Arkania: A Lucid Odyssey

by Alex Andor Skanavis

Overview

Arkania is an odyssey of limitless proportions: a spirit quest dedicated to dreamers and pioneers alike. Using the forgotten art of epic poetry, Arkania chronicles the adventures of a young visionary, who becomes initiated in an otherworldly academy of dreamers known as The Astral Alliance. Her increasing abilities, however, threaten the source of dark energies operating light-years away across the Spiral Arm—where Arcturus, her unfulfilled hero awaits. As the struggle between the corruption and salvation of both worlds unfolds, new destructive energies consume each slumbering world. The floating glass fortress of the Astral Alliance—and Arkania—become civilizations’ final safeguard against apocalyptic forces. Classical in style, yet futuristic in scope, this work explores the powers of unlocking imagination, the mystery of the subconscious mind, astral traveling, and the mysterious effect that dreaming has upon our waking world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781698703183
Publisher:	Trafford Publishing
Publication date:	06/10/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	130
File size:	8 MB

Editorial Reviews

2022-03-23
A prophet joins a mystical alliance to heal the world and rescue her soul mate in this epic poem.

In two previous long poems,Gaia(2012) and Galaxia(2015), Skanavis addressed themes of Earth’s environmental collapse and attempts to heal it. This is the third volume of his trilogy, but each installment can be read as a stand-alone work. The name of the epic’s hero, Arkania, suggests both the arcane and Noah’s Ark, neatly summing up her mystical mission. She is a “dreamer extraordinaire,” a voyager in meditation, who is called to join the Astral Alliance and become trained in their “dojo of the mind,” learning ancient teachings from many traditions. In a far distant realm, Arcturus has been ensnared by the Nightmare King; Arkania journeys via astral travel to rescue him, her destined soul mate. Beyond that, Arkania’s mission is to redeem worlds across the galaxy’s Spiral Arm. With the Alliance backing her up, a clash between the forces of good and evil ensues. The power of darkness is seductive, and Arkania considers becoming the Nightmare Queen—but she realizes a better way. By bringing compassion to her shadow side, she can change the world. Though Skanavis’ style recalls poets like William Blake and Emily Dickinson, his work is startlingly original. His poetic soundscape casts a spell through techniques like alliteration, rhyme, and lush but focused vocabulary, as in “A sink, then rise, then synesthetic trance— / Weblike lattice—multi-petaled tesseract.” The poem is written in heroic couplets, usually though not strictly in iambic pentameter; the variation, plus half-rhymes such as cosmos/host, prevents the verse from becoming too singsong-y. The themes of initiation, transfiguration, and illumination should be compelling for readers intrigued by the hero’s odyssey.

An enchanting, one-of-a-kind long poem for a new age.

Kirkus Reviews