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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
slow-paced
medium-paced
Pretty standard Scandinavian crime novel. Fun, but didn't blow my socks off!
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
even though it's such a literary country, i have not read a lot of icelandic literature. i am a fan of scandinavian noir, so had heard that jónasson was doing great icelandic noir writing. i'm glad to have finally read book 1 in his 'dark iceland' series.
i really loved the settings and moods in this book - i think jónasson did a really good job evoking the challenges of living so far north, and feeling isolated. the character of ari thór is interesting and it will be cool to see how he develops as the books go on. the supporting characters have quirks and pasts that added neat layers to the story. the mystery itself was alright - not surprising or difficult to figure out. i found the ending - a '6 months later' thing - a bit of a let down, given this is a series and things could be stretched out a bit.
there is an enjoyable mention of iceland's annual book tradition of giving books on christmas eve, so that tiny moment in the story was awesome for this book nerd.
one point of interest from the author's bio at the back of the book: jónasson sounds like a neat guy -- among varied accomplishments, he has translated 14 agatha christie novels into icelandic. there is a bit of a christie feel to snowblind... though it is a darker entry into the mystery genre.
i really loved the settings and moods in this book - i think jónasson did a really good job evoking the challenges of living so far north, and feeling isolated. the character of ari thór is interesting and it will be cool to see how he develops as the books go on. the supporting characters have quirks and pasts that added neat layers to the story. the mystery itself was alright - not surprising or difficult to figure out. i found the ending - a '6 months later' thing - a bit of a let down, given this is a series and things could be stretched out a bit.
there is an enjoyable mention of iceland's annual book tradition of giving books on christmas eve, so that tiny moment in the story was awesome for this book nerd.
one point of interest from the author's bio at the back of the book: jónasson sounds like a neat guy -- among varied accomplishments, he has translated 14 agatha christie novels into icelandic. there is a bit of a christie feel to snowblind... though it is a darker entry into the mystery genre.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a great read for fans of Icelandic crime fiction. The book focuses more on the plot rather than character development. I would recommend this book for fans of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir as it has a similar vibe and setting.
The plot is pretty uncompelling, and not a good enough balance between Ari Thor's personal life and the actual crime/mystery for either to be intriguing. The style is very to-the-point in a way that's off-putting, because there's very little detail; I'm constantly told about Ari Thor's struggles with his personal life, but never actually shown. The romances are pretty annoying and vapid. The 'reveal' of the crime is boring as hell.
Overall it just wasn't a really good book.
Overall it just wasn't a really good book.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated