THE HERMIT named book of the month in The Times (UK)

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9781780748894_3_1_1-680National newspaper The Times in the UK has selected The Hermit (Eremitten) by Thomas Rydahl as their book of the month for November.

They said that The Hermit is a “delightfully innovative whodunnit…dark good humour, imagination and originality”. You can see the rest of the article here (subscription required).

The Hermit was the winner of the Glass Key Award 2015 and was originally published by Bindslev in Denmark. It was published in the UK by Oneworld in October 2016.

 

Steve Sem-Sandberg’s THE CHOSEN ONES wins the Prix Médicis Étranger 2016!

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Amazing news today!
Steve Sem-Sandberg and his powerful novel The Chosen Ones is the winner of this years Prix Médicis Étranger for best translated fiction in France.
Published by Editions Robert Laffont under the tile Les Elus, the novel is written in Steve Sem-Sandberg’s recognizable style allowing for a myriad of voices and combining the best of historical realism with the surrealism of everyday atrocities. His work rests on extremely rigorous research and is animated by the authors poetic narrative and the attention he pays to the depths of his characters.
 
Congratulations to Steve, who joins the illustrious ranks of other Médicis Prize winners such as Orhan Pamuk, Doris Lessing, Philip Roth, Umberto Ecco and many more.
les elus 

Nordin Agency welcomes Emelie Schepp

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We are thrilled to announce that Emelie Schepp has joined Nordin Agency!

Emelie Schepp is a rising star in the global crime genre and has proven herself not only to be a great author but also a smart, hardworking and brilliant entrepreneur.

Since joining the agency, Emelie Schepp has signed three-book deals for new titles in the praised Jana Berzelius-series with HarperCollins in Sweden, Gyldendal in Norway and Politikens Forlag in Denmark.

Johanne Hildebrandt’s “The Unbroken Line of the Moon” highly ranked on Amazon

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AmazonCrossing has recently published Johanne Hildebrandt’s Valhalla-series for the first time – and The Unspoken Line of the Moon is an immediate hit on the American market! Within just a few weeks, Hildebrandt has reached the top of several of Amazon’s Most Popular Authors lists, as well as Amazon’s Best Sellers lists.

Amazon Most Popular Authors in Contemporary Fiction

Johanne Hildebrandt ranked 4th Most Popular Authors in Contemporary Fiction, right below J.K. Rowling and Paula Hawkins! Impressive! Also The Broken Line of the Moon ranked number one in several genres:

Amazon Best Sellers in Family Saga Fiction Amazon Best Sellers in Historical Fiction Amazon Best Sellers in Historical Norse & Icelandic Fiction

 

The readers reviews for The Unbroken Line of the Moon are just as praising as these rankings:

***** A woman to rule them all!

”This a gripping story. The characters are nicely fleshed out, and it effectively evokes a distant time. This is the best kind of armchair traveling. Can’t wait for the next one in what will hopefully be a series. History without the women erased. Wonderful!”

***** Worked for this Game of Thrones Lover

”This book is really Game of Thrones meets Mists of Avalon – but for literature lovers, it won’t spoil it for you if I tell you that the three witches from Macbeth also show up. […] In sum, I liked the book a lot. If you’re into fantasy in a historical context, this book works and I’d definitely read more by this author.”

***** Can’t wait for the sequel

“Awesome story line. Bring on the sequels. Could not put the book down.

Loved every minute. Ready to have more of this author translated to English.”

***** Woven Tapestry of Intrigue

“Hildebrandt lures you into a world of mythology and hooks you with the drama, twisting allegiances, deceit, and strong female protagonists.”

***** Gripping and intense

“The excitement never stops. I could hardly put it down. I love stories about strong women fight for their beliefs. This book is amazing. I can’t wait to read the next one. If book two is half as good as book 1 you have a fan for life.”

***** Captivating and exciting!

“Loved the female heroine and the magical elements. Historically interesting account of change of power between Norse tribes and Vikings.”

***** Fantastic read!!!

“If you love told stories of Vikings and the magic surrounding them, then you simply must read this book. I am hoping there will be a series of many more books telling this fascinating story.”

***** Loved, loved, loved

“Loved, loved, loved this book. Couldn’t put it down, neglected familial duties. I’m horrible and was briefly obsessed. This book is great. My genre is medieval England, so same time period and different country. Loved hearing about the pagan Gods and the struggles between Christianity and Pagan religions. The main female character is very strong – following her faith and belief in the Gods against all else that is presented in her life. This does read like an epic tale of heroism, but it has many clever plot devices (how she escapes death several times). I would never have guessed this was a translation – the writing is very good. Can’t wait until the next book.”

***** Couldn’t put this book down!

“A VERY talented storyteller is this author! I completely lost myself in this fascinating saga. That is no small thing for me, & rarely do I find books I enjoy this much!”

***** Spellbinding!! Can’t wait for the sequel!!!

“I enjoyed every minute! The characters and storyline kept me reading and rereading. I hated to reach the end! Please notify me when Book 2 is released.”

***** Great if you love historical fiction!

“This book is so well written and easy to get engrossed in. I forgot the book had been translated until I got to the end. I love the story line and the characters. I wish there was a sequel.”

***** Excellent!

“Great historical novel. Brutal and harsh at times, but accurately depicts a brutal and harsh time. Very realistic depiction of the struggles of the North men. Recommend it highly.”

***** A true page-turner

“Don’t miss this page-turner. It is fascinating story, well told, fast paced and beautifully translated. While a bit too gory for my taste, I could not put the book down. This is historical fantasy at its very best; I am eagerly waiting for the next book in this series.”

***** A wonderful piece of literature

“A beautiful tale woven around the life of a Nordic princess, married off to save her people. The rich mythology and intricate politics of the time lend a captivating background to this world of war, terror, and love.”

***** Make this a movie!!

“Well written action packed historical fiction. I couldn’t put it down.”

“Succesful fantasy about voices in solitude”

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Viveca and Camilla Sten’s young adult book Child of the Skerries, their first collaborate writing and the first title in a trilogy, keeps reaching new heights of success! Today Dagens Nyheter posted a fantastic review, praising the novel itself as well as their talent to combine the fantasy and horror genres for a younger audience.

“In the forest and the sea are supernatural beings that whisper in Tuva’s ear, so quietly that she can only sense what they are saying. And when the creatures get a classmate to disappear, the boredom and loneliness are replaced by fear and activity. […] Child of the Skerries” is superior to many of its predecessors in the genre, Tuva’s loneliness is portrayed in heartbreaking detail. […] “Child of the Skerries” is one of this year’s most exciting young adult books, a desolate archipelago has rarely seemed so full of life.”

Simona Ahrnstedt’s “All In” tops the charts

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Simona Ahrnstedt’s “All in” is listed FIRST on Booklist Online’s Top 10 Romance Debut’s 2016! Simona is far from a debutant in the romance genre, but this year Sweden’s queen of romance is made her debut in the States – make sure not to miss the first installment of her sizzling contemporary romance series!

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The Swedish reviews are in for THE TEMPEST

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Steve Sem-Sandberg‘s new novel The Tempest received wonderful reviews in Swedish press yesterday. Read the full review by clicking each quote.

To catch sight of oneself, learn about one’s own history, challenges the established picture, the Story – this is The Tempest. Steve Sem-Sandberg weaves together these fragments like one of the true greats. We see the historical events – here in Norway during the Second World War and its aftermath – but we also see the wounds and grief the Story has left the individual with./…/
Steve Sem-Sandberg has written a suggestive and layered novel, told through a crystal clear narrative that immediately wins over the reader. The story is detailed, we can feel and smell it, we are present, in the moment. It was a long time since I disappeared so unreservedly into a novel’s intensity./…/
When love and power wants to be utopian, it turns evil. An address to our time that should be taken most seriously
Stefan Eklund, Dagens Nyheter

It might be that “The Tempest” is read as a way station between the bigger books, a smaller tale in the great swell of history, doubly so. That would indeed just reassert how these types of novels, written in the periphery of a great authorship, can be the ones to shine brightest and most uniquely. ”The Tempest” is, in a way, just that book. A small masterpiece, that can be read as poetry.
Hanna Nordenhök, Expressen

Steve Sem-Sanberg moves closer to the present with his latest novel. But mankind’s darkness remains unchanged, and his portrayal of it is masterful./…/
After all, Sem-Sandberg’s design is undeniable, the way he describes a passing aircraft or, even better, a crisp rain or a translucent dawn. It is the poetical drama of theses phenomena that creates a lingering, saturated read, as it is when you read something really beautiful.
Elisabeth Hjorth, Sydsvenskan

Steve Sem-Sandberg is one of those authors you can count on, a stylist of rank, a kind of Prospero in his own right with mastery of intrigue, characters and plots twists. He writes with such natural feeling and authority that one doesn’t have to worry in the least, one can just lean back and ride along while the author carefully portions out his sad tale and describes bombs that move “down along the sky like cross stitches in a tapestry”. “The Tempest” is about things that are handed down from person to person through the generations, and his prose is adapted for just such a leisurely course of events. /…/ this is a competent and solid novel that is simultaneously beautiful and strangely relaxing. Shakespeare’s play echoes and vibrates through the pages without ever making too much of a fuss. The result is a tale that both shimmers and threatens. That’s what a Prospero writes.
Josefin Holmström, Svenska Dagbladet

The story of Andreas Lehman’s complex relationship with his sister, which is exposed in a feverish, fragmentary, backwards way in Sem-Sandberg’s prose, rightly described as hypnotic .
Björn Werner, Ystads Allehanda

Nordin Agency welcomes Erik Lewin

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We are thrilled to be able to welcome Erik Lewin, author of Almedalen has fallen and Codename Saif, to the agency.

Erik is an ex-special forces agent who currently works as the CEO for a privat security firm. His insight into the security and intelligence business is unparalleled, inspiring frighteningly realistic stories of the flaws in modern day society.

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THE CHOSEN ONES gets phenomenal prepub reviews

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The success continues for Steve Sem-Sandberg‘s powerfully gripping novel, The Chosen Ones. After receiving fantastic reviews from British critics the book is now getting fantastic prepub buzz in the US.

Booklist says:
One distressed young face among many others, Adrian Ziegler joins the throng of children admitted to the impressive Am Spiegelgrund clinic in newly Nazified Vienna, a throng needing treatment for serious psychological and physical illnesses. But it is ominously irregular treatment that these young patients receive. In this intensively researched historical novel, readers follow Sem-Sandberg (and his adept translator) into a nightmarish Nazi inversion of medicine subjecting innocent children such as Adrian to inhuman experiments and—in hundreds of cases—to eugenically rationalized euthanasia. An open window allows Adrian to escape and survive, but readers see the horrid abuse and systematic liquidation of other Spiegelgrund patients judged a burden to the Master Race. But not all Spielgelgrund professionals act as Nazi ideologues. Complementing the narrative he develops from Adrian’s perspective, Sem-Sandberg unfolds a tangled second narrative from the viewpoint of Anna Katschenka, a devoted nurse shocked by the discovery that Spiegelgrund employees must execute designated patients. After Allied victory eventually shuts down Am Spiegelgrund, surviving former patients (such as Adrian) struggle with their emotional burdens, and former staff members (such as Anna) confront their guilt. And an entire nation fights the amnesia that would swallow the innocent dead. A harrowing chronicle.
(starred)

Publishers Weekly added: 
In Sem-Sandberg’s previous novel, The Emperor of Lies, the Swedish writer took as his subject the Łódz ́ ghetto in Poland during WWII. In his latest, he revisits the savagery of that war by focusing on Am Spiegelgrund, a real-life Viennese clinic where children “diagnosed with mental illness, mental retardation, or severe malformations” were the victims of Nazi eugenics and euthanasia programs. Epic in scope, the novel follows Adrian Ziegler a “patient” of the institution, as he lives there off and on from January 1941 to May 1944, and Anna Katschenka, a nurse who works in the clinic from 1941 until the Russians reach the city at the nurse who works in the clinic from 1941 until the Russians reach the city at the war’s end. Adrian, thought to be of inferior racial stock, with a “Gypsy-type” skull and ears that exhibit a “Semitic curvature,” undergoes the brutal torment and abuse the staff inflict on their charges. He suffers endless cruelty and sexual abuse and bears witness to the murders committed within the clinic’s walls. Anna is a loyal disciple of Dr. Jekelius, the medical director, who unquestioningly becomes party to the Nazis’ state-sanctioned policy of euthanasia, which is, as the doctor tells her, “acts of mercy in the spirit that has always guided medical science, that is to ameliorate or remove sources of pain and suffering.” The novel’s horror is not merely that the crimes it relates are true but the way the most unspeakable atrocities can be committed by the state under the guise of science. With a gift for finding humanity in even the darkest of stories, Sem-Sanberg has written an indelible, moving novel.
(starred)

And Kirkus talks about:
A horror novel, of a sort, in which Swedish novelist Sem-Sandberg (The Emperor of Lies, 2011) returns to the Holocaust to limn its essential inhumanity. Under orders from the newly imposed Nazi regime, doctors at an Austrian clinic are euthanizing the sick children under their care, using lethal injections to dispose of the innocent victims, but not without a few experiments in “encephelography” and “hereditary biology” along the way. Leading the charge is a sadistic doctor, Jekelius, whose only redeeming feature is that his successor is worse. With the doctor’s name, it may be that Sem-Sandberg means for us to think of Dr. Jekyll, but there is not much in the way of a countervailing good force to balance the monsters that stroll the halls of Am Spiegelgrund unhidden. At the center of the story is a young patient, Adrian Ziegler, who watches as, one by one, children disappear from their beds and whose faces he cannot recall: “When Ziegler is shown photographs of the boys, he recognizes most of them but can’t for the life of him work out where or when he has met them.” Occupying much of the story, though, is a figure for whom our empathy builds, only to be shattered, a nurse named Anna Katschenka, who is “efficient, unswervingly loyal and invariably sensible.” She bustles about the ward doing her job, the proverbial good Nazi who was only following orders. Anna at least has a sense of the moral disorder that surrounds her work, and though, years later, on trial for war crimes, she pleads that she is a “decent human being,” we understand that that is true only in a relative sense. There is much evil in the book, and much of it is banal indeed. Making every word count, Sem-Sandberg explores the psychologies of captive and captor, the complexities of bearing witness to things that most people would sooner forget. A memorable meditation on the human capacity to do ill—and to endure.