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The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

(Millennium #3)

Stieg Larsson,

Reg Keeland (Translator)

4.21 · Rating details · 571,622 Ratings · 27,682 Reviews

The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson's internationally best-selling trilogy.

Lisbeth Salander - the heart of Larsson's two previous novels - lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockhol ...more

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Hardcover, Borzoi (US), 563 pages

Published May 23rd 2010 by Knopf (first published May 2007)

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Feb 22, 2010 unknown rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2010, audiobooks, series, translated, detective-y, vote-getters, this-is-most-irregular

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 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.

...more

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Oct 24, 2009 Grace Tjan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, mystery-thriller

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 ma ...more

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Aug 01, 2013 Jayson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: author-nordic, format-translated, 500-599-pp, genre-mystery, genre-thriller, read-in-2011

(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.

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Nov 26, 2011 Shayantani Das rated it it was amazing

Dear Steig Larsson,

I absolutely hate you! But,I think I love you too. While every author has some characteristic quality, yours seem to be aggravate your readers. Ever since I picked up the 1st book of this Millennium saga, I have regretted my decision countless times. You have forced me to bang my head on the wall, pull my hair, throw your books at the end of the room, and then pick it up again and read it like a mad woman, totally forgetting the outside world. So many contradictory feelings ha Dear Steig Larsson,

I absolutely hate you! But,I think I love you too. While every author has some characteristic quality, yours seem to be aggravate your readers. Ever since I picked up the 1st book of this Millennium saga, I have regretted my decision countless times. You have forced me to bang my head on the wall, pull my hair, throw your books at the end of the room, and then pick it up again and read it like a mad woman, totally forgetting the outside world. So many contradictory feelings have kept me ap at night, and if my predictions are correct I will be thinking about you, this series and your incorrigible characters for at least 2 weeks now.

I must commend you for your qualities, though. No one has ever created such impressive and realistic female characters. Lizbeth is always an inspiration, but I think you did an excellent job with all the other characters introduced in this book too. I must also state that you achieved the impossible task of making me like Berger. Indeed, that is a miracle! When you started explaining stuff about her leaving Millennium, I was totally mad at you. I couldn’t wait to get back to Salander’s part. Yet, you went on to create such realistic incidences! Berger’s problems go nowhere near Lizbeth’s, but they seem to be problems right out of real life circumstances. Then you introduce characters like Linder and Giannini, who are in one word amazing. You stun me Larsson, with your spectacular portrayal of women! I am so impressed!

now, hold on for minute!

Do not get too pleased.

You have made life hell for me for the past two months. Do you know how irritating it has been to see this book as a permanent fixture on my bookshelf and currently reading shelf? I mean, what is the point of all the unnecessary yakking? Why the lengthy details? Why introduce characters like Salander’s twin, and that Fegarula person? And why the hell do you add sex scenes that feel so completely out of place in the story. I must also comment on how Mikael's character has become too much of a Mary Sue. Desired by all women? Why is that so? I wonder how much of you is represented through him.:P

Also, I am so glad this saga is at an end. I am glad because I am certain that if there was another book, I would surely have gone ahead and bought it; in spite of my current experience. I am glad that I won’t have to go through all of the emotional drama again, experience all the turmoil, and feel kinship for Salander.

I am happy and I am inexplicably sad.

This book was clearly not how you planned to end the series. The ending left so much scope for other stories to come after it. I feel very very sorry that there is no more of your work to read and that you will never be able to read this review (not that any author of your standing would). I feel very sad that you died without seeing what a sensation your books became, how the memorable characters you created will forever be etched into the mind of us readers.

I am happy that I am ending this year with this series but don’t disillusion yourself with the thought that I would ever reread this series.

Happy New Year!

Your reluctant fan,
Tanu ...more

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Aug 13, 2014 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nordic-noir, book-to-film

”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, sun ...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own

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

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Jun 13, 2012 Lyn rated it really liked it

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 summe ...more

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Apr 02, 2015 Kai rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, finished-series, glbt, 2017

“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. Whenev “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 ...more

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May 28, 2010 Kemper rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-mystery, scandinavian-mayhem, legal, thriller

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, w 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 ...more

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Oct 30, 2009 Georg rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: english, crime

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 ...more

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Mar 08, 2017 Ninoska Goris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Español - English

Lisbeth no está muerta, pero esta gravemente herida con una bala en el cerebro. Esta interna en el mismo centro que otro paciente muy peligroso que la persigue, Zalachenko.

Desde la cama y pese a su estado, usa sus habilidades informáticas para ayudar a Mikael en la investigación.

Mikael sabe que no puede dejar la libertad y como se encuentra Lisbeth en manos del Estado, ya que sobre ella pesan graves acusaciones.

Pero aun falta una persona mas detras de Lisbeth...

----

Lisbeth is no ...more

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Jun 13, 2010 Ellen rated it it was ok

Shelves: mysteries

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...

 D E P R E S S I O N…

  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.
...more

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Jun 14, 2010 Will Byrnes rated it really liked it

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.

Don’t even try reading this if you have not read volumes 1 and 2. T ...more

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Dec 01, 2009 David rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved the Millennium trilogy. I hate that I've now read every novel written by Steig Larsson.

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Jan 07, 2012 James rated it really liked it

Shelves: 3-multi-book-series, 1-fiction

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 life 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.

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[polldaddy poll=9719251] ...more

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Nov 21, 2008 Manny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: swedish-norwegian-and-danish, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, older-men-younger-women

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 se ...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Thom Dunn rated it really liked it

Shelves: a-own-hardcover, scandia, europe, espionage, journalism, 2011

Mr. Larsson, wherever you are, thank you for your magnificent story telling which, like your life, ended too abruptly and much too soon.

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May 31, 2010 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, owned, whodunnit

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 he 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. ...more

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Feb 06, 2014 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 21th-century, swedish, crime-mystery, literature

Luftslottet som sprängdes=The girl who kicked the hornet's nest (millennium, #3), Stieg Larsson
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و هفتم جولای سال 2016 میلادی
عنوان: دختری که با تبهکارها درافتاد - کتاب سوم؛ اثر: استیگ لارسون؛ برگردان: احمد نیازاده؛ نشر: تهران، نشر قطره، 1392؛ در 900 ص.، فروست: رمان داستان خارجی؛ شابک: 9786001197314؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان سوئدی قرن 21 م
در رمان دختری که با تبهکارها درافتاد، دستگاه امنیتی سوئد و جریانی فاسد در آن مطرح است. دو شخصیت درگیر ماجرای پیچیده سازمانها و شرکتهایی Luftslottet som sprängdes=The girl who kicked the hornet's nest (millennium, #3), Stieg Larsson
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و هفتم جولای سال 2016 میلادی
عنوان: دختری که با تبهکارها در‌افتاد - کتاب سوم؛ اثر: استیگ لارسون؛ برگردان: احمد نیازاده؛ نشر: تهران، نشر قطره، 1392؛ در ‏‫900 ص.‬، فروست: رمان داستان خارجی؛ شابک: 9786001197314؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان سوئدی قرن 21 م
در رمان دختری که با تبهکارها درافتاد، دستگاه امنیتی سوئد و جریانی فاسد در آن مطرح است. دو شخصیت درگیر ماجرای پیچیده سازمانها و شرکتهایی میشوند که به منافع ملی کشور خیانت میکنند. سازمانهایی مدیران نالایقی دارند
آدمی باید خیلی بدشانس باشد که شهرت جهانی اش و در پی آن ثروت کلانش، آنگاه به سراغش بیاید که نه روی زمین، که زیر خاک خفته باشد. شهرتی که ربطی به مرگ طرف ندارد، و اگر زنده هم بود نصیب او میشد، و بدتر از همه اینکه نوع زندگی و بی توجهی به سلامتی خویش باعث مرگی زودهنگام شده، و فرصت یک زندگی متعارف را از او گرفته است. استیگ لارسون یکی از همین بدشانسهای روزگار بودند. با زندگی نامرتبی که تنها در نوشتن خلاصه میشد. مثل یک خوره ی نوشتن، ساعتهای طولانی مشغول کار بوده، سه پاکت سیگار هم دود میکرده و اغلب گرسنه که میشده با وجود اضافه وزن، پیتزای درست و درمانی نوش جان میکرده! دست آخر هم سر پنجاه سالگی قلب او بی آنکه خبر دهد، دست صاحبش را توی پوست گردو گذاشت. هرچند هر آدم عاقلی که استیگ لارنس را میدید، چنان آینده ای را به او گوشزد میکرد، اما کو گوش شنوا. چرا که او نه تنها در نوع ادبی، مرید ریموند چندلر بود، در تخریب بدن خویش هم به او اقتدا کرده بود، که به هرحال در این مورد هم حق استادش به خوبی ادا شد. ایشان به داستانهای پلیسی و مخصوصاً آثار بزرگان این ژانر همانند: ریموند چندلر، دشیل هَمت و ... علاقه بسیار داشتند. روی جزئیات آنها تمرکز کرده، بارها آنها را خوانده و مورد بررسی قرار داده بودند، و روی ساختار داستانهای گوناگون پلیسی جنایی تسلط کامل داشتند. وقتی شروع به داستان نویسی کردند، شک نداشت که رمانی پلیسی خواهند نوشت. هرچند برخلاف سنت مرسوم ادبیات پلیسی، با رویکردی فمینیستی، یکی از کلیدی ترین شخصیتهای رمانهایش را، که مایه های حادثه ای پررنگی هم داشت، به یک زن سپرد. ایشان طرح نوشتن ده جلد رمان را در سر داشتند؛ اما تنها فرصت نوشتن سه رمان کامل: «دختری با خال کوبی اژدها»، «دختری که با آتش بازی کرد»، و «دختری که با تبهکارها درافتاد» (دختری که به لانه زنبورهای قرمز لگد زد) و یک رمان ناتمام را پیدا کرد؛ رمانی که قرار شد توسط نویسنده ای دیگر کامل شود. جالب اینکه در این زمینه نیز سرنوشتی همانند مرادش، چندلر کبیر داشت. نوشتن سه رمان نخست که تمام شد، آنها را برای «پیرات فورلگت» ناشری در سوئد، که به انتشار آثار پرفروش، شهره بوده فرستاد. ارزیابهای ناشر، بزرگترین خطای عمر خود را، با رد کردن رمانهایی مرتکب شدند، که انتشارشان اتفاقی در ادبیات داستانی سوئد محسوب شد. گویا این اتفاق همزمان با مرگ ناگهانی لارسون بود، چون مدتی بعد این دوست او بود، که دست نوشته های لارسن را که ظاهراً درست خوانده نشده بودند، پس گرفت و به ناشری دیگر سپرد. با انتشار نخستین کتاب از این مجموعه، موفقیتهای لارسون آغاز، و لحظه به لحظه فراگیرتر شد. این رمانها که به سه گانه «هزاره» شهرت پیدا کردند، با فروشی سرسام آور و رکوردشکن در سوئد، اروپا و سراسر جهان، نام نویسنده اش را سر زبانها انداختند. نویسنده ای مشهور که دیگر نبود! در سال 2008 میلادی انجمن داگر برای انتخاب برندگان بهترین اثر جنایی سال اروپا برگزار شد، استیگ لارسون سوئدی برای نوشتن رمان: «دختری با خال کوبی اژدها» تنها نامزد دریافت جایزه بود که در آن مراسم حضور نداشت. ‏ا. شربیانی ...more

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Oct 26, 2015 Councillor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-paperback, crime-mystery-thriller, rated-4-stars, read-2016, scandinavia, reviewed

Goodbye, Stieg Larsson. I have only gotten to know your books more than eleven years after your untimely death, but they will continue to have a thought-provoking impact on me and my reading experiences.

The "Millennium" series is one of the most famous Scandinavian thriller books, but only attained its status after the author's early death. While dealing with the disentanglement of a complex mystery, it can also be described as three novels full of social criticism, full of character studies and ...more

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May 24, 2015 Anna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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 βασικούς 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 σ 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 βασικούς 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!

...more

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May 19, 2017 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, negra-policíaca-misterio, sagas-trilogías

Sin duda alguna, una de las mejores trilogías que he leído.
No sé si me ha gustado más esta parte o la anterior.

La parte del juicio me ha dejado con la boca abierta, y el final ha sido perfecto.

Me da mucha pena que el autor falleciese tan pronto, me habría gustado poder disfrutar de más libros suyos.

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Mar 06, 2013 Meredith Holley rated it it was ok

Shelves: monsters, morally-superior, motherless-daughters, needs-a-sassy-gay-friend-real-bad, punching-tour, up-hill-both-ways-in-the-snow, reviewed

I find this entire series very unenjoyable, but I appreciated what I felt were academic analyses of consent and power in the first two books. Because this third installment failed to present any academic point, there was really nothing for me here. The attempt was clearly to say something about how, traditionally, women have actually fought in wars, not stayed on the sidelines fainting and tending to wounds like, I don't know, some people expect, but really the story was more about how cool wome ...more

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Dec 29, 2013 Tonkica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: moja-polica-pročitano

E, pa svaka čast Larssonu! Toliko likova, toliko događaja, toliko zavrzlama koje su na kraju savršeno povezane i razvezane! Pisca nema već više od 12 godina, ali pali i žari i dalje! Sigurna sam da je ponosan! ;)
Obavezno čitati redom, ali rekla bih i u kratkom razmaku kako bi se kvalitetno pratila radnja. Bila sam "u strahu" da mi se trilogija neće svidjeti jer je svima savršena, ali ispalo je da sam i ja u tom klubu! ;)

Na kraju bih dodala da se isplati pogledati i švedska ekranizacija trilogije ...more

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Aug 16, 2018 Abram rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, mystery-thriller

My Rating: 4.2/5
RTC

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Jul 11, 2018 Barry Cunningham rated it it was amazing

The third and final volume in the series, more like part two of The Girl Who Played with Fire, but I am not complaining these books are brilliant, fabulous story line with wonderful and colourful characters. Lisbeth Salander is a marvellous invention by the author, a very unlikely heroine, but credible all the same. I found this series totally gripping and almost unpredictable. I recommend these books to anyone who likes a good read, but especially those that like crime thrillers.

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Dec 01, 2008 The Writer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the third book in the Millenium trilogy, and - thankfully - the last, because my hands were starting to feel a bit shaky after supporting these five centimeter thick book whenever I went around in a quest to find the most comfortable spot in the apartment without being bugged by my too enthusiastic budgies.

Sadly, I couldn't say the same praise toward this one as I did to the previous two books. To begin with, I'd say this book is a must read, well if you want to know the ending of the wh This is the third book in the Millenium trilogy, and - thankfully - the last, because my hands were starting to feel a bit shaky after supporting these five centimeter thick book whenever I went around in a quest to find the most comfortable spot in the apartment without being bugged by my too enthusiastic budgies.

Sadly, I couldn't say the same praise toward this one as I did to the previous two books. To begin with, I'd say this book is a must read, well if you want to know the ending of the whole thing of course because book number 2 ends with a hanging situation that usually appeared on TV series with the words "to be continued" displayed on the screen.

Book 3 is full of conspiracy theory, intricated problems between the Swedish secret police and the government and it is fully loaded with history of Sweden - in which I have no clue whether it is accurate or it is just pure fiction. But then again, I have always hated history subject in school so perhaps this book can be particularly interesting for those who love history.

The book also tells the story on how Lisbeth Salander (that's the girl with the dragon tattoo, folks - now I begin to see the sense why naming the first book according to her body painting - because the whole millenium trilogy is indeed about her) got entangled in a much complicated situation that she had ever imagined in her life (I could only say that she's pretty lucky that she's smart, strong and brave and could figure out things by herself, if I were her, I would just act dumb the whole time LOL) and how her family tree had brought terrible misfortunes over her situation ever since she was a child until now.

I must admit that I practiced my "fast reading" method on several pages of this book (skimming the page through) because they were far too boring - and not worth to spend my time on reading them) and skipped onto the more intense story like how Blomkvist collected pieces by pieces of Salander's past in order to build a complete portrait on who Salander's mysterious father was and how it all started - and at the same time trying to avoid rogue criminals trying to shoot his ass off for his intention to publish the whole mystery in a book.

The ending, however, is satisfying. It's like the ultimate "bad-guys-go-to-jail" stuff and although I am far from a fan of happy ending, I find that the ending is just relieving, to know that things will finally be normal from now on, and Blomkvist - the journalist, that is - has to work his ass off again for a scoop (scoop: a term in journalism on an interesting subject that nobody knows, yet).

Let's say that your sleep won't be good unless you finish your reading with this last one. So why stop here if you have read the first two? Go grab the third book! ...more

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Nov 19, 2016 Mel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-stars, owned, read-in-2016

I also reviewed this book on my blog if you'd be so kind as to check it out! https://thatgirlbookworm.wordpress.co...

You can also buy a copy of this book here!

3 or 3.5. I still am undecided. My heart tells me 3.5 but my mind tells me 3 stars.

So before I start my review I want to say that this trilogy is amazing! It's a 5 star trilogy and well worth reading. My rating for this book and my following review do not in any way denounce this trilogy, I will recommend it until I die and it is definitel I also reviewed this book on my blog if you'd be so kind as to check it out! https://thatgirlbookworm.wordpress.co...

You can also buy a copy of this book here!

3 or 3.5. I still am undecided. My heart tells me 3.5 but my mind tells me 3 stars.

So before I start my review I want to say that this trilogy is amazing! It's a 5 star trilogy and well worth reading. My rating for this book and my following review do not in any way denounce this trilogy, I will recommend it until I die and it is definitely a top book of 2016.
My second before I start is that I enjoyed this book. I want to say that before I get into my review because I think my review will be largely negative but I do want to state to start I DID like this book.

So here's the thing with this book, it was BORING. Like okay so it continues exactly to the minute where book 2 cut off and I loved that and I am glad the author decided to focus this book entirely on the topics he did. But there was so much in this I had to slog through. It took me nearly a month to read this because I read other books and had no interest in this at times. I did find this happened in book 2 as well but wow this was rough. The first 400 pages consisted primarily of Swedish government intel and that just was not for me. The last 300 pages the action started and I really got into it and there was a section near the end I just COULDNT stop reading. (view spoiler)

Now, I was going to give this 4 stars. I liked the conclusion of the story and while it was boring it was still good. But I gave it 3/3.5 stars because of the characters. The characters were just as amazing as they were in the first 2 books but I feel like Larsson sacrificed them for plot. Now, granted, he had I think 6 books planned but sadly passed away after the third so MAYBE he was going to fix this, but I was extremely disappointed with what I had left of the characters at the end of the story.
---A couple spoilers incoming now---
We had 0 conclusions to any of the character's stories. Salander and Mikael were my two FAVOURITE characters of life and I secretly wished for them to have a happily ever after. Together. But instead I got a barely existing friendship. After the events of the last two books where they didn't see each other a SINGLE time (except like 2 minor interactions in the last 50 pages) I was so let down. I just don't see why Larsson sacrificed what they had like that and threw it away. Blomkvist had chemistry with TWO characters in this series, Berger and Salander. I do not like that he ended up with Figeurola and honestly that's pretty much the entire reason that I gave this 3 stars. I dislike the crappy way the characters story ARCs were done and Blomkvist ended up falling in INSTALOVE with some random character introduced to us on page 500/746. So I just didn't appreciate that. Honestly, I had no plans to read book 4, but I honestly hope this random author ends up salvaging some of the respect I had for Blomkvist and repairing the relationship between the two leads.
Also not to mention that none of the characters got any sort of closure, but I will assume this has to do with the passing of the author before the series was complete.

So I mean overall I DID enjoy this book but I had some very prominent problems. I am going to stand by my decision to call this a trilogy until I read book 4 and see how it fits into the series. ...more

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Apr 06, 2010 K rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: die-hard Milennium series fans -- just read the last 150 pages or so

Shelves: mysteriesthrillers, should-ve-been-shorter

I really enjoyed “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” which not only succeeded as an exciting thriller but contained elements of interesting characterization and relationship intrigue. Unfortunately, the Millennium series does not appear to be one which improves upon further acquaintance. “The Girl who Played with Fire” was an adequate thriller but not great, and “The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” was just plain disappointing, not to mention way too long. 743 pages?!? I wanted to put it down I really enjoyed “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” which not only succeeded as an exciting thriller but contained elements of interesting characterization and relationship intrigue. Unfortunately, the Millennium series does not appear to be one which improves upon further acquaintance. “The Girl who Played with Fire” was an adequate thriller but not great, and “The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” was just plain disappointing, not to mention way too long. 743 pages?!? I wanted to put it down at several different points, but kept plodding forward just to see if it would improve. At some points I actually wondered whether Stieg Larsson really wrote this, or whether some anonymous editor ghostwrote it just to keep the Dragon Tattoo gravy train going.

This final book in the series opens with both Salander and her evil father, Zalachenko, seriously wounded but not dead. Salander spends most of the book convalescing in the hospital and awaiting transfer to prison upon her recovery; she still manages to outsmart the bad guys here and there but her antics in this book are less frequent and a pale shadow of the prequels' action. Readers whose loyalty to the series centers around Salander will not find much to love here.

Aside from Salander’s waiting game, we observe a long series of meetings among the bad guys (Zalachenko’s protectors and those who want Salander falsely declared mentally incompetent – again), the good guys (Blomkvist, of course, and a bevy of powerful babes), and the not-evil-per-se-but-out-for-themselves guys, a.k.a. the Swedish government. Blomkvist, ever the daring crusader, has the Swedish prime minister quaking in his boots as he threatens to expose past constitutional wrongs. This leads to some unlikely cooperation between Blomkvist and some pretty powerful people, which required much suspension of disbelief. Another subplot centers around Erika Berger’s new job and some mysterious harassment she receives there. Yawn.

All of this eventually (read: after about 600 pages or so) leads up to Salander’s trial, where she stands to be punished for defending herself against the bad guys in the last book, and possibly declared mentally incompetent. The trial is the only part of the book that’s remotely interesting. Unfortunately, the denouement afterward proves nearly as boring as the rest of the book.

I’m still giving it two stars, because I guess I’m doggedly loyal to the series for some reason. Honestly, though, I would only recommend it if you’re really dying to know the rest of the story, in which case I would suggest you just read the last 150 pages or so.
...more

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Nov 04, 2014 Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: i-own-it, kickass-ladies, realistic-contemporary-fiction, killer-thriller-night, audiobook-would-recommend, 2015, book-hangover-like-whoa, lgbt-characters, always-relevant

4.5 stars, 5 stars for the trilogy as a whole

And once again, as soon as I've finished a series I want to go back and reread it to see what I missed. Probably won't happen for a good number of years at this point, but I'm so glad I had the option of the audiobook for all of these. Larsson's writing definitely took some getting used to. All three of these books fit together to form one brilliant story and I can really appreciate his commitment to it, to all of the different characters, to the inev ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Around the Year i...: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson	18	108	Sep 29, 2018 04:56PM
Thriller fans: Thrillerreeks - Millennium 3	22	16	Sep 03, 2018 12:59PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium #3) by Stieg Larsson - Starting March 26th 2018	35	18	Apr 10, 2018 04:13PM
Goodreads Librari...: Title Sort Correction	5	189	Jul 07, 2017 03:08PM
Thoughts on Blomkvist and Figuerola?	68	777	Jan 13, 2017 06:45AM
Der "Erwachsenen-...: Vergebung - 4. Abschnitt: Teil IV & Epilog	6	12	Sep 28, 2016 03:00AM
Der "Erwachsenen-...: Vergebung - 3. Abschnitt: Teil III	7	12	Sep 26, 2016 01:50AM

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About Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson

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Stieg 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 Wit ...more