I'm not sure I've ever had such an aggravating experience in reading a book. What I had was an electronic review copy with the editor's notes in the margins. Interesting, sure, but that meant an already unwieldy format (DRM protected PDF) was almost useless on my Sony. The text was too small to read at normal size, and once you zoomed in . . . not only did the lines break in awkward places (as PDFs tend to do), but the editor's notes merged into the body of the text, making for some really confusing passages.

With all that to consider, the fact that I persevered is testament to how engaging the story was. Despite the frustrations, I wanted to see where it was going next, and how it all would end.

I usually try to avoid comparing works or authors, but the best way I can think of to describe Strindberg's Star is as a mix of Dan Brown and Clive Cussler, with a little Stieg Larsson thrown for good measure. It's a great adventure story with some deep mythology, a truly fascinating puzzle at the heart of it all, and a villainess/heroine in Eva Strand who rivals Lisbeth Salander in terms of darkness and diversity. It was so refreshing to read a Dan Brown type thriller that wasn't mired in Catholicism, and as much as WWII history is very much not my forte, what Wallentin does with the Nazis, their experiments, and (most of all) their symbolism is genius.

In some ways, this is a difficult read, in that it blurs the lines between good and evil. There is no one shining example to latch onto as a hero here. Instead, we have a lot of broken, damaged, tainted individuals who often do very bad things for very good reasons . . . and vice versa. Don Titelman is an interesting character, a drug-addicted ex-doctor who lacks only the biting sarcastic wit to be a proper homage to Gregory House. He's a hard man to admire, and an even harder one to like, but he does provide an interesting vantage from which to experience the story.

As for the central mystery of the ankh and the star, the oddly well-preserved body from which they're retrieved, and the bloody (but fascinating) history of their original discovery and loss . . . well, I won't say much at all, other than to promise it's a mystery/puzzle well worth investigating. Personally, I found it much more fascinating than anything Dan Brown or his clones have attempted, and it really made the book for me.

All-in-all, a solid read, and one that I'd very much like to revisit in a more manageable paperback format, without the headaches of the electronic arc. I rarely invest the time in rereading a book, but this is one I would like to sit down and enjoy all over again. I suspect that, with a more comfortable read, I might even elevate it to a fourth star.


Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins

Prendiamo più o meno tutti i miti nordici conosciuti, le varie folli teorie sulla razza della mistica nazista, qualche simbolo egizio, Atlantide e qualche altra robetta, e mescoliamoli con la Svezia moderna, i suoi (inefficienti, a voler credere a qualsiasi giallo avente la medesima ambientazione) servizi segreti, uno storico tossico, la di lui sorella esperta new age di sistemi informatici, una fondazione dedita alla parapsicologia e qualche immortale, e otteniamo La stella di Strindberg.
Fortunatamente la scrittura è assai fluida, perché per il resto è un gran pastrocchio.

Not a bad read. I love a littlle adventure with a sprinkling of mystery. It kept me interested and wanting to know what happens next. The story got a little sludgy when delving into the history, but nothing I couldn't get past.
This tells the story of 2 timeless objects, an ankh and a star, always cold to the touch. Nils Strindberg came across them in 1895. Through trial and error he learns how to use them. An ill-fated journey to the North Pole in 1897 ends with everyone dead.
Modern day spelunker, Eric Hall finds the ankh in an abandoned and flooded mine shaft in Sweden clutched in the hands of a dead man.
Eric insists on meeting Don Titleman, a psychiatrist and 'expert' in comparative mythology with a drug problem. Don finally agrees to meet with Eric only to find that Eric has reached an untimely demise; no sign of the ankh.
Titelman is taken in for questioning. To his surprise, he is represented by Eva Strand, Attorney at Law. They get wisked away by who they think is Sapo, but Eberlein is interested in the ankh. Don soon realizes that more than a few people are wanting to get their hands on not only the ankh, but also the star. Here begins Don's adventure of his lifetime.
I kept wanting Don to get it together and grow a pair, but that's not who he is. The story ended as I expected; not to say that it was a let down. I enjoyed the ride.

Jag visste inte vad boken handlade om när jag köpte den - lite dumt egentligen. Men men... nu har jag läst boken. Det känns som om den försöker vara en blandning av Da Vinci Koden och Fröken Smilla på sätt och viss. Den här boken är mycket bättre än Da Vinci Koden, men den är inte alls lika bra som Fröken Smilla.

Jag har sett att några som har läst den på engelska gnäller att den inte likna Stieg Larsson. Den här boken är inte alls samma styl som Män som hatar kvinnor... men bara för att en bok INTE liknar Larsson betyder inte alls att den inte är värt att läsa. Vad irriterar mig är att numera bokförlag tycker att det är bra att anonsera vilken bok som helst från Skandinavien som den nästa Larsson, oavsett om den liknar Larsson eller inte. Bara så att de får sälja fler böcker. Folk blir besvikna för att de inte får vad de hade förväntat sig.

Hursomhelst, är den en okej deckare-triller. Bra för sommarläsning. Boken och handling blev lite för löjlig för min smak till slut, och vissa delar av handlingen och figurerna kändes som om de hade skrivits utan att författaren hade spenderat lite tid för att tänka genom ordentligt.

Boken handlar om två mysteriösa historiska föremål, ett kors och ett stärjna av någon speciell slags metall, som hittades i Mongolia eller något sådant av en svensk resande-aventyrsman i 1800talet. Han skickade till August Stringberg, som skickade vidare till Nils Strindberg (var han systersson eller något?) som åker norra om Svalbad osv i luftballong och hittar något konstigt i snö och is.... eller gräl mellan tyskarna och norrmän över föremål, försvann dem.... tills vi kommer fram till idag och en svensk killar dyker i översvämmat koppargruv nära Falun och hittar de igen. Då kommer våra huvudsfigurer... Don Titleman, en trist och usel man som är totalt beroende på olika droger för att ta hand om depression, att vara för trött eller pigg eller nervös eller lugn... han klarar sig inte alls med livet kunde man säger, men på något sätt jobbar han på Lunds universitet som lärare. Han blandas in i historien, och så reser dem hit och dit över hela Europa för att lösa gåtan.

Så fort man har det övernaturliga i en handling, brukar det inte vara min smak - det måste vara en riktig bra bok för att jag skulle tycka om. Men den här är okej för något lätt att läsa. Om man vill läsa något som Da Vinci Koden, så är den här boken bättre. Men det finns bättre böcker som åker norrut, har luftballonger, gåta på Svalbad osv - testa Fröken Smilla eller Pullmans Nordsken trilogi.

The year was 1897. Nils Strindberg traveled with several companions. Their balloon crashed in the North Pole during the Andree Expedition. What they left behind to this day still has people searching.

Erik Hall was checking out pictures of other mine explorers. One that had Erik's attention was of two women who went cave diving near where Erik lives. Erik decided to go explore the cave for himself. He finds more than he bargained for with a dead body. The body is holding an ankh.

Don Titelman is a religious symbol expert. He is the perfect person to investigate the mystery surround the ankh. Don is joined by his lawyer, Eva Strand.

This book did grab my attention in tbe beginning. This was a good and bad thing. Good as that meant, I was intrigued by the story but bad because I started it right before I went to bed. The suspense of what Erik would find down in the mind shaft was enough to keep me awake.

Don became the main man in this story. I had mixed feelings about him. On one hand, he was smart and did not lose his cool under pressure but on the other hand, he lacked a big personality. He did not jump off the pages at me. He is more like someone that slowly grows on you the more you spend time with him and get to know him.

Also, I felt that the mystery behind the ankh could have used the intensity button cranked up several mroe levels. It was alright but lacking some in action and intrigue. Also, it felt too drawn out. I started to grow bored and found myself at times skimming the book. Mr. Wallentin did a nice job incorporating the three story lines into one another. Overall, I would suggest this book to some of my friends. It had good potential. I am interested to see what Mr. Wallentin comes out with next.

LOOOOVED it! I've been reading like a billion romances lately and this was an AWESOME break from that. Picture Indiana Jones? Pretty awesome right? Well this book is just like "The Lost Ark" so definitely give this a try!! There are un-explainable and highly sought after objects that Don, a history scholar must find and figure out the power of. Little does he know that these objects have a big history in the arctic (19th century), Sweden, and in Nazi Germany (I told you this was like Indiana Jones!). It's a fast paced multi-national thriller and it's so hard to put down because you want to figure out what in the hell is going on. This is a must read for any Dan Brown fans as well or for anyone who likes a good historical (fake historical, anyway) thriller. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

http://fantastiskfiktion.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/strindbergs-stjarna-och-mord-klockan-fem/