Skip to main content

"Nightblind" by Ragnar Jonasson



I gave Nightblind two stars on Good Reads -- I originally gave it three, but while writing this I realized shouldn't have graded on a curve.  The mystery was almost nonexistent.  There wasn’t a real investigation. And the part of the book that was probably meant to be Very Important (whole chapters set in italic!) is boring. I don't understand the 4- and 5-star reviews the book has gotten.

Our policeman protagonist – Ari Thor -- suffers from the flu through the first half of the book, making him sluggish and whiny. Then he figures out who the murder is through a chance remark. And we’re done! (The book is only 200 pages – short for this type of novel.) Between the flu and the murderer’s confession, we get odd side stories about drugs, partners considering leaving other partners, those italic pages, and Ari Thor wondering if he’s ever going to get a promotion. Many people read police procedurals because we like the detective, but Ari Thor isn't even likable in this book. I don't know why it was published, let alone written.

Icelanders and others who aren't reading this book after Snowblind might feel differently, though. Nightblind is listed as book No. 2 in the Dark Iceland series. There’s an author’s note that explains it takes place five years after Snowblind, book No. 1 in the series (I liked that one). The next book to be published will be Blackout, which takes place right after Snowblind. And then there will be two more books that will link Snowblind to Nightblind. So the publishing order in Iceland (and maybe other parts of Europe) was different, but it seems a shame to follow up Snowblind here in the States with such a nothing of a book.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin

I’m a horrible blogger. Several times this past year, I thought I should just quit this. But I keep being drawn back. So, I’m going to do a little catching up and see how well I remember some of the books I read much earlier this year. Stay tuned. Today, however, I’m just going to write about one. I’ve been singing the praises of The Fifth Season all year even though I’m late to the party: It was published in 2015, and Jemisin is well-known as a gifted writer in the sci-fi and fantasy world. Since then, she has come out with the next two books in The Broken Earth trilogy and has won the Hugo Award three years running. No author has ever done that, let alone a black, female author. Back in 2015 she was the first African-American to win the Hugo for Best Novel. Actually, this year’s Hugos were dominated by women as female authors won in all the major categories. This is important. I’ve been noticing odd twitter posts lately about how women really don’t play video games or ar

"Beartown" by Fredrik Backman

I’m about to be overly effusive: I loved Beartown by Fredrik Backman and I think it is one of the best books I’ve ever read. (See Tangent 1.) I even love the cover. Backman lured us into his Swedish world of curmudgeons and the neighbors who love them with A Man Called Ove and his other novellas. But this isn’t A Man Called Ove . This book has a much larger scope. This feels like the book Backman has always wanted to write but had to wait to give to us until he developed an audience. You got it, bro. I will read whatever else you write in the future. This book more deeply develops his ideas about communities. It is also about parenthood and all the responsibilities that go along with it. It’s about family and best friends who are like family. It’s about belonging. It’s about sorrow and happiness. And there’s some hockey. (Tangent 2.) You will hate some of the parents (Kevin’s, William’s). You will love some of the teens (Amat, Maya, Ana, Benji, Bobo, Leo...). Be prepared

"The Boy at the End of the World," by Greg van Eekhout

I’m very grateful for The Boy at the End of the World , by Greg Van Eekhout. It’s a good, though not outstanding, book. More important, it fills a gap: science fiction for 3 rd -5 th graders. Because at some point during the school year, a teacher will assign a science fiction book report and I will have a hard time recommending books. I grew up reading science fiction and fantasy. And we know how much I like dystopian fiction (a lot). I have no problem finding good science fiction books for teens. In fact, some of the other librarians are tired of me telling teens (regardless of the assignment), “You must read Feed . Everyone should.” Or “You have to read Ender’s Game . You'll love it.” But younger kids come into the library looking for science fiction and it feels like there’s nothing very good. Most of them balk at the length of The True Meaning of Smekday (by Adam Rex), no matter how hard I sell it. They shrug their shoulders at The City of Ember (Jean DuPrau), even when I