REVIEWS
“It should be said straight away, without in any way wanting to put a burden on [Jonathan’s] shoulders, that Swedish journalism really is crying out for his expertise. He was born into the culture that, for better or worse, shapes our world, but unlike many of the code breakers he portrays in this book, he understands the interface with the rest of society, and sees when digitality leads to a lack of contact with reality (...)
The level of detail makes my jaw drop. The portrayal of juvenile chat room cultures is invaluable, and the pedagogy – so crucial – gets the author more than a pass. You can read this without much technical knowledge.”
- Sydsvenskan
“In 2012, on the internet forum 4chan, an anonymous thread was started by the mysterious group 3301 asking people to solve a series of puzzles for a reward. With meticulous journalism, Lundberg has written a chronological sequence of events in 29 chapters about how these secret codes were cracked. Readers are taken on an exciting and gripping journey with both red herrings and solutions ranging from darknet sites, cipher keys hidden in audio clips, notes posted all over the world and a Voynich manuscript-like book that has yet to be fully translated. Once a series of codes have been solved, a new challenge is set for the following year. In the final instalment, Lundberg delves further into 3301 and who they might be. Through extensive work, Lundberg has gone through enormous amounts of material, mainly messages in chat rooms but also interviews with both researchers and code breakers. The author writes in a way that allows even the uninitiated to easily understand the problem and its solution. The book is perfect for anyone interested in mysteries, code breaking and above all excitement.”
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 (brilliant)
- BTJ
“(...) Many are the reportage books that leave too little room for background and facts, even though the format really allows it. Jonathan Lundberg's books are not among them. Instead, he manages to balance journalism with background information so that the reader leaves the book with increased knowledge of the world. This is a commendable contribution to public education.”
- Scoop
“Lundberg finds evidence that a certain person could be one of the initiators and makes contact. If he had solved the mystery, you would have already seen the headlines, but a book about 3301 is not a failure just because it offers no definitive solution. The story is so evocative that it is worth telling in its own right. As long as mysteries remain unsolved, they serve as tools for thinking and self-knowledge. Mysteries put us to work, believe it or not – and they put us in touch with rarely visited rooms within ourselves. The cicada still flies, and as long as it does, it has much more to give us than if we had caught it and pinned it down.”
- Svenska Dagbladet
“This is a book about the magic of the internet. Lundberg links the Cicada mystery's references to mysticism, philosophy and literature on the journey towards a lost internet. On the way to today's highly centralised digital world, we pass Rasputin, Jung, Crowley. Here at today's AI frontier, Gödel, Escher and Bach await (...)
Much of the book is driven forward by transcribed chat logs. Anonymous characters whose lives and behaviours we – and Lundberg – know nothing about will engage us and drive the drama forward. The non-fiction stories of the cyber world will be built from digital, forensic traces. That kind of thing is difficult, believe me. But Lundberg knows what he's doing; the source material's lack of characterisation and environmental descriptions creates space for the reader's own imagination. The conditions force good design (…)
Towards the end of ‘Cicada 3301’, the book changes shape - Lundberg himself enters the story. At first, this feels unsettling from a narrative point of view, but it turns out to be the right decision. The final reportage form links back to the aforementioned gaps and ties up some loose ends. And: we get the name of the man behind Cicada 3301. Maybe we will. That alone might bring the book international attention. Well deserved, in that case.”
- Aftonbladet
