Canon: A Modern Epic

2026-04-14T00:25:31Z

Publisher Summary

Yara can’t comprehend why God has chosen them to slay Dominic, the ruthless leader of the army of Bad Guys. Cast out by their family and reeling from a destructive relationship, Yara has never felt weaker—but with nothing left to lose, they strike a deal. Abandoning their solitary days of embroidery and obsessive cleaning, Yara reluctantly embarks on a perilous odyssey designed to prepare them for the daunting mission ahead.

Meanwhile, Adrena, a disillusioned prophet with a terrifying secret power, is determined to become the hero of this story. Desperately seeking the glory of God’s approval and the promise of heaven, where she hopes to reunite with her beloved mother, Adrena must first persuade Harpo, the leader of the Good Guys, that her plan is God’s will.

As their journeys unfold in a series of unforgettable adventures, Yara and Adrena are propelled toward each other and transformative revelations about life, death, and destiny in this intensely captivating, irreverent epic from a singularly brilliant new voice in fiction.

Review

Editorial Note: My reviews strive to avoid spoilers, however small. As such, I will only focus on the plot in broad terms. Any mention of specific events will be restricted to the first 10-20 pages, so feel free to read this review prior to reading the book.

Some of the best literature comes from constraint. When you intentionally limit yourself via word count/meter/format, you have to sharpen every other element of the work to compensate. The epic poem is a bundle of these constraints, and it’s why Paige Lewis’ debut novel Canon shines. By self-identifying as an epic, you inherit these constraints and define a few expectations for your work. But as you'll see, this is what allows the book to become something special.

From the beginning this novel is not shy about being an epic. One of our main characters, Yara, is called by God on their journey in the very first pages. That journey is to kill the leader of the Bad Guys (yes, this is the actual phrase used to describe them), Dominic. God is even explicit about setting up obstacles for them to prepare them for this task.

In the other half of the story, a prophet Adrena is used to hearing God in her head. She spends her time listening to his words and relaying them to others. But God abandons her to assist Yara in her journey (bypassing Adrena), which makes Adrena determined to kill Dominic herself. So she heads to the front lines to join the army in their quest.

It’s clear that the plot has been pared down to the essentials. It's not clear why the Bad Guys are "bad," why Yara was chosen, or (for most of the story) why Yara is so committed to doing something so against her nature. But the familiarity of this structure makes Yara’s quirks that much more pronounced. That’s the core of what makes Canon so good: Lewis uses our familiarity with these clichès to highlight the things that make Yara and Adrena different from what the reader expects.

The narration also takes advantage of this. As an epic, this novel is being “told” by a bard/storyteller, relaying the accomplishments of Yara and Adrena. The narrator is aware of the sort of story being told and is committed to telling is aware that their journeys must be told as epics. But that doesn’t mean the narrator is a fan of that format. Just look at some of these quotes:

Some Eco-Friendly Bullshit

Brace Yourself—Things Are About to Get Weird What do you mean things were already weird? What kind of person have I been spending all this time with? You probably think it’s embarrassing to buy lube for your partner. You probably ask for level-one spice when you order ramen. I bet you read Hemingway.

Listen, once a person becomes a hero, their past self retroactively becomes a hero, too. So Yara is technically already our hero.

In these specific cases it is used to humorous effect, but that same subverting of expectation can also be used to add depth. While there are story elements that "have" to happen, the narrator can speed past parts that don't support the story they are trying to tell. The narrator is largely on Yara and Adrena's "side," so details like omitting Yara's father's name become insight into how the narrator (and by extension Yara) want the story to be told.

There is so much more I could say about this book. I would recommend reading as little as you can about Canon beforehand; the element of surprise makes this book much more satisfying to read. It is just so different from anything else I've read in the last 2-3 years. Canon has cemented Paige Lewis as an author to watch moving forward.

Galley Notes

Canon: A Modern Epic

Publisher Summary

Review