The Third Realm

The intense third installment in Knausgaard’s Morning Star series (after The Wolves of Eternity) teems with carnage and interpersonal drama in the wake of a new star’s appearance in the skies above Norway. The cast, many from The Morning Star, reckons with the recent murder of three members of a metal band and the unnerving mystery of the astronomical event, which seems to be linked to a strange phenomenon in which nothing and no one can die. Tove, who is bipolar, tips into a disturbing mania at the vacation house she shares with her teacher husband, Arne. Gaute suspects his wife Kathrine, a priest, of having an affair. Nineteen-year-old Line becomes romantically involved with Valdemar, front man for a metal band whose lyrics reflect his morbid obsessions. Syvert, an undertaker out of work since the star’s appearance, meets with Helge, a famous architect who witnessed Syvert’s father’s death. Jarle, a doctor, is puzzled by a brain-dead patient’s return to consciousness. Geir, a philandering police officer, is stymied while investigating the abovementioned murders. Though readers new to the series would be lost, it’s a clarifying continuation, packed with philosophy, terror, and the beauty of the mundane. There’s plenty here to keep fans of the previous installments hooked. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency. (Oct.)