CRO/ENG
''Ja sam nastojala liječiti samo jednu bolest, a to je: glupost! Kako vidim, nije mi uspjelo''
Kada je u pitanju par riječi, koje bi opisale radnju cijelog romana, ne vidim boljeg izbora od gore navedenih. Roman je odličan, koliko i mračan. Daleko od toga da su u ''Tajnama Krvavog mosta'' bile bezopasne situacije, ali ovo je nekoliko Schlosserovih stuba više u odnosu na svog prethodnika. Samo bih napomenuo kako nije potrebno pročitati prethodnu knjigu u serijalu, da bi se ''Kontesa Nera'' u potpunosti razumjela, ali obavezno prije ''Maleas Maleficaruma'', jer radnja na kraju ostaje na cliffhanger-u. Što se tiče tema, odzvanja sukob praznovjerja, proistekao iz starih vjerovanja i naknadno proširen propagandom, i razuma, baziranog na činjenicama. Ono što šokira jest činjenica kako se sve odvija u jeku prosvijećenog apsolutizma (18. st.), a kod nas službeni dužnosnici na visokim položajima (pod pretpostavkom da su visokoobrazovani, kada su sposobni tumačiti zakon) baziraju optužnice na temelju nečijih riječi, bez da mogu potvrditi navode, ili pod mučenjem. Iza tih kulisa odvijaju se i osobne tragedije, političke igre, ljubavne strasti i nezakonite radnje, ali to prepuštam čitateljima da otkriju, jer sve navedeno je tek zagrebana površina, ispod koje se nalazi pravo blago hrvatske književnosti. Sama pomisao kako su drugi književnici kritizirali (što govori o njima samima, jer su očito bili ugroženi) Zagorkine radove jest na granici ludosti, koja se može mjeriti sa glupošću vlasti u romanu. Ovo je must read djelo i vrijedi svake sekunde pozornosti.
''I tried to cure only one disease, and that is: stupidity! As I can see, didn't succeed!'' When there are couple of words, which would describe a plot of the entire novel, I see no better choice then those mentioned above. The novel is splendid, as it's dark. Far from the fact that the situations in ''The Secret of the Bloody Bridge'' were harmless, but this is a few Schlosser's stairs (which you can find in Zagreb) higher in comparison to it's predecessor. I would just pinpoint that you don't have to read the previous book in the series, so you could understand ''Countess Nera'' entirely, but it's necessary before ''Malleus Maleficarum'', because the plot ends at a cliffhanger. Regarding it's themes, it rings the clash of superstition, which came out of old beliefs and further expanded upon by propaganda, and common sense, based on the facts. What shocks the most is the fact that it happens at the peak of enlightened absolutism (in 18th century), while the official authorities at high positions (under the that they are highly educated, since they are able to interpret the law) institute charges based someone's words, without backing the claims, or under torture. Behind the curtains there are also personal tragedies, political games, love passions and unlawful acts, but I leave it to a reader to discover them, because everything mentioned above is just scratching the surface, beneath which lays a true treasure of Croatian literature. The mere fact that the other authors criticized (which tells much about themselves, having been obviously endangered) the works by Zagorka is on the verge of madness, which can be measured with the stupidity of authorities in the novel. This is a must read work and it's worth every second of atttention.