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marthagal 's review for:
The Devil's Star
by Jo Nesbø
Can I make a - perhaps sexist - confession? I normally don't enjoy mysteries written by men. They just tend to be so ... mutilate-y and violent in a way that can seem a tad misogynistic. Also, the protagonist is invariable a troubled machismo douche with something to prove.
So, um, when I picked this book off the HarperCollins review list, I ... thought "Jo" Nesbo was a woman. Gender and cultural stereotype FAIL.
Therefore, I was not into this book as soon as I saw the Jo Nesbo The Dude author photo - and I found the first 100 pages or so a bit of slog. Probably because of my gender stereotypes. Harry Hole, the protagonist, reinforced them by being definitely troubled and having something to prove. (Not so much with the machismo or doucheness, though, as it turns out. Also? Awesome name.)
The mystery, however, completely obsessed me about 1/3 of the way in, and I finished the remaining 350 pages in a day. The plotting is really good - fast-paced, interesting, kept me guessing (and reading). There are also some good characters - though I wish there had been more Beate, more Rakel, and a little less Harry.
On the downside, I had a hard time with all the description. Maybe it's the translation, or the fact that I've never been to Norway, or that I'm just not a visual person - but I couldn't picture many of the scenes. I finally just gave up and skimmed them.
So, um, when I picked this book off the HarperCollins review list, I ... thought "Jo" Nesbo was a woman. Gender and cultural stereotype FAIL.
Therefore, I was not into this book as soon as I saw the Jo Nesbo The Dude author photo - and I found the first 100 pages or so a bit of slog. Probably because of my gender stereotypes. Harry Hole, the protagonist, reinforced them by being definitely troubled and having something to prove. (Not so much with the machismo or doucheness, though, as it turns out. Also? Awesome name.)
The mystery, however, completely obsessed me about 1/3 of the way in, and I finished the remaining 350 pages in a day. The plotting is really good - fast-paced, interesting, kept me guessing (and reading). There are also some good characters - though I wish there had been more Beate, more Rakel, and a little less Harry.
On the downside, I had a hard time with all the description. Maybe it's the translation, or the fact that I've never been to Norway, or that I'm just not a visual person - but I couldn't picture many of the scenes. I finally just gave up and skimmed them.