The Haunting of H. G. Wells

Masello’s overstuffed and underwhelming third thriller to fictionalize a classic genre author (after The Night Crossing, about Bram Stoker) takes readers to an alternate WWI-era Britain. British morale is low, but it gets a boost when newspapers publish Arthur Machen’s short story about heroic English bowmen as fact rather than fiction. Winston Churchill asks his good friend, science fiction author H.G. Wells, to produce something equally inspirational. First, Wells will travel to the trenches to give the rousing writing he sends home the ring of authenticity. Wells survives his time on the front line—including an encounter with a group of ghouls who live underground—only to confront a greater danger back in London, as a German on British soil plots to use biological weapons to decimate the civilian population. Wells is aided by his real-life lover, author Rebecca West, as he works to foil this plan. But Wells has started seeing ghosts, and his grip on reality is slipping. Despite the high stakes, there’s not much suspense and Masello gives readers few reasons to root for his leads. The supernatural element is poorly integrated, and even the presence of larger-than-life historical English occultist Aleister Crowley cannot inject some much needed energy into the tale. This is an easy one to skip. Agent: Cynthia Manson, Cynthia Manson Literary. (Aug.)