Review: Will Get under Your Skin and In Your Head
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 14, 2013
Incredible.That's the first thing that comes to mind reading the first few pages of Scott Kelly's `The Blue.' And why wouldn't it be? The protagonist, the artist named Derek, is being stalked by someone who may be--in all probabilities--planning to do him harm (to put it mildly). Derek's terror is many times made more sinister and intense because he happens to be one of those people afflicted with the rare condition of "face blindness." He might be face-to-face with his stalker, and he would not even recognize him.It begins with an accident. A car crash that's so deftly written you're left with a lurch of panic and a deep unsettling sense that something's about to slide downhill. `The Blue' does not disappoint--things do quickly slide downward, not downhill, but into a vortex of madness and terror. Thanks to Scott Kelly's kind of narrative, you feel as helpless and horrified, sensing (because you're no longer able to "see" people's faces) disaster at every turn. And as if that's not enough, as if trying to live life with face blindness is not unspeakably horrifying per se, here comes a stalker who, in Derek's increasingly agitated mental world, seems more frightening than death itself.Obviously, not something you might want to read at night--the mounting sense of panic might leave you wide awake until you've finished the book in one sitting. `The Blue' is something you can call a "tour de force" because it immediately sweeps you away and leaves you clinging desperately on the edge of your seat. It also introduces readers to the bizarre neurological condition called face blindness--yes, it exists--and this is something "fresh," because it opens a rich possibility for a new kind of terror--which is something the author so skillfully exploits.Add to that is Scott Kelly's tight, sharp language--his story-telling is such that your mind, as you read the novel, is laser-focused on the impending terror, which only adds to the story's exceedingly suspenseful plot. But more than that, this is a joy to read--almost like a literary novel--in the way the author weaves words and imparts his vision. Get a copy of this book now and experience it.