Sigurdur Óli is the main character in this book. It was interesting to see him fleshed out more.
It was a good read!
Author is a man, originally written in Icelandic. Makes Jo Nesbo seem wordy and flighty.
Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Prologue: Tana French is one of my favorite writers. She's created a little universe of interesting characters that solve crimes in Dublin. Not only can she tell a fantastic tale, BUT she realizes that the supporting characters in one story have their OWN stories to tell and their OWN set of interesting supporting characters.
The Review: Arnaldur Indridason is also one of my favorite writers. He's created a little universe of interesting characters that collaborate to solve crimes in Iceland. However, the comparsion stops there. A large part of what I like about Indridason's police procedurals is how the characters interact with each other, and how their off-duty lives provide a little side color to enhance the main story of each novel.
Either Indridason disagrees with that assessment (which would be his right; it IS, after all, his universe!), or he does not see a problem with deviating from it. Unfortunately, after having read "Outrage" (Elínborg's star turn) and now, "Black Skies", in which Sigurdur Óli claims the spotlight, I take issue with it. Indridison's strength is the interaction of his protagonists. Focusing on one at a time detracts from his universe, rather than heightening it.
I enjoyed this book more than the previous "Outrage", as Sigurdur's backstory was more interesting to me than was Elinborg's. As usual, the culprit's identity eluded me until near (or in this case, at) the reveal.
Mr. Indridison, I encourage you to remember that you are writing an ensemble cast. It may be cliché, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Please keep the entire squad together in future books. (And since there are at least 3 more that I haven't read yet, including one not yet translated into English, I can only hope that you've reached a similar conclusion on your own.)
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.
The Review: Arnaldur Indridason is also one of my favorite writers. He's created a little universe of interesting characters that collaborate to solve crimes in Iceland. However, the comparsion stops there. A large part of what I like about Indridason's police procedurals is how the characters interact with each other, and how their off-duty lives provide a little side color to enhance the main story of each novel.
Either Indridason disagrees with that assessment (which would be his right; it IS, after all, his universe!), or he does not see a problem with deviating from it. Unfortunately, after having read "Outrage" (Elínborg's star turn) and now, "Black Skies", in which Sigurdur Óli claims the spotlight, I take issue with it. Indridison's strength is the interaction of his protagonists. Focusing on one at a time detracts from his universe, rather than heightening it.
I enjoyed this book more than the previous "Outrage", as Sigurdur's backstory was more interesting to me than was Elinborg's. As usual, the culprit's identity eluded me until near (or in this case, at) the reveal.
Mr. Indridison, I encourage you to remember that you are writing an ensemble cast. It may be cliché, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Please keep the entire squad together in future books. (And since there are at least 3 more that I haven't read yet, including one not yet translated into English, I can only hope that you've reached a similar conclusion on your own.)
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.
