WHITE CITY

Mystified residents try to find answers in a surreal landscape in this dystopian novel.

A nude man is suddenly in a strange city with no memories of his past or how he got there. He eventually comes across clothes and some people who have deduced that they’re all somehow in a game. This man, who ultimately goes by the name Newcomer, has questions, but White City’s purpose, even as Players participate in the Main Game, is far from clear. Meanwhile, White City resident Mary Strong is studying for a Ph.D. in sociology. She has a vivid dream in which someone tells her to track down two individuals, providing only initials. One of those people is Portia Quant, whom Mary befriends and whose brother, Ian, is in need of rescue from captivity—or so Mary surmises from another dream. This only entangles her in the city’s copious mysteries. Some, for example, believe escape from White City is a near impossibility while others feel the metropolis and all of its citizens are in danger from an indefinable force called the Darkness. After two of Mary’s acquaintances—a fellow doctoral candidate and her supervising professor—turn up missing, she and Portia put together a rescue mission for Ian, who may be confined in the same place as an enigmatic device. Both Ian and the machine could shine a light on White City’s evasive “Truth” as well as Mary’s surprising connections to assorted residents, not the least of whom is the Newcomer.

As White City is effectively a giant puzzle, Exarchos’ three-part story is frequently obscure. Part II of the novel further complicates the tale, as it introduces various first-person narrators, a few of whom aren’t immediately identified. But Mary is a delightful constant; she provides a first-person narrative throughout the book. She’s recording a (presumably transcribed) vocal diary, which the author presents in witty, ever changing formats. Sometimes she’s conversing with Portia, and in one instance, she’s panting after goons chase her. Despite all of the tale’s perplexities, Part III is surprisingly illuminating, as it ties certain characters together. The ending is open to interpretation, but readers will have a better sense of what has been going on in White City. Some of what the players do in the city is akin to a fantasy video game: for example, aiming to complete a total of nine quests or hunting for three specific keys (iron, silver, and golden). Exarchos’ prose, though intermittently verbose, is colorful and occasionally humorous. At one point, the Newcomer spots a motorcyclist: “He took off his awkward helmet—I am tempted to say it looks like an empty, upside-down fish bowl; and, only to accentuate its weirdness even more, it has two antennae attached to its top—and he is holding it in his hands, while he is waiting for me to approach him.” Violent episodes and graphic sex are sparse considering the novel’s bulk (over 600 pages).

An engrossing but sometimes baffling adventure set in an otherworldly city.