Strindberg's Star
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A multilayered international thrill ride at breakneck pace, reminiscent of The Rule of Four
The Arctic, 1897: Nils Strindberg crashes his hydrogen balloon during the mysterious Andrée Expedition to the North Pole.
Germany, 1942: Gruesome and inexplicable experiments are performed on concentration camp prisoners.
Sweden, present-day: Cave diver Erik Hall finds a dead body wearing an ancient ankh, buried deep in an abandoned mine. Religious symbol expert Don Titelman seeks out Erik to study the ankh—but finds Erik dead. Don is the prime suspect, and soon he’s being chased across Europe to escape a secret society that will do anything to get their hands on the ankh. . . .
In this international bestseller, each of these fascinating strands weaves together to create a mind-blowing cross-genre thriller that includes arctic explorers, a secret railroad network, Norse mythology, Nazis, and ancient symbols—and a shocking secret that’s been hidden for centuries.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The discovery of an ankh-shaped amulet in a corpse's hands at the bottom of an abandoned copper mine in Falun, Sweden, propels Wallentin's debut, an ambitious if flawed thriller. Don Titelman, professor of history with an expertise in symbolism and mythology who has evaluated the artifact, goes on the run after its owner is murdered and he becomes the prime suspect. Titelman's search to uncover the object's significance leads him to jaw-dropping revelations surrounding an ancient city buried in the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China, an ill-fated 19th-century hot air balloon expedition to the Arctic, and top-secret Nazi schemes. The relentless pacing only partially makes up for less than well-developed characters and a plot that strains credibility to the breaking point. While comparisons to The Da Vinci Code are unavoidable, this is more accurately an audacious adventure novel la Jules Verne steeped in Norse mythology and Nazi esotericism. 5-city author tour.
