A town and a dark forest, that’s the world according to the young man Lied. But when a stranger is captured, brought to town and lynched, it is as if Lied awakens from a long sleep: He breaks up and heads for the unknown, searching for his own story.

I’ll Be Back is dramatic and exciting, violent and beautiful, brutal and po­etic. It takes place in a mythical land­scape that makes you think of the sim­ple rules of The Old West and Kurtz’s travel into the heart of darkness.

Praise for I’ll Be Back:

“For his first short story collection (…) he was awarded Tarjei Vesaas First Book Prize – if there were a prize for second books, Sveen should get it immediately! Talent like this is few and far between. (…) Using unusually beautiful and poetic language, Sveen brings the reader to a world without hope and love, with no place to hide. How impressive.”

(Stavanger Aftenblad)

“Amidst the madness, the book is thrilling, and the language flows as it should in a Vesaas Prize winner.”

(Fædrelandsvennen)

“In ‘I’ll Be Back,’ Sveen goes in a new direction, to an imaginary and twisted world that becomes as real as the inside of your hand, and that confirms that a new great author has arrived. (…) Blood drips, bullets fly, and there is plenty of momentum through the entire novel. These kind of action-paced novels often fall short if they don’t have this other level, but Sveen has talent.”

(Aftenposten)

“Lars Petter Sveen appears stylistically confident.”

(Klassekampen)

“All in all, I read the text as an allegory of the fundamental living conditions in the world. And I must say that I am fascinated by the direction Sveen has taken in book two, and still curious.”

(Dag og Tid)

“Lars Petter Sveen writes frightfully well… [He] reaches towards his idols [Vesaas, Conrad, and McCarthy], and without having anything to be ashamed of.”

(Morgenbladet)