| $@%&! level: Medium-Low “Bedroom” level: None Violence level: Medium-High Back Cover: “On a freezing February day, a stranger emerges from out of the gray to request a room at a local provincial inn. Who is this out-of-season traveler? More confounding is the thick mask of bandages obscuring his face. Why does he disguise himself in this manner and keep himself hidden away in his room? Aroused by trepidation and curiosity, the local villagers bring it upon themselves to find the answers. What they discover is a man trapped in a terror of his own creation, and a chilling reflection of the unsolvable mysteries of their own souls.” |
Luckily, I needn't have worried. That was only about the first third of the book. After that, the second third of the book was back story. Lots and lots of back story. I appreciate that it really had to start in the middle and go back like that, and it was an excellent introduction (although the title of the book rather gives away the mystery). My only problem with the back story, really is that it goes into a ridiculous amount of detail, and—given that it's supposedly told by the invisible man himself—uses descriptive language that I just can't imagine anyone ever using to tell a story out loud. Written down, yes, but not out loud.
Once you get to the last third of the book, though—then it really gets properly interesting. By then the invisible man is obviously just plain nuts, and quite dangerous. I found the final hunt really exciting and paced just right to keep my interest. The question is always, where is he exactly? It's like one of those spooky movies where you just know something is going to come out of the dark, but you don't know where it's coming from—except that this one can happen in broad daylight. Given the right background music, this could be terrifying. The only thing that really kept it from being terrifying, in fact, was that by then the entire village knew what was going on. I understand why it had to be that way, but I can't help but feel that it would've been so much better if he was just tormenting one man who was all alone against him. It actually is that way for a little bit, but it doesn't last long. And the ending is...sort of pitiful, to tell the truth. I kind of like that—that in the end you can't help but feel a bit of pity for him. What a waste of so much talent.