Arqtiq: A Study of the Marvels at the North Pole


Read by Chuck Williamson

(3.5 stars; 4 reviews)

Described by author Liza Daly as a "strange masterpiece of outsider art," Arqtiq is a bizarre, borderline hallucinatory work of feminist utopian fiction. Equal parts sci-fi adventure, philosophical tract, and pro-Symmesian pamphlet, Anna Adolph’s strange, self-published novella centers its narrative around an aviator (also named Anna) who, along with a ragtag group of family and friends, charts an expedition to the North Pole in a retro-futuristic airship of her own invention. There, Anna and her crew travel into the hollow earth, encounter a race of telepathic giants, and uncover secrets about God and the universe.

Written in a style that teeters somewhere between modernist abstraction and amateurish enthusiasm, Arqtiq almost defies comprehension. It is a maddening and oftentimes incoherent tale that nonetheless fascinates with its unhinged imagination. It is perhaps one of the most exuberantly surreal and dreamlike works of utopian fiction from this era. - Summary by ChuckW (4 hr 2 min)

Chapters

Chapter 1 16:59 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 2 11:28 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 3 18:04 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 4 32:55 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 5 9:29 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 6 15:17 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 7 6:01 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 8 47:56 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 9, Part 1 39:34 Read by Chuck Williamson
Chapter 9, Part 2 44:20 Read by Chuck Williamson