Fantasy is really a beast of its own.  When author Henry Lytten–the author inside the novel Arcadia by author Iain Pears–wants to create a new world, he takes his inspiration from colleagues C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien to create the ultimate fantasy world.  Things get interesting, though, when the lines blur between what’s real and what’s not.

Honestly, this is the kind of book that’s better to read if you know only the basics about it.  It really has a bit of everything in it; as one reviewer on Goodreads says, tongue-in-cheek, it’s “the most entertaining Shakespearean time-travel dystopian science fantasy spy thriller romance I’ve read in that terribly overcrowded genre.”

Pegging this book down to one genre is no easy task, and probably not the best idea. Reviewers have labelled it fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, mystery, romance, etc.  Honestly, none of these fully encompass what the story offers.  Arcadia is a whimsically yet oddly serious look into what it means to be human in an increasingly chaotic world.  If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, give it a go.

Thanks for reading!

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