Nordic Visions: The Best of Nordic Speculative Fiction by Margrét Helgadóttir

Nordic Visions: The Best of Nordic Speculative Fiction Reviews

• 
  John Kelly

  An odyssey into the heart of Nordic storytelling…..
  
  Book Information
  
  “Nordic Visions: The Best of Nordic Speculative Fiction”, edited by Margrét Helgadóttir is a 352-page short story anthology scheduled to be published on October 3, 2023. Thank you to Rebellion Publishing for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book for review.
  
  Summary
  
  This anthology offers a fusion of Nordic speculative fiction, seamlessly blending the dark, noir undertones of Nordic crime fiction with the epic storytelling reminiscent of Icelandic Sagas. These stories, ranging from rational to eccentric, are deeply rooted in their landscapes, exploring themes of isolation and humanity's impact on nature. Featuring Sixteen narratives by leading contemporary speculative authors hailing from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, this collection promises an immersive journey through the diverse realms of Nordic storytelling.
  
  My Thoughts
  
  "Nordic Visions: The Best of Nordic Speculative Fiction," edited by Margrét Helgadóttir, offers a captivating journey through the world of speculative fiction from the Nordic countries. This anthology showcases an eclectic mix of sixteen stories, each classified by the author's country of origin, providing a unique glimpse into the diverse voices of the Nordic literary landscape.
  
  From Sweden, we encounter the talents of John Ajvide Lindqvist, Maria Haskins, and Karin Tidbeck, whose contributions infuse the anthology with a rich blend of themes. Denmark brings forth the imaginative works of Kaspar Colling Nielsen, Jakob Drud, and Lene Kaaberbø, adding depth and variety to the collection. The Faroe Islands contribute the storytelling of Rakel Helmsdal, while Iceland is represented by the masterful tales of Johann Thorsson and Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson. Norway's presence is felt through the creativity of Tor Åge Bringsværd, Tone Almhjell, Thore Hansen, and Margrét Helgadóttir. Finally, Finland rounds out the anthology with the unique voices of Johanna Sinisalo, Hannu Rajaniemi, and Emmi Itäranta.
  
  One notable feature of "Nordic Visions" is the inclusion of short biographies for each author, making it an excellent introduction to Nordic literary voices for readers unfamiliar with these writers.
  
  The anthology's strength lies in its wide range of topics, encompassing themes such as paranormal, extraterrestrial, sci-fi, technology, folklore, and horror. The stories exhibit remarkable diversity in tones and subject matter, showcasing the breadth of speculative fiction within the Nordic region.
  
  However, it's worth noting that a recurring characteristic of many stories is their abrupt endings, leaving readers wanting more closure. While this might be a characteristic of Nordic or speculative fiction, it could be jarring for those accustomed to more definitive conclusions.
  
  One standout in the anthology is the opening story, "She" by Ajvide Lindqvist, which delivers suspense and tension in a gripping ghost story. Although it offers a fantastic reading experience, some may find the ending a bit vague.
  
  One issue with the book is the lack of clear breaks between stories and the absence of titles for each story within the text. This can make it challenging to discern where one story ends and another begins, disrupting the reader's flow. An introduction to each author or a short teaser for their respective stories would have been immensely helpful in this regard.
  
  Despite this, there are gems to be found within "Nordic Visions." "The Cormorant" by Tone Almhjell and "The Day Jonas Shadowed His Dad" by Thore Hansen are among the stories that stand out.
  
  Additionally, it's worth acknowledging the striking and attention-grabbing book cover, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to this anthology.
  
  Recommendation
  
  "Nordic Visions: The Best of Nordic Speculative Fiction" offers a diverse and intriguing collection of stories from the Nordic region. While it may leave some readers seeking more conclusive endings and a smoother transition between stories, it provides an introduction to the work of talented Nordic authors in the realm of speculative fiction.
  
  Rating
  
  2.5 Nordic Stars
  
• 
  Kate Victoria RescueandReading

  “The rattle, the fall, the rope pulled taut, the neck being broken with a crack that made Alice jump and let out a little whimper. Then the dry creaking. And the dripping.”
  
  This definitely had an eclectic mix of stories.
  
  However, the formatting was super strange and annoying in the ARC I received- there were no story titles and some of them just ended and a new one began with no break in between. It was definitely disjointing.
  
  I was also expecting more clear and I guess, obvious, Nordic references or settings in every story, but some were definitely based other places.
  
  The cover art is gorgeous and I definitely enjoyed quite a few stories in this anthology.
  
  Thank you to NetGalley, the authors, and editor, and publishers for a copy!
• 
  BlurbGoesHere

  [Blurb goes here]
  
  While not all of the stories are "up there," as it often happens with anthologies, there are a lot of jewels in this one. I mean, one of the authors is John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let Me In, Let The Old Dreams Die).
  
  Most of the tales give you hints here and there about the perils faced by the protagonists or about the part they played in landing in such a situation. I found that sense of "drip-fed information" really interesting. Let me elaborate. When reading the usual short stories, one thing happens often: we get spoon-fed the details. Not here. The reader gets to assemble the puzzle all on their own.
  
  While I've never been a fan of the usual "leave the ending to the reader's imagination," it somehow "clicks" in this collection.
  
  The rich descriptions will put you right there, next to the characters, be it inside a deafening storm or a freezing tundra.
  
  The overall translation is spot on; the tales themselves have a wide range of genres: sci-fi, horror, mystery...
  
  I'll visit this book again in the future, something I don't do often.
  
  A widely recommended read, IMHO.
  
  Thank you for the advanced copy!
• 
  Mandie

  I was incredibly excited when my request was chosen on Netgalley to receive an ARC (Advanced Review Copy) of Nordic Visions in exchange for an honest review. ⁠
  ⁠
  Reading horror, science fiction, or fantasy anthologies from different places in the world has become something of a yearly or bi-yearly quest for me. I've read both graphic novel anthologies and short story anthologies featuring Indigenous authors, Northern Canadian authors, Chinese authors, or anthologies that feature only women or only LGBTQ+. It is truly a great way to be introduced to authors that you may not hear of otherwise. ⁠
  ⁠
  Nordic Visions covers all three of the aforementioned genres and is a great introduction to writing from Nordic authors. There were various niches of each genre represented, and it made for an eclectic grouping of stories. A good few of the stories lingered in my thoughts after reading them, as is the goal of speculative fiction. However, a few more just didn't grip me. That said, though, I think this is one of those anthologies where different stories are going to appeal to different people, and the editor chose stories purposefully for this reason. My standout stories include "The First Night," "The Dreamgiver," and "A Lion Roars in Longyearbyen."⁠
  ⁠
  The one thing I would have liked was an introduction to the author of each story or the inspiration behind choosing or writing each story. I think it would have helped set the tone of the whole book, especially for those of us who didn't grow up in a Nordic country. I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a place to start reading Scadinavian genre authors and to broaden their horizons from the more well-known authors in this region.⁠
• 
  Milt Theo

  First of all, many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for kindly offering an ARC to review! ‘Nordic Visions’ was a great read, especially since I had no idea Scandinavian fiction went beyond thrillers and crime books. I was aware of John Ajvide Lindqvist, of course, after the English translations of his consistently brilliant output, and Hannu Rajaniemi was not unknown to me, as he’s been a widely acknowledged terrific science fiction author (his story in the anthology, in fact, has already appeared many times before in English SF anthologies). The rest, however, I'd never heard of before and were totally unfamiliar to me. Consider my eyes opened: I'd love to read more English translations of Scandinavian speculative fiction, and if this awesome anthology gives any indication, Nordic authors have great stories up their sleeves, all of which would make a fantastic contribution to the genre, whether weird fiction, horror, fantasy or science-fiction.
  
  ‘Nordic Visions’ offers sixteen stories classified by country of origin, though this does not really matter since the stories’ settings and the country of the author often diverge, going for literary enjoyment rather than setting up some sort of ‘Nordic fiction’ or something similar. Perhaps this explains the lack of non-fictional essays and/or commentaries or story notes, providing us a glimpse into the context of the stories. Taking them at face value, they are all connected via the common theme of technology, folklore, and the contrast of the natural to the mythical or the scientific. Some good honest horror is included, too, creepy and atmospheric tales such as “The Dreamgiver” by Johann Thorsson and ”She” by Lindqvist himself. Along with these two amazing stories, my particular standouts were “Heather Country” by Jakob Drud, “As You Wish” by Tor Åge Bringsværd, “The Cormorant” by Tone Almhjell, the superb “A Lion Roars in Longyearbyen” by Margrét Helgadóttir, and the sublime “A Bird Does Not Sing Because It Has an Answer” by Johanna Sinisalo. Reading just these convinced me that Scandinavian speculative fiction has much to offer and should be translated into English as soon as possible!
• 
  Primo S.

  Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
  
  
  Full review here.
  
  Like most short story collections out there (that I've read at least), this anthology doesn't contain only hits, however, for me, this anthology has no misses. At worst, some of the stories just fizzled out without a proper ending (a problem that I've had with many short stories), but they're not bad. And at best, some of these stories are probably gonna stick in my mind for a while, which isn't very common for short stories. The stories here are really diverse and different from each other, from horror, to science fiction, fantasy, and even things in between those genres, this anthology had it all. Some of my favorite stories here include "She" by John Ajvide Lindqvist (the writer of "Let the Right One In") with its gripping horror, "A Lion Roars in Longyearbyen" by Margrét Helgadóttir, a brilliant short story that uses multiple PoVs really well, and "The Dreamgiver" by Johann Thorsson that reminded me of Neil Gaiman's Sandman in the best ways.
• 
  S. Naomi Scott

  An interesting collection of short fiction, with a decent mix of stories to choose from. Back with a more considered review soon.
• 
  Charlie

  3.75 STARS
  
  CW: death (including of animals and children), insects, sexual content, pregnancy, blood, violence, murder
  
  Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
  
  Ever since I learned about the existence of this short story collection I'd been looking forward to it and I was overjoyed when I was approved for an ARC on NetGalley last month! I've lately become fascinated with the Northern European countries and realized I don't really know much about their folklore besides Norse mythology. Additionally, even though as the editor Margrét Helgadóttir mentions in the introduction Scandinavian thriller and crime fiction are incredibly popular, I have never read any (because it's not really my genre).
  
  I'm very glad that I began my dive into Nordic literature with this collection because it gave a fascinating overview and selection of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands in the form of one or more short stories. None of the authors were familiar to me but I can definitely see myself checking out some other works by a few of them! There was a running theme of solitude and tight-knit communities in these stories that I found utterly enchanting.
  
  I do admit, some of the stories were a little bit boring to me but nevertheless I enjoyed each one of them even the ones that couldn't hold my attention as well as others. My favorites were probably:
  
  The False Fisherman by Kaspar Colling Nielsen (translated by Olivia Lasky) because it gave me a lot to think about and I really liked the composition of the story.
  
  The Dreamgiver by Johann Thorsson because it was creepy and atmospheric and unlike what I usually read which made it all the more interesting to me.
  
  As You Wish by Tor Åge Bringsværd (translated by Olivia Lasky) which was written in a very intriguing style and which also incited me to think about what I was reading.
  
  A Lion Roars in Longyearbyen by Margrét Helgadóttir which had amazing worldbuilding that I would have love to learn more about and which was also incredibly sad but still so good. The title alone is amazing in my opinion.
  
  And finally, The Wings that Slice the Sky by Emmi Itäranta which I found out is inspired / retells a Finnish epic poem that I will definitely have to check out in the future. This was rich in folklore which was noticeable even though I did not know any of said folklore. I'm very curious how this story / these characters are written in the original tale because I have a sneaking suspicion that some aspects were changed in this story. I absolutely loved it.
  
  The collection was so diverse in tones and subject matters that I think everyone will find something to their liking among these stories. I wish there would have been some context, especially when stories were inspired by or involving folklore that the readers might be unfamiliar with. Even if it was just a small note or reference. The short story collection that was always at the back of my mind while reading this (and which I was comparing this to) was
  The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories which included some essays interspersed between the stories which provided some commentary and information on culture and, for example, obstacles when it came to translations. I would have been glad for something similar in this collection but as it stands, I will have to do my own research.
  
  I can definitely recommend this collection to SFF fans and even those who don't enjoy fantasy as a lot of the stories were very literary spruced up with some magical or sci-fi elements. Even if there are only a few stories to be read, this is well worth it and I'm glad I read it! When it comes out, I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy!
• 
  Rob McMinn

  This is an excellent and varied short story collection for fans of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. The book is divided by country, with between one and four stories from each region (in order): Sweden; Denmark; The Faroe Islands; Iceland; Norway; and Finland.
  
  My own preference is for science fiction, and it was interesting to see similar themes and tropes appearing across the collection. There's a good deal of speculation about a post-climate disaster world, and various ideas about how humanity can atone for its crimes against nature. I really enjoyed the story in which an AI translates bird talk (A Bird Does Not Sing Because It Has an Answer by Johanna Sisisalo), but my favourite was one which took me back to the heyday of 80s and 90s science fiction. Set on a planet where people have entered into a kind of symbiotic relationship with local wildlife, Sing by Karin Tidbeck really felt like visiting an alien world.
  
  Not all the stories fit neatly into genre. The False Fisherman by Kaspar Colling Nielson, for example, is a kind of shaggy dog story, with the rest ranging from folk tales to post-humanity.
  
  The recurring trope of birds is the one thing that holds these stories together, from birds laying eggs in babies' throats to people transforming into birds to birds complaining about "egg thieves", birds are all over this collection.
  
  Not all the stories worked for me, but that's the joy of a short story collection. You might not like one, but then the next one will transport you.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for an ARC in return for this review.
• 
  Ana

  3/5
  
  I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
  
  A compilation of speculative fiction short stories by sixteen different nordic authors that has a lot of fascinating ideas and wide variety of writing styles. Some of the stories worked for me, others not so much. I did appreciate the taste of the different cultures of the region, I think it's the strongest part of this anthology, so I highly recommend it to anyone out there who is tired of reading the same over and over again.
  
  I think most of them were, at the very least, interesting but I didn't enjoy all of them. The standouts for me were Sing by Karin Tidbeck from Sweden, which shows the way humans adapted to life in an alien planet. From Iceland I quite enjoyed Johann Thorsson's The Dreamgiver, a story about nightmares and family secrets. My favorite of all of them was The Cormorant by Tone Almhjell from Norway, I found it well written, intriguing and full of love.
• 
  Sara Mcfadden

  Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available October 10,2023!
  
  This is an anthology of Nordic speculative fiction and horror. It is broken up by country. Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark Finland and The Faroe Islands.
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 16 uniquely voiced stories from each country. I dug the slight culture changes and nods to each region in each story. The Nordic North isn’t a monolith of one culture but each country has its own and the authors herein really gave their country a moment of pride.
• 
  Kendra

  This is a good collection of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy from Scandinavia. Including pieces both written in English and translated into it, the collection represents a lot--but not all, as the editors discuss in their introduction--of places within Scandinavia. There are fantastic tales inspired by folklore as well as stories about aliens, robots, dystopias, elves, and much more. I'd love to re-read these in a class or group where I could learn more about the contexts in which the writers are working.
• 
  Rachel A Library Fairy

  Loved this collection of short stories. Some of them I was reading late at night and got a little spooked 😆 right off the bat, “She”, had me trying to not see non-existent figures in the dark of my bedroom 😳😂
  I loved that these stories were divided up into a few different countries. I didn’t love that some stories didn’t really have an ending…but I quickly forgot about it with moving onto the next story!
  Of course, with any collection of short stories, you’re going to have a few that aren’t your favorite. Overall, I still have this 5 stars!
• 
  Hannah

  Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
  
  A very interesting though confusing read. The stories were all gripping but the topic change from story to story was quite a bit confusing. I think the book would be easier if there was some form of information given to the genre of each story or an introduction to the story.
  
  However I found I quite enjoyed most of the stories and the variance of storytelling between Scandinavian countries. A great book for people who enjoyed reading metamorphosis and like a bit of mystery as to the meaning of the story.
• 
  Shen

  2-3 stars
  
  This collection of Nordic speculative fiction, like a lot of short story collections for me, has more misses than hits. Unfortunately, only one story in particular stuck out to me, but I do think that it’s worth picking up if you want to dip your toes into seeing what Nordic speculative fiction can look like. I didn’t know anything going in and I was surprised at the variety of ideas in the book, from hauntings and historical traumas to possessions and alien life.
  
  The standout story for me was Tone Almhjell’s tale about birds, transformation, and a mother-daughter relationship. It was sweet and poignant in turn and the ending felt like the story had come full circle.
  
  Overall, Nordic Visions is for people who like their fiction weirder and more ambitious than me.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and Solaris for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!