Arkadien
#5293.92 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2009–2011 Reading commitment Medium Kai Meyer Last reviewed 2026-09-06
Overview
A German-language contemporary fantasy trilogy following Rosa Alcantara, a girl caught between two rival crime-magic dynasties on Sicily, the shapeshifting Alcantaras and the fire-wielding Carnevares, as an old feud reignites and pulls her toward a truth about her own family. Kai Meyer sets myth-tinged magic against a modern Mediterranean underworld of honour, blood ties, and inherited power, drawing loosely on Sicilian mafia imagery and Mediterranean folklore rather than the medieval-European settings typical of much of his other work. The trilogy, Arkadien erwacht (2009), Arkadien brennt (2010) and Arkadien fällt (2011), follows Rosa's growing awareness of her own hidden magical inheritance as she is drawn deeper into the two families' generations-old conflict, culminating in a confrontation that forces her to choose a side. Meyer, a prolific German YA and fantasy author, is best known internationally for other series, but Arkadien remains a distinct, self-contained trilogy set entirely within its own contemporary Sicilian mythology.
Urban fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Arkadien Trilogy Kai Meyer
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Arkadien erwacht | 2009 | 1 | core | 3.79 (5,485 ratings) |
 | Arkadien brennt | 2010 | 2 | core | 4.05 (2,946 ratings) |
 | Arkadien fällt | 2011 | 3 | core | 4.04 (2,525 ratings) |
German-language contemporary/portal fantasy trilogy set mostly on Sicily, following two rival crime-magic families. All three volumes were translated into English by Anthea Bell as Arcadia Awakens, Arcadia Burns, and Arcadia Falls (Amulet Books/Abrams).
Quick answers
- How many books are in Arkadien? Arkadien's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Arkadien? Publication order, starting with Arkadien erwacht. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Arkadien finished? Complete (2009–2011).
- How much reading does Arkadien take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~883 pages).
- How is Arkadien ranked? #529 in this site's official ranking, based on 10,956 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #529?
Ranked #529 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.92 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (10,956 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #528, Tea with the Black Dragon (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 3 books · Complete · 11k ratings · Ranks #529 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Arkadien erwacht (2009)
- Arkadien brennt (2010)
- Arkadien fällt (2011)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this trilogy after a direct search.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.92 across 10,956 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Arkadien (Kai Meyer) accepted 2026-09-06
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-06
Rule: All three novels form one continuous story with a single cast and setting, so all three are Core Canon: Arkadien erwacht (2009), Arkadien brennt (2010), and Arkadien fällt (2011).