“Spjut turns Scandinavian mythology upside down in a shades-of-gray world built for lovers of fantastical suspense.” Publishers Weekly
Description
Summer 1978. A young boy disappears without a trace from a summer cabin. His mother claims he was carried away by a giant. He is never found.
Twenty-five years later, another child goes missing. This time there’s a lead: a single photograph taken by Susso Myrén. Myrén has devoted her life to the search for trolls, legendary giants known as stallo, who can control human thoughts and assume animal form. Convinced that trolls are real, she follows the trail of missing children to northern Sweden. But humans, some part stallo themselves, have been watching over the creatures for generations, and this hidden society of protectors won’t hesitate to close its deadly ranks.
Mixing folklore and history, suspense and the supernatural, The Shapeshifters is an extraordinary journey into a frozen land where myth bleeds into reality.
Praise
“Spjut turns Scandinavian mythology upside down in a shades-of-gray world built for lovers of fantastical suspense.” Publishers Weekly
“This spooky novel is great for open-minded mystery/thriller readers who enjoy a bit of genre blending as well as fantasy fans.” Library Journal
“In his first novel to be available in English, Spjut offers readers a substantial, menacing thriller that combines familiar elements of Scandinavian crime fiction with Swedish mythology…A disturbingly dark and strangely realistic novel of suspense and myth that will appeal to enthusiasts of both mysteries and more fantastical fiction.” Kirkus Reviews
“Lapland, in the far north of Sweden, is a strange and mysterious place, and this epic novel by Swedish author Stefan Spjut reflects every bit of its otherworldly mystery. It’s not a quick read…Much of the book’s pleasure comes from the slow and shocking revelations of the story’s architecture as it progresses…The natural landscape is vivid and specific and crucial to the story…Details build a completely realistic world around equally realistic characters, which makes the strangeness at the story’s core all the more effective.” BookPage
“A fantastic novel in every sense of the word…not only because Spjut has accomplished the masterstroke of writing convincingly about the existence of trolls and other mythical creatures in the Nordic forests but also because all this unfolds in a language that captures the everyday reality we know so well, with such precision and exquisite style that the words seem to sparkle on the page.” Karl Ove Knausgård, author of the My Struggle series
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Jul 6, 2015 |
| Release Date | July 7, 2015 |
| Release Date Machine | 1436227200 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Literature & Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Suspense, Horror, International Crime & Mystery, Supernatural, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult |
Author Bio
Stefan Spjut has worked as a literary critic for the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet and the culture editor for Norrbottens-Kuriren. The Shapeshifters is his second novel, the first to be available in English.
Narrator Bio
Ray Chase graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in theater and a minor in cinema and television. He has since worked extensively as a voice-over artist. Among his dozens of audiobook narrations are Ian Douglas’ Heritage trilogy and Robert Olen Butler’s Christopher Marlowe Cobb thrillers.
Overview
Summer 1978. A young boy disappears without a trace from a summer cabin. His mother claims he was carried away by a giant. He is never found.
Twenty-five years later, another child goes missing. This time there’s a lead: a single photograph taken by Susso Myrén. Myrén has devoted her life to the search for trolls, legendary giants known as stallo, who can control human thoughts and assume animal form. Convinced that trolls are real, she follows the trail of missing children to northern Sweden. But humans, some part stallo themselves, have been watching over the creatures for generations, and this hidden society of protectors won’t hesitate to close its deadly ranks.
Mixing folklore and history, suspense and the supernatural, The Shapeshifters is an extraordinary journey into a frozen land where myth bleeds into reality.
Reviews
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