A postcard from Iceland – With Ari Thor
Ragnar Johansson has just released his fourth in the Dark Iceland series starring the charismatic cop Ari Thor. Thinking about going to Iceland as a result of reading this books? Then here is a list of things you might want to think about:
Snowblind
The tunnel to get in and out of the town can sometimes be blocked. This seems like an ideal place to go on holiday as what better excuse to stay on longer than intended and have lots of books to read as you just can’t get out?
Amateur dramatics can be more dramatic than you might think. It’s dangerous to be honest, deadly so. Walking on the icy ground might be safer than on the stage here. Oh and mind the stairs…
Nightblind
The night lights (c) Ragnar Jónasson
Siglufjörður is just as chilling at night it would seem. But it’s also the time where those gorgeous lights in the sky seem to dance and illuminate the town like nothing you’ve ever seen before
This is the place to go fishing – and not just for clues. The novel mentions hunting and the fishing industry. In the novel, the herring industry comes into play and the history of the town is firmly linked to its herring heritage. Turns out you there really is something fishy in this mystery story! Visit the Herring Museum
Blackout
Think the lights going out for an hour or two constitutes a black out? Ha! You ain’t seen nothing yet. This blackout is the ash cloud which descends on the town when the local volcano erupts. This is inspired by the real infamous ash cloud – which caused chaos in European air space back in 2010 when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted.
In reality, this volcano is stunning and even its name is interesting – It’s made up of a combination of various words with different meanings. Different parts of the name mean island, mountain and glacier.
Rupture
Is it me or are these titles getting a little more extreme and violent? In this latest visit to the land of ice, there is more than the access tunnel being blocked to keep you there. People are in quarantine from a virus and so everyone is having to stay put. Not a hardship in a town which is this nice. There’s another visit to the Herring culture of the town with one visitor in the book very keen to go to the museum.
But the real game to be played is how to say the name of the isolated fjord – Hedinsfjörður – not many people go there. Think it must be only those who can pronounce it can go. There are many places with beautfiul names and isolated fjords where you can travel around for days and hardly see another living soul. This is the good life. Quiet, peace and relaxation…
Iceland truly is a land of contrasts. Long valleys, huge expanses of ice, fjords and mountains of every descriptions…..discover it with Ari Thor and then go for yourself!
