I Am Behind You

By: John Ajvide Lindqvist

Narrated by: Peter Noble

A compelling, eerie new audiobook from the internationally best-selling author of Let the Right One In.

Four families wake up one morning in their trailer on an ordinary campsite. However, during the night, something strange has happened. Everything outside the camping grounds has disappeared, and the world has been transformed into an endless expanse of grass. The sky is blue, but there is no sign of the sun; there are no trees, no flowers, no birds. And every radio plays nothing but the songs of '60s pop icon Peter Himmelstrand.

As the holiday-makers try to come to terms with what has happened, they are forced to confront their deepest fears and secret desires. Past events that each of them has tried to bury rise to the surface and take on terrifying physical forms. Can any of them find a way back to reality?

©2014; 2016 Text Copyright John Ajvide Lindqvist; Translation copyright Marlaine Delargy (P)2017 WF Howes Ltd.

Critic reviews

"At the top of his game, Lindqvist gives Stephen King and John Saul at their best a run for the money." (Library Journal (starred))

"Dubbed the Stephen King of Sweden, Lindqvist lives up to the billing." (New York Post)

I am behind you

This was a weird one.I liked it. A bit like The Mist by Stephen King,people in a campground are surrounded by 'nothing' upon awakening. The story starts when the inhabitants meet each other. narration was very good.

Existential Horror

With a purposefully vague narrative, I can't stop looking for answers in this horrific story.

Great book

I am really enjoying this authors work. The narrator was amazing too. Highly recommend.

A masterpiece of surrealist horror

*Edit: Years later I discover that this book is the first of a trilogy of interconnected but standalone titles. Each subsequent book gives information and context critical to understanding the 'why' of this story, though of course it is best to not know this right away because the characters do not know. Taken together, the 3 novels tell an epic story with dozens of complex characters (including the author's fictional-yet-historical self) spanning decades and always coming to the field. I can't wait to circle back and read this one again, knowing what I now know.
But polish up your reading glasses because I Always Find You and I Am the Tiger are only in print. Audible should get some more Lindqvist on offer in the United States, including his newest, The Kindness, as well as Little Star, and Let the Old Dreams Die (includes the story sequel to Let the Right One In, a must).

This is the second title I have read by Mr. Lindqvist. Let Me In was the first, and after that Lindqvist had my complete and utter trust, so I was not put off by the middling reviews here and plunged right into this novel. I was not disappointed.
It is a slow burn to be sure, but not a word is wasted in its depiction of fascinating characters with rich and tragic backstories, and the strange and completely original nightmare they find themselves in. There are no easy answers about how they have found themselves in their desperate situation, nor for the mechanics of this new terrible world, but there are just enough breadcrumbs to savor and reflect upon as you are taken through a wild and nailbiting existential ride.
There were several instances where I had to pause the story and digest the next bleak turn of events, and at least one part towards the end where I felt I might not be able to take it anymore. But I'm glad I stuck with it, as things don't go quite as poorly as I feared. There are certainly lighter moments, especially the sections where the story is told from the perspective of a dog, As the story shifts from character to character, your investment in them and their predicament grows, and each development is felt viscerally.
Kudos to the narrator for clearly delineating each character's voice and attitude.

What the hell?

Don’t even get this. I feel like the plot was a once-interesting idea and the author just gave up on developing it. They never really explained why all of this was happening. It’s just way too weird with no reason for it.