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A review by amanizaha
Sandmannen by Lars Kepler
1.0
Was immediately off to a rocky start with this one, with the most glaring issue being the writing. Clunky sentences, stilted, unnatural dialogue, and far more telling than showing: things difficult to ignore. Initially I thought the translation might be to blame, so I switched to the Swedish edition. However, apart from seeming slightly less awkward, the writing remained feeling off-putting and shallow, choppy in a way that is reminiscent of the writing you'd find in a mildly passionate grade-schooler's short story.
The characters were cardboard cut-outs who behaved irrationally; crucial decisions and motivations were left unexplained. The apparently Ultra-Scary-Psychopath-Serial-Killer-Mastermind villain was in actuality no more enigmatic or compelling than any other run-of-the-mill thriller predator. There is little rhythm or logic to the progression of the story, which even the authors seem aware of: there's a whole chapter toward the end which is just the narrator (not even a character!) explaining the Entire plot. Instead, we get served a string of conveniences and clichés.
Honestly. Insane how Goodreads ratings could be considered even a somewhat reliable judgement of quality when this book has a 4.25 rating.
The characters were cardboard cut-outs who behaved irrationally; crucial decisions and motivations were left unexplained. The apparently Ultra-Scary-Psychopath-Serial-Killer-Mastermind villain was in actuality no more enigmatic or compelling than any other run-of-the-mill thriller predator. There is little rhythm or logic to the progression of the story, which even the authors seem aware of: there's a whole chapter toward the end which is just the narrator (not even a character!) explaining the Entire plot. Instead, we get served a string of conveniences and clichés.
Honestly. Insane how Goodreads ratings could be considered even a somewhat reliable judgement of quality when this book has a 4.25 rating.