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Det Døde Land #1
Golak
Jonah har altid været anderledes end alle andre i den lille, isolerede bjergby. Folk omkring ham sætter lydighed, bøn og hårdt arbejde over alt andet, mens de prøver at genskabe et liv, som det så ud, inden verden blev lagt øde. I det døde land omkring byen lever kun de deforme monstre, golakkerne. Deres angreb får forfærdelige følger, og Jonah opdager, at golakkerne ikke står menneskene så fjernt, som landsbyens ældste påstår. Langsomt går det op for ham, at det ikke er den eneste usandhed. Livet både i landsbyen og i hans egen familie bygger på et væv af fortielser, hemmeligheder og løgne.
”I stedet for at overgive sig i hænderne på Den Almægtige, som Pjotr sikkert ville have anbefalet ham, mærkede han et klarsyn af ensomhed brede sig i sit sind. Han var ikke en af dem. Han ville aldrig blive en af dem. Uanset hvad han gjorde, ville han altid være brændemærket som anderledes.”
”I stedet for at overgive sig i hænderne på Den Almægtige, som Pjotr sikkert ville have anbefalet ham, mærkede han et klarsyn af ensomhed brede sig i sit sind. Han var ikke en af dem. Han ville aldrig blive en af dem. Uanset hvad han gjorde, ville han altid være brændemærket som anderledes.”
322 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Josefine Ottesen
120 books152 followersJosefine Ottesen is one of Denmark’s most popular authors of books for children and young people, in terms of both enjoyment and sales.
During the last 25 years, Josefine’s authorship has, on several occasions, set the agenda on the Danish children’s book scene. The many national awards and international nominations she has received, covering several different works, testify to her broad appeal and popularity.
With her imaginative stories, filled with adventure and fantasy, Josefine Ottesen has contributed to many children’s joyful conquest of reading, as well as retaining young people, boys especially, as readers at an age when their interest in books often wanes.
During the last 25 years, Josefine’s authorship has, on several occasions, set the agenda on the Danish children’s book scene. The many national awards and international nominations she has received, covering several different works, testify to her broad appeal and popularity.
With her imaginative stories, filled with adventure and fantasy, Josefine Ottesen has contributed to many children’s joyful conquest of reading, as well as retaining young people, boys especially, as readers at an age when their interest in books often wanes.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 4, 2014
This review originally posted on SFFWorld.com.
Golak is Part 1 of The Deadlands Trilogy, a story set in a post-apocalyptic near-future society reeling from a collapse due to ecological, scientific, and political catastrophes. Our main character is Jonah, a young man on the cusp of becoming an adult who fights every rule set before him by his elders. Living in a small, enclosed, god-fearing and sheltered community, this breeds trouble for Jonah and his family.
The story begins with an attack on their village. The golaks, the result of terrible genetic experiments, approach the village walls pleading for food and help. The villagers, along with Jonah and his brother, attack the golaks, driving them off.
In the process, Jonah kills two of the golaks who look a lot like a woman and child instead of the monsters he expected. After the ordeal, once everyone is safe behind the village walls, they realize Jonah’s younger sister, outside the walls grazing her cow, has been taken by the fleeing golaks.
A search party is organized, including Jonah, his estranged brother, and another village boy who is slated to marry Jonah’s sister. They scour the nearby woods, but do not find her. Jonah is convinced if they just keep at the golak’s trail, they’ll find her. Jonah loves his sister and will do anything to save her, but the elders in the search party determine it is too late. The girl is lost. They order that everyone turn back before it gets too dark.
Against their wishes, Jonah and the other village boy run off in the night to hunt the golaks and determine where they are. Early the next morning, they find them in a cave, but there is no way he and his friend can hope to enter their lair and/or fight off the golaks, who are described as, basically, ugly neandertals.
After a long day waiting for the golaks to go back into their cave, Jonah and his friend rush back to the village for reinforcements. Again, a group is organized but Jonah is not allowed to go. For his initial disobedience, he is told he can not go and so he waits.
The party returns, but everyone who had gone are terribly affected by what they have seen and though they have Jonah’s sister’s body, she has been beaten and tortured. She is not the same person and she clings to her betrothed, barely able to function.
The story continues with a devastating turn of events that will scar Jonah for the rest of his life. And throughout his sister’s recovery, Jonah’s mind is reaching for answers about himself and the world around him. Answers that no one will give him.
The society he lives in is based on fear, secrets, and the suppression of knowledge. All things Jonah continually butts his head against while he searches to help his sister and the village. This long, searching story ends with a series of disturbing and horrific revelations about who Jonah is and what he will become.
The author is a seasoned writer in Denmark. Though I read a translation, it is clear that Ms. Josefine Ottesen knows how to draw out the most emotion out of a scene. Many times I found myself on the verge of tears and a few times I shut down my Nook, angry with a decision Jonah’s father made or furious over the self-imposed impotence of his mother. Ms. Ottesen knows about secrets and the harm they can do and she yielded that idea to its fullest in her book. And for a young adult book, I was so happy to see the adults in the book portrayed as flawed (oh, deeply flawed in this case) characters rather than used as stupid props to push our hero’s story along.
Despite all this book has going for it and even though I managed to finish this lengthy novel, in the end, I found this book most off-putting.
Incest and inappropriate sexual relations run amok in the town, as does the male-dominated culture that determines not only behavior but marriages, often favoring the men. Women have self-regulated themselves to willing sub-participants in a patriarchal society. In addition, they use religion in its most controlling form to proliferate fear and ignorance. If that’s not enough to leave a very bad smear on your brain, there’s poor Jonah’s fate that will leave you truly horrified.
9127010In my opinion, the story’s greatest failing is all the waffling. Boy, does this boy waffle.
Does he follow his heart and mind, learn new things and improve the village as best as he can, or does he follow the orders from his elders, do as he is told and show no individuality or special knowledge?
Jonah struggles with these questions for the entire book. One day he exalts in learning new things and the next he is self-admonishing himself to be more like those around him. He is a perpetual pendulum and at times during the story’s narrative, I got confused as to whether he was in his manic I-can-do-anything-phase or his depressed I-must-do-what-I-am-told-phase. In fact, I think even the author got confused somewhere in the middle of the novel.
Regardless, the author does do a good job of making us feel how hard and terrible the young man feels about himself and his place in the world. I felt his anguish and was truly sorry for him (and especially his sister). I wanted the boy to rail against his elders and his family for demanding that he be anything but himself.
Coupled with the fact that it took an incredible amount of words to get to that point, this is a book that did not leave me wanting more of Jonah’s story, even though I think it is a story worth telling.
Golak is Part 1 of The Deadlands Trilogy, a story set in a post-apocalyptic near-future society reeling from a collapse due to ecological, scientific, and political catastrophes. Our main character is Jonah, a young man on the cusp of becoming an adult who fights every rule set before him by his elders. Living in a small, enclosed, god-fearing and sheltered community, this breeds trouble for Jonah and his family.
The story begins with an attack on their village. The golaks, the result of terrible genetic experiments, approach the village walls pleading for food and help. The villagers, along with Jonah and his brother, attack the golaks, driving them off.
In the process, Jonah kills two of the golaks who look a lot like a woman and child instead of the monsters he expected. After the ordeal, once everyone is safe behind the village walls, they realize Jonah’s younger sister, outside the walls grazing her cow, has been taken by the fleeing golaks.
A search party is organized, including Jonah, his estranged brother, and another village boy who is slated to marry Jonah’s sister. They scour the nearby woods, but do not find her. Jonah is convinced if they just keep at the golak’s trail, they’ll find her. Jonah loves his sister and will do anything to save her, but the elders in the search party determine it is too late. The girl is lost. They order that everyone turn back before it gets too dark.
Against their wishes, Jonah and the other village boy run off in the night to hunt the golaks and determine where they are. Early the next morning, they find them in a cave, but there is no way he and his friend can hope to enter their lair and/or fight off the golaks, who are described as, basically, ugly neandertals.
After a long day waiting for the golaks to go back into their cave, Jonah and his friend rush back to the village for reinforcements. Again, a group is organized but Jonah is not allowed to go. For his initial disobedience, he is told he can not go and so he waits.
The party returns, but everyone who had gone are terribly affected by what they have seen and though they have Jonah’s sister’s body, she has been beaten and tortured. She is not the same person and she clings to her betrothed, barely able to function.
The story continues with a devastating turn of events that will scar Jonah for the rest of his life. And throughout his sister’s recovery, Jonah’s mind is reaching for answers about himself and the world around him. Answers that no one will give him.
The society he lives in is based on fear, secrets, and the suppression of knowledge. All things Jonah continually butts his head against while he searches to help his sister and the village. This long, searching story ends with a series of disturbing and horrific revelations about who Jonah is and what he will become.
The author is a seasoned writer in Denmark. Though I read a translation, it is clear that Ms. Josefine Ottesen knows how to draw out the most emotion out of a scene. Many times I found myself on the verge of tears and a few times I shut down my Nook, angry with a decision Jonah’s father made or furious over the self-imposed impotence of his mother. Ms. Ottesen knows about secrets and the harm they can do and she yielded that idea to its fullest in her book. And for a young adult book, I was so happy to see the adults in the book portrayed as flawed (oh, deeply flawed in this case) characters rather than used as stupid props to push our hero’s story along.
Despite all this book has going for it and even though I managed to finish this lengthy novel, in the end, I found this book most off-putting.
Incest and inappropriate sexual relations run amok in the town, as does the male-dominated culture that determines not only behavior but marriages, often favoring the men. Women have self-regulated themselves to willing sub-participants in a patriarchal society. In addition, they use religion in its most controlling form to proliferate fear and ignorance. If that’s not enough to leave a very bad smear on your brain, there’s poor Jonah’s fate that will leave you truly horrified.
9127010In my opinion, the story’s greatest failing is all the waffling. Boy, does this boy waffle.
Does he follow his heart and mind, learn new things and improve the village as best as he can, or does he follow the orders from his elders, do as he is told and show no individuality or special knowledge?
Jonah struggles with these questions for the entire book. One day he exalts in learning new things and the next he is self-admonishing himself to be more like those around him. He is a perpetual pendulum and at times during the story’s narrative, I got confused as to whether he was in his manic I-can-do-anything-phase or his depressed I-must-do-what-I-am-told-phase. In fact, I think even the author got confused somewhere in the middle of the novel.
Regardless, the author does do a good job of making us feel how hard and terrible the young man feels about himself and his place in the world. I felt his anguish and was truly sorry for him (and especially his sister). I wanted the boy to rail against his elders and his family for demanding that he be anything but himself.
Coupled with the fact that it took an incredible amount of words to get to that point, this is a book that did not leave me wanting more of Jonah’s story, even though I think it is a story worth telling.
December 27, 2020
Jeg kan sagtens se, hvor fortællingen her vil hen, og grundlaget for det hele står i bund og grund stærkt. Der er potentiale til en fantastisk fortælling.
Desværre kommer plottet til at stå svagt, og bogen formår ikke for alvor at sætte gang i handlingen. Der sker INGENTING, og man kommer nemt til at kede sig undervejs.
Selv var jeg ved at opgive flere gange, trods det, at jeg normalt insisterer på at læse bøger færdige, når jeg først er kommet i gang.
Det betyder også, at selvom jeg har de to efterfølgende bøger i serien liggende, kommer jeg ikke til at læse dem, - for det her magter jeg simpelthen ikke.
Desværre kommer plottet til at stå svagt, og bogen formår ikke for alvor at sætte gang i handlingen. Der sker INGENTING, og man kommer nemt til at kede sig undervejs.
Selv var jeg ved at opgive flere gange, trods det, at jeg normalt insisterer på at læse bøger færdige, når jeg først er kommet i gang.
Det betyder også, at selvom jeg har de to efterfølgende bøger i serien liggende, kommer jeg ikke til at læse dem, - for det her magter jeg simpelthen ikke.
October 11, 2011
This is an amazing book! It almost reaches the epic heights of the Warrior trilogy. As always Ottesens writing is amazing, without realizing it you get sucked in and before you know it, you feel like the main character is you! Even if it's a boy! You just feel the emotions running through Jonah. And it was actually kinda nice reading some sci-fi from her, most of her other books are located around year 900-1400.
Don't be fooled, it is a very gloomy book, but oh so well-written.
Don't be fooled, it is a very gloomy book, but oh so well-written.
June 27, 2014
If the Vampire Diaries and other crappy teen books made me forget why it is I love young adult fantasy and science fiction, this book made me remember.
The main character is both interesting and likable and the supporting cast possibly even more so - like crazy old Ben who perhaps is not so crazy afterall, and the head of the village who is a scientist turned religious leader.
I found the worldbuilding to be very well done and the story is very captivating.
The main character is both interesting and likable and the supporting cast possibly even more so - like crazy old Ben who perhaps is not so crazy afterall, and the head of the village who is a scientist turned religious leader.
I found the worldbuilding to be very well done and the story is very captivating.
May 7, 2011
Hvordan kan en bog begynde så godt, og så fuldstændig tabe pusten i en depressiv sidste-halvdel!?
Det er i hvert fald ikke sci-fi for drenge. Det er flere år siden jeg har har haft SÅ svært ved at komme igennem sidste halvdel af en bog.
Min anmeldelse: http://kulturforunge.dk/2011/05/07/go...
Det er i hvert fald ikke sci-fi for drenge. Det er flere år siden jeg har har haft SÅ svært ved at komme igennem sidste halvdel af en bog.
Min anmeldelse: http://kulturforunge.dk/2011/05/07/go...
May 22, 2011
3.5. Jeg synes, at det er en ganske god bog. Indimellem var den lidt underlig og meget langtrukken. Men det der gjorde bogen spændende var, at fortiden var så mystisk og stadigvæk er det. Glæder mig til at læse næste bog!
September 14, 2010
Ik' lige noget for mig!!!
June 3, 2012
3,5. I thought the first 150 pages were SOOOO boring and long! But I never quit a book so I kept reading! The rest was awesome!
November 7, 2016
Serien bliver måske bedre ved fortsættelse. Måske?
July 21, 2019
Historien blev ved med at lægge op til noget spændende, som faktisk aldrig kom.
January 3, 2026
Elskede hele bogserien
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews