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A review by aphelia88
The White Forest by Adam McOmber
2.0
The mention of H. P. Lovecraft in one of the back cover quotes intrigued me; although I haven't read that author, I have read mentions of his Elder Gods and different takes on his mythology in other works I've enjoyed. While I can see a similar type of ideology at work here, both the central love (more like obsession) triangle and eventual unveiling of the other realm failed to be affecting.
Stylistically, this is a slightly creepy read that gradually builds up a feeling a pervasive dread that slowly fizzles out. Set in Victorian London, it follows an unusual trio of friends: shy, sheltered Jane, the outgoing Maddy - with her Gothic affectations and sensibilities - and the dashingly handsome Nathan who beguiles them both. He has the personality of a lout, so it must be his long auburn hair and "Bryonic" moodiness that enthralls them. This relationship between the three only makes sense when, towards the end of the book, we are told that.
Nathan does have an unhealthy curiosity about otherworldly things.
If Maddy is a spider, and Jane is a blundering fly, then Nathan is the sticky web that binds them both. For while Maddy moons over Nathan, he in turn is fascinated by Jane. In her painful naivete, Jane imagines that his interest is romantic, but he is merely using her for her strange abilities.
After her mother dies (in an incredibly odd, hallucinatory way - supernaturally poisoned by air vents in a field of shale while out walking), Jane starts to see and hear the essence of man-made objects around her. Blindingly bright auras and terrible anguished noises. As these sights and sounds grow stronger, Jane starts to receive glimpses of an unnaturally still world beyond chaotic reality - the White Forest of the title - which Nathan helps her conceptualize as the Empyrean. When Jane touches others, she can share her perceptions with them, something she calls "the transference".
Jane is a doorway of sorts into this realm, but although she is drawn to enter, she fears it as well.
Then Nathan is sent to war and returns a changed boy. He becomes involved in a dark cult run by charismatic Ariston Day, a mystic determined to "unmake" the world, peeling away its layers until it returns to a primeval Paradise. He stages dramatic "provocations" to alter the reality of his disciples in an attempt at reaching altered consciousness. Such a notion does fit neatly with the Victorian interest in the occult and supernatural.
Nathan believes that the Empyrean is this Paradise and so he breaks his promise to Jane and tells Ariston of her talent. When Nathan disappears, Maddy goes mad, and Jane must push the limits of her unknown abilities to find him.
I did not find Ariston Day to be villainous enough. He spends far too long trying to convince Jane to join him, only to use physical force and manipulative coercion anyway. Why not have done so from the start, if she obviously need not be willing? Jane proves ridiculously easy to "provoke". His acolytes, the Fetches, are creepy but otherwise are of little important or menace. The famous Inspector Vidocq, who I kept waiting for more from (I was sure he was going to introduce Jane into the truth of her nature, and a hidden supernatural world) is completely superfluous.
Ultimately, although the setting of the showdown in the great Crystal Palace was inspired, none of the characters - not even pitiable Jane - is remotely likeable or sympathetic. And the white God apes in the Forest were just plain weird. A waste of time.
Stylistically, this is a slightly creepy read that gradually builds up a feeling a pervasive dread that slowly fizzles out. Set in Victorian London, it follows an unusual trio of friends: shy, sheltered Jane, the outgoing Maddy - with her Gothic affectations and sensibilities - and the dashingly handsome Nathan who beguiles them both. He has the personality of a lout, so it must be his long auburn hair and "Bryonic" moodiness that enthralls them. This relationship between the three only makes sense when, towards the end of the book, we are told that
Spoiler
Maddy's reasons for reaching out to weird, isolated Jane are a sort of "Cruel Intentions" style erotic game she's playing with Nathan, in order to win his affectionNathan does have an unhealthy curiosity about otherworldly things.
If Maddy is a spider, and Jane is a blundering fly, then Nathan is the sticky web that binds them both. For while Maddy moons over Nathan, he in turn is fascinated by Jane. In her painful naivete, Jane imagines that his interest is romantic, but he is merely using her for her strange abilities.
After her mother dies (in an incredibly odd, hallucinatory way - supernaturally poisoned by air vents in a field of shale while out walking), Jane starts to see and hear the essence of man-made objects around her. Blindingly bright auras and terrible anguished noises. As these sights and sounds grow stronger, Jane starts to receive glimpses of an unnaturally still world beyond chaotic reality - the White Forest of the title - which Nathan helps her conceptualize as the Empyrean. When Jane touches others, she can share her perceptions with them, something she calls "the transference".
Jane is a doorway of sorts into this realm, but although she is drawn to enter, she fears it as well.
Then Nathan is sent to war and returns a changed boy. He becomes involved in a dark cult run by charismatic Ariston Day, a mystic determined to "unmake" the world, peeling away its layers until it returns to a primeval Paradise. He stages dramatic "provocations" to alter the reality of his disciples in an attempt at reaching altered consciousness. Such a notion does fit neatly with the Victorian interest in the occult and supernatural.
Nathan believes that the Empyrean is this Paradise and so he breaks his promise to Jane and tells Ariston of her talent. When Nathan disappears, Maddy goes mad, and Jane must push the limits of her unknown abilities to find him.
I did not find Ariston Day to be villainous enough. He spends far too long trying to convince Jane to join him, only to use physical force and manipulative coercion anyway. Why not have done so from the start, if she obviously need not be willing? Jane proves ridiculously easy to "provoke". His acolytes, the Fetches, are creepy but otherwise are of little important or menace. The famous Inspector Vidocq, who I kept waiting for more from (I was sure he was going to introduce Jane into the truth of her nature, and a hidden supernatural world) is completely superfluous.
Ultimately, although the setting of the showdown in the great Crystal Palace was inspired, none of the characters - not even pitiable Jane - is remotely likeable or sympathetic. And the white God apes in the Forest were just plain weird. A waste of time.