Marina Antunes [Celluloid 11.02.09] post apocalyptic news book



Swedish author Per Wahlöö is best known for the mystery novels he co-wrote with his wife but in 1968, he published a novel unlike any of his previous work. Titled “The Steel Spring,” it is a post-apocalyptic vision of environmental collapse, economic states, a country separated from the rest of the world and the mystery of how it came to be that way.

The story centers on Commissioner Jensen, a man who has been working for the state for decades. An illness forces him to abandon his post and leave the country for medical treatment but when he tries to return, he is turned away. Using a little of his detective prowess, he manages to find his way back into the country only to find a nation with no running water, no electricity and apparently, complete desertion as the only thing on the street are the bodies of the dead. With no answers and more than a handful of questions Jensen sets off to get to the bottom of the mystery.


Sounds like a fascinating tale and one that, if all goes well, could make for a promising film. The book is currently in production with director Henry Moore Selder at the helm (this will be his first full length feature after a number of award winning short films). He is sharing co-writing duties with new comer Sara Bergmark Elfgren.

The story certainly has potential for high-brow sci-fi – especially if it doesn't get watered down for maximum box office appeal and sticks instead to the story which sounds like a nightmare an a half complete with destruction, mystery and poignant insight into the current state of the world where environmental collapse seems imminent and governments seem more concerned with money than people. Fingers crossed that it forges ahead unscathed.

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Anonymous (7 years ago) Reply

The steel spring is actually a sequel to "Murder on the 31st floor" filmed in 1983 by Wolf Gremm as "Kamikaze 1989" starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder as Jensen.

Anonymous (7 years ago) Reply

hahaha I remember that film, Kamikaze 1989!! Wicked :D
I've not read The Steel Spring, but it seems like a cool and different project

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