The White Forest by Adam McOmber

Originally published in Time Out Chicago, November 1, 2012

Set on the outskirts of Victorian London, this gothic mystery is narrated by Jane Silverlake, a young woman who possesses a kind of spiritual synesthesia that allows her to see, hear and feel the essences of manmade objects. This talent, which she can transfer to others via touch, frightens all but her closest friends, fellow outcasts Maddy and Nathan. When Nathan falls under the influence of occultist Ariston Day, he decides Jane is the link to Empyrean, a pristine netherworld. The book opens after Nathan has vanished, having last been seen with Day and his zealots. Jane and Maddy’s investigation into Nathan’s disappearance coincides with a more important discovery: the origin of Jane’s powers and her connection to a deity known as the Lady of the Flowers.

If the above sounds hard to follow, that’s because it is. While McOmber’s imagination is admirable (see a sequence on Malta involving monks and white apes), his storytelling comes up short. Day’s cult dedicated to returning civilization to a pre-mechanized age (“the beautiful Unmade”) is intriguing but plays second fiddle to a love-triangle subplot straight out of a YA novel. Several characters, such as a French police inspector, fail to function beyond their obvious inclusion as plot devices, and under the weight of McOmber’s labored prose, dramatic scenes come off more silly than spooky. With more aggressive editing, something of greater substance might have emerged from the fog-covered heath that Jane perpetually traverses. As it stands, it’s nearly impossible to see the Forest through the trees.