IN THE SHADOWS
By Kirsten White
Reviewed by Hazel Buys
Bartolo
and White redefine the illustrated novel in this story of devil’s disciples
that transcends genre. A little bit gothic, a little bit sci-fi and a whole lot
fantasy, this layered story of romance, adventure and time travel covers a
century in two slip-streams, one delivered in eloquent prose and the other in illustrations,
boldly drawn and painted images of fear and flight, combat and pursuit. In the
early years of the twentieth century, the lives of four teenagers converge at
an inn in Maine. Two of them, Cora and Minnie, are the daughters of the
innkeeper, a widow. The other two, Thom and his younger brother Charles, who is
slowly dying, arrive in flight from an unnamed danger, sent by their father
under the pretense of seeking respite from city life for the summer. Their
story is told in the prose chapters, beginning with their witness of a hanging
and the disappearance of the body which then reappears, unable to die. The
fifth voyager is Arthur, kingpin and secret-keeper, who understands the danger
that pursues them all. His story unfolds in the illustrations, comprising
chapters that alternate with the prose. Much of the plot unfolds in predictable
ways: parents disappear, bodies come back to life, a secret society of immortals,
the Ladon Vitae, is revealed. These immortals have appropriated power from an
imprisoned devil-child and use it to control people and events, always for evil
ends. The two stories converge at the conclusion where the patience of true
love is rewarded. This is not a novel for readers who prefer their stories in
strictly linear form. But for those willing to read “outside the box,” it
offers an intriguing and imaginative variation on the usual formula.
ISBN: 978-0-545-56144-0
