The Night of the Scourge
The third and last installment of Lars Mytting’s trilogy.
The Night of the Scourge is an epic novel about a village community and a country at large headed into war, about the passing of generations, about betrayal, and about an aging pastor caught in the prophecy of his own death. A new generation at Hekne has inherited the obsessions of their ancestors and senses that the warnings of the Hekne tapestry will soon be fulfilled, among them the warning of the night of the scourge; a doomsday night that, according to old village beliefs, will be the last day of the world as they know it.
The Sister Bells Trilogy Vol. 3
«MASTERFUL MYTTING! What a finale to Mytting’s great epos: The dramatic The Night of the Scourge is a literary triumph.»
«The Night of the Scourge is first and foremost a great, rich novel. It is like a well that never runs dry. It did not take long before the novel read like a movie. Mytting writes in a way that conjures vivid images, and I would not be surprised if this story is adapted for the screen. […] Nevertheless, this is one of this autumn’s best books. Mytting at his best.»
«The third installment of the Sister Bells Trilogy, The Night of the Scourge, fulfills what The Bell in the Lake and The Reindeer Hunters promised. Here are no great surprises or unexpected twists, only more of what so many have enjoyed in this series: A mythical fairy tale at the core. Splendind descriptions. An interesting main character. An abundance of other characters. Local anchoring, both linguistical and geographical. Bonds between countries. Insight into nature, history, people. All in all, a solidly crafted novel.»
«GRAND FINALE. Lars Mytting leaves no loose ends in his outstanding grand tale of weaving, church bells and memory. The wait is over. The last instalment of Lars Mytting’s Sister Bells Trilogy is now in bookstores. Should you read it? I’m not in doubt. If you appreciate well-written novels with intense suspense and dialogues that ring with a proverb-like truth – and with a wealth of historical and technological knowledge that is sure to teach you something you didn’t already know, the answer is, without reservation: Yes.»
«The story about the Butangen pastor and his life’s final struggle stirs all senses. In the conclusion of the Hekne trilogy lies a tremendous will to restore justice and goodness after Satan has swept through the village and the country and the world – and done his foul-smelling business. It begins and ends so beautifully with the two conjoined sisters who, seated by the loom, warned against what they saw coming. Everything is woven together and absolutely everything gets its just end in Mytting's trilogy – and also its new tentative beginning.»
«FIERY FINALE FROM LARS MYTTING: There might be a hefty amount of plot in The Night of the Scourge, but there is also a deep and not least knowledgeable love of the language and culture of the Gudbrandsdalen valley.»
«Anyone who has read one or more of his books, knows that Lars Mytting is an excellent storyteller. With The Night of the Scourge, he proves to be formidable. When the author after three years finally presents the longed-for third installment of the story about the conjoined Hekne sisters, he does so with a joyous sense of storytelling that is rare to come by.»
«The Night of the Scourge has all the qualities that also characterized the first two books in the trilogy: Epic storytelling combined with a sharp eye for human folly and courage, and with an equally sharp, but also loving eye for the special kind of rough human interactions so characteristic of rural Norway. Lars Mytting's intimate knowledge of the ways of life in the valleys gives rise to many humorous and surprising situations. Great drama and great entertainment in perfect harmony characterize this third volume in the trilogy.»
«BEAUTIFUL ENDING FOR MYTTING'S FAMILY SAGA. Lars Mytting's The Night of the Scourge is among the best books this reviewer has ever read by a living Norwegian author.»
«TOP-SHELF MYTTING. The Night of the Scourge is engaging and magnificent storytelling from Lars Mytting. […] The Sister Bells Trilogy as a whole, and maybe The Night of the Scourge in particular, is marked by literary craftsmanship of the highest order.»