Chain of Events

William Sandberg #1

by Fredrik T. Olsson

A stunning debut thriller about a code that threatens humanity -- and the only man who can crack it.

William Sandberg, once a well-respected military cryptologist pursuing cutting-edge research, is a ruined man. His career is in shambles, his marriage is over, and he's succumbed to a dark depression.

But William's talents haven't gone unnoticed. A nameless, top-secret organization abducts him and tasks him with a daunting mission: decode a message that will reveal the disastrous prophecies hidden in our DNA before it is too late.

Meanwhile, William's ex-wife Christina is haunted by his absence and suspects there is more to his disappearance than just the reclusive impulse of a depressed man. Driven by her hunch, she sets out to find him and joins an eclectic cast of characters all drawn to a mysterious chateau in the Alps where the secret organization is plotting something-but is it revenge? Or a rescue mission? What is the organization hiding? What does the code have to do with the potent virus suddenly spreading around the world? And can William uncover the truth before it's too late?

A thrilling novel about humanity on the verge of crisis, taking readers from the streets of Berlin and Stockholm to a chateau in the Alps, Chain of Events explodes and then reconfigures the ties that bind us to one another: marriage, politics, and our DNA.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Science Fiction, Suspense, Swedish Literature

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Fredrik T. Olsson lives in Stockholm and is an established screenwriter with successes in film and TV. Chain of Events is his first novel.

Reviews

[Luka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich habe dieses Buch in Rekordzeit gelesen. 518 Seiten in 4 Tagen. Jede freie Minute habe ich damit verbracht, es zu lesen, obwohl ich sagen würde, dass ich schon Bücher gelesen habe, die fesselnder waren. Ich fand die nicht vorhandene Heranführung an die Figuren zuerst verwirrend, dann jedoch ziemlich cool. Der Krimi war anders aufgebaut, als die Krimis, die ich bisher gelesen habe, was mich vermutlich auch dazu gekriegt hat, so schnell weiterzulesen. In der Mitte des Buches konnte ich dem Problem von der Initiative nur noch oberflächlich folgen und leider nicht auf der wissenschaftlicher Seite mithalten. Das letzte Drittel fand ich sehr vorhersehbar und mir hat die kleine unerwartete Wendung gefehlt, auf die ich normalerweise immer sehnsüchtig warte.
Es war allerdings durchgehen sehr spannend und man konnte sich sehr gut in die Charaktere hereinversetzten.
Nach meiner Rezension würde man wahrscheinlich eine 3/5 Wertung erwarten, was nicht der Fall ist. Es ist sehr selten, dass ich ein so dickes Buch in 4 Tagen lese. Also muss es mir unterbewusst extrem gut gefallen haben.
Deswegen 4/5.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well what to say about this one. Exhilerating. Utterly exhausting. Totally addictive. Unbelievably clever and if you want your thrillers to be, well you know, actually thrilling, you have come to the right place.

William Sandberg, kidnapped genius, working on an improbable and impossible problem – if he succeeds humanity can be saved, if he fails we are all doomed in a Friday the 13th, no hope, cannot run cannot hide, the axe will fall kind of way. For the majority of this read I was running on pure adrenalin, despite Mr Olsson’s absolute ability to give you contemplative and emotional moments, still this tale shoots off at breakneck speed, following a “chain of events” that are highly unlikely and yet strangely and absolutely believable….a world encompassing sequence of dominos all falling one after the other, at the end of which is either salvation or calamity.

Intelligent plotting, a thriller that doesnt compromise on character development, you can see Mr Olsson’s screenwriting credentials shine through, still it is beautifully written, a novel not a screenplay but – I am praying that someone with vision will turn this into the blockbuster movie to end all blockbuster movies and not mess with it AT ALL because frankly, anything added or taken away would destroy the flow, the wonderful atmosphere and the often ironic outlook that comes to life in this narrative.

A highly imaginative premise, this is one of those stories that will have you finishing bleary eyed at 3am, heart pounding, sweat on your brow, for me my immersion into this world was so complete that it took me a while to come back to reality – and those really are the very best kinds of books, any reader would be sure to agree. I loved it absolutely and with passion – I wish I could start all over again now with no knowledge, yet another reminder for me of why I read.

A radiant and marvellous novel and who says that genre fiction such as thrillers can’t contain classical writing or pack emotional real world punch? This one had both of those things, fiction with heart and soul – cannot recommend it highly enough. For anyone of any taste who enjoys a darn good yarn.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Christina Sandberg finally managed to convince the police that she wasn’t a prank caller, that there was a definite chance her ex-husband William was in danger, her heart was in her mouth as they raced to William’s apartment. And the fact that they had to break in convinced her that maybe they were too late. But worse was yet to come. Days later and William was nowhere to be found – the police were sure he had left of his own accord; Christina was sure he hadn’t….

Across the other side of the country, Albert was equally sure his fiancé, Janine hadn’t run off and left him. They had been so happy, they WERE so happy – her disappearance just did not make sense. But the police had done all they could, and while sympathetic to Albert’s grief, they had nothing at all to go on. Seven months it was since Janine had gone from his life, and Albert’s grief and determination to find her hadn’t lessened.

William and Janine weren’t known to each other, but they both had their professions in common. Codes, numerology, keys, ancient languages and research – both were well-respected and highly admired in their fields. William had recently retired, Janine was a student; but their knowledge was immense. When they met for the first time, all they could ask was “Why?”

As Christina and Albert, both unknown to each other but both determined to find the truth, continued on their course toward the future, they had no idea, but the clock was ticking. And it was ticking faster and faster. Disaster was waiting – a disaster of a magnitude no-one had ever seen. The future of the human race was in danger of ….

This gripping and heart-stopping thriller was absolutely brilliant! It has a plot of the kind I have never read before, and the twists were such that I couldn’t put the book down. The pace got faster and faster making me breathless! I can’t believe this is a debut novel, but Swedish writer Fredrik T. Olsson has a winner with this one in my opinion. And the fact that Warner Bros already have the film rights doesn’t surprise me at all. It will make an amazing movie! I have no hesitation in recommending this debut thriller very highly.

With thanks to The Reading Room and Hachette for my copy to read and review.

[George Mazurek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the cover reads: "Better and more clever than books of Dan Brown", it is not true. The book is much weaker, the books lacks any factography on cryptoanalysis or DNA examination, a reader learns nothing new.

[Vicky Ziliaskopoulou · Rating 1 out of 5]

Είναι από τα βιβλία που λόγω της περιγραφής στο οπισθόφυλλο είχα λυσσάξει να το πάρω. Τελικά δυστυχώς δεν μου άρεσε.
Σαν υπόθεση είναι καλό, αλλά το τραβάει άσκοπα σε πολλά σημεία και με κούρασε. Εκτός από αυτό έλεγε ξανά και ξανά το ίδιο πράγμα, σαν να με θεωρεί ανόητη. Και κάποιες φορές είχα μεγάλο πρόβλημα να καταλάβω τι εννοεί, δεν ξέρω αν φταίει ο συγγραφέας, ο μεταφραστής ή αν εγώ δεν μπορούσα να συγκεντρωθώ όσο έπρεπε.
Δεν ήταν όμως τόσο κακό ώστε να το αφήσω, είχα περιέργεια να δω πώς θα το τελειώσει (όπως είχα φανταστεί το τελείωσε)
Αυτά, πάμε για άλλα.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the first 200 pages it was interesting. A little bit difficult to follow but promising. Then for the next 200 pages I couldn't put it down. A real page turner with lots of questions waiting for an answer. And after that CHAOS! The last 200 pages full of more questions, bits and pieces of explanations that I couldn't understand , and then , an ending not only incomplete but as far as I m concerned, ridiculous ! I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I like!

[Nike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly written. Thrilling every second, one can tell that it's a screenwriter that has written it, there are such terrific cliffhangers and unexpected turns throughout the whole book. And the language, it's genius.

[Idunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the idea the story was based on, but it didn´t give me the excitement I would have thought it would. I struggled finishing the last chapters, finding myself fast forwarding at times, perhaps because it was too protracted.
Having that said, I believe there could become an excellent moovie out of this one.

[Pascal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das Buch fängt langsam an, steigert sich aber bis fast zum Ende. Am Schluss hätte ich mir aber etwas mehr Spannung gewünscht.
Hauptthema ist ein Ausbruch einer Seuche die sich zur Pandemie entwickelt. Also im Jahr 2021 doch sehr aktuell.

[Tadija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prvi review pa da zapocnemo :D Ovu knjigu sam citao veoma dugo ne zato sto nije zanimljiva, nego jednostavno nisam imao vremena, a treba dosta koncentracije. Knjiga je naucno-fantasticna, sa dosta dobrih opisa i detalja i drzi paznju. Opisuje vojnu organizaciju, koja kidnapuje ljude ne bili radili za njih izmedju ostalih i dvoje glavnih aktera Dzanin i Vilijama. Glavna radnja se vrti oko smrtonosnog virusa kojeg je bas ta organizacija pustila, kao i kodova koji su upisani u ljudski DNK i koji govore o buducnosti covecanstva. Vilijam je penzionisani vojni kriptolog koji pokusava da odgonetne sifre koje ce da spase svet...da li ce uspeti, pa procitajte sami...Na pocetku svakog poglavlja ide Vilijamov dnevnik koji je bas dobar uvod, okej zaplet ali nije me bas odusevila, da sam posle nje ostao da razmiljam par minuta, kao sto umem posle odlicne knjige, od mene ocena 4, ali ko zna mozda joj se opet nekad vratim...

Omiljena recenica iz knjige, aludirajuci na danasnje vreme: "Prezivljavali smo epidemije i ranije. I prezivecemo opet. Mnostvo ljudi ce pomreti, ali ne i svi. Virus ce na kraju oslabiti i dovoljno ljudi ce stvoriti imunitet.Buducnost ce se nastaviti dalje."

Dnevnik 1:
Dnevnik 2:

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could see the author's background in screenwriting coming through in parts of this book - the action scenes are amazing grippers that will have you compulsively reading, ignoring the clock that's imploring you to get back to your real-life responsibilities, but most of the rest of it, well, I just couldn't make myself care.
I enjoyed spending time with the estranged wife and her new-to-reporting sidekick, and wish there could have been more of them, but as for the long established team trying to save the world - hmm.....

[Þórólfur · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very disappointed - the book starts well and gets the reader hooked as some misterious things happen to unrelated people in distant places. But the plot goes far beyond what is acceptable to the reader (at least me!) and the description of how the persons are feeling and thinking is often way too long so often you just skip pages.

[Rachel England-Brassy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had the statement 'Thriller Phenomenon' on its front cover... a printing error? Reads like a script, ludicrous, 'Dan Brownesque' nonsenses - please please don't make a film of it! Mind you maybe this is one of the few books that could be improved by becoming a film. No! No, I can already see Tom Cruise casting himself as the leading man, god forgive us all!

[Thomas Wielfaert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback

William Sandberg, een deskundig cryptograaf, wordt ontvoerd en naar een geheime plaats gebracht. Daar wordt hij belast met een opdracht waarover de opdrachtgevers maar minimale informatie verschaffen.

Dus gaat Sandberg op onderzoek uit en komt hij te weten dat er ook nog een studente is ontvoerd vanuit Amsterdam, Janine Charlotta Haynes. Gezamenlijk gaan ze hun kennis bijeen brengen en ontdekken dat in het menselijk DNA informatie zit opgeslagen die gebeurtenissen bevatten, zowel voorspoedige als dramatische.

Maar de code van deze informatie is niet te kraken dus ook niet te wissen dus wordt een poging ondernomen om de teksten te wijzigen en zo de noodlottige rampspoed te voorkomen. Het lijkt een race tegen de onmogelijkheid te worden.

Dit is een origineel verhaal met wat af en toe een beetje fantasy-achtige trekjes. Alleen is het gelukt om spannende scenes ook spannend te schrijven. Het blijft voor mij uiterst lauw, ook al vliegen de explosies in het rond en dreigt de wereld vernietigd te worden.

Nee, spanning vond ik ver te zoeken en wordt de tijd steeds meer bepalend in het slagen of mislukken van de missie van Sandberg en Haynes.

Met de juiste spanningsboog had echt een spannende thriller geworden.

[Horst Lemke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Suspense is based on continually withholding information with cheap literary tricks. This gets boring and annoying very soon, but doesn't stop.



The plot is just dumb bullshit.
- within the DNA "Code Comments" were found that show all main historic events in the human history. The comments are encoded "pictures" of an ancient cuneiform
- now they are trying to change the human faith by modifying those cuneiforms, that were just comments
- even if not, one does not program a machine with pictures of symbols, one just use encoded symbols

furthermore, William uses his decades old secret and unbeatable effective, portable crypto-computer to analyse the code. Indeed.

But no, he does not trust computers, he's using pen and paper for cryptoanalysis.

This is like digging a lake with a spoon, because baggers are dangerous.

[Anna Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geen slecht debuut al had ik er iets meer van verwacht. Bij vlagen is de spanning om te snijden, maar het verhaal zakt af en toe weer in. Toch is het onderhoudend geschreven en wil je doorlezen. De plot zit goed in elkaar. De schrijfstijl is eenvoudig, het is dan ook een boek dat vlot wegleest. Ik geef hem 4 sterren.

[Gretel]

I couldn't finish this one. Obviously written for a film adaptation to be made out of it. I recon it could make a pretty ok film, but on paper, it isn't great. I couldn't get past the awful 'science' and thin characterisation.

[Wolf Draven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naprostá pecka!

Moje recenze: http://wolfdraven.eu/konec-retezce-fr...

[Cecilia Eklund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recension finns på bloggen inom kort.

[mina · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF-ed. 2.5

Maybe this would’ve been better as a movie or something.

When I started reading this it was hard to concentrate on it; things are happening and I can’t connect the dots, who-what-where… I thought this is surely going to end like the book before (Hex) being DNF-ed, but hitting 40 pages things started to look a bit better.

But that “a bit better” started to run out 170 pages in. The writing style was not something I would usually enjoy but it was bearable (I did get to the 170 page); it was too descriptive at some points. The most irritating thing was the information, or better to say the lack of information we are given. I understand how the main character feels.

It gave me a The bible code vibe, only here we have Sumerian texts that predicted catastrophes that hit the world.

It was an interesting read, but not interesting enough to finish.

[виолета димитрова · Rating 4 out of 5]

В началото не ме грабна , даже ми вървеше доста трудно , но в един момент историята така ме заплени , че я прочетох на един дъх.
Това е първата книга от този автор която чета, но със сигурност няма да е последната.

[Lotta Lindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must be the best first sentence in a book ever! Got me instantly hooked and the rest kept me so.

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eerste boek van 2022 en wat voor één! Het verhaal is een echte tijdscapsule uit 2015 die zich perfect in 2019-202? zou kunnen hebben voorgedaan…

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein schwedischer Autor, der Schauplatz Stockholm, ein psychisch angeknackster Protagonist – man könnte nach den ersten Kapiteln den Eindruck bekommen, es bei Fredrik T. Olssons Debütroman mit einem typisch skandinavischen Kriminalroman zu tun zu haben. Doch statt wie in den bekannten Vertretern dieser Gattung erst einmal auf einen gemächlichen Einstieg und eine langsame Heranführung an die Hauptfiguren zu setzen, geht es bei Olsson direkt Schlag auf Schlag: Gerade noch war der lebensmüde William Sandberg nach seinem Selbstmordversuch mit einem Bein im Grab, kurz darauf wacht er verwirrt und ein wenig enttäuscht im Krankenhaus auf, nur um wenig später das Opfer einer seltsamen Entführung zu werden – denn wer sollte schon ein Interesse an einem labilen alten Wissenschaftler haben und zudem auch noch gleich mehr oder wenige seine gesamte Wohnungseinrichtung mit einsammeln? Der Knackpunkt liegt im Spezialgebiet des Mannes, denn William Sandberg hat sich in seiner langen Laufbahn einen ausgezeichneten Ruf als Kryptologe erarbeitet. Und wenn das Buch schon mit dem deutschen Titel “Der Code” daherkommt, wird sich für so jemanden doch sicherlich eine Verwendung finden – lebensmüde hin oder her…

Schwedenkrimi? Verschwörungs-Blockbuster!

Ungefähr an diesem Zeitpunkt verlässt Olssons Roman dann auch die Pfade eines gewöhnlichen Schwedenkrimis und es wird deutlich, dass der Autor seine Geschichte größer angelegt hat – und zwar deutlich größer, wie sich im folgenden zeigen wird. Im Mittelpunkt steht dabei (bei diesem Buchtitel wenig überraschend) ein Code und ich werde den Teufel tun, auch nur in Ansätzen zu verraten, worum genau es in dieser Angelegenheit geht. Nur so viel sei gesagt: Die Grundidee dahinter ist ungemein interessant und wahnsinnig faszinierend und wenn Fredrik T. Olsson im Mittelteil nach und nach Einblicke in sein Geheimnis liefert, hätte ich mich vor Aufregung und Begeisterung zwischendurch fast überschlagen. Zwar geht “Der Code” an dieser Stelle ein gutes Stück in die Richtung “Science Fiction”, hat damit aber wirklich genau meinen Geschmack getroffen und ich habe mich fast schon geärgert, wenn der Autor diesen Handlungsstrang immer wieder verlassen hat um die besorgte Ex-Frau des Wissenschaftlers bei ihren Nachforschungen zu begleiten – geschickt Spannung aufbauen kann der Schwede nämlich bereits in seinem Debütroman.

Spannender und filmreif inszenierter Wissenschaftsthriller

Allerdings verrät Olsson vielleicht aber sogar zu früh zu viel über den Kern seiner Geschichte, denn das anschließende recht wüste Schlussdrittel im Stile eines Katastrophen-Blockbusters kann für meinen Geschmack nicht ganz mit dem genialen Verschwörungs-Mittelteil mithalten – spannend und abwechslungsreich bleibt die Handlung jedoch auch weiterhin und findet dann in den Schlusskapiteln auch noch zu einem guten und zufriedenstellenden Ende. Insgesamt legt Fredrik T. Olsson mit “Der Code” also einen mehr als gelungenen Erstling hin, der durch seine Konzeption und den Erzählstil nahezu nach einer Verfilmung schreit. So wundert es dann auch nicht, dass Warner Bros. sich bereits die Rechte an dem Roman gesichert hat und es somit sicherlich nur eine Frage der Zeit ist, bis dieser spannende und intelligente Thriller seinen Weg auf die Leinwand finden wird. Freunde von Wissenschaftsthrillern werden an diesem Buch, das von der Machart deutlich näher an den Werken eines Dan Brown als an dem vielleicht erwarteten Skandinavien-Krimi ist, sicherlich ihren Spaß haben. Und wer dann auch noch zur von Uve Teschner gewohnt exzellent gelesenen Hörbuchfassung greift, kann eigentlich gar nichts falsch machen.

[Nadine Vansant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thriller and end of the world possibly?

Don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it but it is a great book that almost reads like a film script. Unhappy scientists and foolish politicians /army? The latter claiming to know almost everything. And ordinary people helping the scientists to get to the bottom of it all. How it ends? Only the reader will know :)

[Rebecca Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel starts out steadily enough and based in a place in reality we can all connect with, written in language we can all understand, with characters who are believable and sympathetic.

A small flat. A man. A woman. A phone call. The man waking. The woman unable to find the man and worrying.

You’re OK so far right?

From here on in you need to leave your disbelief at the door. In fact don’t just leave it at the door, nail it to your next-door-but-one neighbour’s wall. Because from here things get quirky and a little difficult to follow in the explanation, which isn’t helped by the fact that the organisation that has taken William Sanberg isn’t giving him the whole truth, so in turn, we are only getting snippets. And bizarre snippets at that. I’m not easily confused when I’m reading, but the plot of this book, did get a little wrapped around my head somewhat. Specifically the part about the code in our DNA and the who, what and why etc. and resulting following actions and reactions.

After that there are the typical thrillerish scenario’s which you can easily follow and are a great read and will keep you turning the pages. I like the way Olsson gets to a point in his narration then stops and switches point of view. It not only gave you a rounded 360 degree view of the scene that is being described but it amped up the thrillerish tension. This was a clear nod to his screenwriting abilities because some scenes really did read that way. Very cinematic and heart-stopping.

Towards the end of the book though, I did get a bit bogged down and lost in the complexities of what the plot again, the if’s, how’s and why’s of the prophecy element (again) and then at the end I had to ask myself what the point had been. But I’d enjoyed the ride. I am generally interested in DNA type or prophecy thrillers of this kind, but was confused by the mixing up of who did what and it’s difficult to get my point across without spoilers. Lets just say, I am a Dan Brown fan, does that make it simple. But you need to make it clear who is doing what and why. I didn’t think this was that clear. Other reviewers may disagree.

An interesting thriller, you need to read while awake not falling asleep (at least not the parts involving the DNA explanations) to read. I like the authors voice and would read something by Olsson again.

With thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my copy.

[Minty McBunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was expecting a conspiracy theory kind of thriller, so the sci-fi/apocalyptic aspect caught me off guard but really gave the book a depth and interest level that I wasn't anticipating. It was a slow starter, but once I got under way I really found myself engaged with each of the multiple plot lines.

There were a few translation issues, and while the screenwriting background of the author made for some really great action sequences, it was clear that he wasn't used to writing a lot of prose taking place inside people's minds and therefore tended to drag some of the internal monologues out a bit longer than necessary. But overall, I really enjoyed it. I was worried the ending would either be too grim or too unrealistic to suit me, happily it was neither and wholly satisfactory. .

[Britt-Marie Kullin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betyg: 4,5 av 5.

(Den här boken var en av dom tretton böcker som jag läste under mina två semesterveckor i Turkiet. Skriver lite kortare och enklare omdömen på dessa böcker, mot vad jag brukar göra på dom recensionsböckerna som jag vanligtvis läser.)

Den här boken hade jag hört mycket gott om, så den var jag verkligen nyfiken på. Den liknas ju vid en svensk ”Da Vinci-koden”, men den har jag inte läst, så jag kan inte uttala mig om den är lik den.

Men jag tyckte mycket, mycket om den här boken. Väldigt välskriven och mycket tankeväckande.

Författaren skriver film- och serie-manus i vanliga fall, och det märks, för jag såg hela boken som en film framför mig, när jag läste den.

Rekommenderar boken varmt och absolut.

[Elif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Off diyorum. Ne kitaptı be. Arkasını okuyup ucuz diye aldığım bir kitap bomba çıktı. Bilimkurgu, aksiyon, macera. Her şey vardı. Sandığım gibi çok polisiye değildi ama zaten ben bu türü de seviyorum. Gerilim vardı. Konusunu kitap sitelerinden okuyabilirsiniz.
Bence kitap biraz fazla uzundu. Yazı tipi çok küçüktü. Konusu farklıydı ve insanı içine çekiyordu. Eğer dünyanın sonunun geldiği felaket senaryolarını seviyorsanız bu kitap tam size göre. Ben beğendim kitabı. 👍🏻