Shamran

by Bjarne Reuter

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Genres: Fantasy, Danish, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Scandinavian Literature, Novels

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Bjarne Reuter, born 1950 in Brønshøj, a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark and the setting of many of his books.
His first book was published in 1975, the same year he graduated from teacher’s college.
In 1980, Bjarne Reuter left teaching to devote full time to writing.
He is the author of some 60 books for children and young adults (see complete bibliography).
He has written several novels for adults as well. In addition, he is the author of plays, musicals,
radio and television series for children. Eight of his books have been made into films for children, a number have been serialized on television and many of them have been dramatized on the stage in Denmark, Finland and Germany as well as in countries as far from home as Japan and Argentina.

Publications:
1975 Kidnapning (children's book)
1975 Rent guld i posen (children's book)
1976 En dag i Hector Hansens liv
1976 Ridder af skraldespanden (children's book)
1976 Rottefængeren fra Hameln (children's book)
1977 Den største nar i verden (children's book)
1977 Det skøre land (children's book)
1977 Eventyret om Hu (children's book)
1977 Skønheden og uhyret (children's book)
1977 Tre engle og fem løver (children's book)
1977 Zappa, en kaldblodig hore
1978 De seks tjenere (children's book)
1978 Den utilfredse prins (children's book)
1978 Drengen der ikke kunne blive bange (children's book)
1978 Slusernes kejser
1979 Busters verden (children's book)
1979 Børnenes julekalender (children's book)
1979 Den fredag Osvald blev usynlig (children's book)
1979 Rejsen til morgenrødens hav (children's book)
1979 Støvet på en sommerfugls vinge
1980 Før det lysner (short stories)
1980 Kolumbine & Harlekin (children's book)
1980 Kys stjernerne (children's book)
1980 Suzanne & Leonard
1981 Knud, Otto og Carmen Rosita
1981 Skibene i skovene
1982 Abdulahs juveler (children's book)
1982 Det forkerte barn (short stories)
1982 Hvor regnbuen ender (children's book)
1982 Østen for solen og vesten for månen (children's book)
1983 Casanova
1983 Når snerlen blomstrer
1984 Malte-Pøs i Den Store Vide Verden (children's book)
1984 Tre skuespil (drama)
1984 Tropicana
1985 Bundhu
1985 Da solen skulle sælges (children's book)
1985 Shamran - den som kommer
1986 De andre historier (short stories)
1986 En tro kopi
1986 Natten i Safarihulen (children's book)
1987 Den dobbelte mand
1987 Drømmenes bro (children's book)
1987 Os to, Oskar... for evigt (children's book)
1987 Vendetta
1988 Den cubanske kabale
1988 Månen over Bella Bio
1989 Den skæggede dame (children's book)
1989 Peter Pan (children's book)
1989 Vi der valgte mælkevejen
1990 3 til Bermudos
1990 Mig og Albinoni
1991 Drengene fra Sankt Petri
1991 Lola
1992 7.A.
1992 En rem af huden
1992 Kaptajn Bimse & Goggeletten (children's book)
1993 Den korsikanske bisp
1993 Johnny & The Hurricanes
1994 Anna Havanna (children's book)
1995 Langebro med løbende figurer
1996 Anna Havanna, Kaptajn Bimse og alle de andre (children's book)
1996 Ved profetens skæg
1997 Fakiren fra Bilbao
1998 En som Hodder (children's book)
1998 Mikado
1999 Mordet på Leon Culman
1999 Under kometens hale
1999 Willys fars bil (children's book)
2000 Prins Faisals ring; "The Ring of the Slave Prince", English translation by Tiina Nunnally (2004)
2002 Barolo Kvartetten
2002 Kaptajn Bimse i Saltimbocca (children's book)
2003 Kaptajn Bimses jul (children's book)
2004 Løgnhalsen fra Umbrien
2006 Halvvejen til Rafael(Novel)
2007 Skyggernes hus
2008 [Fem]
2008 Den iranske gartner
2010 Den egyptiske tenor

Reviews

[Jeppe Juul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Læste den første gang i fjerde klasse, og huskede den som en helt igennem fantastisk bog. Det var i lang tid min yndlingsbog, og måske den, som fra en tidlig alder sporede mig ind på fantasy-genren. Nu fik jeg lyst til at genlæse den, og må bare sige at min smag i bøger ikke har rykket sig i løbet af de små tre årtier. Det er i sandhed en fuldstændig fantastisk bog, som helt bestemt kan måle sig med selv de største klassikere.

[Natasha Glerup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det har været mange år på bagen siden jeg sidst stiftede bekendskab med Shamran, og Reuter i det hele taget. Overordnet set er det en ren fed historie, nok mest henvendt til et yngre publikum, men selv jeg, som voksen, kan få en god oplevelse ud af Shamran. Den bliver endnu sjovere hvis man har læst Ringenes Herre, idet der er mange referencer til den i Reuters værk. Er anbefalelsesværdig, 4 stjerner :)

[Cecilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Peter Kjer hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeg ville egentlig have givet den 3, men jeg synes, at der mange steder er plot huller, for eksempel Hvorfor bliver "Han" nød til at få Fillips krop, han overtager jo senere fakirens? Derudover synes jeg, at bogen bygger for langsomt op, og så når den endelige konfrontation skal ske, så springer Reuter henover det, som var det ingen ting. Der er også mange ting, der bygges op som om, at det er noget vildt stort fx "Moren", men så bruges elendigt. Jeg synes dog bogen var spændende, selvom den for mig havde ovenstående mangler.

Endnu en ting. Jeg har svært ved at se, hvem denne bog henvender sig til. Den er skrevet i et let sprog, der til tider virker fjollet, samt med en barn som hovedperson, men samtidig der twists i fortællingen, som de fleste børn nok ikke fanger. Desuden virker slutningen for prætentiøs til at være henvendt til børn.

Den får altså to stjerner, da jeg fandt den undeholdende, men den har mange mangler.

[Mie Blueberryishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago, I must have been 10 I think? I still remember it vividly though. It is a good read up until the end,which honestly feels hurried. It slowly builds up to this amazing confrontation between the Hero; Filip and the main villain, but then the author seems to just skip over it and you end up feeling dissatisfied because it just fizzles out.

I was extremely torn on whether to give it 2 or 3 stars. It has quite a few flaws, the ending being a big one for me personally. I ended up on three because despite it's flaws, I remember enjoying it quite a lot.

**I am uncertain as to whether or not this book was published in English**

[Mikelin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed of this book. I had heard so much good about it, but it wasn't anything like I had imagined. Though, it is a OK book, but I do not like the writing style. I've read other books of same author (and many people still think he's awesome) but I just don't really like it...

[Rikke A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

hated it

[Keeloca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eeeeeh, this is a very difficult one. Actual rating 3,75. I think.

This is a fantasty story written for teenagers, long before 'young adult' was a thing in the Scandinavian countries (not sure when it became a thing in a US, so possible even before that). It is very, very violent. It's not just that the bad guys kill off, or are killed by, our heroes at an alarming rate (George R. R. Martin ain't got nothing on Bjarne Reuter), there's a ton of causal violence weaved through the narrative, normalized and unremarked upon. The main character, Filip, is a young boy - for most of the story, anyway - and in the very first chapter he commits an act that very clearly marks him as a potential sociopath in the making.

I've read this book before, several times, but not for some years now, and it's been a good long while since I read the whole thing through word for word. I'd completely forgotten about that first chapter, and I was pretty shocked. At the act itself, and at me ever forgetting it. The scene gains a symbolic value at the end of the book, but damn. NOT what I expected from what I've always considered a children's book.

It's not that the violence is described in gory detail, not even close, but it is just THERE. Unlike the heroes potential hesitation about killing people - that is NOT there. There's absolutely no moral reflection whatsoever in this story, the heroes are driven by a need for revenge and have zero qualms about killing their enemies and see no need to even consider any other options, and that is... unusual. Fine, but unusual. Today they'd be portrayed as antiheroes, I suspect, and the discongruity of them NOT being depicted as such here is what throws me off, I suspect. I LIKE me a tale with complicated morals, and dislike the black/white distinction common to older fantasy, but… this is presented as a very simple conflict between The Good and The Bad, but I find The Good very questionable (or at least very underdeveloped) but suspect that the author does not agree. Of course, that's only my suspicion, but yeah. Throws me.

On the other hand, I like that things are left unsaid and unexplored and generally to the reader's imagination! And I do like the prose, which is often lyrical, and otherwise very easy to read - though why everybody 'ropar' (holler/yell/exclaim) instead of just saying things, I do not know. I'm sure to read it again, some day. Though maybe skip the first chapter.

[Sammi AH · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I read this was in 6 grade, and I DIT NOT like it. A few years after I pick it up again, wanting to travel back to that overfilled classroom, and I found myself liking the book. I realist, that in 6 grade, I was too young to fully understand the story and too young to understand all of the symbols. This is a good book and an interesting story. But you have to be a matur child or a teenager to fully understand it.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeg læste denne bog i folkeskolen og den har simpelthen jagtet min tanker siden. Jeg har været nødt til at læse den igen. Det er stadig en spændende og gribende fortælling. Han er en rigtig dygtig forfatter der formår at skabe spændende fantasy fra omkring 12 år og op.

[Stephanie Vestergaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by fantasy legends like Tolkien, but a first mover in Denmark.
Always something happening, that makes the plot move forward.
Great for older kids that are ok with deaths of beloved characters.

[Rasmus Skovdal · Rating 3 out of 5]

It probably deserves a touch more than 3 stars. Interesting, and I think I would have loved it as a child - rather than liking it now, for other reasons.

But I do like it, and I might write an actual review at some point.

[Ida Skovhus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeg syntes ikke særlig meget om denne bog, der skete ikke rigtig noget, og da der endelig gjorde var det virekligt underligt og ikke til at forstå.

[Entu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this ages ago. It was fine, but kinda drawn out.

[Florina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read this book. I'm not sure if you can get an English copy, but I enjoyed reading it. It's a nice little fantasy story.

[Cecilie Moberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Den første bog jeg nogensinde læste. Jeg elskede den dengang - og jeg elsker den i dag.

[Tina Hansen]

JEG HAR IKKE LÆST DENNE, MEN HAR LÆST "AR" - PATRICK McCormick - SOM IKKE ER PÅ DENNE HJEMMESIDE

[Henriette Terkelsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Min søn giver bogen 4 ud af 5 stjerner, fordi man tror Dobbo er død og fordi Øversten er en ond gut, som har skåret Dobbos øjne af.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great. Not much else to say. Read it if you love a good mindfuck

[Frida Demant · Rating 1 out of 5]

den bygger rigtig fint op, men slutningen er så antiklimatisk at det ødelægger historien for mig...