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Millennium #3
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
We could expect it: the Lisbeth Salander is not dead, but a bullet to the brain makes your life hangs by a thread. While it remains isolated in a hospital room under police surveillance, will share the corridor with his worst enemies: the Alexander Zalaixenko in Zala.
In Mikael Blomkvist, meanwhile, is about to publish one of his fearsome newspaper articles, which shake the Swedish society and questioned the credibility of the system security and justice in the country. And who will be in Mikael reveal the perverse connection that kept these estates with the heroine who, despite their wounds, get to use your hacking skills to get out of a trap of unimaginable dimensions. (from Google translation of default description-[translate.google.com])
In Mikael Blomkvist, meanwhile, is about to publish one of his fearsome newspaper articles, which shake the Swedish society and questioned the credibility of the system security and justice in the country. And who will be in Mikael reveal the perverse connection that kept these estates with the heroine who, despite their wounds, get to use your hacking skills to get out of a trap of unimaginable dimensions. (from Google translation of default description-[translate.google.com])
602 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2007
12832 people are currently reading
269407 people want to read
About the author
Stieg Larsson
97 books16.6k followersStieg Larsson (born as Karl Stig-Erland Larsson) was a Swedish journalist and writer who passed away in 2004.
As a journalist and editor of the magazine Expo , Larsson was active in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organisations. When he died at the age of 50, Larsson left three unpublished thrillers and unfinished manuscripts for more. The first three books ( The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest ) have since been printed as the Millenium series. These books are all bestsellers in Sweden and in several other countries, including the United States and Canada.
Witnessed a rape when he was 15, and was helpless to stop it. This event haunted him for the rest of his life. The girl being raped was named Lisbeth, which he later used as the name of the heroine on his Millenium trilogy. Sexual violence against women is also a recurring theme in his work.
Personal quote:
To exact revenge for yourself or your friends is not only a right, it's an absolute duty.
As a journalist and editor of the magazine Expo , Larsson was active in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organisations. When he died at the age of 50, Larsson left three unpublished thrillers and unfinished manuscripts for more. The first three books ( The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest ) have since been printed as the Millenium series. These books are all bestsellers in Sweden and in several other countries, including the United States and Canada.
Witnessed a rape when he was 15, and was helpless to stop it. This event haunted him for the rest of his life. The girl being raped was named Lisbeth, which he later used as the name of the heroine on his Millenium trilogy. Sexual violence against women is also a recurring theme in his work.
Personal quote:
To exact revenge for yourself or your friends is not only a right, it's an absolute duty.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32,979 reviews
January 13, 2011
These books really shouldn't work. Stieg Larsson is a very weird writer. He likes to tell us absolutely everything someone is doing. If Stieg wrote the story of my morning, it would go like this:
"Joel woke up around 7:45 a.m. and looked at the clock. He decided he didn't need to get up yet and hit the snooze button. When the alarm sounded again, he dragged himself out of bed and used the toilet. He brushed his teeth and then dressed in a blue striped shirt, black tie and flat front dress slacks he'd purchased on sale at Kohl's. He made himself a cup of coffee, fired up his 13-inch Macbook laptop and checked his email. He had 14 messages. 11 of them were advertisements from various mailing lists or spam emails encouraging him to enlarge his penis. One message was from his mother and two more were shipping notices for books he'd purchased from Amazon.com. He read the note from his mother but decided to reply later. He then deleted all the messages but the two from Amazon and closed his laptop. He sat on the couch and stared into space, drinking his coffee and thinking."
Most writers would probably start the scene several paragraphs later, when I finally get to work (that's where the real excitement happens! I check even MORE email!). (Plus it turns out I'm not even a main character.) But for some reason, this style is, I don't know, endearing instead of annoying. I love the way he tells us every time Mikael has a cigarette or what he likes on his sandwiches. And hey, at least I know what brand of cell phone everyone is using.
It's kind of weird how the series wound up being not at all what I was expecting. Book one was closest, a serial killer story that was nevertheless a weird mash-up of political potboiler and are-the-lambs-screaming-Clarice murder fun. But then book two was mostly about the internal politics of the Swedish police and media industries. And the big climax of the trilogy comes down to an incredibly extended legal thriller, Grisham-style. I assume. I've never read a John Grisham book.
But really, everyone knows why the books work, and it's because of the characters. Stieg approached the whole trilogy as a sort of manifesto about the injustices heaped upon women in Swedish society, and illustrates them via a host of compelling, level-headed, fairly well-rounded women who are fun to read about even when they spend every other page having sex with the Stieg stand-in. Everyone loves Lisbeth, of course, and this installment does a good job of fleshing out her back story and explaining how exactly one winds up a tattooed, antisocial computer-hacking genius with an insatiable hunger for revenge and Billy's pan pizza.
This is an excellent wrap-up to Lisbeth's story and the trilogy, leaving exactly one thread hanging, and a small one at that, which is remarkable considerng it's number three in a planned run of 10. It leaves Mikael and Lisbeth in a great place, and pays off pretty much everything that was established over the previous two books. That it does so with a histrionic courtroom scene, all the better.
I don't read legal thrillers but I love courtroom scenes in movies, especially when judges say stuff like "I'm going to allow it, but you'd better be going somewhere with this." No one says that here, but only because apparently you can do whatever the fuck you want in a Swedish courtroom without bothering to talk to the judge at all. On the bright side, a flustered prosecutor does break out another old chestnut --"This is highly irregular!" -- that almost makes up for it.
So, yeah, I'm a little sad that Lisbeth has stalked off to that big Ikea-furnished apartment in the sky to join her creator. And I wish Stieg didn't eat quite so many of the fatty sandwiches and Billy's pan pizzas he loved detailing so much (hey, write what you know). If book 4 never emerges from that mythical laptop, though, this is a pretty good place to end things.
"Joel woke up around 7:45 a.m. and looked at the clock. He decided he didn't need to get up yet and hit the snooze button. When the alarm sounded again, he dragged himself out of bed and used the toilet. He brushed his teeth and then dressed in a blue striped shirt, black tie and flat front dress slacks he'd purchased on sale at Kohl's. He made himself a cup of coffee, fired up his 13-inch Macbook laptop and checked his email. He had 14 messages. 11 of them were advertisements from various mailing lists or spam emails encouraging him to enlarge his penis. One message was from his mother and two more were shipping notices for books he'd purchased from Amazon.com. He read the note from his mother but decided to reply later. He then deleted all the messages but the two from Amazon and closed his laptop. He sat on the couch and stared into space, drinking his coffee and thinking."
Most writers would probably start the scene several paragraphs later, when I finally get to work (that's where the real excitement happens! I check even MORE email!). (Plus it turns out I'm not even a main character.) But for some reason, this style is, I don't know, endearing instead of annoying. I love the way he tells us every time Mikael has a cigarette or what he likes on his sandwiches. And hey, at least I know what brand of cell phone everyone is using.
It's kind of weird how the series wound up being not at all what I was expecting. Book one was closest, a serial killer story that was nevertheless a weird mash-up of political potboiler and are-the-lambs-screaming-Clarice murder fun. But then book two was mostly about the internal politics of the Swedish police and media industries. And the big climax of the trilogy comes down to an incredibly extended legal thriller, Grisham-style. I assume. I've never read a John Grisham book.
But really, everyone knows why the books work, and it's because of the characters. Stieg approached the whole trilogy as a sort of manifesto about the injustices heaped upon women in Swedish society, and illustrates them via a host of compelling, level-headed, fairly well-rounded women who are fun to read about even when they spend every other page having sex with the Stieg stand-in. Everyone loves Lisbeth, of course, and this installment does a good job of fleshing out her back story and explaining how exactly one winds up a tattooed, antisocial computer-hacking genius with an insatiable hunger for revenge and Billy's pan pizza.
This is an excellent wrap-up to Lisbeth's story and the trilogy, leaving exactly one thread hanging, and a small one at that, which is remarkable considerng it's number three in a planned run of 10. It leaves Mikael and Lisbeth in a great place, and pays off pretty much everything that was established over the previous two books. That it does so with a histrionic courtroom scene, all the better.
I don't read legal thrillers but I love courtroom scenes in movies, especially when judges say stuff like "I'm going to allow it, but you'd better be going somewhere with this." No one says that here, but only because apparently you can do whatever the fuck you want in a Swedish courtroom without bothering to talk to the judge at all. On the bright side, a flustered prosecutor does break out another old chestnut --"This is highly irregular!" -- that almost makes up for it.
So, yeah, I'm a little sad that Lisbeth has stalked off to that big Ikea-furnished apartment in the sky to join her creator. And I wish Stieg didn't eat quite so many of the fatty sandwiches and Billy's pan pizzas he loved detailing so much (hey, write what you know). If book 4 never emerges from that mythical laptop, though, this is a pretty good place to end things.
June 1, 2010
What I learned from this book (in no particular order):
1. You can use duct tapes to close up serious wounds; they keep the blood in and the germs out.
2. You can be shot in the head and STILL have photographic memory, though annoyingly, you will forget the solution to that pesky Fermat's Theorem that you have just discovered.
3. Congenital analgesia is a useful condition to have for mafia henchmen and Bond villains.
4. Muscular, one meter eighty-four tall Latina policewomen who can out-wrestle a man are HOT.
5. Middle-aged, out of shape Swedish journalists are powerful chick magnets.
6. Threesomes and other bedroom antics involving leather, especially if you are stupid enough to record them, WILL come back to haunt you.
7. “Statistics showed that the absolute majority of people who harassed women were men.” Yes, we know it, that barring a few notable exceptions, most men are SADISTIC PIGS, PERVERTS AND RAPISTS!
8. ”The majority of poison pen artists were either teenagers or the middle-aged.” Only people between 26 and 54 years of age are crazy enough to become stalkers.
9. Amazons are cool because they were willing to cut off their right breasts to be better archers. They also liked to copulate with random men to make babies.
10. Meatballs with potatoes and Lingonberry sauce are good Swedish food.
BUT SERIOUSLY,
this final book in the Millennium Trilogy is a let down compared to its predecessors. The conspirators who protected Zalachenko and committed Salander into the asylum are revealed early on in the novel, thus removing any sense of mystery. The pair of elderly, terminally ill men who lead them are so out-gunned, out-maneuvered and out-hacked by the good guys from the beginning that there is hardly any suspense left. Salander herself spent the majority of her time on a hospital bed, convalescing from the shot in the head that she received from Zalachenko. The previous books were able to succeed largely because of the peculiar originality of her character and the outrageous stunts that she pulled. With those elements missing, what is left is a rather predictable police procedural filled with tedious bureaucratic wrangling and dull talking heads. The pace picks up a bit with the trial and the novel ends with a sorely needed action piece that provides a closure to Salander’s dark past, but it is nowhere near the level of the exciting episodes that preceded it. Still, if you have read them, you will want to read this one too, if only to get a satisfying ending for Salander, Blomkvist and other characters that we have came to know from the series.
My review of
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
1. You can use duct tapes to close up serious wounds; they keep the blood in and the germs out.
2. You can be shot in the head and STILL have photographic memory, though annoyingly, you will forget the solution to that pesky Fermat's Theorem that you have just discovered.
3. Congenital analgesia is a useful condition to have for mafia henchmen and Bond villains.
4. Muscular, one meter eighty-four tall Latina policewomen who can out-wrestle a man are HOT.
5. Middle-aged, out of shape Swedish journalists are powerful chick magnets.
6. Threesomes and other bedroom antics involving leather, especially if you are stupid enough to record them, WILL come back to haunt you.
7. “Statistics showed that the absolute majority of people who harassed women were men.” Yes, we know it, that barring a few notable exceptions, most men are SADISTIC PIGS, PERVERTS AND RAPISTS!
8. ”The majority of poison pen artists were either teenagers or the middle-aged.” Only people between 26 and 54 years of age are crazy enough to become stalkers.
9. Amazons are cool because they were willing to cut off their right breasts to be better archers. They also liked to copulate with random men to make babies.
10. Meatballs with potatoes and Lingonberry sauce are good Swedish food.
BUT SERIOUSLY,
this final book in the Millennium Trilogy is a let down compared to its predecessors. The conspirators who protected Zalachenko and committed Salander into the asylum are revealed early on in the novel, thus removing any sense of mystery. The pair of elderly, terminally ill men who lead them are so out-gunned, out-maneuvered and out-hacked by the good guys from the beginning that there is hardly any suspense left. Salander herself spent the majority of her time on a hospital bed, convalescing from the shot in the head that she received from Zalachenko. The previous books were able to succeed largely because of the peculiar originality of her character and the outrageous stunts that she pulled. With those elements missing, what is left is a rather predictable police procedural filled with tedious bureaucratic wrangling and dull talking heads. The pace picks up a bit with the trial and the novel ends with a sorely needed action piece that provides a closure to Salander’s dark past, but it is nowhere near the level of the exciting episodes that preceded it. Still, if you have read them, you will want to read this one too, if only to get a satisfying ending for Salander, Blomkvist and other characters that we have came to know from the series.
My review of
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...and
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
January 26, 2022
(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: A predictable outcome with no real surprises along the way, but characters are well drawn and the pace never slows.
Notes: A predictable outcome with no real surprises along the way, but characters are well drawn and the pace never slows.
March 21, 2024
This is the third (completed) novel of what Stieg had hoped would be a ten-volume opus. At the end of the last book, Lisbeth Salander had been shot by her evil and well-toasted natural father, a former Soviet spy who had been granted immunity in Sweden in return for handing over information. We pick up the story here as she arrives at an ER with several wounds, including a bullet wound to the head, with the bullets still inside.
Stieg Larsson - 1954 - 2004 - image from Rollingstone
Don’t even try reading this if you have not read volumes 1 and 2. There are many references to characters from those tales, and one can easily get lost among the many, many named characters here. The first hundred pages or so of this book seemed to me a bit of catch-up exposition. But hey, the novel is 563 pps. A little expo won’t kill ya. Once the story gets rolling it is a locomotive, picking up steam with each chapter.
There is a diversity of action and character focus. There are the usual bedroom shenanigans, although that seemed reduced this time around. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist joins with other investigators, public and private, to get to the bottom of why the dastardly Zalachenko was officially protected for so many years, and why Lisbeth Salander was forced to pay a harsh price for his existence. Will the baddies get their comeuppance? Will Lisbeth hack into your computer, maybe get herself a new tat? Although the underlying concerns are serious, secretive, autocratic tendencies in Swedish government, wide-ranging societal hostility towards women, this is a fast-paced and riveting legal and journalistic action yarn, a page turner, populated with a wide spectrum of interesting characters. Fasten your seat-belts. Enjoy the buzz.
My reviews of the first two books in the series:
----- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
----- The Girl Who Played with Fire
Stieg Larsson - 1954 - 2004 - image from Rollingstone
Don’t even try reading this if you have not read volumes 1 and 2. There are many references to characters from those tales, and one can easily get lost among the many, many named characters here. The first hundred pages or so of this book seemed to me a bit of catch-up exposition. But hey, the novel is 563 pps. A little expo won’t kill ya. Once the story gets rolling it is a locomotive, picking up steam with each chapter.
There is a diversity of action and character focus. There are the usual bedroom shenanigans, although that seemed reduced this time around. Journalist Mikael Blomkvist joins with other investigators, public and private, to get to the bottom of why the dastardly Zalachenko was officially protected for so many years, and why Lisbeth Salander was forced to pay a harsh price for his existence. Will the baddies get their comeuppance? Will Lisbeth hack into your computer, maybe get herself a new tat? Although the underlying concerns are serious, secretive, autocratic tendencies in Swedish government, wide-ranging societal hostility towards women, this is a fast-paced and riveting legal and journalistic action yarn, a page turner, populated with a wide spectrum of interesting characters. Fasten your seat-belts. Enjoy the buzz.
My reviews of the first two books in the series:
----- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
----- The Girl Who Played with Fire
May 30, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and I feel so so bad that Mr. Stieg Larsson passed away before he could finish it the way he wanted to.
The first book bogged me down initially with a plethora of details - I was annoyed by how long it just sat on my shelf and how irritating a character Mikael Blomkvist was turning out to be. Halfway through I found myself transformed into a complete truant at school and zombie in my social life because I ignored everything and everyone until I finished reading. I had to pick up The Girl Who Played with Fire and this book immediately because of Lizbeth. She is such a compelling character it is hard to put into words my feelings for her. I am invested in her life, I want to know everything. And we never will, right? We know enough to love her, but we will never know what Larrson wanted to do with her ultimately. Because Larsson passed away soon and he initially intended to write a dozen books in this series.
My readings experiences for these books have been a steady cocktail of regret and exhilaration. I swear I am either bored to death by it, frustrated beyond words by it, or just so completely immersed in the world that I would happily sacrifice sleep, food, and human interaction to read one more page. So yes, I heavily recommend it, but with the warning that it makes you go on an emotional rollercoaster, it will make you see the world a little differently and it will fill you with sadness that this is the end.
The first book bogged me down initially with a plethora of details - I was annoyed by how long it just sat on my shelf and how irritating a character Mikael Blomkvist was turning out to be. Halfway through I found myself transformed into a complete truant at school and zombie in my social life because I ignored everything and everyone until I finished reading. I had to pick up The Girl Who Played with Fire and this book immediately because of Lizbeth. She is such a compelling character it is hard to put into words my feelings for her. I am invested in her life, I want to know everything. And we never will, right? We know enough to love her, but we will never know what Larrson wanted to do with her ultimately. Because Larsson passed away soon and he initially intended to write a dozen books in this series.
My readings experiences for these books have been a steady cocktail of regret and exhilaration. I swear I am either bored to death by it, frustrated beyond words by it, or just so completely immersed in the world that I would happily sacrifice sleep, food, and human interaction to read one more page. So yes, I heavily recommend it, but with the warning that it makes you go on an emotional rollercoaster, it will make you see the world a little differently and it will fill you with sadness that this is the end.
July 11, 2025
Rereading this was not as stressful as my first two reads so I could finally enjoy this hugely suspenseful read, chock full of jeopardy, but also the relentless force that is The girl - Lisbeth who is in Intensive Care, after being shot in the head and buried! The enemy - as revealed in The Girl Who Played with Fire, is a conspiracy going back from before Lisbeth's birth, and now they've decided to destroy her, once and for all. The support - as more evidence of Lisbeth's truths are revealed her friends, some cops, her hackers etc. decide to fight back!. The psycho - a multiple killer and on the run. The bastard - he is still alive, and just two rooms down from Lisbeth in the Intensive Care Unit! Lisbeth kicked the hornet's nest and her world has erupted!
Lisbeth's life is in utter peril from the first page to the last. Larsson somehow moves the series up another gear(!), detailing just how much damage the state can do to an individual, when you abuse said individual's rights. On the other hand Larsson shows, that in a mostly free society, how the press and other parts of a state can be used to uphold the law.
How did this book make me feel? This book made me feel great, it really did. The world of Salandar feels so real, so alive. Having multiple points of view works so well for the characterisations, which are so good, one wonders just how much time Larsson spent fine-tuning them! I like how story wise, Larsson has no compromise for intolerance, prejudice, abuse etc. None of that bullshit not-so-subtle anti-PC crap that's in some crime fiction. That's what is so great about this series for me, it has no (bullshit) compromise for bigots, abusers, criminals etc. we get to be in their heads and hear their thoughts.
The storyline is so well crafted, and kept me on tenterhooks throughout... even more so than the first two books. It felt like I was in Salander's camp, that the stakes were high, and that I personally had something to lose if they did not overcome! I would say, as in the last two books, that at times the narrator sounded like a documentary, but I feel that that's a perfect fit for this series. All teh Stats, a massive 11 out of 12.. and so currently, easily, the best book I've read this year. Just to make it clear how much I like this, this trilogy remains the best trilogy I've ever read!
2025 read, 2020 read; 2010 read
Lisbeth's life is in utter peril from the first page to the last. Larsson somehow moves the series up another gear(!), detailing just how much damage the state can do to an individual, when you abuse said individual's rights. On the other hand Larsson shows, that in a mostly free society, how the press and other parts of a state can be used to uphold the law.
How did this book make me feel? This book made me feel great, it really did. The world of Salandar feels so real, so alive. Having multiple points of view works so well for the characterisations, which are so good, one wonders just how much time Larsson spent fine-tuning them! I like how story wise, Larsson has no compromise for intolerance, prejudice, abuse etc. None of that bullshit not-so-subtle anti-PC crap that's in some crime fiction. That's what is so great about this series for me, it has no (bullshit) compromise for bigots, abusers, criminals etc. we get to be in their heads and hear their thoughts.The storyline is so well crafted, and kept me on tenterhooks throughout... even more so than the first two books. It felt like I was in Salander's camp, that the stakes were high, and that I personally had something to lose if they did not overcome! I would say, as in the last two books, that at times the narrator sounded like a documentary, but I feel that that's a perfect fit for this series. All teh Stats, a massive 11 out of 12.. and so currently, easily, the best book I've read this year. Just to make it clear how much I like this, this trilogy remains the best trilogy I've ever read!
2025 read, 2020 read; 2010 read
August 18, 2019
”Salander was afraid of no-one and nothing. She realized that she lacked the necessary imagination--and that was evidence enough that there was something wrong with her brain.”
Noomi Rapace plays Lisbeth Salander in the excellent Swedish trilogy. She takes the bad girl goth look farther than even Joan Jett.
Even if Lisbeth Salander had been raised in a “normal” environment of a white picket fence, with a swing in the backyard, a dad flipping burgers in a haze of barbecue smoke, and a smiling, sundress wearing mother, she would have been abnormal. As it was she was the daughter of a psychotic, deranged Russian father who lived under a blanket of security because he defected with secrets that the government was interested in knowing.
Zalachenko beat Lisbeth’s mother so severely that she sustained brain damage that left her nearly a vegetable. He wasn’t prosecuted. After all she was a whore, just a whore, or so they say, but then “trusted” government official can leak any information they want and have it lapped up by the media.
Lisbeth tried to kill her father.
Okay.
She tried to kill him twice, but he is a tough old bastard.
Let’s just say the environment that Lisbeth was raised in required her to embrace the more abnormal aspects of her personality to survive. So why did she try to kill her father?
”That is under investigation, but there are strong indications that he did indeed attempt to kill her. As far as we can determine at the moment, it was a case of deep antagonism in a tragically dysfunctional family.”
They are related, but they have never been anybody’s concept of a family. She also has a half brother named Niedermann who can’t feel any pain and is a genetic giant of freakish strength.
I think everyone knows the story of Stieg Larsson, the author of this trilogy. He died from a heart attack shortly after dropping off the three manuscripts for the Millennium novels with his publisher. It is imperative that readers read these books in order. If you attempted to read this one first, for instance, you would be lacking a lot of critical back story that will definitely heighten your enjoyment of the book. So no short cuts, no cutting to the end, the journey must be taken. You must take the blows along with Lisbeth so her eventual triumph will be your triumph as well.
She turned her back and pulled the hospital gown off her shoulder. She sat so that the light from the window fell on her back. He looked at her dragon. It was beautiful and professionally down, a work of art.
After a while she turned her head.
“Satisfied?”
“It’s beautiful. But it must have hurt like hell.”
“Yes,” she said. “It hurt.”
The first book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a mystery. The second one The Girl Who Played with Fire is a thriller. This one is a courtroom drama. Larsson wrote this trilogy in the evenings for entertainment purposes as an escape from the real world. He was an investigative reporter and I’m sure most of the time real life was too real for him. It was as if he were playing with different writing formats, proving that he could write one as well as another. There are rumors that his girlfriend has a partial fourth book locked up on a laptop computer until the legal issues with Larsson’s estates can be settled. I think Larsson was brimming with stories and had created a heroine, uniquely compelling, with sustainable appeal that would have kept him on the bestseller list for years.
I certainly would have been a zombie consumer of Larsson’s books, but I am content with what he gave us. It gives me shivers to think of another author conceiving their version of Salander or trying to mimic Larsson’s version. I do believe that characters should die with their creator.
So Salander is in the hospital recovering from wounds sustained near the end of book two. Her father is recovering on the same hallway. They are a mere two doors away from each other. If a hospital could ever be quiet they might have been able to hear each other breathing. Despite the critical condition of their wounds each plots the demise of the other. Each secures a weapon of what is at hand, a pen, a crutch, anything to give them a chance if the other attacks.
”Only a woman who had killed a man in battle was allowed to give up her virginity.”
Amazon women, men dream about them. They are not always pleasant dreams. Larsson did sprinkle a few facts about legends of Amazon women between chapters. How fitting, for though our heroine is a scrawny 5’1” she is without a doubt a warrior unhindered by compassion and driven to survive.
Mikael Blomkvist, the ace reporter, one of the few friends that Salander has in the world whether she wants him or not, is leading the charge for Salander to be released. As he rattles the nerve of the Säpo (Swedish Intelligence Agency), in particular the part of the organization called The Section, he discovers a government that has sanctioned too much to protect too little. He has learned a lot about how far they are willing to go to protect themselves and deftly plays a cat and mouse game with them as he prepares his lawyer sister, Anika Giannini, to defend Salander at trial.
I’ve noticed that some readers struggled with the investigative part of the novel as we see all the pieces being brought together by teams of people. Some working for Salander’s release and some working to make sure she never sees the light of day. I found it all very real, very interesting as if I were directly involved in the process. The trial is absolutely terrific.
For whatever reason Larsson throws in a subplot involving Blomkvist’s long time lover and co-worker Grika Berger. She is being stalked by a someone who obviously has a deep loathing for her. Some of the aspects of this subplot were interesting, but it was totally unnecessary to the overall plot, unless we think of Larsson as a stage manager trying to give one of his favorite actresses a few more lines in the play.
Salander has issues with authority, not surprising given how those in authority have routinely decided that she needed to be arrested, locked down in a psych ward, and disappeared altogether. Even without the bizarre circumstances that forced Salander to be an enemy of the state she would have struggled with anyone who wanted to tell her what to do.
She could never be the demure little girl in pigtails sucking on a lollipop.
She is a lesbian satanist. What? It is hard to tell which one of those words, concocted by her enemies was more alarming to them. She is certainly bi-sexual, uninhibited in sexaul matters. She is a hacker, a woman who can find out anything about anyone. She is nobody’s best friend, but it is better to be her friend than her enemy. As far as Satan is concerned, she would take his pitchfork away and impale him on his own hubris.
How to transform yourself into Lisbeth Salander. Black is your only color, your pale skin should never, ever be graced by sunlight, pierce yourself strategically all over your body, have one really cool tattoo, and keep the stone face of a Japanese samurai at all times. Your personality should always bristle with rolling tides of negative energy. Master these aspects and you are ready to intimidate the world.
As I read this book I thought about why I, like so many others, find Salander such a compelling character. I’ve certainly never met anyone like her. She is unfriendly, like handling snarled barbed wire. She is instantly suspicious of anyone who offers to help her or any cause that would require commitment. She is a lone wolf, not opposed to giving pleasure, but unwilling to ever say the words that would take a moment of delight to a level of tenderness. She tortures you with silence. She bludgeons you with negative vibes. Her moods swing between tolerable and gloomy. Her smile is like a falling star, rare; and yet, beautiful. There is something wonderful in her ability to fight the odds, to survive, to defeat, to somehow make the right friends that are willing to fight for her when she can’t fight for herself. She does need help, as painful as that is for her, to push past the wall of silent contempt that she erects between her and authority. As it turns out her voice, her story had to be told.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
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Noomi Rapace plays Lisbeth Salander in the excellent Swedish trilogy. She takes the bad girl goth look farther than even Joan Jett.
Even if Lisbeth Salander had been raised in a “normal” environment of a white picket fence, with a swing in the backyard, a dad flipping burgers in a haze of barbecue smoke, and a smiling, sundress wearing mother, she would have been abnormal. As it was she was the daughter of a psychotic, deranged Russian father who lived under a blanket of security because he defected with secrets that the government was interested in knowing.
Zalachenko beat Lisbeth’s mother so severely that she sustained brain damage that left her nearly a vegetable. He wasn’t prosecuted. After all she was a whore, just a whore, or so they say, but then “trusted” government official can leak any information they want and have it lapped up by the media.
Lisbeth tried to kill her father.
Okay.
She tried to kill him twice, but he is a tough old bastard.
Let’s just say the environment that Lisbeth was raised in required her to embrace the more abnormal aspects of her personality to survive. So why did she try to kill her father?
”That is under investigation, but there are strong indications that he did indeed attempt to kill her. As far as we can determine at the moment, it was a case of deep antagonism in a tragically dysfunctional family.”
They are related, but they have never been anybody’s concept of a family. She also has a half brother named Niedermann who can’t feel any pain and is a genetic giant of freakish strength.
I think everyone knows the story of Stieg Larsson, the author of this trilogy. He died from a heart attack shortly after dropping off the three manuscripts for the Millennium novels with his publisher. It is imperative that readers read these books in order. If you attempted to read this one first, for instance, you would be lacking a lot of critical back story that will definitely heighten your enjoyment of the book. So no short cuts, no cutting to the end, the journey must be taken. You must take the blows along with Lisbeth so her eventual triumph will be your triumph as well.
She turned her back and pulled the hospital gown off her shoulder. She sat so that the light from the window fell on her back. He looked at her dragon. It was beautiful and professionally down, a work of art.
After a while she turned her head.
“Satisfied?”
“It’s beautiful. But it must have hurt like hell.”
“Yes,” she said. “It hurt.”
The first book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a mystery. The second one The Girl Who Played with Fire is a thriller. This one is a courtroom drama. Larsson wrote this trilogy in the evenings for entertainment purposes as an escape from the real world. He was an investigative reporter and I’m sure most of the time real life was too real for him. It was as if he were playing with different writing formats, proving that he could write one as well as another. There are rumors that his girlfriend has a partial fourth book locked up on a laptop computer until the legal issues with Larsson’s estates can be settled. I think Larsson was brimming with stories and had created a heroine, uniquely compelling, with sustainable appeal that would have kept him on the bestseller list for years.
I certainly would have been a zombie consumer of Larsson’s books, but I am content with what he gave us. It gives me shivers to think of another author conceiving their version of Salander or trying to mimic Larsson’s version. I do believe that characters should die with their creator.
So Salander is in the hospital recovering from wounds sustained near the end of book two. Her father is recovering on the same hallway. They are a mere two doors away from each other. If a hospital could ever be quiet they might have been able to hear each other breathing. Despite the critical condition of their wounds each plots the demise of the other. Each secures a weapon of what is at hand, a pen, a crutch, anything to give them a chance if the other attacks.
”Only a woman who had killed a man in battle was allowed to give up her virginity.”
Amazon women, men dream about them. They are not always pleasant dreams. Larsson did sprinkle a few facts about legends of Amazon women between chapters. How fitting, for though our heroine is a scrawny 5’1” she is without a doubt a warrior unhindered by compassion and driven to survive.
Mikael Blomkvist, the ace reporter, one of the few friends that Salander has in the world whether she wants him or not, is leading the charge for Salander to be released. As he rattles the nerve of the Säpo (Swedish Intelligence Agency), in particular the part of the organization called The Section, he discovers a government that has sanctioned too much to protect too little. He has learned a lot about how far they are willing to go to protect themselves and deftly plays a cat and mouse game with them as he prepares his lawyer sister, Anika Giannini, to defend Salander at trial.
I’ve noticed that some readers struggled with the investigative part of the novel as we see all the pieces being brought together by teams of people. Some working for Salander’s release and some working to make sure she never sees the light of day. I found it all very real, very interesting as if I were directly involved in the process. The trial is absolutely terrific.
For whatever reason Larsson throws in a subplot involving Blomkvist’s long time lover and co-worker Grika Berger. She is being stalked by a someone who obviously has a deep loathing for her. Some of the aspects of this subplot were interesting, but it was totally unnecessary to the overall plot, unless we think of Larsson as a stage manager trying to give one of his favorite actresses a few more lines in the play.
Salander has issues with authority, not surprising given how those in authority have routinely decided that she needed to be arrested, locked down in a psych ward, and disappeared altogether. Even without the bizarre circumstances that forced Salander to be an enemy of the state she would have struggled with anyone who wanted to tell her what to do.
She could never be the demure little girl in pigtails sucking on a lollipop.
She is a lesbian satanist. What? It is hard to tell which one of those words, concocted by her enemies was more alarming to them. She is certainly bi-sexual, uninhibited in sexaul matters. She is a hacker, a woman who can find out anything about anyone. She is nobody’s best friend, but it is better to be her friend than her enemy. As far as Satan is concerned, she would take his pitchfork away and impale him on his own hubris.
How to transform yourself into Lisbeth Salander. Black is your only color, your pale skin should never, ever be graced by sunlight, pierce yourself strategically all over your body, have one really cool tattoo, and keep the stone face of a Japanese samurai at all times. Your personality should always bristle with rolling tides of negative energy. Master these aspects and you are ready to intimidate the world.
As I read this book I thought about why I, like so many others, find Salander such a compelling character. I’ve certainly never met anyone like her. She is unfriendly, like handling snarled barbed wire. She is instantly suspicious of anyone who offers to help her or any cause that would require commitment. She is a lone wolf, not opposed to giving pleasure, but unwilling to ever say the words that would take a moment of delight to a level of tenderness. She tortures you with silence. She bludgeons you with negative vibes. Her moods swing between tolerable and gloomy. Her smile is like a falling star, rare; and yet, beautiful. There is something wonderful in her ability to fight the odds, to survive, to defeat, to somehow make the right friends that are willing to fight for her when she can’t fight for herself. She does need help, as painful as that is for her, to push past the wall of silent contempt that she erects between her and authority. As it turns out her voice, her story had to be told.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
March 4, 2023
LA RAGAZZA CHE GIOCAVA COL FUOCO
Il film di David Fincher fa subito centro, sin dai titoli di testa: una specie di videoclip con l’intramontabile canzone dei Led Zeppelin “Immigrant Song” nella cover di Karen’O curata da Trent Reznor e Atticus Ross.
Uomini che odiano le donne, il primo della trilogia Millennium, fu un regalo di compleanno.
Da parte di chi non mi aveva mai fatto regali e che giudicavo lettrice svogliata e distratta.
Un tomo di tante pagine, nel pieno del fenomeno mediatico, proveniente dalla persona sbagliata.
È chiaro che non mi sarebbe piaciuto.
Fincher e il protagonista Daniel Craig/Mikael Blomqvist sul set davanti al monitor.
Sbagliato. Mi piacque. E mi innamorai.
E forse quell’amica non era poi davvero lettrice svogliata e distratta.
Mi piacque a tal punto che mi rifiuto di leggere i sequel non firmati da Larsson ma da Lagercrantz. Le operazioni commerciali seguenti alla sua morte prematura (infarto a 50 anni).
Robin Wright interpreta Erika Berger la direttrice della rivista per cui lavora Blomqvist.
Un personaggio come Mikael Blomkvist colpisce, e non si dimentica.
Il suo modo di fare giornalismo altrettanto. Rimanda a nobile tradizione (All the President’s Men per citare il primo titolo che mi viene a mente), spostando ancora più in là il confine di quello che un giornalista d’inchiesta può fare.
La rivista per la quale lavora, Millennium: si vorrebbe essere abbonati.
Il suo direttore, Erika Berger, magnifica sia professionalmente che nel suo dividersi tra due uomini, il marito e Blomkvist.
Trama ricca, densa, imprevedibile, piena di colpi di scena, tutti credibili.
Pagine che fanno battere il cuore soprattutto nella sua parte sinistra, quella che accoglie il nostro senso di giustizia, uguaglianza, fraternità. E libertà.
Christopher Plummer, che diventa sempre più bravo, è il patriarca della famiglia Vanger, colui che ingaggia il giornalista segugio Blomqvist. Il compenso promesso è ghiotto: le prove per sconfiggere chi lo ha denunciato vincendo la causa (per ora).
E poi c’è lei, Lisbeth, personaggio tra i personaggi, insuperabile, selvaggia e selvatica, tenera e fragile, roccia furia belva, che ha subito quello che nessuno dovrebbe subire, vittima degli uomini che odiano le donne.
Larsson anticipa brutti fenomeni che stavano crescendo in quella sua terra che istintivamente si associa alla libertà, alla modernità, alla civiltà. Fenomeni poi andati ben oltre l’inquietudine, a quelle latitudini e altrove.
Atteso con ansia, comprato la mattina del giorno in cui è uscito, finito due giorni dopo.
Non scende sotto il livello dei precedenti due, davvero una trilogia speciale.
Centinaia di pagine che si divorano come se fossero decine, senza noia né stanchezza. Grande piacere.
I due protagonisti, Daniel Craig/Mikael Blomqvist e Rooney Mara/Lisbeth Salander.
La vicenda cinematografica è curiosa.
Gli svedesi hanno voluto cimentarsi, secondo me realizzando tre fiaschi, tre copie sbiadite, con un cast improbabile, attori mai all’altezza.
Ciò nonostante quella Lisbeth Salander, Noomi Rapace, e quel Mikael Blomqvist, Mikael Nykvist hanno in qualche modo fatto strada fino a Hollywood, secondo me immeritatamente e senza mai illuminare le pellicole cui hanno partecipato.
Poi è arrivato David Fincher e il suo The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Uomini che odiano le donne, opera riuscitissima, con cast da sballo, atmosfera che si taglia col coltello, che ha lanciato una creatura stellare, Rooney Mara, perfetta Lisbeth.
A questo è seguito a distanza di sette anni un film made in USA sempre con lo zampino di Fincher (executive producer), ma ben altro esito artistico, passato piuttosto in sordina e tratto da uno dei romanzi Lagercrantz (The Girl in the Spider’s Web – Quello che non uccide). Dimenticabile.
Il film di David Fincher fa subito centro, sin dai titoli di testa: una specie di videoclip con l’intramontabile canzone dei Led Zeppelin “Immigrant Song” nella cover di Karen’O curata da Trent Reznor e Atticus Ross.
Uomini che odiano le donne, il primo della trilogia Millennium, fu un regalo di compleanno.
Da parte di chi non mi aveva mai fatto regali e che giudicavo lettrice svogliata e distratta.
Un tomo di tante pagine, nel pieno del fenomeno mediatico, proveniente dalla persona sbagliata.
È chiaro che non mi sarebbe piaciuto.
Fincher e il protagonista Daniel Craig/Mikael Blomqvist sul set davanti al monitor.
Sbagliato. Mi piacque. E mi innamorai.
E forse quell’amica non era poi davvero lettrice svogliata e distratta.
Mi piacque a tal punto che mi rifiuto di leggere i sequel non firmati da Larsson ma da Lagercrantz. Le operazioni commerciali seguenti alla sua morte prematura (infarto a 50 anni).
Robin Wright interpreta Erika Berger la direttrice della rivista per cui lavora Blomqvist.
Un personaggio come Mikael Blomkvist colpisce, e non si dimentica.
Il suo modo di fare giornalismo altrettanto. Rimanda a nobile tradizione (All the President’s Men per citare il primo titolo che mi viene a mente), spostando ancora più in là il confine di quello che un giornalista d’inchiesta può fare.
La rivista per la quale lavora, Millennium: si vorrebbe essere abbonati.
Il suo direttore, Erika Berger, magnifica sia professionalmente che nel suo dividersi tra due uomini, il marito e Blomkvist.
Trama ricca, densa, imprevedibile, piena di colpi di scena, tutti credibili.
Pagine che fanno battere il cuore soprattutto nella sua parte sinistra, quella che accoglie il nostro senso di giustizia, uguaglianza, fraternità. E libertà.
Christopher Plummer, che diventa sempre più bravo, è il patriarca della famiglia Vanger, colui che ingaggia il giornalista segugio Blomqvist. Il compenso promesso è ghiotto: le prove per sconfiggere chi lo ha denunciato vincendo la causa (per ora).
E poi c’è lei, Lisbeth, personaggio tra i personaggi, insuperabile, selvaggia e selvatica, tenera e fragile, roccia furia belva, che ha subito quello che nessuno dovrebbe subire, vittima degli uomini che odiano le donne.
Larsson anticipa brutti fenomeni che stavano crescendo in quella sua terra che istintivamente si associa alla libertà, alla modernità, alla civiltà. Fenomeni poi andati ben oltre l’inquietudine, a quelle latitudini e altrove.
Atteso con ansia, comprato la mattina del giorno in cui è uscito, finito due giorni dopo.
Non scende sotto il livello dei precedenti due, davvero una trilogia speciale.
Centinaia di pagine che si divorano come se fossero decine, senza noia né stanchezza. Grande piacere.
I due protagonisti, Daniel Craig/Mikael Blomqvist e Rooney Mara/Lisbeth Salander.
La vicenda cinematografica è curiosa.
Gli svedesi hanno voluto cimentarsi, secondo me realizzando tre fiaschi, tre copie sbiadite, con un cast improbabile, attori mai all’altezza.
Ciò nonostante quella Lisbeth Salander, Noomi Rapace, e quel Mikael Blomqvist, Mikael Nykvist hanno in qualche modo fatto strada fino a Hollywood, secondo me immeritatamente e senza mai illuminare le pellicole cui hanno partecipato.
Poi è arrivato David Fincher e il suo The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Uomini che odiano le donne, opera riuscitissima, con cast da sballo, atmosfera che si taglia col coltello, che ha lanciato una creatura stellare, Rooney Mara, perfetta Lisbeth.
A questo è seguito a distanza di sette anni un film made in USA sempre con lo zampino di Fincher (executive producer), ma ben altro esito artistico, passato piuttosto in sordina e tratto da uno dei romanzi Lagercrantz (The Girl in the Spider’s Web – Quello che non uccide). Dimenticabile.
July 7, 2022
I was literally drawn into spider’s web and enjoy to binge-read the series ( a book for each night)! They were addictive, bleak, extra dark, fast pacing, absolutely unputdownable!
After Stieg Larsson passed away, David Lagercrantz took over from where the author left things!
Honest advice: stick to the trilogy. Without Larsson’s creative writing skills, the entire Millennium installment and Salander- Blomkvist’s character stories lost its essence at the sequels!
Just like American adaptation into movies turn into biggest failure when David Fincher left the director position. ( By the way, I recommend you to watch Swedish movie adaptations . Noomi Rapace is best choice to give life to Salander)
This final book of the series: such a great conclusion to the breathtaking, heart pounding psychological thriller.
Especially trial parts are written fascinatingly. Different genres from espionage, crime thriller, thought provoking legal drama mashed up outstandingly.
I think I’m saying goodbye to Salander and Blomkvist even though I’d love to read more of their adventures. But without the real creator, the characters are doomed to vanish into thin air!
After Stieg Larsson passed away, David Lagercrantz took over from where the author left things!
Honest advice: stick to the trilogy. Without Larsson’s creative writing skills, the entire Millennium installment and Salander- Blomkvist’s character stories lost its essence at the sequels!
Just like American adaptation into movies turn into biggest failure when David Fincher left the director position. ( By the way, I recommend you to watch Swedish movie adaptations . Noomi Rapace is best choice to give life to Salander)
This final book of the series: such a great conclusion to the breathtaking, heart pounding psychological thriller.
Especially trial parts are written fascinatingly. Different genres from espionage, crime thriller, thought provoking legal drama mashed up outstandingly.
I think I’m saying goodbye to Salander and Blomkvist even though I’d love to read more of their adventures. But without the real creator, the characters are doomed to vanish into thin air!
August 2, 2017
Another short review due to glitches on GR!
Lisbeth is recovering in the hospital but she has to go to court because she is being charged with the murder of her rapist. Who cares if she did in my opinion.
Mikael and the gang are also trying to get things pinned on Lisbeth's evil father and such as well.
Lisbeth goes to trial to prove she's innocent in this matter. She's just too cool.
Fin
Lisbeth is recovering in the hospital but she has to go to court because she is being charged with the murder of her rapist. Who cares if she did in my opinion.
Mikael and the gang are also trying to get things pinned on Lisbeth's evil father and such as well.
Lisbeth goes to trial to prove she's innocent in this matter. She's just too cool.
Fin
July 10, 2017
After finishing The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, the last of the Millennium Trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson, I have a great desire to order a tray of sandwiches and coffee, fire up my 13 inch MacBook Pro, and order some Ikea furniture online.
Larsson’s crisp, journalistic, almost report-like prose is endearing rather than tedious and just as after finishing the first two, I greatly lament his passing for the selfish reason of not being able to look forward to more of his work.
This summed up the trilogy brilliantly, wrapped it all up. Larsson has created some characters that will live in world literature for some time. One aspect of this fiction that I can compare to our system in a positive light is that our statutory rules for involuntary committals require the testimony of two independent medical doctors. I was cringing throughout the final courtroom scenes as Swedish civil procedure is clearly very different from our rules, I kept waiting for an objection that never came. Still the cross examination of Teleborian by Jiannini was outstanding drama of the highest order.
Some of the descriptions of the trial are stunning. This was so much more than a spy thriller, or a murder mystery or even a legal drama, this was a fascinating character study, psychological thriller and all the other genre specific labels rolled into one.
Great book, great end to a very enjoyable series.
Larsson’s crisp, journalistic, almost report-like prose is endearing rather than tedious and just as after finishing the first two, I greatly lament his passing for the selfish reason of not being able to look forward to more of his work.
This summed up the trilogy brilliantly, wrapped it all up. Larsson has created some characters that will live in world literature for some time. One aspect of this fiction that I can compare to our system in a positive light is that our statutory rules for involuntary committals require the testimony of two independent medical doctors. I was cringing throughout the final courtroom scenes as Swedish civil procedure is clearly very different from our rules, I kept waiting for an objection that never came. Still the cross examination of Teleborian by Jiannini was outstanding drama of the highest order.
Some of the descriptions of the trial are stunning. This was so much more than a spy thriller, or a murder mystery or even a legal drama, this was a fascinating character study, psychological thriller and all the other genre specific labels rolled into one.
Great book, great end to a very enjoyable series.
February 25, 2018
“If love is liking someone an awful lot, then I suppose I'm in love with several people.”
This book is utterly outstanding. The whole trilogy is. Just totally, absolutely wrecking and mindblowing.
It's two years ago that I read The Girl Who Played with Fire, probably four since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I wanted to read book 3 right after book 2, but I went abroad for a year and didn't find the time to read it. When I returned I shied away from the sheer size of this book: 850 pages. Whenever I encounter a book this huge, I think of all the other books I could read instead.
After I finished All the Ugly and Wonderful Things (a book I can't recommend at all) I didn't know what to read next, but I was in the mood for a dark and twisted thriller or crime novel. And I finally decided to pick this one up.
I never thought Millenium #3 would pull me in like this. I mean, I knew that book 1&2 were amazing, but as I said before, a few years had passed since I last read them.
The characters alone are fantastic. While Blomkvist is a bit of a cliché, Salander is more than fascinating and the characters around these two have lots of depth. The size of the cast and the many POVs could easily be confusing, but Larsson gives them such shape and character that they are easily recognisable and very compelling. This whole book wouldn't work if it didn't have so many characters telling its story.
The plot twists killed me (and not only me). The story is captivating enough, but Larsson manages to surprise and shock you again and again and you never ever see it coming. That's the point, I guess. But still, Stieg Larsson is fantastic.
The writing has a few flaws. His dialogues, especially when there is lots of info-dumping, always go down the same way. At times, when his dialogues turn romantic, they turn cliché-like and slightly unrealistic. But I'm inclined to oversee that, especially when a book is as good as this one.
It could have been a little darker and dramatic though. Most of the time I felt almost safe. Larsson could have had me more on edge. The main characters had too much power and too much evidence in their hands. I knew they would win, I never even doubted it, and a little doubt would have made this book even more exciting.
Still, this book is perfect. I'm so excited to watch the movies now.
Find more of my books on Instagram
This book is utterly outstanding. The whole trilogy is. Just totally, absolutely wrecking and mindblowing.
It's two years ago that I read The Girl Who Played with Fire, probably four since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I wanted to read book 3 right after book 2, but I went abroad for a year and didn't find the time to read it. When I returned I shied away from the sheer size of this book: 850 pages. Whenever I encounter a book this huge, I think of all the other books I could read instead.
After I finished All the Ugly and Wonderful Things (a book I can't recommend at all) I didn't know what to read next, but I was in the mood for a dark and twisted thriller or crime novel. And I finally decided to pick this one up.
I never thought Millenium #3 would pull me in like this. I mean, I knew that book 1&2 were amazing, but as I said before, a few years had passed since I last read them.
The characters alone are fantastic. While Blomkvist is a bit of a cliché, Salander is more than fascinating and the characters around these two have lots of depth. The size of the cast and the many POVs could easily be confusing, but Larsson gives them such shape and character that they are easily recognisable and very compelling. This whole book wouldn't work if it didn't have so many characters telling its story.
The plot twists killed me (and not only me). The story is captivating enough, but Larsson manages to surprise and shock you again and again and you never ever see it coming. That's the point, I guess. But still, Stieg Larsson is fantastic.
The writing has a few flaws. His dialogues, especially when there is lots of info-dumping, always go down the same way. At times, when his dialogues turn romantic, they turn cliché-like and slightly unrealistic. But I'm inclined to oversee that, especially when a book is as good as this one.
It could have been a little darker and dramatic though. Most of the time I felt almost safe. Larsson could have had me more on edge. The main characters had too much power and too much evidence in their hands. I knew they would win, I never even doubted it, and a little doubt would have made this book even more exciting.
Still, this book is perfect. I'm so excited to watch the movies now.
Find more of my books on Instagram
June 25, 2021
Lisbeth Sander ist schwer verletzt und liegt im Krankenhaus. Sie hat einen sehr guten Schutzengel, denn trotz einer Kugel im Kopf überlebt sie und erholt sich langsam von den Operationen. Doch außer Gefahr ist sie noch lange nicht, denn ihre Feinde planen schon das nächste Komplott gegen sie. Sie soll für unzurechnungsfähig, psychisch krank und gemeingefährlich erklärt und für immer in eine psychiatrische Klinik eingewiesen werden. Ihre Gegner sind mächtig, aber sie hat auch gute Freunde, die mit allen Mitteln versuchen, Lisbeth frei zu bekommen! Allen voran ist da der Journalist Mikael Blomkvist, der alle Hebel in Bewegung setzt, die Verschwörung – die schon vor Jahren begann – endlich aufzudecken.
**
Dieses Buch bildet den Abschluss der Millennium-Trilogie. Wieder schreibt Stieg Larsson sehr ausführlich, und im ersten Drittel des Buches musste ich ein wenig kämpfen – fast hätte ich das Buch aus der Hand gelegt. Zum Teil ist es einfach etwas zu langatmig erzählt für meinen Geschmack.
Aber dann wird es doch noch einmal interessant, und es lohnt sich, dranzubleiben!
Ein guter Abschluss und eine gute Trilogie, aber ich denke, ich würde diese Bücher nicht ein zweites Mal lesen.
**
Dieses Buch bildet den Abschluss der Millennium-Trilogie. Wieder schreibt Stieg Larsson sehr ausführlich, und im ersten Drittel des Buches musste ich ein wenig kämpfen – fast hätte ich das Buch aus der Hand gelegt. Zum Teil ist es einfach etwas zu langatmig erzählt für meinen Geschmack.
Aber dann wird es doch noch einmal interessant, und es lohnt sich, dranzubleiben!
Ein guter Abschluss und eine gute Trilogie, aber ich denke, ich würde diese Bücher nicht ein zweites Mal lesen.
January 3, 2010
It seems to be unfair to rate the two first Millenium-novels by five stars and then give only three stars for the last one. On the other hand it is not fair to write two brilliant books and then publish a 600 pages long epilogue without much of a new story, either.
600 pages look like a long story, but if you skip the 300 cups of coffees Micke and his friends make, stir and drink, if you skip the complete index of the Stockholm city-map and if you skip the subplot of Erika and her stalker (which yields nothing to the main story) it boils down to 250 pages at most.
Some trivia questions you will answer completely wrong if you have not read this book:
1. If you are in hospital and your father who wants to kill you lies in the room next to you, what would you do?
a) Call the police/a friend/your lawyer for security.
b) Keep quiet and arm yourself with a pencil.
2. Imagine you are the most famous reporter in Sweden and you are after the biggest story of this otherwise story-free country. What would you do?
a) Keep my mobile switched on in case something new happens or someone needs my help.
b) Always switch it off so I have at least some rest when it’s dark outside.
3. If you are a lawyer and you are in possession of a secret document which can destroy part of the secret service (and can save the freedom of your client), what would you do?
a) I will put the only copy I have in my briefcase and take a walk.
b) I copy it several times on my hard-drive, some CDs and my USB-stick and make some further printed copies before I take a walk.
And: Where is Camilla?
600 pages look like a long story, but if you skip the 300 cups of coffees Micke and his friends make, stir and drink, if you skip the complete index of the Stockholm city-map and if you skip the subplot of Erika and her stalker (which yields nothing to the main story) it boils down to 250 pages at most.
Some trivia questions you will answer completely wrong if you have not read this book:
1. If you are in hospital and your father who wants to kill you lies in the room next to you, what would you do?
a) Call the police/a friend/your lawyer for security.
b) Keep quiet and arm yourself with a pencil.
2. Imagine you are the most famous reporter in Sweden and you are after the biggest story of this otherwise story-free country. What would you do?
a) Keep my mobile switched on in case something new happens or someone needs my help.
b) Always switch it off so I have at least some rest when it’s dark outside.
3. If you are a lawyer and you are in possession of a secret document which can destroy part of the secret service (and can save the freedom of your client), what would you do?
a) I will put the only copy I have in my briefcase and take a walk.
b) I copy it several times on my hard-drive, some CDs and my USB-stick and make some further printed copies before I take a walk.
And: Where is Camilla?
June 4, 2010
Lisbeth Salander, we hardly knew ye.
It seems like a particularly cruel joke that Steig Larsson died shortly after getting a deal to publish his Millennium Trilogy. Would he have continued on with these tales of Salander and journalist Mikeal Blomkvist if he would have lived? Unless the rumors are true about Larsson’s long-time girlfriend having a laptop with a fourth book saved on it stuck in a safety deposit box somewhere as she fights with his family over the cash cow this series has become, we gotta assume that this is the last we’ll see of Larsson’s dynamic duo. And it is a crying shame because Salander has quickly become one of my all-time favorite characters.
This one picks up almost immediately after the events of The Girl Who Played With Fire, and I can’t say much about the plot without spoiling that one. (Anyone interested in this series should read them in order if at all possible.) As the title indicates, Salander started an almighty shit storm in the last book. The anti-social, brilliant, violent, revenge-driven hacker has managed to kick off a constitutional crisis that shocks the Swedish government to the very highest levels and threatens numerous deserving douche bags with exposure of past crimes. Atta girl, Lisbeth!
Meanwhile, Blomkvist recruits a number of unlikely allies as he tries to save Lisbeth by publishing her true story as he plays a variety of dangerous cat-and-mouse games with the people trying to shut her up for good. Of course, his biggest headache will be convincing the pain-in-the-ass Salander to cooperate in trying to save herself.
Oddly enough, each book in the trilogy reads like a different type of genre story. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a traditional whodunit mystery with modern twists. The Girl Who Played With Fire was more of a fast-paced action thriller. And this one reads more like a legal suspense novel, including an incredible trial scene. There’s an overall arc to the three books with events from the first one not paying off until near the end of this one, but they have three distinct personalities.
Despite being over 550 pages, it reads quickly, but it isn’t flawless. There’s a sub-plot with Blomkvist’s friend and sometime lover Erika Berger being the victim of a stalker as she struggles with a new job as a newspaper editor that seems out of place with the rest of the book.
And there’s two other things holding this novel back. First is that the heart of the these books is the character of Salander. While Blomkvist and the supporting characters are all engaging enough, it’s Lisbeth that made these books a cut above the normal mystery/crime thrillers. But circumstances here keep Salander out of the main action for most of the story. It’s a shame that we didn’t get more of her in Larsson’s last book.
Second, even though Salander and Blomkvist are the main characters, in the three books, they’ve only got to work together directly for about half of one novel. They get very few scenes together other than that, and that odd couple aspect was a great part of the first book and their unlikely friendship is a key driver to the plots of all three novels so it’s weird to realize that they spent more time apart than together.
Despite these points, I still loved these books and their slightly off-beat structure. I only wish that Steig Larsson was alive and sitting in Sweden on a pile of money as he churned out more of these terrific thrillers
It seems like a particularly cruel joke that Steig Larsson died shortly after getting a deal to publish his Millennium Trilogy. Would he have continued on with these tales of Salander and journalist Mikeal Blomkvist if he would have lived? Unless the rumors are true about Larsson’s long-time girlfriend having a laptop with a fourth book saved on it stuck in a safety deposit box somewhere as she fights with his family over the cash cow this series has become, we gotta assume that this is the last we’ll see of Larsson’s dynamic duo. And it is a crying shame because Salander has quickly become one of my all-time favorite characters.
This one picks up almost immediately after the events of The Girl Who Played With Fire, and I can’t say much about the plot without spoiling that one. (Anyone interested in this series should read them in order if at all possible.) As the title indicates, Salander started an almighty shit storm in the last book. The anti-social, brilliant, violent, revenge-driven hacker has managed to kick off a constitutional crisis that shocks the Swedish government to the very highest levels and threatens numerous deserving douche bags with exposure of past crimes. Atta girl, Lisbeth!
Meanwhile, Blomkvist recruits a number of unlikely allies as he tries to save Lisbeth by publishing her true story as he plays a variety of dangerous cat-and-mouse games with the people trying to shut her up for good. Of course, his biggest headache will be convincing the pain-in-the-ass Salander to cooperate in trying to save herself.
Oddly enough, each book in the trilogy reads like a different type of genre story. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a traditional whodunit mystery with modern twists. The Girl Who Played With Fire was more of a fast-paced action thriller. And this one reads more like a legal suspense novel, including an incredible trial scene. There’s an overall arc to the three books with events from the first one not paying off until near the end of this one, but they have three distinct personalities.
Despite being over 550 pages, it reads quickly, but it isn’t flawless. There’s a sub-plot with Blomkvist’s friend and sometime lover Erika Berger being the victim of a stalker as she struggles with a new job as a newspaper editor that seems out of place with the rest of the book.
And there’s two other things holding this novel back. First is that the heart of the these books is the character of Salander. While Blomkvist and the supporting characters are all engaging enough, it’s Lisbeth that made these books a cut above the normal mystery/crime thrillers. But circumstances here keep Salander out of the main action for most of the story. It’s a shame that we didn’t get more of her in Larsson’s last book.
Second, even though Salander and Blomkvist are the main characters, in the three books, they’ve only got to work together directly for about half of one novel. They get very few scenes together other than that, and that odd couple aspect was a great part of the first book and their unlikely friendship is a key driver to the plots of all three novels so it’s weird to realize that they spent more time apart than together.
Despite these points, I still loved these books and their slightly off-beat structure. I only wish that Steig Larsson was alive and sitting in Sweden on a pile of money as he churned out more of these terrific thrillers
May 2, 2010
I loved the Millennium trilogy. I hate that I've now read every novel written by Steig Larsson.
December 23, 2025
Following the events of The Girl Who Played with Fire, Lizbeth is in intensive care in a hospital room only a few doors down from her abusive father.
"I'm not going to apologize for the way I've led my life."
When Lizbeth was a child, she tried to kill her father and long story short, the attempt forced Lizbeth into an institution for much of her life. Her former psychiatrist (Dr. Teleborian) abused Lizbeth when she was younger and now is attempting to re-institutionalize her.
"Salander assessed the situation and saw that it was anything but under control. Her brain was working at high speed. Click, click, click."
But then the plan goes slightly awry when her father is shot and Lizbeth manages to avoid the attempted murder.
"Don't call me crazy. I'm a survivor. I do what I have to do to survive."
Meanwhile, her writer friend (Mikael Blomkvist) is slowly realizing just how deep he and Lizbeth are. There are bugs everywhere, confidential files have walked off and there are coordinated attacks happening.
When the conspiracy reaches a fever pitch, Mikael and Lizbeth begin to wonder if there is any way out - alive or otherwise.
Whew. What an end to the original trilogy. It's been months and I'm still reeling.
"But if you want to win, you're going to have to fight."
Lisbeth is just pure badass. Mikael was amazing. The plot was insane.
There were so many crazy little details happening throughout the book that I felt like I needed to go for a reread almost immediately after finishing it - just to try to catch what I might have missed the first time through.
Overall, I feel like this trilogy is definitely worth a read. Very well done and I'm so sad that the author has passed. I wish he could have written more for us but I am so grateful for what we have.
Audiobook Comments
Read by Simon Vance and (as always) he read this one wonderfully.
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
July 8, 2023
Español - English
La historia continúa las aventuras de Lisbeth Salander y Mikael Blomkvist mientras enfrentan las consecuencias de los eventos anteriores.
El libro comienza inmediatamente después de los sucesos de la segunda novela, con Lisbeth Salander gravemente herida y hospitalizada. Mientras lucha por su vida, Lisbeth también se enfrenta a cargos criminales por los delitos que ha cometido en el pasado. Mientras tanto, Mikael Blomkvist trabaja incansablemente para desentrañar la verdad y exponer las redes de corrupción y conspiración que rodean a Lisbeth.
A medida que avanza la trama, se revelan nuevos detalles sobre el pasado de Lisbeth, incluyendo su conexión con su némesis, Zalachenko, y la misteriosa organización conocida como "La sección". Con la ayuda de sus aliados y amigos, Lisbeth y Mikael se unen para enfrentar a sus enemigos y revelar la verdad que ha sido ocultada durante mucho tiempo.
La novela explora temas de corrupción gubernamental, abuso de poder y lucha por la justicia. Además, profundiza en la complejidad de los personajes principales, revelando más capas de su personalidad y motivaciones.
A medida que Lisbeth y Mikael se enfrentan a sus enemigos, la historia alcanza su clímax con un emocionante enfrentamiento final en el palacio de las corrientes de aire. El libro cierra los hilos argumentales principales y proporciona un cierre satisfactorio para los personajes y la trama general de la trilogía "Millennium".
------
The story continues the adventures of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist as they face the consequences of previous events.
The book picks up immediately after the events of the second novel, with Lisbeth Salander severely injured and hospitalized. As she fights for her life, Lisbeth also faces criminal charges for the crimes she has committed in the past. Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist tirelessly works to unravel the truth and expose the networks of corruption and conspiracy surrounding Lisbeth.
As the plot unfolds, new details about Lisbeth's past are revealed, including her connection to her nemesis, Zalachenko, and the mysterious organization known as "The Section". With the help of their allies and friends, Lisbeth and Mikael join forces to confront their enemies and reveal the truth that has been hidden for a long time.
The novel explores themes of government corruption, abuse of power, and the fight for justice. Additionally, it delves deeper into the complexity of the main characters, revealing more layers of their personalities and motivations.
As Lisbeth and Mikael confront their enemies, the story reaches its climax with a thrilling final showdown at the hornet's nest. The book ties up the main storylines and provides a satisfying closure for the characters and the overall plot of the "Millennium" trilogy.
La historia continúa las aventuras de Lisbeth Salander y Mikael Blomkvist mientras enfrentan las consecuencias de los eventos anteriores.
El libro comienza inmediatamente después de los sucesos de la segunda novela, con Lisbeth Salander gravemente herida y hospitalizada. Mientras lucha por su vida, Lisbeth también se enfrenta a cargos criminales por los delitos que ha cometido en el pasado. Mientras tanto, Mikael Blomkvist trabaja incansablemente para desentrañar la verdad y exponer las redes de corrupción y conspiración que rodean a Lisbeth.
A medida que avanza la trama, se revelan nuevos detalles sobre el pasado de Lisbeth, incluyendo su conexión con su némesis, Zalachenko, y la misteriosa organización conocida como "La sección". Con la ayuda de sus aliados y amigos, Lisbeth y Mikael se unen para enfrentar a sus enemigos y revelar la verdad que ha sido ocultada durante mucho tiempo.
La novela explora temas de corrupción gubernamental, abuso de poder y lucha por la justicia. Además, profundiza en la complejidad de los personajes principales, revelando más capas de su personalidad y motivaciones.
A medida que Lisbeth y Mikael se enfrentan a sus enemigos, la historia alcanza su clímax con un emocionante enfrentamiento final en el palacio de las corrientes de aire. El libro cierra los hilos argumentales principales y proporciona un cierre satisfactorio para los personajes y la trama general de la trilogía "Millennium".
------
The story continues the adventures of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist as they face the consequences of previous events.
The book picks up immediately after the events of the second novel, with Lisbeth Salander severely injured and hospitalized. As she fights for her life, Lisbeth also faces criminal charges for the crimes she has committed in the past. Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist tirelessly works to unravel the truth and expose the networks of corruption and conspiracy surrounding Lisbeth.
As the plot unfolds, new details about Lisbeth's past are revealed, including her connection to her nemesis, Zalachenko, and the mysterious organization known as "The Section". With the help of their allies and friends, Lisbeth and Mikael join forces to confront their enemies and reveal the truth that has been hidden for a long time.
The novel explores themes of government corruption, abuse of power, and the fight for justice. Additionally, it delves deeper into the complexity of the main characters, revealing more layers of their personalities and motivations.
As Lisbeth and Mikael confront their enemies, the story reaches its climax with a thrilling final showdown at the hornet's nest. The book ties up the main storylines and provides a satisfying closure for the characters and the overall plot of the "Millennium" trilogy.
July 7, 2010
Edited to include link to Nora Ephron's very funny piece ("The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut") from The New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/0...
You’re probably depressed when, in the space of 3 or 4 weeks, you leave the house only when absolutely necessary, and read about 30 books – 90% of which are crap, including 15 books by Harlan Coben, a grade Z mystery writer. Even worse, you read Coben’s entire Myron Bolitar series, which is the equivalent of reading the same book nine times in a row. If you could survive it, shooting yourself in the head the same number of times might be more productive.
Of course, this helps explain my initial hostility toward David Foster Wallace's title essay, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” because—given the same assignment—I probably would have clocked just as many hours in cabin 1009, creeping out only to take far less brilliant potshots at the touristas. I get agoraphobia, and Wallace's coping strategies were just a little too familiar.
Among this book wallow, I read The Girl Who Kicks the Hornet's Nest, having read Stieg Larsson’s first two books a couple months ago. Larsson’s third book is akin to re-watching a long movie, with a somewhat predictable and semi-satisfying ending. You know what’s going to happen, so it’s just a matter of letting it unfold. Unfold may be too kind a verb. I need a verb here that conveys time passing very slowly – a bit like Marvell’s description of time in the first third of “To His Coy Mistress” when the would-be lover muses on the possibility of according two hundred years apiece to properly adoring his mistress’s breasts.
There’s really no way to spoil this book given that its outcome is pretty damn evident, but rather than provoke complaints I’ll provide some quiddity.
The Godfather I, II, and III : Forgive me for writing ill of the dead, but come on. I thought the Godfather was the male bible! You go to the mattress, you don’t sit with your back to a door, and you learn life’s lessons of violence, murder, and mayhem. For example, you figure out that if someone, like Lisbeth Salander, who can apparently do anything and makes Rambo look like an ineffective twinkie, is *theoretically* immobile you put a guard outside her hospital room, and YOU DON’T HAVE HER PATHOLOGICALLY WARPED & EQUALLY DANGEROUS FATHER TWO ROOMS AWAY. Did you learn nothing from these movies, Larsson?
Sandwiches: To borrow from My Cousin Vinny, the bad news about cholesterol has not yet reached Sweden. They eat sandwiches – morning, noon, and night, and these aren’t ordinary sandwiches, but sandwiches that are serious contenders for KFC’s double down. Throughout the first two books, and for the first third of the last book, we get a steady array of sandwiches complete with descriptions of their ingredients. One sandwich – toast with orange marmalade, cheese, and avocado – sounded so interesting that it prompted one of my few ventures out of the house so that I could get the ingredients. As awful as it sounded, it’s good. ...The others, though. Gawd. Cheese is the primary ingredient. How about a nice sandwich of cheese, caviar, and a hard-boiled egg? Cheese and liver sausage? Cheese and pickles? Cheese and liver pate?
However, the regularity with which the sandwiches surface seems to be a narrative crutch. Larsson hauls out the sandwiches whenever his characters need to ponder something ponderously. It also gives Kalle Blomkvist something to do when he’s not boinking the main characters.
Despite the serious editing needs of the third book in particular, I enjoyed the trilogy. Lisbeth Salander is an interesting character, and her slim presence in the third book contributed to its sluggish pace.
Larsson’s books are escapist literature to be sure, but a few steps up from Harlan Coben. 2.5 stars.
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2010/0...
D E P R E S S I O N…
You’re probably depressed when, in the space of 3 or 4 weeks, you leave the house only when absolutely necessary, and read about 30 books – 90% of which are crap, including 15 books by Harlan Coben, a grade Z mystery writer. Even worse, you read Coben’s entire Myron Bolitar series, which is the equivalent of reading the same book nine times in a row. If you could survive it, shooting yourself in the head the same number of times might be more productive.
Of course, this helps explain my initial hostility toward David Foster Wallace's title essay, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” because—given the same assignment—I probably would have clocked just as many hours in cabin 1009, creeping out only to take far less brilliant potshots at the touristas. I get agoraphobia, and Wallace's coping strategies were just a little too familiar.
Among this book wallow, I read The Girl Who Kicks the Hornet's Nest, having read Stieg Larsson’s first two books a couple months ago. Larsson’s third book is akin to re-watching a long movie, with a somewhat predictable and semi-satisfying ending. You know what’s going to happen, so it’s just a matter of letting it unfold. Unfold may be too kind a verb. I need a verb here that conveys time passing very slowly – a bit like Marvell’s description of time in the first third of “To His Coy Mistress” when the would-be lover muses on the possibility of according two hundred years apiece to properly adoring his mistress’s breasts.
There’s really no way to spoil this book given that its outcome is pretty damn evident, but rather than provoke complaints I’ll provide some quiddity.
The Godfather I, II, and III : Forgive me for writing ill of the dead, but come on. I thought the Godfather was the male bible! You go to the mattress, you don’t sit with your back to a door, and you learn life’s lessons of violence, murder, and mayhem. For example, you figure out that if someone, like Lisbeth Salander, who can apparently do anything and makes Rambo look like an ineffective twinkie, is *theoretically* immobile you put a guard outside her hospital room, and YOU DON’T HAVE HER PATHOLOGICALLY WARPED & EQUALLY DANGEROUS FATHER TWO ROOMS AWAY. Did you learn nothing from these movies, Larsson?
Sandwiches: To borrow from My Cousin Vinny, the bad news about cholesterol has not yet reached Sweden. They eat sandwiches – morning, noon, and night, and these aren’t ordinary sandwiches, but sandwiches that are serious contenders for KFC’s double down. Throughout the first two books, and for the first third of the last book, we get a steady array of sandwiches complete with descriptions of their ingredients. One sandwich – toast with orange marmalade, cheese, and avocado – sounded so interesting that it prompted one of my few ventures out of the house so that I could get the ingredients. As awful as it sounded, it’s good. ...The others, though. Gawd. Cheese is the primary ingredient. How about a nice sandwich of cheese, caviar, and a hard-boiled egg? Cheese and liver sausage? Cheese and pickles? Cheese and liver pate?
However, the regularity with which the sandwiches surface seems to be a narrative crutch. Larsson hauls out the sandwiches whenever his characters need to ponder something ponderously. It also gives Kalle Blomkvist something to do when he’s not boinking the main characters.
Despite the serious editing needs of the third book in particular, I enjoyed the trilogy. Lisbeth Salander is an interesting character, and her slim presence in the third book contributed to its sluggish pace.
Larsson’s books are escapist literature to be sure, but a few steps up from Harlan Coben. 2.5 stars.
July 18, 2019
The Millennium trilogy are an exceptional set of books.
It’s such a shame that Larsson wasn’t able to see the impact his characters made, but what a legacy to leave behind.
Just like I mentioned in my previous reviews for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire it was ironically the fourth book to get an adaptation to be the tipping point for me to finally pick this series up, but I’m glad that I had given a 10 year space between watching the Noomi Rapace movies and reading these.
This volume continues straight on from the previous entry and with the odds stacked against Salander, she’s really tested to the limits in this concluding part of the trilogy.
She’s easily my favourite character of the whole series!
The plot stands are tied up so neatly to a satisfying conclusion.
I’ve recently found out that Larsson had planed up to ten instalments, so I’m quite curious to see how David Lagercrantz continues this saga.
I’m not going to complain about more Lisbeth Salander!
If the other books are only half as good as this trilogy, I’m still going to find much to enjoy...
It’s such a shame that Larsson wasn’t able to see the impact his characters made, but what a legacy to leave behind.
Just like I mentioned in my previous reviews for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire it was ironically the fourth book to get an adaptation to be the tipping point for me to finally pick this series up, but I’m glad that I had given a 10 year space between watching the Noomi Rapace movies and reading these.
This volume continues straight on from the previous entry and with the odds stacked against Salander, she’s really tested to the limits in this concluding part of the trilogy.
She’s easily my favourite character of the whole series!
The plot stands are tied up so neatly to a satisfying conclusion.
I’ve recently found out that Larsson had planed up to ten instalments, so I’m quite curious to see how David Lagercrantz continues this saga.
I’m not going to complain about more Lisbeth Salander!
If the other books are only half as good as this trilogy, I’m still going to find much to enjoy...
February 1, 2020
Love these stories by the late Stieg Larsson and this is no exception! 9 of 10 stars
April 13, 2023
*threateningly swings baseball bat* We might have a severe problem if I don't get my answers for why did The Girl Who Played with Fire end like that.
4.45/5 ⭐
As with the previous two books, this one was something that just kept my heart beating madly in my chest!
In the classic Larsson style, this book was a spot-on thriller.
And may I say once again that I love Lisbeth Salander?
Yep, I do. One of the best characters I've ever come across!
4.45/5 ⭐
As with the previous two books, this one was something that just kept my heart beating madly in my chest!
In the classic Larsson style, this book was a spot-on thriller.
And may I say once again that I love Lisbeth Salander?
Yep, I do. One of the best characters I've ever come across!
May 13, 2017
Book Review
4+ of 5 stars to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third book in the trilogy written by Stieg Larsson shortly before he died. The series has been picked up by another author who's published book 4 and set to release number 5 later this year. This is my second favorite of the series, as nothing can compare to the first one, as it focused on family history and genealogy. Lisbeth is so tragic. And you want her to get revenge. And what happens to her over the course of a lifetime, let alone the last few years, is more than anyone one person should endure. No one ever should, but to inflict this on a single woman for no reason other than who her father is... awful, but it makes for intense and fantastic drama. This is a thriller of all thrillers. And when she's a victim and can't do anything to protect herself for a big piece of the time, it's a good thing she's made some friends along the way. These are not easy books to read... unparalleled violence, but an amazing pay off, assuming you are cool with getting exacting revenge in just the same violent, nasty ways. And I am, especially given what has previously happened to her. Larsson must plan his books for months... floating tons of ideas around his head, trying to decide the perfect moments to drag readers through every possible difficult moment, praying we can get satisfaction, and then... it finally happens, and you love it... but still want even more. Great series of books. Big fan of the work. Recommend to anyone who can take the brutality, sexual content and gore that comes with it.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
[polldaddy poll=9729544]
[polldaddy poll=9719251]
4+ of 5 stars to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third book in the trilogy written by Stieg Larsson shortly before he died. The series has been picked up by another author who's published book 4 and set to release number 5 later this year. This is my second favorite of the series, as nothing can compare to the first one, as it focused on family history and genealogy. Lisbeth is so tragic. And you want her to get revenge. And what happens to her over the course of a lifetime, let alone the last few years, is more than anyone one person should endure. No one ever should, but to inflict this on a single woman for no reason other than who her father is... awful, but it makes for intense and fantastic drama. This is a thriller of all thrillers. And when she's a victim and can't do anything to protect herself for a big piece of the time, it's a good thing she's made some friends along the way. These are not easy books to read... unparalleled violence, but an amazing pay off, assuming you are cool with getting exacting revenge in just the same violent, nasty ways. And I am, especially given what has previously happened to her. Larsson must plan his books for months... floating tons of ideas around his head, trying to decide the perfect moments to drag readers through every possible difficult moment, praying we can get satisfaction, and then... it finally happens, and you love it... but still want even more. Great series of books. Big fan of the work. Recommend to anyone who can take the brutality, sexual content and gore that comes with it.
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
[polldaddy poll=9729544]
[polldaddy poll=9719251]
July 12, 2022
Una última novela de la trilogía totalmente adictiva.
No hay tanto misterio como en las dos novelas precedentes, pero, en cambio, es más procedimental. Es decir, vamos siguiendo paso a paso la estrategia para desenmascarar una organización clandestina dentro de la mismísima policía secreta sueca.
Es una novela que te atrapa desde el principio y ya no puedes parar de leer.
El único pero que le pondría es que todo cuadra demasiado bien, pero lo compensa con un ritmo y una trama vertiginosos.
Ha sido tan divertido que se merece mis 5 estrellas.
He leído muy pocas sagas tan casi perfectas.
Una trilogía extraordinaria.
-------------------------------
A totally addictive final novel in the trilogy.
There is not as much mystery as in the two preceding novels, but instead it is more procedural. That is, we follow step by step the strategy to unmask a clandestine organisation within the Swedish secret police itself.
It is a novel that grabs you from the beginning and you can't stop reading.
The only drawback is that everything fits together too well, but it makes up for it with a dizzying pace and a dizzying plot.
It was so much fun that it deserves my 5 stars.
I've read very few sagas that are so nearly perfect.
An extraordinary trilogy.
No hay tanto misterio como en las dos novelas precedentes, pero, en cambio, es más procedimental. Es decir, vamos siguiendo paso a paso la estrategia para desenmascarar una organización clandestina dentro de la mismísima policía secreta sueca.
Es una novela que te atrapa desde el principio y ya no puedes parar de leer.
El único pero que le pondría es que todo cuadra demasiado bien, pero lo compensa con un ritmo y una trama vertiginosos.
Ha sido tan divertido que se merece mis 5 estrellas.
He leído muy pocas sagas tan casi perfectas.
Una trilogía extraordinaria.
-------------------------------
A totally addictive final novel in the trilogy.
There is not as much mystery as in the two preceding novels, but instead it is more procedural. That is, we follow step by step the strategy to unmask a clandestine organisation within the Swedish secret police itself.
It is a novel that grabs you from the beginning and you can't stop reading.
The only drawback is that everything fits together too well, but it makes up for it with a dizzying pace and a dizzying plot.
It was so much fun that it deserves my 5 stars.
I've read very few sagas that are so nearly perfect.
An extraordinary trilogy.
September 4, 2011
I didn't like the second volume of the trilogy as much as the first, so I was initially wary about this book. But after the first few chapters, I was reassured. Despite some obviously implausible elements (even in Sweden, would you really keep two people who had tried to kill each other on the same corridor at a hospital?) it is extremely gripping and well-written.
Having now finished the book, I can confirm that, although it's not quite as good as the first one, it is indeed a fine end to the series. It's a little difficult to give detailed comments without creating spoilers, since the plot has numerous excellent surprises which it would be a shame to reveal. So keeping to generalities, here are some of the things I particularly liked.
First, his psychology is interesting and plausible. All the main characters come across as real people, and the emotions they feel for each other develop in a plausible way. Second, he is very good at describing everyday conflict in the early 21st century Western world, where it mostly depends on being able to navigate the bureaucratic jungle and the Web. Yes, there is hand-to-hand fighting, and this is OK too, but it's much more fun to see how someone takes care of a complicated legal problem, or a colleague at work that they don't get on with, or a series of offensive emails. Last and not least, he is really and truly not afraid of strong women. Lisbeth, Erika, Monica and Annika are all credible, tough chicks, who are in many ways stronger than the men, but without thereby becoming caricatures. If you like books about alpha females (Jordan, are you reading this? :) then get started on Stieg Larsson!
_____________________________________
I was having an offline conversation with Moira about Lisbeth Salander. She complained that no one loved Lisbeth, and I replied that I loved her even more after hearing all those dismissive comments - that was the point, wasn't it?
Then, a few minutes ago, I was struck by one of those thoughts that really make you wonder why you haven't had them months earlier. Of course, Lisbeth is a Christ figure! That's why it's completely natural that hearing people revile her only strengthens my love and admiration. It couldn't be more obvious, in retrospect. She even rises from the dead.
But why have so few other people made this connection? A quick search on Google turned up nothing. Was every one else fooled, just as I was, by superficialities like her being an autistic-spectrum bisexual female hacker who's seriously into violence and covered in tattoos and piercings? I can accept that I'm that shallow, but surely other people aren't? I'd like to think so, anyway. Probably I'm just sleepy, and my internet search skills have temporarily deserted me. I'm sure Lisbeth would already have found several dozen hits.
_____________________________________
I was struck by the following passage from Flaubert's La Tentation de Saint Antoine, which I'm currently reading. Anthony is being tempted by the mysterious Ennoia:
_____________________________________
We've now watched the DVD. As with the first and second instalments, the atmosphere is perfect, and Noomi Rapace is fantastic as Lisbeth, but they have taken huge liberties with the story. Whole subplots have simply been removed. Mikael doesn't get involved with Monica, and Erika never moves to the other newspaper. In general, I was sad to see that Erika's role was so much reduced - she is one of my favourite characters in the books.
I guess there just wasn't enough time to include everything. We'll never know what would have happened if they'd turned it into six films instead of three. Maybe it would have been too slow, and in fact they made the right decision...
CORRECTION!
My kind and wonderful friend Vivi alerted me to the existence of the long version (see comment #11). It finally arrived, and we watched the first half of Män Som Hatar Kvinnor last night.
Well, I am already a total convert. Yes, a bit slow, but it's supposed to be slow - the theatrical version felt horribly rushed. Erika turns out to in be there after all. There is a really nice sexy scene with her and Mikael which perfectly reproduces the feel of the book.
I'm afraid to say though that it's not yet clear you can get it with English subtitles. The DVD we watched only has them in Scandinavian languages. But I imagine it's just a matter of time before an English-subtitled edition is released.
_____________________________________
Last night, we watched Lars von Trier's 2003 movie Dogville. I don't want to drop spoilers, but there are some interesting resonances with the Millennium trilogy; in particular, it's also possible to view Nicole Kidman's character as an unusual kind of female Christ figure, who, at least IMHO, has a certain amount in common with Salander. If you liked Millennium and haven't seen it, you may want to consider checking it out.
Having now finished the book, I can confirm that, although it's not quite as good as the first one, it is indeed a fine end to the series. It's a little difficult to give detailed comments without creating spoilers, since the plot has numerous excellent surprises which it would be a shame to reveal. So keeping to generalities, here are some of the things I particularly liked.
First, his psychology is interesting and plausible. All the main characters come across as real people, and the emotions they feel for each other develop in a plausible way. Second, he is very good at describing everyday conflict in the early 21st century Western world, where it mostly depends on being able to navigate the bureaucratic jungle and the Web. Yes, there is hand-to-hand fighting, and this is OK too, but it's much more fun to see how someone takes care of a complicated legal problem, or a colleague at work that they don't get on with, or a series of offensive emails. Last and not least, he is really and truly not afraid of strong women. Lisbeth, Erika, Monica and Annika are all credible, tough chicks, who are in many ways stronger than the men, but without thereby becoming caricatures. If you like books about alpha females (Jordan, are you reading this? :) then get started on Stieg Larsson!
_____________________________________
I was having an offline conversation with Moira about Lisbeth Salander. She complained that no one loved Lisbeth, and I replied that I loved her even more after hearing all those dismissive comments - that was the point, wasn't it?
Then, a few minutes ago, I was struck by one of those thoughts that really make you wonder why you haven't had them months earlier. Of course, Lisbeth is a Christ figure! That's why it's completely natural that hearing people revile her only strengthens my love and admiration. It couldn't be more obvious, in retrospect. She even rises from the dead.
But why have so few other people made this connection? A quick search on Google turned up nothing. Was every one else fooled, just as I was, by superficialities like her being an autistic-spectrum bisexual female hacker who's seriously into violence and covered in tattoos and piercings? I can accept that I'm that shallow, but surely other people aren't? I'd like to think so, anyway. Probably I'm just sleepy, and my internet search skills have temporarily deserted me. I'm sure Lisbeth would already have found several dozen hits.
_____________________________________
I was struck by the following passage from Flaubert's La Tentation de Saint Antoine, which I'm currently reading. Anthony is being tempted by the mysterious Ennoia:
Innocent comme le Christ, qui est mort pour les hommes, elle s'est dévouée pour les femmes. Car l'impuissance de Jéhovah se démontre par la transgression d'Adam, et il faut secouer la vielle loi, antipathique à l'ordre des chose.It does sum up my argument rather well.
(Innocent as Christ, who died for all men, she cares for women. Now the impotence of Jehovah has been revealed by Adam's sin, and we must shake the old law, hateful to the order of things).
_____________________________________
We've now watched the DVD. As with the first and second instalments, the atmosphere is perfect, and Noomi Rapace is fantastic as Lisbeth, but they have taken huge liberties with the story. Whole subplots have simply been removed. Mikael doesn't get involved with Monica, and Erika never moves to the other newspaper. In general, I was sad to see that Erika's role was so much reduced - she is one of my favourite characters in the books.
I guess there just wasn't enough time to include everything. We'll never know what would have happened if they'd turned it into six films instead of three. Maybe it would have been too slow, and in fact they made the right decision...
CORRECTION!
My kind and wonderful friend Vivi alerted me to the existence of the long version (see comment #11). It finally arrived, and we watched the first half of Män Som Hatar Kvinnor last night.
Well, I am already a total convert. Yes, a bit slow, but it's supposed to be slow - the theatrical version felt horribly rushed. Erika turns out to in be there after all. There is a really nice sexy scene with her and Mikael which perfectly reproduces the feel of the book.
I'm afraid to say though that it's not yet clear you can get it with English subtitles. The DVD we watched only has them in Scandinavian languages. But I imagine it's just a matter of time before an English-subtitled edition is released.
_____________________________________
Last night, we watched Lars von Trier's 2003 movie Dogville. I don't want to drop spoilers, but there are some interesting resonances with the Millennium trilogy; in particular, it's also possible to view Nicole Kidman's character as an unusual kind of female Christ figure, who, at least IMHO, has a certain amount in common with Salander. If you liked Millennium and haven't seen it, you may want to consider checking it out.
June 16, 2010
Sarah Null woke up at 8:00. She showered, dressed, and went into the kitchen. She made some coffee and sandwiches, then she went into the living room and sat in the armchair. She opened up her Sony Vaio laptop and checked her email. There were several emails from Meghan Fang and a few from the girls in her book club. The rest were mainly junk: email coupons and the like. It wasn't until after reading her email that she logged into Goodreads.com. She took a sip of her coffee and began to write her review.
The preceding paragraph is exactly the kind of tedious detail which is written all throughout The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. It may have been that way in the previous two books also; however, it did not bother me as much in those as it did in this one. I took to counting the number of times the characters had coffee and sandwiches -- an even dozen, in addition to all the other times when the author told us the other things his characters ate for dinner and the more than a dozen times they just drank coffee. I just don't care what a character has for dinner.
The book picks up minutes after The Girl who Played with Fire leaves off, and while there are parts of it that are very fast-paced, there are many more parts that drag. Much of the plot is centered around a secret "Section" of the Swedish Secret Police. The reader is let in on the secret very early and the book is really more about watching the characters figure it out than about mystery or suspense. The lengthy chapter where the history of the Section is explained to the reader is very boring and dry.
I wonder if the flaws of this book were the result of two things: first, that Larsson was a journalist and not a novelist and therefore wrote way too many "facts" and, as I have said before, pointless details; and second, that he died before the book was published and therefore the books did not go through the same editing process that they would have had the author still been alive to rewrite.
Among some of the things that could have been edited: the aforementioned chapter on the Section, the subplot in which Erika Berger has a stalker which has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with the rest of the story and seemed to exist solely to give Berger something to do, and the romance between Mikael and a cop named Monica Figuerola. I have no problem with romantic subplots and love interests as a rule, but I do get annoyed when they seem to come out of nowhere and feel forced (when Mikael says he is falling in love with her, I wrote "Really?" in the margin).
On the positive side, when the book stuck to the main plot and the action, it was much more enjoyable. But I think it would have been better as a 300-page book.
Also: people in Sweden have weird sex lives.
The preceding paragraph is exactly the kind of tedious detail which is written all throughout The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. It may have been that way in the previous two books also; however, it did not bother me as much in those as it did in this one. I took to counting the number of times the characters had coffee and sandwiches -- an even dozen, in addition to all the other times when the author told us the other things his characters ate for dinner and the more than a dozen times they just drank coffee. I just don't care what a character has for dinner.
The book picks up minutes after The Girl who Played with Fire leaves off, and while there are parts of it that are very fast-paced, there are many more parts that drag. Much of the plot is centered around a secret "Section" of the Swedish Secret Police. The reader is let in on the secret very early and the book is really more about watching the characters figure it out than about mystery or suspense. The lengthy chapter where the history of the Section is explained to the reader is very boring and dry.
I wonder if the flaws of this book were the result of two things: first, that Larsson was a journalist and not a novelist and therefore wrote way too many "facts" and, as I have said before, pointless details; and second, that he died before the book was published and therefore the books did not go through the same editing process that they would have had the author still been alive to rewrite.
Among some of the things that could have been edited: the aforementioned chapter on the Section, the subplot in which Erika Berger has a stalker which has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with the rest of the story and seemed to exist solely to give Berger something to do, and the romance between Mikael and a cop named Monica Figuerola. I have no problem with romantic subplots and love interests as a rule, but I do get annoyed when they seem to come out of nowhere and feel forced (when Mikael says he is falling in love with her, I wrote "Really?" in the margin).
On the positive side, when the book stuck to the main plot and the action, it was much more enjoyable. But I think it would have been better as a 300-page book.
Also: people in Sweden have weird sex lives.
January 17, 2011
Mr. Larsson, wherever you are, thank you for your magnificent story telling which, like your life, ended too abruptly and much too soon.
May 28, 2019
The final instalment of the Millennium series picks up where Book 2 ends, as the main characters are in some real trouble. While some may say this is the 'best of the lot', I venture to say that Books 1 and 3 are in a tight race for this honour. It does tie up some important loose ends, but it does leave some really wide open questions from getting their deserved answers.
We get a legal sense of the Swedish system in the third book (I will be vague for those who read reviews of the entire collection before reading them), and while it mirrors the US legal system, there are some key differences. We also get some admission that womanising is not only a James Bond thing and the ladies seem to flow along the bed sheets of our main male character with abandon. Not that I am too surprised... men are dogs, no matter where they live.
Larsson has an excellent way of weaving facts he tosses out early in Book 1 and makes them highly important much later on, so you best listen or pay attention. Tons of that here... especially as it relates to the traumas of Book 1.
Oh Herr Larsson, how you died too soon, for I can see many more books coming from this trilogy. Alas, someone will have to pick up your pen and keep writing, or readers will remain forever unsated.
We get a legal sense of the Swedish system in the third book (I will be vague for those who read reviews of the entire collection before reading them), and while it mirrors the US legal system, there are some key differences. We also get some admission that womanising is not only a James Bond thing and the ladies seem to flow along the bed sheets of our main male character with abandon. Not that I am too surprised... men are dogs, no matter where they live.
Larsson has an excellent way of weaving facts he tosses out early in Book 1 and makes them highly important much later on, so you best listen or pay attention. Tons of that here... especially as it relates to the traumas of Book 1.
Oh Herr Larsson, how you died too soon, for I can see many more books coming from this trilogy. Alas, someone will have to pick up your pen and keep writing, or readers will remain forever unsated.
November 21, 2018
Ok, I went from wanting to hug Lisbeth in previous book to high fiving her in this one. Blomkvist did ok too. Ok, he did more than ok, he can have his cookie. Can they have more interaction already? And now that that chapter of her life is over, what's next?
I should probably binge the swedish movies again before reading the next book, Hollywood versions were a drag and a new one from what I hear just plain sucks.
Over and out
I should probably binge the swedish movies again before reading the next book, Hollywood versions were a drag and a new one from what I hear just plain sucks.
Over and out
July 25, 2016
Τρίτο και τελευταίο βιβλίο που έγραψε ο αδικοχαμένος Στιγκ Λάρσον πριν από 10 και βάλε χρόνια (πότε πέρασαν καλέ, πφφφ γερνάμε!), το οποίο συνεχίζεται από εκεί ακριβώς που τελείωσε το δεύτερο μέρος. Παρόλο που το πρώτο βιβλίο είναι αυτόνομο, όπου εισαγόμαστε στο Millennium και τους ��ασικούς ήρωες, τα επόμενα δύο είναι αλληλένδετα. Ευτυχώς, η ιστορία κλείνει, γιατί ο συγγραφέας πέθανε ξαφνικά από ανακοπή χωρίς να έχει επίσημα παραδώσει κάποια συνέχεια.
Για όσους δεν γνωρίζουν τα παρελκόμενα της σειράς (που είναι περισσότερα από την ίδια τη σειρά): Ο Λάρσον είχε σκοπό να γράψει πολλά βιβλία από τη σειρά Millennium και λίγες μέρες πριν το θάνατό του είχε παραδώσει τα 3 πρώτα βιβλία προς έγκριση στον εκδοτικό οίκο. Δεν είδε τίποτα τυπωμένο προτού πεθάνει, δεν ξέρω καν αν έμαθε πως η σειρά του εγκρίθηκε (παίζει να πέθανε λίγες μέρες μετά την υπογραφή των συμβολαίων, αλλά δεν παίρνω κι όρκο). Έτσι, όλο το έργο του εκδόθηκε μετά θάνατον. Το μείζον θέμα που προέκυψε είναι ότι τα δικαιώματα των βιβλίων εκμεταλλεύτηκαν οι απομακρυσμένοι από αυτόν πατέρας και αδελφός του και όχι η συμβία του, καθώς δεν ήταν παντρεμένοι για λόγους που είχαν σχέση με τη δράση του Λάρσον ενάντια σε νεοναζιστικές οργανώσεις και τις απειλές που δεχόταν από αυτούς, αλλά δεν ήθελε να μεταφέρει και στη σύντροφό του (αλήθεια, δεν υπήρχε το σύμφωνο συμβίωσης τότε στη Σουηδία;). Σε κάθε περίπτωση, οι συγγενείς με τους οποίους είχε να μιλήσει 20 χρόνια έγιναν εκατομμυριούχοι, ενώ η επί 30κονταετίας σύντροφος και σύμβουλός του κατά την έρευνα των βιβλίων (είχε δράση σε γυναικείες οργανώσεις, θέματα που διαχέονται διαρκώς στη σειρά) πήρε τα απαυτά της (όχι, δεν τις έδωσαν δεκάρα ούτε από τις πωλήσεις ούτε από τα δικαιώματα για ταινίες. Για το λόγο αυτό εγώ δεν πρόκειται ποτέ να αγοράσω τα βιβλία παρά τα δανείστηκα από τη βιβλιοθήκη, ίσως τα αγοράσω κάποτε second hand).
Σε κάθε περίπτωση, το βιβλίο είναι ένα πολιτικό – κοινωνικό – οικονομικό – δικαστικό θρίλερ, που εμπλέκει την αντικατασκοπία, τη μυστική αστυνομία, την κανονική αστυνομία, δημοσιογράφους, χάκερ, σεκιουριτάδες, κρατικούς και κοινωνικούς λειτουργούς, προκειμένου να επιλύσουν το πρόβλημα που ενέκυψε με τον πατέρα της Λίσμπεθ Σαλάντερ στο δεύτερο βιβλίο, ενάντια σε μια καλά οργανωμένη σκευωρία. Εδώ δεν ασχολούνται με το οργανωμένο έγκλημα, αλλά με κρατικά μυστικά και κρυφές υπηρεσίες που δημιουργούν προβλήματα, καταπατούν δικαιώματα πολιτών και δεν διστάζουν ακόμα και μπροστά στο φόνο.
Στα τρία του βιβλία, επομένως, ο Λάρσον βγάζει στο φως όλα τα ψεγάδια της Σουηδικής κοινωνίας – οικονομικά εγκλήματα στο πρώτο, τράφικιγκ στο δεύτερο, Ασφάλεια στο τρίτο. Εντύπωση μου προκάλεσε η ενδοοικογενειακή βία που ασκείται στη Σουηδία και ο μισογυνισμός πολλών – κατά τα άλλα προοδευτικών – Σουηδών. Εκτός από τις παλαιότερες γνωστές ιστορίες της σειράς, ακόμα και σε αυτό το βιβλίο η Έρικα Μπέργκερ βρίσκεται κάποια στιγμή σε ένα χώρο εργασίας όπου σε ανώτερες θέσεις δεν υπάρχουν γυναίκες, ενώ οι άνδρες – συνάδελφοι της κάνουν για κάποιο διάστημα το βίο αβίωτο με σεξιστικά σχόλια.
Όμως, η μεγάλη διαφορά της Σουηδίας από πχ την Ελλάδα, είναι ότι οι «κακοί» πληρώνουν παραδειγματικά για όσα έκαναν και διασύρονται στις τηλεοράσεις και τα μέσα. Διεφθαρμένοι άνθρωποι υπάρχουν παντού, το κράτος όμως εκεί δεν είναι διεφθαρμένο και κάθε φορά που ξεσπάει ένα σκάνδαλο πληρώνουν όλοι οι εμπλεκόμενοι. Στην Ελλάδα, αντίθετα, αν τα πράγματα είναι «πολύ ζόρικα» θα πληρώσει ένας και αυτός συνήθως θα σφαγιαστεί με το … βαμβάκι (λες και μόνος του τα οργάνωνε όλα).
Τελοσπάντων, ωραία θα ήταν να είχαμε έναν Έλληνα Λάρσον να γράφει για τα κακώς κείμενα, αλλά πολύ φοβάμαι ότι είτε θα τον είχαν σκοτώσει (πχ Γκιόλιας) είτε θα είχε κοματοποιηθεί και θα γινόταν πρόβατο κι αυτός (πχ άστο καλύτερα). Κρίμα πάντως που και ο ίδιος ο Λάρσον πέθανε, θα είχαμε δει πολλά περισσότερα από αυτόν. Μέσα στα γενικά κουτσομπολιά που είχα διαβάσει, κάπου αναφερόταν ότι η σύντροφός του στον κοινό τους υπολογιστή έχει σχεδόν έτοιμο το 4ο βιβλίο και πολλές σημειώσεις για το 5ο, αλλά δεν θέλει να τα εκδώσει από σεβασμό στη μνήμη του (διαφωνώ, αλλά δεν με ρώτησε!). Από την άλλη, ο πατέρας και ο αδελφός του προσέλαβαν έναν τύπο να γράψει τη συνέχεια, η οποία κυκλοφόρησε πέρυσι. Δεν ξέρω αν θα ήθελα να τη διαβάσω, εφόσον δεν είναι η συνέχεια του Λάρσον για τους ήρωες που αυτός δημιούργησε.
Όποιος θέλει να σχολιάσουμε είτε για τα κουτσομπολιά της οικογένειας του Λάρσον και τη συνέχεια των βιβλίων είτε για οποιοδήποτε από τα μηνύματα που μας περνά ο συγγραφέας, καλοδεχούμενα τα σχόλια!
Για όσους δεν γνωρίζουν τα παρελκόμενα της σειράς (που είναι περισσότερα από την ίδια τη σειρά): Ο Λάρσον είχε σκοπό να γράψει πολλά βιβλία από τη σειρά Millennium και λίγες μέρες πριν το θάνατό του είχε παραδώσει τα 3 πρώτα βιβλία προς έγκριση στον εκδοτικό οίκο. Δεν είδε τίποτα τυπωμένο προτού πεθάνει, δεν ξέρω καν αν έμαθε πως η σειρά του εγκρίθηκε (παίζει να πέθανε λίγες μέρες μετά την υπογραφή των συμβολαίων, αλλά δεν παίρνω κι όρκο). Έτσι, όλο το έργο του εκδόθηκε μετά θάνατον. Το μείζον θέμα που προέκυψε είναι ότι τα δικαιώματα των βιβλίων εκμεταλλεύτηκαν οι απομακρυσμένοι από αυτόν πατέρας και αδελφός του και όχι η συμβία του, καθώς δεν ήταν παντρεμένοι για λόγους που είχαν σχέση με τη δράση του Λάρσον ενάντια σε νεοναζιστικές οργανώσεις και τις απειλές που δεχόταν από αυτούς, αλλά δεν ήθελε να μεταφέρει και στη σύντροφό του (αλήθεια, δεν υπήρχε το σύμφωνο συμβίωσης τότε στη Σουηδία;). Σε κάθε περίπτωση, οι συγγενείς με τους οποίους είχε να μιλήσει 20 χρόνια έγιναν εκατομμυριούχοι, ενώ η επί 30κονταετίας σύντροφος και σύμβουλός του κατά την έρευνα των βιβλίων (είχε δράση σε γυναικείες οργανώσεις, θέματα που διαχέονται διαρκώς στη σειρά) πήρε τα απαυτά της (όχι, δεν τις έδωσαν δεκάρα ούτε από τις πωλήσεις ούτε από τα δικαιώματα για ταινίες. Για το λόγο αυτό εγώ δεν πρόκειται ποτέ να αγοράσω τα βιβλία παρά τα δανείστηκα από τη βιβλιοθήκη, ίσως τα αγοράσω κάποτε second hand).
Σε κάθε περίπτωση, το βιβλίο είναι ένα πολιτικό – κοινωνικό – οικονομικό – δικαστικό θρίλερ, που εμπλέκει την αντικατασκοπία, τη μυστική αστυνομία, την κανονική αστυνομία, δημοσιογράφους, χάκερ, σεκιουριτάδες, κρατικούς και κοινωνικούς λειτουργούς, προκειμένου να επιλύσουν το πρόβλημα που ενέκυψε με τον πατέρα της Λίσμπεθ Σαλάντερ στο δεύτερο βιβλίο, ενάντια σε μια καλά οργανωμένη σκευωρία. Εδώ δεν ασχολούνται με το οργανωμένο έγκλημα, αλλά με κρατικά μυστικά και κρυφές υπηρεσίες που δημιουργούν προβλήματα, καταπατούν δικαιώματα πολιτών και δεν διστάζουν ακόμα και μπροστά στο φόνο.
Στα τρία του βιβλία, επομένως, ο Λάρσον βγάζει στο φως όλα τα ψεγάδια της Σουηδικής κοινωνίας – οικονομικά εγκλήματα στο πρώτο, τράφικιγκ στο δεύτερο, Ασφάλεια στο τρίτο. Εντύπωση μου προκάλεσε η ενδοοικογενειακή βία που ασκείται στη Σουηδία και ο μισογυνισμός πολλών – κατά τα άλλα προοδευτικών – Σουηδών. Εκτός από τις παλαιότερες γνωστές ιστορίες της σειράς, ακόμα και σε αυτό το βιβλίο η Έρικα Μπέργκερ βρίσκεται κάποια στιγμή σε ένα χώρο εργασίας όπου σε ανώτερες θέσεις δεν υπάρχουν γυναίκες, ενώ οι άνδρες – συνάδελφοι της κάνουν για κάποιο διάστημα το βίο αβίωτο με σεξιστικά σχόλια.
Όμως, η μεγάλη διαφορά της Σουηδίας από πχ την Ελλάδα, είναι ότι οι «κακοί» πληρώνουν παραδειγματικά για όσα έκαναν και διασύρονται στις τηλεοράσεις και τα μέσα. Διεφθαρμένοι άνθρωποι υπάρχουν παντού, το κράτος όμως εκεί δεν είναι διεφθαρμένο και κάθε φορά που ξεσπάει ένα σκάνδαλο πληρώνουν όλοι οι εμπλεκόμενοι. Στην Ελλάδα, αντίθετα, αν τα πράγματα είναι «πολύ ζόρικα» θα πληρώσει ένας και αυτός συνήθως θα σφαγιαστεί με το … βαμβάκι (λες και μόνος του τα οργάνωνε όλα).
Τελοσπάντων, ωραία θα ήταν να είχαμε έναν Έλληνα Λάρσον να γράφει για τα κακώς κείμενα, αλλά πολύ φοβάμαι ότι είτε θα τον είχαν σκοτώσει (πχ Γκιόλιας) είτε θα είχε κοματοποιηθεί και θα γινόταν πρόβατο κι αυτός (πχ άστο καλύτερα). Κρίμα πάντως που και ο ίδιος ο Λάρσον πέθανε, θα είχαμε δει πολλά περισσότερα από αυτόν. Μέσα στα γενικά κουτσομπολιά που είχα διαβάσει, κάπου αναφερόταν ότι η σύντροφός του στον κοινό τους υπολογιστή έχει σχεδόν έτοιμο το 4ο βιβλίο και πολλές σημειώσεις για το 5ο, αλλά δεν θέλει να τα εκδώσει από σεβασμό στη μνήμη του (διαφωνώ, αλλά δεν με ρώτησε!). Από την άλλη, ο πατέρας και ο αδελφός του προσέλαβαν έναν τύπο να γράψει τη συνέχεια, η οποία κυκλοφόρησε πέρυσι. Δεν ξέρω αν θα ήθελα να τη διαβάσω, εφόσον δεν είναι η συνέχεια του Λάρσον για τους ήρωες που αυτός δημιούργησε.
Όποιος θέλει να σχολιάσουμε είτε για τα κουτσομπολιά της οικογένειας του Λάρσον και τη συνέχεια των βιβλίων είτε για οποιοδήποτε από τα μηνύματα που μας περνά ο συγγραφέας, καλοδεχούμενα τα σχόλια!
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