- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; (Reissue) edition (3 Dec 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007243006
- ISBN-13: 978-0007243006
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 31,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Martin Beck series - The Terrorists
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Product Description
Review
Praise for ‘Roseanna’:
‘The writing is elegant and surprisingly humorous – if you haven’t come across Beck before, you’re in for a treat.’ Guardian
‘I have never read a finer police story.’ Los Angeles Times
‘The decalogue about the Swedish Chief Inspector Martin Beck created by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo during the 1960s and 1970s are indeed classic police fiction. They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction after these novels inspired by them in one way or another.’ Henning Mankell
‘If you haven’t read Sjowall/Wahloo, start now.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Their mysteries don’t just read well; they reread even better. Witness, wife, petty cop or crook – they’re all real characters even if they get just a few sentences. The plots hold, because they’re ingenious but never inhuman.’ New York Times
Review
Praise for 'Roseanna': 'The writing is elegant and surprisingly humorous -- if you haven't come across Beck before, you're in for a treat.' Guardian 'I have never read a finer police story.' Los Angeles Times 'The decalogue about the Swedish Chief Inspector Martin Beck created by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo during the 1960s and 1970s are indeed classic police fiction. They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction after these novels inspired by them in one way or another.' Henning Mankell 'If you haven't read Sjowall/Wahloo, start now.' Sunday Telegraph 'Their mysteries don't just read well; they reread even better. Witness, wife, petty cop or crook -- they're all real characters even if they get just a few sentences. The plots hold, because they're ingenious but never inhuman.' New York Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Terrorists" is the last book in the terrific Martin Beck series by the Swedish writing team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. In his introduction to the book, American mystery writer Dennis Lehane makes the apt observation that the authors "write of modern violence with clarity so fluid it achieves a kind of musical grace." And the masterful writing here, which certainly goes way beyond the description of violence, really is intelligent and entertaining. There is a wonderful central plot that is preceded and enhanced by two sub-stories relating to the main event, but which also serve to establish the political and social context in which the latter unrolls.
In a nutshell, the book is about the hunt for a team of hired terrorists which has arrived in Stockholm to assassinate a prominent right-wing American politician (circa 1975); a man who invited himself to the Swedish welfare state to score some kind of political points at home by celebrating the old order i.e. the late king of Sweden. Martin Beck is chosen to head the police team that is to protect the visitor and eradicate the terrorist threat. At about the same time, Beck is drawn into two other "lesser" crimes that will eventually intersect with the threatened assassination. One involves the alleged attempt to rob a bank by a young woman carrying a baby and the second is the murder of a highly successful pornographic film maker. The authors ultimately make clear that in their view these two events are far more important to the country's welfare than the possible death of an important political figure.
As extraordinary as the book's plot is, it is the terrific cast of characters that Sjowall and Wahloo have created that sticks with you at the end of the book. The lead character of Martin Beck is solidly human and sympathetic, as are his colleagues and loved ones--Gunvald Larsson, Crasher Braxen, Rhea Nielsen and several others. The authors have made these players look even more perceptive, brave and virtuous as they are starkly contrasted with a team of bumbling, venal and wantonly corrupt characters that mostly represent the top of the Swedish government at the time, the amoral visiting terrorists and the worst of private businesspeople.
Much is made of the authors' Marxist leanings, but "The Terrorists" is (in my opinion) about much more than politics and the problems of the Swedish social welfare state of the 1970s. It is first and foremost an excellent crime thriller and secondarily a plausible critique of a flawed social system. Sjowall and Wahloo are very fine writers who blazed a wide trail for later authors like Henning Mankell and Stieg Larrsson. This is a highly enjoyable read. Recommended.
In a nutshell, the book is about the hunt for a team of hired terrorists which has arrived in Stockholm to assassinate a prominent right-wing American politician (circa 1975); a man who invited himself to the Swedish welfare state to score some kind of political points at home by celebrating the old order i.e. the late king of Sweden. Martin Beck is chosen to head the police team that is to protect the visitor and eradicate the terrorist threat. At about the same time, Beck is drawn into two other "lesser" crimes that will eventually intersect with the threatened assassination. One involves the alleged attempt to rob a bank by a young woman carrying a baby and the second is the murder of a highly successful pornographic film maker. The authors ultimately make clear that in their view these two events are far more important to the country's welfare than the possible death of an important political figure.
As extraordinary as the book's plot is, it is the terrific cast of characters that Sjowall and Wahloo have created that sticks with you at the end of the book. The lead character of Martin Beck is solidly human and sympathetic, as are his colleagues and loved ones--Gunvald Larsson, Crasher Braxen, Rhea Nielsen and several others. The authors have made these players look even more perceptive, brave and virtuous as they are starkly contrasted with a team of bumbling, venal and wantonly corrupt characters that mostly represent the top of the Swedish government at the time, the amoral visiting terrorists and the worst of private businesspeople.
Much is made of the authors' Marxist leanings, but "The Terrorists" is (in my opinion) about much more than politics and the problems of the Swedish social welfare state of the 1970s. It is first and foremost an excellent crime thriller and secondarily a plausible critique of a flawed social system. Sjowall and Wahloo are very fine writers who blazed a wide trail for later authors like Henning Mankell and Stieg Larrsson. This is a highly enjoyable read. Recommended.
Format:Kindle Edition
I've read the whole series of Martin Beck books now, and it's certainly been an enjoyable one. Despite being the finale, this is not the strongest book in the series, but it's by no means a bad story - with one or two exceptions.
**WARNING! SPOILERS**
The plus points of this story are:
1)it's an exciting read, like the rest of the Martin Beck books, and there is genuine suspense in the detectives' struggle to combat the titular terrorists
2)the story features Gunvald Larsson a great deal, and he really is a very entertaining character - his snarkiness certainly made me laugh few times
3)Martin Beck finally gets a decent home life and as close to a happy ending as it's possible for a character like him to get, even if his other half Rhea does come across as somewhat of a Mary Sue at times.
However, for me there are some major flaws with this book, not the least of which is the blatant political tone of the narration. Yes, we all know that Sjöwall and Wahlöö had strong Communist sympathies at the time, but did they really have to make it so obvious in this novel? The tone of the narration is quite preachy at times, and this quickly gets tiresome. Secondly, there are too many plots in this book, one of which has no bearing at all on the main story, and the other? Well... This leads on to what was for me the third major problem with this book: the storyline involving the character of Rebekah Lind. We are supposed to feel sorry for this pitiful girl and to sympathise with her assassination(!) of the Swedish Prime Minister, but the only feelings I had toward her were anger and frustration. Maybe that makes me cold and heartless, but I thought that particular character and plot line were unnecessary and my disbelief and annoyance threw me completely out of the story. Also, knowing what we know now about the real life assassination of Olof Palme, these scenes were difficult to read.
In conclusion, then, I gave this installment 4 out of 5, mainly because the main plot is so good and I enjoyed the characters of Gunvald Larsson and Martin Beck so much. However, as the finale to this excellent series of novels it could have been better. Frankly, and it pains me to say this, if you stopped reading at book 9 (Cop Killer) you wouldn't be missing out on too much.
**WARNING! SPOILERS**
The plus points of this story are:
1)it's an exciting read, like the rest of the Martin Beck books, and there is genuine suspense in the detectives' struggle to combat the titular terrorists
2)the story features Gunvald Larsson a great deal, and he really is a very entertaining character - his snarkiness certainly made me laugh few times
3)Martin Beck finally gets a decent home life and as close to a happy ending as it's possible for a character like him to get, even if his other half Rhea does come across as somewhat of a Mary Sue at times.
However, for me there are some major flaws with this book, not the least of which is the blatant political tone of the narration. Yes, we all know that Sjöwall and Wahlöö had strong Communist sympathies at the time, but did they really have to make it so obvious in this novel? The tone of the narration is quite preachy at times, and this quickly gets tiresome. Secondly, there are too many plots in this book, one of which has no bearing at all on the main story, and the other? Well... This leads on to what was for me the third major problem with this book: the storyline involving the character of Rebekah Lind. We are supposed to feel sorry for this pitiful girl and to sympathise with her assassination(!) of the Swedish Prime Minister, but the only feelings I had toward her were anger and frustration. Maybe that makes me cold and heartless, but I thought that particular character and plot line were unnecessary and my disbelief and annoyance threw me completely out of the story. Also, knowing what we know now about the real life assassination of Olof Palme, these scenes were difficult to read.
In conclusion, then, I gave this installment 4 out of 5, mainly because the main plot is so good and I enjoyed the characters of Gunvald Larsson and Martin Beck so much. However, as the finale to this excellent series of novels it could have been better. Frankly, and it pains me to say this, if you stopped reading at book 9 (Cop Killer) you wouldn't be missing out on too much.
Format:Paperback
A story with three cases but only two have 'legs', to the extent that one of them appears solely to be there to bulk up the novel. This is not the big finish of this series that I had hoped for. The story features Gunvald Larsson more than Martin Beck. This is odd given that the authors go into more details on Beck's character than virtually the entire earlier decalogue.
The 'narrator' is now giving full vent to expressing political views and these interludes became obtrusive and tiresome. This contrasts with the early novels where it was almost part of the fun to spot the author's views peeping through.
Beck spends most of the book pining for his retired buddy Kollberg, 'like for a child or a lost love' and understandably most of the ensemble cast of this police procedural get at least a bit-part swansong.
The terrorist group are well written in terms of planning and impact but obtuse in terms of motivation with the result that the group 'ULAG' came across more as 'SMERSH' or 'THRUSH'. There were also several translation issues that grated; did they really mean 'potentates','chronograph' and 'architectonic' in the original Swedish?
The decalogue is subtitled 'The Story of a Crime' but perhaps an Amazon review is not the place to start considering the deeper meaning of that phrase from the author's perspective. Rather I would commend you to read this series and form your own opinions, just don't start with this one!
A lovely twist from Sjowall & Wahloo when you reach the final word of the whole set....
The 'narrator' is now giving full vent to expressing political views and these interludes became obtrusive and tiresome. This contrasts with the early novels where it was almost part of the fun to spot the author's views peeping through.
Beck spends most of the book pining for his retired buddy Kollberg, 'like for a child or a lost love' and understandably most of the ensemble cast of this police procedural get at least a bit-part swansong.
The terrorist group are well written in terms of planning and impact but obtuse in terms of motivation with the result that the group 'ULAG' came across more as 'SMERSH' or 'THRUSH'. There were also several translation issues that grated; did they really mean 'potentates','chronograph' and 'architectonic' in the original Swedish?
The decalogue is subtitled 'The Story of a Crime' but perhaps an Amazon review is not the place to start considering the deeper meaning of that phrase from the author's perspective. Rather I would commend you to read this series and form your own opinions, just don't start with this one!
A lovely twist from Sjowall & Wahloo when you reach the final word of the whole set....
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Final episode of superb, enduring series
The Terorrists by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, translated by Joan Tate.
The last of the ten books in the classic Martin Beck series was first published in 1975. Read more
The last of the ten books in the classic Martin Beck series was first published in 1975. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Maxine Clarke
Who designed this cover?
I'm giving the book five stars because I don't want to undermine the novel itself. What I can't do is give 1 star or less to the awful Harper Perennial design. Read more
Published 21 months ago by M. Andrew Christie
Great book
Martin Beck series rock! Even with a busy family and worklife I manage to get through them! They are a must read. Read more
Published 23 months ago by babberci
Excellent read!
A great finale to the Martin Beck series. Timeless and gripping. Best to read them from the start. Roseanna (The Martin Beck Series)
Published on 7 April 2009 by Mr. G. Brian Sexton
Not as good as the books written with Per Wahloo
Loved all the Martin Beck books written by both Maj Sojwall and Per Wahloo.
This one was good and unfortunately the last available Beck book and not as good as the others.
This one was good and unfortunately the last available Beck book and not as good as the others.
Published on 27 Feb 2009 by Susie
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