It's the first time I'm reviewing a book on chain, but not the last one. Reviewing books is not my thing, but this is a very good one and there's another one I want to write about, when time comes. That's not a novel, so I don't know who's going to be interested, but I want it on chain.
The reason I wanted to write this review is because Jo Nesbo is a famous Nordic Noir novelist and maybe I can introduce him to those who are not familiar with his work. I've read several novels of the author and if you like the genre, there's no way you find his books boring.
Before I start, I have to mention that I've read the book in Hungarian, because this was available for me, but I am going to review it in English. I've never done this before, but it's not a problem for me as I master both languages.
When I bought the book, was happy to know I get another amazing novel from Jo Nesbo and as his name already guarantees quality, but I didn't read much about the book.
Contrary to what I was expecting, I got a book with five stories, shorter novels if you like. It felt a bit disappointing, but I could only blame myself for not checking out what I bought first. My choice is always longer novels, but I knew even if it's not one novel, it still has to be good as Jo Nesbo's name guarantees quality and was right. He doesn't disappoint.
The book includes the following stories:
- Rat Island
- Shredder
- Cicadas
- The Antidote
- Black Knight (or Black Springer)
Getting five short stories was not the only surprise. In this book, Jo Nesbo steps away from reality and wanders into a dystopian world and you can say the book is a Sci-Fi Noir. Another thing that needs to be mentioned, none of the stories have anything to do with Scandinavia, which is why I wouldn't call it Nordic Noir.
Rat Island
In this novel you find yourself after the covid pandemic, in a big city where all hell is about to break lose. As it happens in such apocalyptic situation, some people try to escape, while others try to do anything to survive. We meet two families, one very wealthy, the other one not so much. They used to be friends as the two men grew up together, but life dealt them different cards and at the end, both of them try to fight for survival the way they think best.
Shredder
Jo Nesbo gives the readers the chance to meet a scientist, who's researching the cure against aging and he finds it, he has to navigate through what comes with such a discovery. Obviously everyone would want the formula and the scientist has to do what's best in his opinion.
Cicadas
This was the most Sci-Fi of all. It is about two friends, one poor, the other wealthy, traveling together, meeting a beautiful woman and falling in love with her. This is not new and you may think it's cliche, but what comes after shows Jo Nesbo's exceptional talent.
The Antidote
This novel presents the rocky relationship of a very wealthy father and a son that is walking the wrong path. After years of difficult relationship, the father invites his son to his African snake farm, which would make you think they want to make up of the lost time and catch up on life, repair what's broken in their relationship, but is that what happens?
Black Knight (or Black Springer)
This is a bit different from the previous ones. The main character is a psychologist, who's a hired criminal in his free time and has to deal with the competition in the industry.
Most likely it's human nature to try to figure out what comes next when reading a novel and try to figure out who's the main culprit. I tried to do that as I'm not any better, but oh boy! It's not for nothing that Jo Nesbo is the most famous Scandinavian crime writer. I can assure you that whenever I thought I figured out something, Nesbo proved me wrong immediately and led the story in a totally different direction.
All in all, even if it wasn't one single novel, I enjoyed them all and feel like I got more than I'd have with a single novel. I think it's better to put aside your expectations, let the writer surprise you and enjoy the journey.
You won't regret it, I can assure you.
Rating: 95/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/books.