The Wolf's Time: A Swedish Saga Macabre

by Oskar Östlund

In the tranquil Swedish coastal town of Skutskär, the summer of 2004 turns into a nightmarish apocalyptic fever dream.

Inspired by the atmospheric tension of Stranger Things, the visceral horror of the Alien trilogy and the relentless brutality of Koushun Takami's Battle Royale, The Wolf's Time is a raw, unforgiving, and macabre tale of friendship, love and brutal survival.

As the sun sets and darkness creeps in, the once familiar surroundings of their hometown become a battleground. The friends' summer plans of LAN parties, mopeds and youthful rebellion are shattered by an unknown enemy that descends upon them with merciless ferocity. Forced to confront their deepest fears and darkest nightmares, they must band together to survive a foe unlike anything anyone has ever seen.

With every page turn, the tension mounts and the body count rises. This is a story of friendship tested by fire, of loyalty pushed to its limits and of courage forged in the crucible of terror. The Wolf's Time is not for the faint-hearted. It is a chilling journey into the unknown, where the lines between reality and nightmare blur, and the only certainty is that no one is safe.

Prepare yourself for a tale that is as haunting as it is relentless and as beautiful as it is brutal.

641 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2024

About the author

Hey there! I’m Oskar Östlund, a 35-year-old author from the coastal town of Gävle, Sweden, where I live with my amazing girlfriend and our two kids. Writing has been my passion since I was about 15. I started with roleplaying games and diving deep into the world of dungeon mastering, crafting storylines and characters that would pull players in for hours. That experience shaped how I approach storytelling today, giving me a love for building immersive worlds and dark atmospheres.

In 2021, I decided to take the plunge and start my first real book. It was a huge step from the roleplaying content I’d always known, and in 2023, that leap paid off when I got published here in Sweden. Horror and sci-fi have always drawn me in, and I’m all about blending the eerie with the extraordinary, making you wonder what’s lurking just beyond the next page.

When I’m not writing, I’m creating content for one of Sweden’s biggest transportation companies. I work in marketing and content production, so storytelling is actually part of my day job too! That side of my life helps me keep my creative muscles sharp, even if it’s not always in a horror or sci-fi context.

I’m just getting started on this journey as an author, but I’m excited to see where it goes and to share my stories with more readers. For me, there’s nothing quite like creating something that resonates, makes you think, or just gives you that perfect chill.

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice! A horror novel written with real love for the genre, wearing its influences on its sleeve, and offering a blast of a story! "The Wolf's Time" gives Stranger Things vibes unabashedly, but soon becomes its own thing, choosing to take things into a novel direction. It's a summer tale, about young friends in a Swedish small town (Skutskär), whose holidays turn into terror, as they're forced to fight for their lives! The body-count increases very fast, and the twists are totally unexpected! Admittedly, the language is a bit rough (considering Östlund's Swedish), the pacing has a few problems (especially the second part), but the author knows how to tell a story worth the readers' investment (the novel exceeds 600 pages!), not only promising a terrific tale but actually delivering a mature, terrifying narrative full also of insight on friendship and life in general. The characterization is unreal: it's like wathing a slasher, though one that allows you time and space to root for the characters! I had some reservations with the ending (too obscure for me), but in no way is this going to stop me from recommending the book to every horror lover out there!

[Anabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. 


Slow world building, fully immersive, highly atmospheric, unforgettable, coming of age sci-fi/horror/thriller. A hidden gem of sci-fic masterpiece.


If you enjoy living in the book while you read, this is an absolute must. Felt like I was walking these streets along with them and sharing their anxiety of the unknown. If there's such a thing as a fever dream, this is a fever nightmare for those involved. 


Quick Synopsis out of Goodreads:


“As the sun sets and darkness creeps in, the once familiar surroundings of their hometown become a battleground. The friends' summer plans of LAN parties, mopeds and youthful rebellion are shattered by an unknown enemy that descends upon them with merciless ferocity. Forced to confront their deepest fears and darkest nightmares, they must band together to survive a foe unlike anything anyone has ever seen.”


You can tell this book is a labor of love, so much time, research, and detail were poured into these pages. A whopping 641 pages, it's a rabbit hole filled with time lore, video game references, pop culture and characters with their own mini worlds built in, and mopeds, so many mopeds. It was fun, frustrating, nostalgic, and mysterious. A true saga. 


It took me months to finish this book. At first it was very slow world setting, personally I enjoy world building, slow burn but I could see how some people would think it's too much or too slow, it can be intimidating but it was perfection for me. As this helps me immerse myself into the book and become another character in the tale. This felt it was written with us nerds in mind. It felt nostalgic to everything I love and hold dear. I didn't want it to end. 


If you enjoy Stranger Things, Battle Royale, and any of the Cloverfield movies, this book right here will scratch that itch. 


I would like to thank NetGalley and Oskar Östlund for the opportunity to read this e-book masterpiece. 

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in its original language Swedish.

I'll start by saying that I had a difficult time putting this down when I read it. I always wanted "one more chapter," and I highly enjoyed the nostalgia. Although I was slightly younger than 15 in the early 2000s, the nostalgia hit quite hard anyway.

I also found it really fun to see the alien invasion take place in a small town in Sweden.

I do think the book needed another round or two of editing of the prose. It repeats things pretty often in some places, the language is a little janky in others (wrong words and strange sentences), and tells more than shows, especially when it comes to character reactions and feelings. I also could not feel for any of the characters, it never felt like we spent enough time with one or got to know a character enough to care for them deeply enough to feel something when they die or lose someone.

Still a really fun read!

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a somber, evocative novel that talks about Erik and his friends in the haunting Swedish town of Skutskär, where coming of age seems intertwined with the shadows of something mysterious and threatening. Oskar Östlund invites us into a world so real yet surreal at once-a combination of folklore and myth in raw teenage life.

In The Wolf's Time, we follow Erik and his closely-knit circle of friends as they move through what will prove to be a crucial summer. We are indeed being placed in the small industrial town of Skutskär in Sweden, following them through every trial of being a teenager and bonding over an uncomfortable supernatural presence that has put them in its scope. The community, the ancient forests, and even Erik's personal demons will play as compelling backdrops against this twisted Norse-inspired saga. Events and myths and legends of the old Norse gods are interwoven into one line of growing dread. Their lives are made to struggle through not just typical adolescent adversities but even sinister portents that something darker, more primeval is stirring around them.

Erik is our protagonist-a quiet, introspective mind repeatedly pressed to the limit. Tormented by memories, longing constitutes the fragility and complexity of youth. The psychology of Erik is subtly detailed: much feeling, little saying. Interactions with friends and girlfriends denote a young man caught somewhere between the innocence of a boy and a maturing self-awareness. His relationship with Sandra, this older girl who fascinates and terrorizes him, is poignantly exposed in order to bring out first love, self-doubt, and imbalances of power.

By contrast, Sandra is a mix of magnetism and mystery; thus, the attraction becomes thrillingly dangerous for Erik. Fierce yet brittle, her personality walks a taut high wire, and the way she interrelates with Erik suggests an important but troubled role in his growth. This duality, deep-caring yet emotionally elusive, made her a strong influence upon Erik, propelling him toward self-discovery and against the fears within himself.

The supporting characters are Erik's friends, such as Oscar and Johan, who form part of the indispensable support within the world he lives. Each one of them brings another aspect in thematic development in the story. He writes, "One thinks of fierce loyalty to one another, the shared history, the quirks of each-Johan's charisma and lightness, Oscar's acute sensitivity-in order to show with fleeting beauty the bitter sweetness of young friendships." This is a shared journey through this summer and into the emotional currents that will be traveled by them-a time in one's life that speaks to something about bonds that define and shape us.

Throughout the course of the novel, The Wolf's Time, friendship would more be of a foreground disposition rather than a background condition as far as the life of Erik is concerned. The ties of friendship that exist between Erik and his set of friends tie them together in some give-and-take of strengths and individual insecurities.
Against the comparative untamed beauty of the forest, the industrial shadows threatening Skutskär provide a potent almost elemental sense of place. The tension between human progress and the primal force that is the natural world gets reinforced.
Influenced by Norse mythology, the novel plunges deep into fate, death, and transformation. With the mounting presence of the wolves, Erik's journey interlinks with snippets of mythology insinuating that some forces are closer than we may actually think.
In the passage of Erik from childhood into the unsure cruelty of young manhood, weighted down by his emotional confusedness, lie openness to young love, painful shifts in identity, and yearning for acceptance. Delicately, Östlund handles these themes without ever once making readers feel anything but deep empathy for the struggles and joys of his characters.

Östlund's language is ornate, Disturbingly beautiful; it maintains the mythic origins of this story. One feels his prose to be lush and atmos­pheric: the forests around Skutskär, smoky townscapes, the almost tangible presence of the Baltic Sea, imagined with a great deal of vividness. The use of figures of speech-especially metaphor-adds further dimensions to the reading experience, giving Erik's world a quality of magical realism bordering on the mythological. This novel has a deliberate pacing since it often meanders from some contemplative moments into an outburst of action, truly reflective of Erik's turbulent emotions and growing fear.

Östlund often takes advantage of a third-person limited point of view, one firmly fixed upon Erik; he whisks the reader down deep into Erik's inner being in such a way that instant empathy is created. Even the most innocuous scenes through his eyes beat with tension and emotion, feeding into the overarching tension of the tale with which we become abruptly submerged in his psychological journey.

The Wolf's Time is a haunting journey into the darkness that lurks in myth and in the heart. Östlund interlaces a coming-of-age story with rich layers of folklore, youth, and existential unease. Character complexities, world building, and the blend of horror and myth are strong points in the book. Sometimes, though, it is really slow.
Such pacing indeed fits the atmospheric tension following with every page. Intimate and epic, this coming-of-age horror, The Wolf's Time, claws into real questions about one's human nature, nature around them, and the overall fate that is in store. I would say, without disparaging other work in the realms of mythic horror, that The Wolf's Time is a virtual cousin to such novels as John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let the Right One In, in which quotidian settings suddenly crash with supernatural elements in manners both disturbing and revelatory.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) – Evocative and richly textured.
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Compelling, though Sandra’s character could benefit from further exploration.
World-Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) – The setting is meticulously crafted and atmospheric.

Fans of dark, atmospheric fiction with elements taken from both mythology and transitions in life will be the ones most pleased with this book. Where does one even start with Scandinavian horror and mythological fiction.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t really hung out on Goodreads before, but one of the other beta readers recommended I share my thoughts here, so I figured I’d post my review. I’m really enjoying the page so far, and it’s cool to see the book I helped with make its way onto here.

I had the chance to be a beta reader for this book, and honestly, it was such a breath of fresh air to sink into a 600+ page novel. In a time when so many books seem to be short, quick reads with little depth, this one stands out with its substance and complexity. The writing was fantastic, and while the ending left me scratching my head, I loved that feeling of being just as in the dark as the characters. That lingering mystery was honestly one of my favorite parts.

I gave some feedback on the language in a few spots, but overall, I was really impressed with the author’s English—especially considering he’s Swedish! He mentioned that English was the only subject he did well in at school (fun fact: the same school that features in the book), and it definitely shows.

One of the best things about this book is how it handles identity and communication without dumbing it down. Sure, on the surface, it might look like a typical good vs. evil setup—but is the "enemy" really all that evil when you dig deeper? It dives right into life's messy complexities, which makes the whole thing feel raw and authentic. The characters are so well-developed that they feel like real people, with complicated relationships and choices that carry serious weight. And let’s be real—the body count climbs fast. Just because these kids are teenagers doesn’t mean they’re wearing plot armor. Sure, the author throws them a lifeline here and there to keep the story moving, but when they get taken out, it’s straight-up "Game of Thrones" levels of shocking. You’ll be hit with some serious "I-did-not-see-that-coming" moments.

It was also fun to read about this small town in Sweden. Even though it’s so specific to that area, it feels strangely familiar, almost like anytown-America. There’s even a place near where I live that reminds me of it—except, of course, for the Baltic Sea. And oh, the place names! The author even has a laugh with some of them, but I’ll admit I struggled with a few. I had to mentally channel movies like Fargo just to keep them straight—and it actually helped!

Oh, and as a thank you for my feedback, I was sent the ebook, but I ended up ordering the paperback too—because honestly, I just had to have it on my shelf! I’ve reread it since the release, and now my teenage son is reading it too. He’s really into it, which I love, and he even learned some fun stuff about old video games that had me laughing.

I can also see the influence of the author’s favorite English-language writer, Alan Dean Foster. While I haven’t read much of Foster’s work, I’m familiar with his Star Wars novelizations, and there’s definitely a similarity in the prose. The writing can shift from dark and poetic to fast and sharp, like if James Ellroy decided to write for a younger audience. It’s a mix that works so well.

I could go into more detail about the plot, but really, you’re better off reading it for yourself. The blurb covers what you need to know, and I don’t want to spoil any of the twists.

That said, be ready for some intense scenes. It’s not super gory, but it does get pretty visceral, like a blend of gritty ‘80s horror and ‘90s action movies. After chatting with the author, I found out this was exactly the tone he was aiming for—a tribute to the movies, games, and pop culture he and his friends grew up on. And I get it, because I grew up on the same stuff. If you were born in the ‘80s or early ‘90s, this book will hit your nostalgia buttons. While it’s set in 2004, it doesn’t hit you over the head with it—it just weaves in some fun nods to the era with old tech, games, and movies. Knowing the author was around the same age as the characters back then, you can feel how personal it is—his friends clearly inspired these wild, flawed, but relatable teens.

In the end, this book is a wild mix of small-town mystery, action, horror, and sci-fi that had me turning pages non-stop. It sticks with you, and knowing I had a small hand in shaping it makes the whole experience even better. Definitely recommend it!

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well...I finally read an horror story written by Oskar Östlund and I can't say I read it straight through, but had to read it every now and then. Reading books in between reading Oskar. It was a 17hour 37 minute book so it was very long. What Oskar did was take 30 or soon his friends and make a horror story with them. Mopeds were the big attraction besides computers and the games they played. He covers all this in a camp building by playing out people looking at the stars when something flys right at them. He narrows it down to 13 friends and then turns it into a horror story that you can believe. There's a lot of fighting with horrible monsters and if you like horror stories this may be what you need. I like the ending very much and can make recommendations for reading it.

[Abigail L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Wolf's Time, we follow a group of friends in the quiet Swedish town of Skutskär as their idyllic summer quickly spirals into a terrifying battle for survival against an unknown enemy. This gripping tale seamlessly blends themes of friendship, love, and raw horror, reminiscent of classics like Stranger Things and Battle Royale. I thoroughly enjoyed how the tension built with each page, making it impossible to put down. The vivid descriptions and emotional depth really drew me in, creating a haunting atmosphere that lingered long after I finished reading.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! The Wolf's Time totally blew my mind! 🎉 Picture this: a chill summer in a cute Swedish town, and then BAM! Nightmare mode activated! The friends we meet are just like us, and I loved how they band together against something truly horrifying. It’s a wild ride of friendship, courage, and edge-of-your-seat action that kept me hooked from start to finish. If you’re into heart-pounding thrills and characters you can root for, you’ve gotta dive into this book. Trust me, you won't regret it! 📚✨

[AgoraphoBook Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy sh!t ...
This horror novel blew me away.

An instant favorite.