Having heard many good things about the film adaptation, I decided to do my homework and read the novel first- I didn't regret it. This book, as other reviewers have stated, truly breathes new life into the stagnant horror genre and the vampire myth. However, the reason this story is so compelling is the unparallelled attention paid to even it's most minor characters. Rather than hindering the narrative, this acts as a device which keeps the reader on their toes and the level of detail makes you genuinely care about even the most monstrous (or minor) of characters. An odd mix, it is oversimplifying things to call this a horror. The 'horror,' be it violence, gore, scares etc, is at once a paced and highly effective cross between extreme, bloody, animal violence; and the suggestive, subtle terror of victorian writers such as M.R.James- the best example of this may be the beautifully suggestive (and terrifying) title, 'Let the Right One In' (taken from a Morrissey song).
The real… more »

Having heard many good things about the film adaptation, I decided to do my homework and read the novel first- I didn't regret it. This book, as other reviewers have stated, truly breathes new life into the stagnant horror genre and the vampire myth. However, the reason this story is so compelling is the unparallelled attention paid to even it's most minor characters. Rather than hindering the narrative, this acts as a device which keeps the reader on their toes and the level of detail makes you genuinely care about even the most monstrous (or minor) of characters. An odd mix, it is oversimplifying things to call this a horror. The 'horror,' be it violence, gore, scares etc, is at once a paced and highly effective cross between extreme, bloody, animal violence; and the suggestive, subtle terror of victorian writers such as M.R.James- the best example of this may be the beautifully suggestive (and terrifying) title, 'Let the Right One In' (taken from a Morrissey song).
The real achievment of John Ajvide Lindqvist is that here he consistently tackles the darkest topics of paedophillia, bullying, revenge, drugs etc, head-on- yet the book leaves you feeling rejuvenated and full of hope for the world.
At the end of the day this is a love story, an expert portrait of the human psyche and a blistering debut novel of unflinching truth. With vampires. Go read.