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Positives

I absolutely loved the world-building. The almost kind of pre-Warhammer 40k kind of society where religion and technology are extremely intertwined is fascinating. The idea that new discoveries in science will lead to bordering on ludicrous and superstitious requirements for new technology to work is fantastic.

I also really, really appreciate the author's obvious appreciation for his readers' intelligence by not over-explaining the mysteries of a future with, to begin with, an almost incomprehensible technology and society. The story is so much told from the inside of the characters for whom it is obvious what a box moth or a calendrical sword is.

Negatives

I felt too much of the book was military sci fi, my own reaction surprising me a bit (I thought I liked that more). Too much time was spent in the details of battle encounters, and too little in the arch plot of the Hexarchet political play.

I also would have appreciated a more parallel-lines approach to the storytelling. The correspondence from VH was great and very tounge-in-cheek, but I think the book would have benefitted from more viewpoints/subjects.

Overall: a fresh take on sci fi, great world-building and super-imaginative tech. 4/5.

I den postapokalyptiska världen c:a 2050 har allt kollapsat - matförsörjning, el, rättsväsende, sjukvård. Utbrytarstater i olika landsändor gör uppror mot Sverige, och på landsbygden kämpar man med allt man kan uppbringa för att klara sig ytterligare en dag.

Nattavaara är en fantastisk bok där det inte finns några goda karaktärer, inte ens huvudpersonerna. I bästa fall är man bara sig själv närmast och tvingas fatta beslut med fruktansvärda konsekvenser för andra för att överleva.

Bokens inledning är så nattsvart att jag knappt kunde fortsätta lyssna. Ganska snart fastnade jag dock i den fascinerande berättelsen och den övergår i en mer spännande historia med förtäckta inslag av satir över nutiden. Snart blev det nästan omöjligt att sätta den på paus. Med lite slipning hade den kunnat vara en femma.

Uppläsaren har fått mycket hyllningar i andra recensioner, men själv har jag svårt för hans nästan teatraliska intonation. Man vänjer sig dock en bit in i boken.

Nattavaara är första delen i en trilogi, och nu väntar jag bara på nästa del.

As a novel, this book is horrible. But it's probably the best management book I've read. Although I've been working with devops for years, this book is an invigorating boost and a reminder of why devops is so important and why I should continue to always advocate it for my clients.

At times the management lingo in the book just makes me giggle, especially how business terms are used unironically by the characters in everyday dialog. But that doesn't matter - I couldn't put this book down. Particularly the first third, where the old way of working and the all-too-familiar downward spiral is so precisely described, is fantastic. It's like a thriller set in my professional world.

This book was also a much-needed reminder for me, as a developer, not to forget the importance of IT ops. Not to fall into the thought trap of putting development at the top of the value chain and IT ops at the bottom. New features are worth nothing if the existing features don't work.