Reviews

• “The No-Go Zone is a great and brutal thriller, with engaging main characters and an exciting plot. Lapidus is unmatched in his ability to mirror both society and the reader, and present them with an uncanny perspective for the future. He thus shows that he is not only a leading, but a genre-transcending author, who is not afraid to step outside his comfort zone. A must for all thriller fans!”

• “Jens Lapidus’ dystopia is adroitly written. /…/ As always with Lapidus, the hot blood of the novel pulsates within the ghetto guy with a criminal background.”

• “The No-Go Zone is a dystopia attired as a thriller.”

• “Jens Lapidus’ new thriller The No-Gone Zone is his darkest one to date. /…/ To step into a novel by Jens Lapidus is, to borrow his style of prose, like jumping onto a moving train. /…/ The story moves forward at a rapid pace from the first sentence. /…/ It’s a journey into the future where Lapidus has made generous use of black brush strokes to create his dystopia. At the same time, the fantasies are anchored by elements from the world that we know, making the story believable in many ways. /…/ The No-Go Zone is a terrifying page-turner. /…/ It’s undeniably the narrative and its ability to break down walls and enter every room that is Jens Lapidus’ specialty.”

• “In this gloomy portrayal of the near future, Lapidus shows what polarization, inequality and discrimination might result in. The No-Go Zone is a magnificent thriller full of twists and turns and hardboiled action.”

• “[An] effective and thrilling story. /…/ It’s suspenseful and skillfully executed.”

• “An unforgiving thriller.”

• “A terrifyingly realistic thriller for a cold Sunday.”

• “A moving portrait of people in [a future] Sweden. /…/ The prose is seasoned with a lot of slang and unorthodox analogies and you’ll recognize Lapidus’ stylistics. It is a grand story, never unbelievable or bombastic but always on the right side of the line. The No-Go Zone is a one-of-a-kind thriller that keeps the reader on their toes.”

• “In a society that’s spun out of control, people’s main concern is surviving, not living.”

• “The prose is simultaneously coke-powered and beautiful, the dialogues the best in crime-fiction Sweden.”

• “There is a real ethos in Lapidus’ suspense novels, elevating them above the dime a dozen crime novel. /…/ In The No-Go Zone, [Jens Lapidus] takes a step away from realism – after all, there is a natural element of speculation in a dystopia – but his engagement and intent is as honest and sincere as always.”

• “The quick storytelling and intense action scenes in [The No-Go Zone] keep readers on the edge of their seats. Fans of dystopian thrillers will be much rewarded. /…/ [Jens Lapidus] has created an intense novel which is unsurpassed.”

• “It may sound like an action blockbuster from the eighties, but this thriller wants more: Paradise City creates a pitch-black vision of Swedish society – and draws on the political present. /…/ John Carpenter’s The Rattlesnake (…) may have inspired Lapidus to write his story. And why not? /…/ [Jens Lapidus] observes ongoing events in (not only) Swedish society and calculates how quickly everything can go to hell. While Carpenter used the Manhattan of tomorrow primarily as a cool backdrop for rowdy, guy-like action, Lapidus wants more: climate change, right-wing populism, migrant parallel societies, the threat of terrorism from left and right, police corruption, the gap between rich and poor, disinformation through social media and Russian troll factories – these are the big issues of our time, which fuel Paradise City. /…/ [Jens Lapidus] is a writer, not a do-gooder. He doesn’t judge, he tells stories. With a great sense of pace and rhythm. With action, lots of action. And with his irresistible hero Emir Lund, who fights with his whole body not only for his freedom and his life, but also for his dignity.”