Let the Right One in - John Ajvide Lindqvist

Let The Right One In is a swedish horror novel that has been translated into english for a wider audience. It has also been made into a foreign language film and is considered to be very mature and adult in nature, dealing as it does with the legend of the vampire in ways that have seldom been done before... Oskar is a twelve year old boy who is victim to some paticulary nasty bullies. These bullies make his life hell and Oskar becomes a very isolated and lonely boy. Then, one night, he meets Eli at the playground outside his building and learns she has moved into the apartment next door. Instantly the two form a strong bond of friendship that nothing can come ...  Read the complete review

'Let the Right One In' first came to my attention as it was turned into a limited release Swedish film which I have yet to see but have seen many clips of on the internet. I tend to read a lot of vampire and 'supernatural' fiction, my favourites including Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series and 'The Vampyre' by Tom Holland. This book by John Ajvide Lindqvist is a truly unusual addition to the many vampire tales that have followed the infamous 'Dracula'. It is so different to other books that I have read I even feel it is quite difficult to review in some respects. Basically, the story, which is translated from the original ...  Read the complete review

This is a novel take on the vampire theme by the Swedish author J. A. Lindqvist, recently turned also into a movie which was doing the rounds of the film festivals in 2008 and on general release in the UK in April 2009. Both movie and book are deeply dark and disturbing. The main characters are the little boy Oscar, insecure and bullied at school, and the 12-year old girl, Eli who we quickly learn is not all she seems. She's been 12 years old for several hundred years. The two soon make friends and it's them together against the world. But this is definitely not a children's book and might also be inappropriate for young adults, because of its gruesome nature ...  Read the complete review

The back of the book says: "Twelve year old Oskar is an outsider, bullied at school, dreaming about his absentee father, bored with life on a dreary houseing estate. One evening he meets the mysterious Eli. As a romance blossoms between them, Oskar discovers Eli's dark secret - she is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood..." I write the back of the book as nothing is worse than when someone gives the plot away! lol An avid reader of horror, suspense, and thriller novels, eventually they all seem very much of a muchness. However, this book was the best I have read ...  Read the complete review

A friend of mine recommended the film of this to me (which I have also reviewed) and, having thoroughly enjoyed it, I bought the book. Despite knowing the gist of the story (the film is reasonably true to the book), there was plenty more in the book to expand the characters and really draw you into the narrative. Whether you've seen the film or not, you'll be drawn into the eery, sparse Swedish landscapes and you'll feel genuine attachment to and empathy for the characters. You'll obviously enjoy this if you're a fan of the vampire genre, but it's such an original use of the genre that, regardless of your opinion of vampire novels (or in particular if you think the genre ...  Read the complete review