I would like to thank Jess from Solaris for an advance copy of this anthology in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Solaris

Published – 12/10

Price – £9.99 paperback £5.99 Kindle eBook

A Unique Speculative Fiction Collection From The Nordic Countries

Storytelling has been a major force in the Nordic countries for thousands of years, renowned for its particular sense of dark humour, featuring pacts with nature and a view of the worlds you seldom find in other places.

Perhaps it is the freezing cold winter? The closeness to the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic? Maybe it’s the huge ancient forests...

Most have heard about Nordic crime fiction with its dark noir flare or the Icelandic Sagas. This anthology combines all that is unique about Nordic speculative fiction, from the darkest dystopian science fiction to terrifying horror. From the rational to the eccentric, these stories combine a deep sense of place with social criticism, themes of loneliness and the concern for humanity's impact on the wilderness.

Featuring 16 stories from the best contemporary speculative authors from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and The Faroe Islands, including John Ajvide Lindqvist, Hannu Rajaniemi, Tor Åge Bringsværd and more, many of which are appearing in English for the very first time.

One of the best trends in SF, Fantasy and Horror has been the growing recognition is that these genres are not confined just to the USA and UK. Various traditions for these genres and a hist of new voices are being promoted and read by authors. Tolkien knew landscape shapes stories so we should not be surprised that those in other parts of the world bring their own unique spin on stories. The similarities and differences are always fascinating to explore. In Nordic Visions – The best of Nordic Speculative Fiction edited by Margret Helgadottir we have a really impressive set of tales covering the Scandinavian territories from Sweden all the way to Iceland and the Faroe Islands with a focus on who today are the prominent voices for the regions and a very fine selection of tales await the reader.

Among the stories I enjoyed were

She by John Ajvide Lindqvist – a young couple are just starting their dream life in their newly renovated home when the husband witnesses a 2am ghost. It’s a great piece of tension building as our narrator tries to rationalise the sight that he sees but then must accept the inevitable. Lindqvist pulls in Sweden’s recent dark past in an unusual way and it’s a fantastic opening tale.

Lost and Found by Maria Haskins – an impressive science fiction tale of a marooned women the sole survivor of her ship’s crash on an empty planet. Its eerie and as well as the outside we sense our main character is also avoiding her own truth about the situation. The haunting landscape makes the tale feel ominous and the finale is nicely open-ended as to what happens next.

Sing by Karin Tidbeck - is another fascinating tale of humans and their landscape but this time the focus is on a unique planet of settlers and what they have decided needs to be done to ensure survival. A young scientist befriends a shy tailor but his desire for the truth overpowers their blossoming relationship. There is a slow burn of horror in the tale as curiosity reveals a strange ecosystem and a desire for freedom takes hold. Another haunting tale.

The False Fisherman by Kaspar Colling Nielsen translated by Olivia Lasky – is deliciously strange but hovers more on the side of speculative fiction as a man decides to pretend to be a fisherman even if he never aims to catch fish. Obsession and destruction get explored and the finale is both funny and bleak.

Heather Country by Jakob Drud - one of my favourites is cyberpunk Scandinavian style with a two headed investigator on a motorbike investigating the theft of a prize pig famous for its manure. A tale so strange but remarkably works pulling in ideas pf genetics, capitalism and the urge to escape the man. Really loved the way it all comes together and pretty unforgettable!

The Abyss by Rakel Helsdal translated by Marita Thoomsen – is a wonderfully compelling slice of weird fiction. Our main character faces an endless climb or up down a set of bars. The tales changes shape in a dreamlike fashion with hints of why this is happening but never fully explained. The imagery is truly haunting and uncomfortable like a bad nightmare.

The Dreamgiver by Johann Thorsson – another fine horror tale as a young farmer and his wife are worried by a malevolent presence that gives their child horrific dreams. It’s a cleverly plotted tale where a simple apparent haunting has bigger under-currents and the ending is dark and nasty in all the best ways.

Hamraborg Babylon by Alexander Dan Vilhjalmsson translated by Quentin Bates – this is a seriously weird nightmarish ride of SF, Fantasy and horror very much in New Weird territory as our character makes her way to a forbidden city for unspecified purposes. It’s a compelling imagery clash of new world and old images like a trip into Hell with added tattoos, flesh markets and bone laden corridors. Its hypnotic writing and well worth your time to experience.

As You Wish by Tor Age Bringsvaerd translated by Olvia Lasky – an interesting SF/Horror mixture of miners on afar off world who have developed a stranger relationship with a local lifeform that can become your perfect ‘companion’. One character though refuses to let the alien take a pleasing form and that sets of a weird domino effect of changes. Issues of abuse, control and freedom collide in an unusual way with a fascinating finale making you ponder what happened next

The Day Jonas Shadowed His Dad by Thore Hansen translated by Olvia Lasky – this tale has the initial feel of a children’s fable as a young boy discovers his dad’s secret but for me it’s a tale of the joy of fantasy being shared down the generations. How it brings escape from the ‘normal’ world and offers adventures you can only dream of – very charming!

A Lion Roars in Longyearbyen by Margret Helgadottir - Another thought-provoking tale that mixes fantasy and SF imagines a future city isolated where humans gather from cataclysm. One of the local zoo’s lions has vanished and sinister hunter lies in wait. It’s a fascinating tale bring in climate change, our desire to destroy wildlife alongside our desire to exploit it. Full of imagery, metaphors and a sombre final act where the reader must decide which side to take. Really enjoyed this one!

There are a host of other stories but the striking them that comes about is how the balance of humanity, a punishing natural world often filled with darkness is somehow coming about in many of the tales. The characters are trying to survive in a world often not favourable to them and that can easily slip to triumph or catastrophe. Highly recommended for fans of exploring what the wider genre world has in it!