A Gathering of Doorways

Slick salesman Gil and weary, neurotic Melissa purchased their tiny farm for a song, but the bargain came with a hidden price. Their formerly strong marriage, now strained from the stillbirth of their second child, snaps when preschooler Noah wanders into the forest. Each parent attempts a separate quest to retrieve the little boy from a bizarre parallel world of ghosts and monsters that lurks immediately beneath their property. Noah's determined grasp of fairy tale mechanics serves him better than Gil's recurring nightmares or Melissa's blind stumbling through secret doors, but Noah isn't a very convincing child, Gil and Melissa aren't very convincing adults, and the Undercity isn't a very convincing place. Despite interesting explorations of themes like promises and disclosure, Jasper (The Wannoshay Cycle ) never manages to bring his story to life. (Oct.)