Icelandic Literature

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The Icelandic nation has a long and rich history of storytelling. Throughout centuries characterized by hardship, poverty, and dark winters, the Icelanders kept their spirits high and moral values intact by telling each other stories. In this collection of 15 Icelandic folk legends, we get a glimpse of the world view of the Icelanders in centuries past as they endeavored to understand and cope with the natural phenomena around them. There are stories of malicious ghosts, outlaws living in carved-out boulders, hidden people residing in grassy knolls...

William Wisting is in a race against time. When a severed head is found on a stake in the quiet town of Larvik, Police Inspector William Wisting is called in to investigate. The killer is trying to send a message. All roads lead back to the Night Man. As the media closes in on the biggest story of the year, Wisting's journalist daughter Line receives a tip. Soon, it becomes clear that there is more to this case than anyone thought. A criminal network has lodged itself deep into the roots of the city, and it's up to Wisting to take down the elusive and dangerous Night Man.

Icelandic sisters Áróra and Ísafold live in different countries and aren‘t on speaking terms, but when their mother loses contact with Ísafold, Áróra reluctantly returns to Iceland to find her sister. But she soon realises that her sister isn’t avoiding her...she has disappeared. As she confronts Ísafold’s abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend Björn, and begins to probe her sister’s reclusive neighbours, Áróra is led into an ever-darker web of intrigue and manipulation.

When single mother Maríanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she's taken her own life...until her body is found in the Grábrók lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected 15-year-old daughter, Hekla, has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?

In the not-too-distant future, a young spy named Elísabet Eva is about to discover something that will upend her carefully controlled life. Elísabet's work is the lynchpin of her existence in the city; her friends and social life centre around the Special Unit. But recently Elísabet has found herself taking long solitary walks near the lake. One day, she sees two creatures emerging from the water, half-human, half-swan. She follows them through tangles of thickets into a strange new reality.

A chilling note predicting the deaths of six people is found in a school's time capsule, 10 years after it was buried. But surely, if a 13-year-old wrote it, it can't be a real threat.... Detective Huldar suspects he's been given the investigation simply to keep him away from real police work. He turns to psychologist Freyja to help understand the child who hid the message. Soon, however, they find themselves at the heart of another shocking case.

The wealthy, powerful Snæberg clan has gathered for a family reunion at a futuristic hotel set amongst the dark lava flows of Iceland’s remote Snæfellsnes peninsula. Petra Snæberg, a successful interior designer, is anxious about the event, and her troubled teenage daughter, Lea, whose social-media presence has attracted the wrong kind of followers. As the weather deteriorates and the alcohol flows, one of the guests disappears, and it becomes clear that there is a prowler lurking in the dark. But is the real danger inside...within the family itself?

The first the police know of the crime is when clips are sent from the victim's Snapchat account, showing her begging for forgiveness. The CCTV at the cinema where she was working show her being dragged into the night by a masked killer. When the body is found, it is marked with a number 2...Detective Huldar joins the murder investigation, bringing child psychologist Freyja on board to help question the murdered teenager's friends. Soon, they uncover that Stella was far from the angel people claim: a relentless bully, she made life miserable for those around her.

Cast out from the Kyivan Rus, Harald Sigurdsson’s quest for fame and fortune takes him to the far reaches of Europe; the lands of the Eastern Roman empire. The empire is dying the slow death of decay and corruption. In desperation to fend off a myriad of foes, the emperor turns to the legendary Varangian guard for salvation. These deadly warriors from the far north, famed for their fearsome steel and battle skill, have become the empire's greatest protectors. From the golden gate of Constantinople to the holy waters of the river Jordan, Harald will march with the emperor's finest.

Eftir 7 ára vist hjá húsbónda sínum þótti Hans kominn tími til að halda heim til móður sinnar. Hans hafði verið trúr og dyggur húsbónda sínum sem færði honum vænan gullhnullung að launum. Með níðþungan gullhnullunginn heldur Hans af stað heim á leið. Á leiðinni hittir hann nokkra vegfarendur sem bjóðast til að létta byrðinni af honum. Hann bíður ekki boðana og skiptir gullhnullungnum út fyrir hest, hestinum fyrir belju og beljunni skiptir hann út fyrir grís. Svona heldur hann áfram þar til hann stendur eftir allslaus - laus við allar byrðar.

On a snowy winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is discovered near Reykjavík. Inside are the bodies of five young women - one of them barely alive. As Icelandic Police detective Daníel struggles to investigate the most brutal crime of his career, Áróra looks into the background of a suspicious man, who turns out to be engaged to Daníel's former wife, and the connections don't stop there.

Lítill, ljótur andarungi reynist vera fallegur svanur. Snædrottningin er með ís í hjartanu og litla hafmeyjan þráir að losna við fjötra hreisturs og sporðs og ganga tveimur fótum meðal manna. Ævintýraheimur Hans Christians Andersens er flestum að góðu kunnur. Þó eftir hann liggi bæði skáldsögur, leikrit og ljóð eru það listævintýri hans sem lifa með lesendum, jafnt í bóklegri- og munnlegri geymd.

It was meant to be a quiet family fishing trip, a chance for mother and daughter to talk. But it changes the course of their lives forever. They catch nothing except a broken doll that gets tangled in the net. After years in the ocean, the doll a terrifying sight and the mother's first instinct is to throw it back, but she relents when her daughter pleads to keep it. This simple act of kindness proves fatal. That evening, the mother posts a picture of the doll on social media. By the morning, she is dead and the doll has disappeared.

Einu sinni var konungur sem þekktur var fyrir visku sína og speki. Á hverju kvöldi lét hann trúnaðarþjón sinn færa sér máltíð á lokuðum diski sem hann kaus að snæða í einrúmi. Þjónninn er forvitinn um þennan undarlega sið konungs og þegar hann kemst að hinu sanna um kvöldmáltíð konungs öðlast hann töframátt. Skyndilega skilur þjónninn öll dýrin í hallargarðinum. Þessi eiginleiki reynist mikill happafengur fyrir unga þjóninn sem lendir í útistöðum við konung og þarf að yfirgefa höllina.

Í ævintýrinu um Systkinin fjalla Grimmsbræður um örlög ungra systkina sem búa með föður sínum og göldróttri stjúpu. Þau eiga sér þá ósk að komast út og upplifa hina víðu veröld en stjúpan sér við þeim og leggur yfir þau bölvun. Ævintýri Grimmsbræðra eru löngu orðin þekkt um allan heim enda verið þýdd á fleiri hundruð tungumál. Þjóðsögur Grimmsbræðra hafa tekið töluverðum breytingum í aldanna rás án þess þó að missa upprunalegan boðskap sinn.

Í ævintýrinu um Bláa ljósið segir frá hermanni sem leystur er undan herskyldu sinni við konunginn, slippur og snauður. Á vegi hermannsins verður kona sem aðstoðar hann og gefur honum að borða. Konan reynist vera norn í dulargervi sem krefst þjónustu hermannsins að launum. Eitt af verkefnum hermannsins í þjónustu nornarinnar er að fara niður brunn og sækja blátt ljós. Hermanninn grunar nornina um græsku og þykist ekki finna ljósið en heldur því fyrir sjálfan sig.

Klaufa-Bárður var yngstur þriggja bræðra. Eldri bræðurnir tveir stríddu honum og skildu hann útundan. Eitt sinn, þegar eldiviðinn þvarr í kotinu, voru eldri bræður Bárðar sendir út í skóg til að sækja meira en báðir komu þeir tómhentir tilbaka. Bauðst þá Klaufa-Bárður til að fara út í skóg og sækja eldivið. Hefst þá mikil ævintýraför Klaufa-Bárðs þar sem kemur við sögu gamall maður, gullgæs ásamt konungi sem á sér þá ósk heitasta að koma dóttur sinni til að brosa og lofar hverjum þeim sem tekst það að giftast henni.

On a jagged, bleak lava field just outside Reykjavik stands the Gallows Rock. Once a place of execution, it is now a tourist attraction. Until this morning, when a man was found hanging from it. The nail embedded in his chest proves it wasn't suicide. But when the police go to his flat, a further puzzle awaits: a four-year-old boy has been left there. He doesn't seem to have any link with the victim, his parents cannot be found and his drawings show he witnessed something terrible.

Rómeó er í öngum sínum yfir stúlku sem vill ekkert með hann hafa, svo vinur hans tekur hann með sér í veislu í von um að aðrar fallegar stúlkur muni leiða hugann frá henni. Það tekst svo sannarlega. Þegar Rómeó læsir augunum við unga Júlíu er ást við fyrstu sýn. Til allrar óhamingju uppgötva Rómeó og Júlía brátt að þau tilheyra fjölskyldum sem eiga í ættardeilum og verða þau að halda rómantík sinni leyndri. Frægasta ástarsaga sem skrifuð hefur verið, Rómeó og Júlía, er vísun í bæði hreina sanna ást og harmleik.