One of the many things I realized when I started reading Aindrila Roy’s I See You was that I shouldn’t have read it at night. Not just because it was difficult to put the book down which resulted in lesser-than-usual number of sleeping hours but also because she manages to deliver a few horror punches that made it difficult to get up in the night in case I had to use the bathroom.

I See You is a story of Liam, a strapping young man from a rich family, who is being plagued by severe headaches followed by strange dreams and hallucinations. To make those worse is Lily, his ex-girlfriend who seems to be out to get back at him for dumping her unceremoniously. There’s only bright spot – Aliana who casts a spell over him with her enigmatic personality and beauty. But as he tries to get closer to her, he starts discovering something puzzling about her. As Liam sinks deeper and deeper into madness, all hell breaks loose. Will he survive it?

I really liked that the story gets to the point, no dilly-dallying about the weather or the colour of the grass. We’re immediately introduced to all the key characters and the writer gets down to business. The build-up is slow and steady, almost making you want to skip the pages and get to the action — almost. The writing, though, is so good that you don’t. The writer also has a way with imagery, powerful and sharp, and has a knack for describing sounds and smell. After a couple of chapters, things start getting really interesting. You will turn the pages till the end – that’s for sure.

What I liked:

• The subject, of course. Always up for reading horror.
• I like how every character is described — the cat included — in enough detail that you feel like you know them and that they don’t feel superficial.
• The language — given the quality of some self published books these days, the writer’s hold over vocabulary is very good. Sure, there are a few errors here and there but hopefully they will be sorted in the coming editions.

What I didn’t like:

• It takes some time before things get moving. For a long time, I felt as though there was too much about Liam’s constant headaches and Nyx’s ‘antics’.
• I’m not sure how the character of Nyx really contributed to the plot – even at the end when it is all explained. It did have a ‘creep’ factor but I couldn’t understand its involvement in the plot.
• I wish the plot had been stronger. Or that the end had been explained better: Was there a concept of re-birth involved? I can’t talk more about this without revealing anything!

P.S: A special mention for the cover – simple, intriguing and uncluttered. Really like it. Blurb could’ve been slightly better to give a hint of horror, but thumbs-up for the cover.

Author: Aindrila Roy
Publisher: Amazon
Kindle Price: Rs. 130
Buy it on Amazon here.