sol2070@velhaestante.com.br reviewed Third Realm by Martin Aitken
Hell breaks loose
5 stars
(em português com links: sol2070.in/2024/12/livro-the-third-realm-karl-ove-knausgard/ )
In "The Third Realm" (2024), Karl Ove Knausgaard continues his captivating kaleidoscopic saga that mixes literary realism with science fiction and even horror, in the third installment of the "Morning Star" series.
The previous book, "The Wolves of Eternity" (2024), seems almost independent, while this one is clearly a sequel. Although the author envisioned the books as a loose series, in which it would be possible to read any of them without having read the others, "The Third Realm" picks up where the first book left off, when a great star takes over the sky and the unexplained begins to interfere in the characters' lives.
Although the supernatural becomes more explicit, the book retains the style of delving into the routines and minds of the various characters, each with engaging parallel stories. It's as if there were several short stories embedded in the main …
(em português com links: sol2070.in/2024/12/livro-the-third-realm-karl-ove-knausgard/ )
In "The Third Realm" (2024), Karl Ove Knausgaard continues his captivating kaleidoscopic saga that mixes literary realism with science fiction and even horror, in the third installment of the "Morning Star" series.
The previous book, "The Wolves of Eternity" (2024), seems almost independent, while this one is clearly a sequel. Although the author envisioned the books as a loose series, in which it would be possible to read any of them without having read the others, "The Third Realm" picks up where the first book left off, when a great star takes over the sky and the unexplained begins to interfere in the characters' lives.
Although the supernatural becomes more explicit, the book retains the style of delving into the routines and minds of the various characters, each with engaging parallel stories. It's as if there were several short stories embedded in the main story, all interconnected.
One of the main subjects is the Norwegian black metal scene, which connects multiple characters, even though they are not part of that. The members of one of these satanic bands are found dead, in a hideous and ritualistic way. There is a fascinating investigation into what drives young people to extreme forms of transgression, including a secret new movement that breaks with social standards in an unprecedented way.
The title of the book is about a related religious aspect, the belief linked to Christian mysticism that there would be three sequential realms on Earth: God's, Christ's and a future third realm of the spirit. The idea was appropriated by the Nazis in their “third reich”.
You could say that, in this book, the floodgates are wide open, hell breaks loose.
The problem now is waiting for the next ones.