The Iron Chariot
The Original Scandinavian Crime Novel
by Stein Riverton, translated by Lucy Moffatt
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Pub Date Feb 20 2017 | Archive Date Mar 30 2017
Canelo | Abandoned Bookshop
Description
On a blazing hot summer’s day, holidaymakers at a guesthouse on a Norwegian island are shocked to discover a fellow guest has been found murdered out on a desolate plain. The nameless narrator, an author, was the last person to see the victim alive; shortly afterwards, he was disturbed by a noise like ‘a rattling of chains’. A local tells him this is ‘the iron chariot’, which is said to presage death.
Detective Asbjorn Krag is summoned from the capital of Kristiania, and sets about investigating the murder. When a similar death occurs on the plain, it is again preceded by the eerie sound of the iron chariot, which leaves no tracks. Mystery is added to mystery when the victim turns out to be a man believed to have died several years earlier.
Drawn unwillingly into the investigation, the narrator is puzzled by the enigmatic detective’s apparent inaction, and troubled by unfolding events. These begin to take a toll on his mental wellbeing and he sinks into a state of dread, exacerbated by mysterious happenings at the cabin where he is staying.
So profound is his unease that he feels he must leave the island. Then Krag promises to tell him the solution to the mystery…
Voted #2 in a poll of the greatest Norwegian crime novels of all time, The Iron Chariot is a classic of the genre that is now getting a long overdue publication in English.
‘This is a classic Norwegian crime story. It was written over 100 years ago. Riverton is regarded as the founder of the modern Norwegian crime novel and he is a great writer.’ – Jo Nesbo
‘I’ve sketched out a fine new detective novel. Or not exactly a detective novel but a thrilling tale, a sensational tale, the most exciting novel I have ever written. The name of the book will be The Iron Chariot’ – Stein Riverton
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781911420347 |
| PRICE | £3.99 (GBP) |
Featured Reviews
Rowena H, Reviewer
This is a brand-new translation of a Norwegian novel that’s more than 100 years old – so don’t pick it up expecting cutting-edge Scandi crime or the bleak brutality of Nordic noir. Instead The Iron Chariot offers a nostalgic interlude in the golden age of the private detective. Puzzle-solver and independent investigator Asbjørn Krag is nothing less than the Norwegian equivalent of Sherlock Holmes, and this story is every bit as eerie and unsettling as The Hound Of The Baskervilles.
ironchariot
In fact, The Iron Chariot is a clever blend of gothic suspense – all swirling mists and the melancholia of the midnight sun – and the art of intertwined plots, in which sleight of hand and deductive reasoning simultaneously confound and reward the reader. Some aspects of the writing style feel a little twee to the 21st century eye, but the author establishes the outline of crime fiction to come. There’s a tip of the hat to forensic science, the idiosyncratic investigator, a rising sense of dread and uncertainty – and in common with today’s trendy psychological thrillers, all is far from what is seems. Apparently, Saint Agatha herself was inspired by the middle-class country holiday, and 20 years later she ‘borrowed’ one of the author’s central plot devices!
Also, for anyone who’s enjoyed the recent theatrical revivals of Hedda Gabler and The Master Builder, there’s more than a sniff of similarity between the tone and style of Stein Riverton’s writing and Henrik Ibsen’s plays. You can feel the same swirl of social unease at the tricky transition from a traditional agrarian economy to the industrial 20th century. The iron chariot itself is a menacing presence; perhaps a haunting from the past, perhaps a portent of an oppressive future…
An unusual read, then. If you enjoy classic crime and first-generation gothic ghost stories then it’s likely to entertain. If you prefer domestic dramas or ‘inside the mind of a serial killer’ thrillers then it’ll most likely mystify you, but not in the way Stein Riverton intended.
Oh, and congrats to the publisher, Abandoned Bookshop, for taking the risk of resurrecting such an unusual novel. Their mission is to ‘uncover the best books we’ve forgotten about, lost sight of, or never even knew existed’ – definitely worthy of support. Likewise, translator Lucy Moffatt has done a wonderful job of capturing the atmosphere of Norway in 1909; resisting the temptation to modernise the writing yet making it easily accessible to readers more familiar with the likes of Jo Nesbø and Stieg Larsson. Top job.
8/10
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