John Ajvide Lindqvist

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Kurben

Kurben

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He is different. In Sweden he is called Swedens answer to Stephen King but thats really not fair. They are very different. Even though they work in the same area of literature, the What if-area.
His first is excellent Let the right one in (aka Let me in) about a child vampire in a Stockholm suburb
His second Handling the Undead also takes place in Stockholm and is about the problems that arise when the dead suddenly rise (a kind of zombies). Quite good.
His third branches out a bit and is called Harbour in English (A correct translation would have been Human Harbour but i guess it was to long) but there are supernatural and horror elements in it but it is not easy to classify.
The same for Little Star. A strange bizarre and captivating story about a girl found in the forest. Really good.
Then he has two collections of short stories. One, the newest, is called Let the Old Dreams Die. The Older one should be called Paper Walls but i don't think it has been translated.
His newest Novel is scary. Called Himmelstrand (that is a placename, don't know if it would be translated or not. It means Heavens Beach)
Have you read him? What do you think?
 
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FlakeNoir

FlakeNoir

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Kurben said:
He is different. In Sweden he is called Swedens answer to Stephen King but thats really not fair. They are very different. Even though they work in the same area of literature, the What if-area.
His first is excellent Let the right one in (aka Let me in) about a child vampire in a Stockholm suburb
His second Handling the Undead also takes place in Stockholm and is about the problems that arise when the dead suddenly rise (a kind of zombies). Quite good.
His third branches out a bit and is called Harbour in English (A correct translation would have been Human Harbour but i guess it was to long) but there are supernatural and horror elements in it but it is not easy to classify.
The same for Little Star. A strange bizarre and captivating story about a girl found in the forest. Really good.
Then he has two collections of short stories. One, the newest, is called Let the Old Dreams Die. The Older one should be called Paper Walls but i don't think it has been translated.
His newest Novel is scary. Called Himmelstrand (that is a placename, don't know if it would be translated or not. It means Heavens Beach)
Have you read him? What do you think?
Click to expand...
I haven't, but they sound good. (I feel like I might have heard about "Let The Right One In" before..)
 
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kingricefan

kingricefan

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Kurben said:
He is different. In Sweden he is called Swedens answer to Stephen King but thats really not fair. They are very different. Even though they work in the same area of literature, the What if-area.
His first is excellent Let the right one in (aka Let me in) about a child vampire in a Stockholm suburb
His second Handling the Undead also takes place in Stockholm and is about the problems that arise when the dead suddenly rise (a kind of zombies). Quite good.
His third branches out a bit and is called Harbour in English (A correct translation would have been Human Harbour but i guess it was to long) but there are supernatural and horror elements in it but it is not easy to classify.
The same for Little Star. A strange bizarre and captivating story about a girl found in the forest. Really good.
Then he has two collections of short stories. One, the newest, is called Let the Old Dreams Die. The Older one should be called Paper Walls but i don't think it has been translated.
His newest Novel is scary. Called Himmelstrand (that is a placename, don't know if it would be translated or not. It means Heavens Beach)
Have you read him? What do you think?
Click to expand...
I've read his first 4 books and liked them. Let The Right One In is a classic novel! You get to find out what happens when a vampire enters your home uninvited. It ain't pretty! Paper Walls has not been published here in the US. I have Let The Old Dreams Die in my TBR pile.
 
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skimom2

skimom2

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kingricefan said:
I've read his first 4 books and liked them. Let The Right One In is a classic novel! You get to find out what happens when a vampire enters your home uninvited. It ain't pretty! Paper Walls has not been published here in the US. I have Let The Old Dreams Die in my TBR pile.
Click to expand...
There are a couple of stories that in Let The Old Dreams Die that really got under my skin--genuinely creepy! None of them were a waste of paper, of course. Little Star is my favorite novel of his, I think, or at least neck and neck with LTROI.
 
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kingricefan

kingricefan

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skimom2 said:
There are a couple of stories that in Let The Old Dreams Die that really got under my skin--genuinely creepy! None of them were a waste of paper, of course. Little Star is my favorite novel of his, I think, or at least neck and neck with LTROI.
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While I liked Little Star, I felt it was too long. There were sections that, had I been the editor, I would have suggested that they be trimmed down. It was quite a different concept for a horror novel tho, right?!
 
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skimom2

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kingricefan said:
While I liked Little Star, I felt it was too long. There were sections that, had I been the editor, I would have suggested that they be trimmed down. It was quite a different concept for a horror novel tho, right?!
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Yeah, it could've used some trimming. It did hit in a visceral way, though--I still think about it months after reading it once. That's success, in my book :) He's an interesting writer. I sometimes wonder if some sections of books originally written in a language other than English get lengthened in translation--like, the idea is easier to get across in the native language than in English (our language is SO imprecise), and so the translator errs on the side of caution and over describes lest he/she miss something, KWIM?
 
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Bev Vincent

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I was working at the HWA booth at WHC in Brighton a number of years ago, selling books for member authors, and had to step away for a few minutes. When I got back, I found out that Lindqvist had stopped by...and bought one of my books! I looked for him to thank him, but I never managed to track him down, and it was the last day of the convention.
 
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kingricefan

kingricefan

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Bev Vincent said:
I was working at the HWA booth at WHC in Brighton a number of years ago, selling books for member authors, and had to step away for a few minutes. When I got back, I found out that Lindqvist had stopped by...and bought one of my books! I looked for him to thank him, but I never managed to track him down, and it was the last day of the convention.
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Ya shoulda had him PAGED overhead!!! ;;D 'Would Mr. Lindqvist please return to the HWA booth.' He probably wouldn't have been too happy about that......
 
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Maskins

Maskins

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Kurben said:
They made a hollywood movie on it. Perhaps thats why. Let me in it was called. But the swedish movie version was really better.
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The Swedish film is one of my favourite films of all time. The American version is fine but was just a straight out copy (almost) and was totally unnecessary. I cannot recommend that film enough to all horror fans...

I have read 'Let the Right One In' and really enjoyed it though oddly I preferred the film adaptation. It may be because I saw the film first but I think there was a little more mystery in it. However the book was very good. I have been meaning to read some more of his work.
 
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Kurben

Kurben

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Maskins said:
The Swedish film is one of my favourite films of all time. The American version is fine but was just a straight out copy (almost) and was totally unnecessary. I cannot recommend that film enough to all horror fans...

I have read 'Let the Right One In' and really enjoyed it though oddly I preferred the film adaptation. It may be because I saw the film first but I think there was a little more mystery in it. However the book was very good. I have been meaning to read some more of his work.
Click to expand...
You should. He is worth looking into. Handling the Undead, Little Star and Harbour are all good. And there are some extremely creepy stories in his short story collection Let the Old Dreams Die.
When it comes to the movie it was, as so many american remakes of foreign movies really unneccasary. I was especially impressed by the girl who played the vampire in the swedish movie (have forgotten her name).
 
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Maskins

Maskins

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Kurben said:
You should. He is worth looking into. Handling the Undead, Little Star and Harbour are all good. And there are some extremely creepy stories in his short story collection Let the Old Dreams Die.
When it comes to the movie it was, as so many american remakes of foreign movies really unneccasary. I was especially impressed by the girl who played the vampire in the swedish movie (have forgotten her name).
Click to expand...

I will do - I was looking for some holiday reads for the summer. Thanks for the recommendation.

I thought both the child leads were excellent - the girl played the age and animalistic side really well.
 
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