WHERE THE DEAD WAIT

The Victorian obsession with exploring the Arctic sets the stage for a gothic thriller.

In the 1860s, a young British man named William Day sails north aboard a ship called the Reckoning on an excursion to the Arctic, one of many in those years that aimed to discover a passage over the top of the world. None of those explorers ever found that open passage, but this trip ended in worse disaster—the ship wrecked, and during the long months they were marooned amid the inhospitable landscape, the crew turned to cannibalism. Day was one of the rescued survivors who returned to London, and he has lived for 13 years in disgrace when the Admiralty, to his surprise, calls on him to undertake another voyage. It seems one of his former shipmates, the charismatic Jesse Stevens, has sailed for the Arctic again and promptly disappeared. Day is also surprised to discover that Jesse has a wife now, and she is funding the trip—and going along. Olive Emeline Stevens is a renowned psychic medium from the United States, and she is determined to find her missing husband. Day is uneasy about everything involved in the trip but agrees to go; he is very deeply in the closet and just as deeply in love with Jesse. The novel begins well, with raw, energetic prose and a sense of adventure undercut by dread that’s downright thrilling. But soon, like all those ruined ships that dot the frozen North, the book gets stuck. Day’s traumatic memories and obsession with Jesse become repetitious, few characters are developed beyond sketches, the gothic tone slides into Grand Guignol, and the story turns from chilling to numbing. By the time the book reaches its Heart of Darkness finale, the horror is no longer surprising.

After an intriguing start, the story founders on a repetitious plot and an overlarge serving of cannibalism.