictory perspectives. The footnotes cite these primary sources and, in many cases, offer micro-stories about the “Arcane Age” in which Siddrah lived. The micro-stories little-by-little reconstruct a place and time in which everyday life centered around the mastery of magic in the smallest of details. In this way, I hoped to write a fantasy novel enriched by an element of historical fiction to create a social world and adventure story with a certain type of realism.
Siddrah’s story begins in Chapter 4, “Life on the Wayfarers’ Trail.” Please click here or on the image below for a complimentary copy in the Adobe Acrobat pdf format. Recommended view/zoom: page level.
If this hybrid style of fantasy and historical fiction appeals to you, Arcane Cage is available on Amazon in Kindle format and paperback.