Scan barcode
fleur_bosmans's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
taertor_5's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
shellihuntley4's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
roux1995's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
erickstarr's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
lunaseline's review against another edition
2.0
Jag kan inte låta bli att undra hur en riktig bok av "Kepler" skulle vara. Paret Ahndoril har ju nailat karaktärsbygge, miljöbeskrivningar, fakta, fart, fantasi... De kan skriva och bryr sig om hur en skriver. Men de skriver om saker jag inte kan bry mig om. Jag tänker på Patricia Cornwell medan jag läser (eftersom den lättlästa, snabba tonen faktiskt tillåter utrymme i hjärnan för fler tankar samtidigt). Hon kan också skriva. Hennes språkliga kvalitet har faktiskt blivit högre och högre för varje bok om Kay Scarpetta - precis som i Linna-böckerna. Men hon tappade mig när hon slängde in den mystiska, nästan magiska, seriemördaren som inte kunde dö. I Linnaböckerna har den typen varit med från start. Och det är lite som min man brukar säga om Stålmannen (som jag älskade som barn!): det är så fruktansvärt ointressant med någon som är osårbar. Som alltid lyckas. Som dör, men återvänder. Som Lazarus.
Det går inte att bry sig. Karaktärerna (i viss mån karikatyrer - vilket funkar i sammanhanget!) finns där, men när det strösslas lik på varannan sida förstår jag inte riktigt varför jag ska bry mig om enskilda individer. Strösslandet stör dessutom; det är så OTT hela tiden, så geggigt, äckligt, överdrivet. Jag har älskat både deckare och thrillers sen jag var barn, men det går att skriva om mord utan att dränka läsaren i blod.
Dessutom kräver alla thrillerinslag att det som faktiskt är intressant måste kortas ner: avancerade slutsatser (som jag som läsare kanske hade velat ha en chans att nå själv) dras på efter en halv sida, för att alla ska kunna springa vidare in i den galna spiralen.
Tvåan i betyg är därför. Ren irritation över att jag inte får tänka själv, att jag bara ska chockas och stressas. Men mest irritation över ATT DE JU FAKTISKT KAN SKRIVA.
(Annars är det en rätt tydlig 3:a. För det är ju faktiskt lite underhållande, ibland, och de flesta thrillerförfattare skulle ha gjort det sämre.)
Jaja. Det kan ju fortfarande vända... (Hoppet är det sista som överger människan: Jag är läst 25 böcker av Patricia Cornwell vid det här laget...)
Det går inte att bry sig. Karaktärerna (i viss mån karikatyrer - vilket funkar i sammanhanget!) finns där, men när det strösslas lik på varannan sida förstår jag inte riktigt varför jag ska bry mig om enskilda individer. Strösslandet stör dessutom; det är så OTT hela tiden, så geggigt, äckligt, överdrivet. Jag har älskat både deckare och thrillers sen jag var barn, men det går att skriva om mord utan att dränka läsaren i blod.
Dessutom kräver alla thrillerinslag att det som faktiskt är intressant måste kortas ner: avancerade slutsatser (som jag som läsare kanske hade velat ha en chans att nå själv) dras på efter en halv sida, för att alla ska kunna springa vidare in i den galna spiralen.
Tvåan i betyg är därför. Ren irritation över att jag inte får tänka själv, att jag bara ska chockas och stressas. Men mest irritation över ATT DE JU FAKTISKT KAN SKRIVA.
(Annars är det en rätt tydlig 3:a. För det är ju faktiskt lite underhållande, ibland, och de flesta thrillerförfattare skulle ha gjort det sämre.)
Jaja. Det kan ju fortfarande vända... (Hoppet är det sista som överger människan: Jag är läst 25 böcker av Patricia Cornwell vid det här laget...)
koala1909's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
twiggy_i's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
1.0
I'm a bit of a believer in the fact that readers should try and start reading a series near the start of said series. I say this because unless the author manages to make the book a "standalone" book that doesn't rely on previous books, it'd be very hard to read. I'll be honest though, there hasn't been a book till now that I would absolutely, positively say "Don't start a series here". This book is so bad that I'd follow this up with "How has this author "sold 14 million copies"?" and "Why didn't his author say no to this book's current structure?"
Okay, so, the story. In a previous book a Swedish serial killer was killed by the police. The extent of his crimes are so severe that they've been hidden from the public (because you can achieve that these days). At the same time there's a policeman who went to prison for killing someone in the line of duty (maybe, it's never really clear). He's allowed to come back to the force (and carry police issued firearms) because a public outcry I think (it's getting daft already isn't it?).
The serial killer isn't dead, but more importantly, he's magic. He can talk ordinary people into killing for him, has mystical powers that allow him to find who the story needs him to kill next, and can audition other serial killers to kill for him. All of this is done in this book. We get pages of explanation of this because it wouldn't work otherwise.
At the same time, the serial killer has messed up the policeman's life. He's lost his family, and the killer has messed with his friends to such a degree that he feels isolated and alone. We get pages of explanation of this in the book, because it really isn't standalone.
When the policeman realises the killer is alive, no one believes him (of course), but he's right, allowing many and varied cataclysms to happen, before the denouement, which isn't really a denouement because any reader who has been paying attention is going to think "Hang on, what about this bit of the story?" before thinking "Oh you didn't deal with that, because you need more pre-prepared craziness for your next book."
Okay, so, the story. In a previous book a Swedish serial killer was killed by the police. The extent of his crimes are so severe that they've been hidden from the public (because you can achieve that these days). At the same time there's a policeman who went to prison for killing someone in the line of duty (maybe, it's never really clear). He's allowed to come back to the force (and carry police issued firearms) because a public outcry I think (it's getting daft already isn't it?).
The serial killer isn't dead, but more importantly, he's magic. He can talk ordinary people into killing for him, has mystical powers that allow him to find who the story needs him to kill next, and can audition other serial killers to kill for him. All of this is done in this book. We get pages of explanation of this because it wouldn't work otherwise.
At the same time, the serial killer has messed up the policeman's life. He's lost his family, and the killer has messed with his friends to such a degree that he feels isolated and alone. We get pages of explanation of this in the book, because it really isn't standalone.
When the policeman realises the killer is alive, no one believes him (of course), but he's right, allowing many and varied cataclysms to happen, before the denouement, which isn't really a denouement because any reader who has been paying attention is going to think "Hang on, what about this bit of the story?" before thinking "Oh you didn't deal with that, because you need more pre-prepared craziness for your next book."