My review for the book - "Eyes" by Nghich Tu and Viet H Nguyen

 

In ‘Eyes’ - a supernatural adventurous fantasy thriller and dark horror with mystery, Nghich Tu has presented us a well-contemplated story absorbingly. It is filled with realistic depictions of - black magic, phantom horse, maggots with human-like faces, ghosts, pigheaded demons and treachery, to keep us entertained. It revolves around Vu Thanh, a college girl who goes to her village to celebrate festivals.

Dien Mục a naive in interpersonal relationship, a paradoxical eccentric who can’t see ghosts but a ghost catcher(!) tries befriending Thanh. A 500-year-old 'Spirit' man is his mentor-guardian.

Thanh is a quiet, reserved person. She talks when she ceases to be at peace with her thoughts (--Kahlil Gibran). So, she is cynical towards Muc rejecting his friendship gestures, unable to anticipate needs must when the devil drives.

Pulled by a nursery rhyme en route, Thanh would not have dreamt a horrible journey through a ghost village – a topsy-turvy image of her familiar world.

 

She meets her friends but is in a dilemma of whom to trust when conflicts arise, whether Muc or her long-term friends …that’d all been a ruse, a clever trick to shift suspicion onto Mục… to make Thanh trust them.

Thanh and Muc must survive the horrific onslaught of the antagonists.

Thanh suffers immeasurable agony...really, oh my God! To save her life, Thanh develops a strange bond with Muc to defeat the unadulterated evil, tooth and nail. Adversity makes strange bedfellows.

To achieve success in their mission, the aggressive antagonists create perplexing tactics to trap Thanh and Muc. The misled protagonists use powdered lime, raw garlic, pineapple leaves, peach wood pin and salt, to parry the wicked. They struggle to identify the core antagonist that is as cunning as a fox. Nghich surprises you here!

The fresh and intriguing plot thickens with amazing twists and nail-biting portrayals - blood and gore. It spirals into downright horror.

 

Nghich admirably introduces the puzzling characters creating irony and surprise. He takes us inside Thanh's experiences and her dynamic emotions. He has beautifully developed diametrically opposite characters in Thanh and Muc and their friendship. He has genuinely portrayed myriads of conflicts between the protagonists and antagonists.

v  Thanh: unselfish simple girl who acts scientifically even under dire circumstances; extraordinarily courageous, as brave as a lioness…she was staring death in the face … Thanh still didn’t want to just simply sit still and wait to be rescued.

v  Muc: Thanh’s friend in need. Independent problem solver. An interesting half-alive character with duality.

v  Crafty Oldman: secretive and invisible with amazing powers leading the protagonists.

v  Antagonists: Possessed cannibals with clever ploys.

Nghich as an intelligent storyteller is vivid in world-building … Within the mirror’s surface, Hùng’s soul was trapped, pounding the glass with both hands, which caused ripples to spread out the glass surface as if it was actually made of water.

‘Eyes’ captures varieties of myths suspensefully. Nghich depicts thoroughbred evil with unusual situations. His cultural settings with an original dose of folklore and unique structure of storytelling amused me:

        Horror: Depictions of chilling experiences of Thanh… wanted to weep, to scream out loud, to cry for help… wanted to get out of this cursed place.

        Interesting belief systems: … each living person has three souls and seven spirits.

        Creative imagination: Nghich keeps you wondering with interesting concepts … she’d stabbed just now a ghost; spiritual energy bullets; spy-moon – deserves a special mention.

 

Unexplained mentally challenging subtleties in twists hinder the flow. However, detailed magical practices and extraordinary torture scenes carry the story forward … millions of pupil-less black eyes were staring at her, Thanh felt cold to her bones.

The climax attacks the senses with terror! If you want something that scares the hell out of you, “Eyes” will surely give you hair-raising moments. It met my expectations as it’s full of ideas. It has wonderful paradigms for you:

The Lotus flowers… when understood in a positive way, represent radiant beauty shining through the black mud, unstained. But when understood negatively, it actually means, ‘the beautiful surface serves to hide the bad, stinky roots.’

Nghich has achieved his purpose. Magnificently!