The Ink Black Heart

Despite the absurd length of this book (over 1000 pages) I was never bored and kept going back to it with enthusiasm. Galbraith (Rowling) has a talent similar to Stephen King in the ability to make the world of the book so attractive that you can't wait to go back to it. This doesn't mean it's saccharine or falsely positive. Quite the opposite, as some horrible people do horrible things. It's just that a world with Strike and Ellacott seems better than a world without. I recommend this series to everyone with whom I talk about books.

Wauw, opnieuw vanaf pagina 1 volledig mee gezogen. Er zijn weinig auteurs die erin slagen een boek van over de 1000 bladzijden te schrijven, zonder dat er ook maar één pagina als te veel aanvoelt. Heel meeslepend, spannend en onverwacht.
Enig punt van kritiek is dat de chat conversaties niet gemakkelijk te lezen zijn op een e-reader, maar dit loste ik op door daarvoor het audioboek in te schakelen.
De nieuwe personages voor dit verhaal zijn elk heel genuanceerd en interessant, maar Strike en Robin blijven het hart.

This novel is long at over 1000 pages. I'm normally wary of anything over 400 or 500 pages because I know I will get annoyed with the unnecessary padding. This author is a rare exception, I think because she is very easy to read, and I'm already invested in the main characters. Even so, I'm surprised that I was never bored. It's best not to start it until you have some time available, so that you don't lose track of the plot twists and characters. I scribble the names down on the back of an envelope with a quick note next to each one, and before long I've got them all in my head and can throw the envelope out. I really enjoyed it.

Wat Een Boek! Werkelijk waar een extreem goed geschreven. Het leest als een echt realistisch true crime serie en by-far de meeste uit de reeks. Het verhaal is origineel en grijpt je meteen. Rowling focust zich als weinig op alle details. Het mysterie en de zoektocht naar de dader blijven boeiend tot het einde. En laat dit zich nou letterlijke ontvouwen als een prachtig klassiek meesterstuk. Echt letterlijk en figuurlijk een dikke aanrader.

This book. I'm not even sure where to start. First off, I borrowed a copy from my library. Next, it. Is. Long; that being said, after struggling with the few few chapters, I read the majority of the book in three days. It certainly dragged in some places, but on the whole, it kept me guessing and was certainly tense enough that I had to know what was going to happen. (Also, my loan was nearly up, and if I didn't want to wait six months to finish it, I had to rush through it.) It also covered some timely, important topics, which - unfortunately, the people who need the messages most will never see. 

I did not see the twist coming; however, by the time we finally got to the climax, which felt overdue by at least three chapters, it felt a little... anticlimactic? Not that it wasn't super intense; it merely felt like the tension had been stretched too far, so when it came down to it, there was a sense of relief that it had finally arrived, if that makes sense. 

Finally, as much as I enjoy the mysteries, because dang, can JKR really plot them, I'm mostly here for Strike and Robin. I really love them as characters, and I've very much enjoyed the progression of their relationship.  But I genuinely expected them to move beyond the will-they, won't-they? nonsense we've been put through the last three? four? books; I get why they're so slow to move into a relationship, considering everything that's at stake if a relationship between them were to go badly. But it just seems like, considering that their relationship is really the driving force behind these books and how long they are, we should be beyond this point already. And to get to the end of this massive book and have one failed kiss and separate realizations of feelings that they've been trying to repress feels like a bit of a cop out. Like, there's slow burn, and then there's ‘let's see how long we can possibly string this out before everyone gives up out of sheer frustration.' And, unfortunately, this book felt like the latter. What is even more frustrating is that there is so much potential to create drama and conflict after they get into a relationship - they're not going to magically become new people, and I want to see that play out - instead, we're given a baby step forward at the beginning of the book, a massive step backwards, and then a teeny-tiny mini-step forwards at the very end. Because now that Strike is finally, maybe ready to pursue a relationship with Robin, she's getting ready to go on a date with some other guy, which if it had come at any point during the book, would have been fine. Sure, make Strike jealous! Maybe it's his turn to pine?! (Except, he's clearly liked Robin since book one.) And, yay, now he finally sees her as an equal, so they can pursue a more balanced relationship. (But why has it taken so long??? He's recognized her worth since fairly early on in the series.)  And now we have to wait another year or three before the next one, which leaves me with an overall feeling of not only disappointment with the book but also the feeling of ‘did we make any progress?' This was long and ranty/tangential (which is perhaps fitting for the book), and while the book did frustrate me, I enjoyed it. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one. However, if by the end of the next book, we still haven't made progress with Robin and Strike, I might call it quits. 

Ketika Edie Ledwell, dalam keadaan panik dan awut-awutan, muncul di kantor biro detektif serta meminta berbicara dengannya, Robin Ellacott tidak yakin bagaimana harus menangani situasi tersebut. Edie, kokreator kartun populer The Ink Black Heart, dipersekusi oleh sosok online misterius yang menggunakan nama samaran Anomie. Dia ingin mengetahui identitas Anomie yang sebenarnya. Robin memutuskan bahwa biro detektif mereka tidak dapat membantu Edie—dan Robin tidak memikirkannya lagi hingga beberapa hari kemudian dia membaca berita mengejutkan bahwa Edie Ledwell telah dibunuh di Highgate Cemetery, lokasi The Ink Black Heart. Robin dan partner bisnisnya, Cormoran Strike, terseret dalam upaya keras mengungkap identitas sejati Anomie. Namun, dunia daring yang kompleks dan ruwet penuh nama alias, sementara kepentingan bisnis serta konflik keluarga mesti dihadapi, Strike dan Robin terlibat kasus yang menguji kemampuan deduksi mereka... dan mengancam keberlangsungan hidup serta penghidupan mereka. Misteri yang cerdas dan menegangkan. The Ink Black Heart adalah karya Robert Galbraith yang membuktikan kekuatan, keterampilan, dan kecerdikannya.

[a:Robert Galbraith 383606 Robert Galbraith https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s “[b:The Ink Black Heart 59756995 The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike, #6) Robert Galbraith https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658273692l/59756995.SX50.jpg 94115574]”, the sixth instalment of this fantastic series, consisted of 1644 pages based upon my Kindle's settings. When I started reading it and saw that, I was somewhat awed. I liked where Galbraith went with this series and, thankfully, decided to go on this ride... And, wow, what a ride it was! Over the time it took me to read this, I felt drawn to this book almost non-stop. I had gotten caught in this ever-moving literary maelstrom...Robin and Strike investigate the identity of a toxic online persona, Anomie, and the brutal murder of a young cartoonist, Edie Ledwell, and her co-creator, Josh Blay, the latter barely surviving the same attack. Anomie who has in turn co-created a fan-made game to the eponymous cartoon “The Inkblack Heart” with his friend Morehouse - another pseudonym - is central to this mystery and eerily reminded me of some real people online...Strike and Robin feel what they feel for each other and the energy and tension coming from this adds greatly to the atmosphere of this brilliant book. Each part of the book is lead-in by a fitting quotation from the famous “Gray's Anatomy” and each chapter in turn starts with a short excerpt of the works of several authors, e. g. [a:Emily Dickinson 7440 Emily Dickinson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1626025785p2/7440.jpg].As in previous books, not only do we get to see how Robin and Strike (and, to some extent, their subcontractors) go about the different cases their detective agency works but also about both their private lives. This, too, helps build up the irresistible narrative strength of the novel. If only Strike and Robin talked a little more to each other...I hated some of Strike's decisions (especially the “consolation prize” he claims... Yes, I actually shouted at my Kindle.) but couldn't help but sympathise because Strike - as always - is written exceptionally well. The same applies to Robin and pretty much every other character - I felt drawn into their world and sometimes really struggled to distance myself from it. Even my mood at times reflected that of Strike or Robin. The only small downside (at least in the ebook) were the chat logs that present highly important information but are formatted rather badly and sometimes get mixed up so that I had to concentrate strongly on mentally keeping them apart. This is the publisher's fault, though, and doesn't diminish the amazing story in the least.So, this novel is clearly a total winner for me - the best in the Strike series so far. It is a piece of art and bears witness to the narrative genius of its author, Robert Galbraith.Sadly, Robert Galbraith - as we all know - is none other than Joanne K. Rowling who is very openly transphobic. Here's an excellent breakdown of the issue: https://www.glamour.com/story/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-jk-rowling-transgender-comments-controversyRoman Polanski, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby and now Joanne K. Rowling are people whose works I've loved. Richard Wagner, a horrible anti-semitist, is another prominent example of a person whom I despise but whose music is wonderful. They are different kinds of monsters and yet monsters they all are.I cannot “unlove” those works based upon what they did beyond said works.I would certainly love it if the creators of the art I love were morally upright and as loveable as their creations. I recoil whenever I'm confronted with their depravity. And, yet, I cannot break from their art.I can only speak out openly and loudly what I think: Transwomen are Women. Joanne K. Rowling should be ashamed of herself. Or, as she puts it herself:»So-called ‘cancel culture' is really no more than holding people accountable for the views they are intentionally putting out into the public sphere.«Five out of five stars for a literary masterpiece.Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam