Reader's revirw - Dean Koontz (Twilight Eyes)

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Dean Koontz was one of the first writers I became acquainted with. It has been a happy acquaintance with only a few disappointments. I have read dozens of his books - both in Danish and English - and I still have a pile of books just waiting to be read.

I do not know if you can truly classify Koontz as a horror writer. Most of the time, his novels belongs to the suspense / fantasy genre. But if I have to pick just one novel that are closest to the horror style, it must definitely be 'Twilight Eyes'.

Slim MacKenzie is a gifted person. He can do something most people can not. He can see THEM. Behind their human image, lives an unnatural and profane existence that Slim are committed to fight alone. The story takes us to a marketplace that is closed for the night. Closed? Yes indeed. Deserted? Absolutely not.

I do not know about you, but I have a weakness for closed or abandoned amusement parks and hotels. Just the thought of being located in a place which is normally filled with people, but now are deserted and silent, seems scary to me. I once worked at a hotel which was closed between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and believe me, as soon as the last guest had left the building, a creepy feeling starts sneaking in on you.

Because of that, 'Twilight Eyes' just pushed all the right buttons in my mind. It feels like the sun never really shines brightly in this book. It is a dark and sinister story. Send the family on a trip to the countryside, lock all windows and doors, and read the book after dark. Quit the background music. Sooner or later you will turn down the music anyway, and you will sit there - just listen for sounds in the house which probably has a natural explanation. Probably. But the thought might occur to you, that the noise you could hear probably is THEM. THEY have entered your house. Now YOU are the prey - and you are all alone...

Boganmeldelse - Annika von Holdt (Sov som de døde)

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(This book has not not been translated to English, and that is really a shame. If you ever come across a book by Annika von Holdt, please do not let the chance pass you by. You will get an experience out of the ordinary.)

Jeg er generelt ikke til kvindelige forfattere. Der er alt for megen venindefnidder, alt for mange problemer i parforholdet, og ofte bliver historierne unødigt lange og komplekse, mens plottet er tyndt og intetsigende. Nu er det sagt - og hvor det dog lettede!

Derfor var mine forventninger heller ikke særlig høje, da jeg modtog Annika von Holts roman, "Sov som de døde". Jeg ved faktisk ikke hvorfor jeg bestilte bogen i bogklubben. Jeg tror at det var omslaget der fangede mig. Der var noget gotisk og dystert over billedet. Stenenglen der grædende vogter over et gammelt gravsted. Stemningen tiltalte mig, men... det var en kvindelig forfatter.

Og så skete miraklet!

"Sov som de døde" er en af de mest fængslende bøger jeg har læst i umindelige tider. Jeg var grebet af historien fra side et. Det er sjældent at jeg har læst en så velskrevet og velfungerende historie. Der var absolut intet feminint og følelsesladet over bogen. Jeg måtte flere gange tage mig i at checke forfatterens navn, for at forvisse mig om at det virkelig var en kvinde der havde skrevet den. Den uhyggelige stemning var så intens, at jeg flere gange var overbevist om at det ikke kunne blive værre, men tro mig: Det kunne det. Sidste gang jeg læste en bog, der var skrevet med samme intensitet var da jeg læste Stephen Kings roman "Misery". Lige som dengang, sad jeg nu og tænkte: "Får rædslerne da aldrig ende?" Svaret på det spørgsmål lader vi blæse i vinden...

Dette er afgjort ingen femi-krimi. Dette er en hardcore thriller. En perle mellem alle de udgivelser der ustandselig prøver at påkalde sig opmærksomhed. Her er ikke tale om den bløde mellemvare. Læs den og gys!!!

Reader's Review - Jussi Adler-Olsen (Redemption)

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Let it be said at once: I am a big fan of Jussi Adler-Olsen. He writes with a wonderful mix of humor and suspense - at least when it comes to Department Q series. His cast of characters is incredibly entertaining. Carl Moerk as the grumpy and frustrated police commissioner, who has plenty of problems at home and just want a quiet and uncomplicated working day. Assad started out as a handyman in the department, but promote himself a significant role in the investigation with many unexplained talents and skills. And last but certainly not least, Rose the secretary, which nourishes greater sympathy and understanding for Assad, than for his employer. In this book we are introduced to Rosa's twin sister, Yrsa. The synergy between these four people is indescribable and without them, the books would not be nearly so appealing.

The plot of 'Redemption' unfolds in an environment of religious minorities, where a killer haunts unscrupulously. The plot may be a bit thin and you might wonder why the book should be on the entire 485 pages to get the story told. There are a couple of lot less interesting side plots, which in my eyes are doing nothing but complicating the story. But because of Jussi's amazing cast of characters, I accept it all because the writing was so entertaining. Nevertheless, I have to complain ...

Dear Jussi Adler-Olsen: The first book I read by you, was 'The Washington decree'. I found this book very interesting because you explained that you had been guided by the emergency laws which come into force in crisis situations in the United States. These laws, you explained, all exists and you wanted to show how these laws could be abused to transform a democracy to a totalitarian regime in just seven days. In other words, the book was interesting because you had made a thorough research of the factual laws in the United States. Why did you not make the same efford regarding the research of religious minorities in Denmark? There is practically not a single information of Jehovah's Witnesses there are in line with reality. If you choose to use religious or other existing organizations as a basis for a plot, you owe your readers AND those organizations that you adhere to the facts. If the plot does not fit into an existing communitie, so invent a fictitious one. It seems to me that 'Redemption', serves a personal purpose to make the mentioned communities look naive, superstitious and almost criminal to the readers. It seems like it is your personal opinion and prejudice that made you write this book. Off cause, You are allowed to have your personal opinions, but I think you have an obligation to describe the people and organizations that you include in your stories, in accordance with the truth. There is of course also the possibility that you HAVE made a thorough research in this area, but you have been misinformed. This only emphasizes the importance of double checking your sources.

If I was you, I would get really annoyed having let 'Redemption' go to press. Every time I'd look at the book on my shelf at home, in bookstores or reviewed in the media, I would know that this book represented a well-written story that had been destroyed by a lousy research.

For me, as a reader, one very significant question remains: Can I trust the information in your books, or is everything a fictional set-up with no basis in reality? As for now, your credibility has suffered a serious blow ...