Author: Stieg Larsson
Publish Date: Sept. 16, 2009 by Knopf, 1531 pages
Rating: 3/5 as a whole series
Series: Millenium Trilogy 1-3
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
3/5
Stars
This
was an interesting read, but unfortunately it was drier than the Sahara Desert.
If one can sweat it past the first half of the book, which is a whopping 300 to
400 some odd pages, though, the action really picks up.
The
book itself begins with the hero, Mikael Blomkvist, being sued by a big shot
businessman, Wennerstrom, for libel. For those of you who don’t know what that
is, it is basically slander on paper. He is then approached by a mysterious Mr.
Vanger. The job that Mr. Henrik Vanger asks him to do is solve the cold case of his
niece, who has been dead for over 40 years. And what exactly is he willing to
pay? Vanger will do just about anything to find out what happened to Harriet,
including serve up Blomkvist’s nemesis Wennerstrom on a silver plate.
The
other plotline in this particular book is that of the heroine, Lisbeth
Salander, a spunky goth girl who is amazing with computers and has a
photographic memory. Haunted by her own dark past, she decides to help Mikael
with his quest to find the answers to Harriet’s death.
The
whole first half is, as I said, pretty dry. Mainly it’s about Blomkvist getting
the job, and getting settled in on Headestad, the island where the murder took
place. It also shows Lisbeth as she deals with her impaired mother, the waning
health of her former guardian and the chauvinistic, sadistic, Burjman who turns
out to be more of a sick bastard than even Lisbeth could have guessed.
The
second half is where it really begins to pick up however, as Blomkvist begins
to tick off suspects one by one getting closer and closer to solving the
mystery of who murdered Harriet Vanger. This is where Salander truly enters the
story and her genius is brought to light as she helps Blomkvist with the case.
As he gets closer and closer to solving the mystery; however, someone gets more
and more desperate at hiding the past.
Overall,
I would give the first half of this book a 2 and the second half of this book a
4 for an average total score of 3. If the beginning were a lot more fast-paced,
or let’s face it, a lot shorter, this book would be a lot more interesting. The
sequels - The Girl who Played with Fire and
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
- may be longer, but move more quickly and wrap the entire series up in a nice
neat bow.
4/5
Stars
Picking
up a couple of years after The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo left off, we start with our heroine Lisbeth Salander
living large after her “rewards” from helping to solve the Harriet Vanger case.
Now the owner of a multimillion kronor corporation that technically does not
exist, Salander is free to go pretty much anywhere she wants.
That is, until
she is charged for triple homicide. One of the victims was the low-down, dirty,
good-for-nothing pervert Nils Burjman, Lisbeth’s sorry excuse for a replacement
guardian from the first book. (Note:
Salander was previously considered an adult ward of the state after she was
deemed mentally incompetent for earlier behavior. Burjman had total control of
her money and made the decisions. Kind of like Brittany Spears after she had
her meltdown.) The other two victims were Dag Svensson and Mia Johansson close friends of none other than the
one and only, Mikael Blomkvist.
Another
mystery, this book deals with who killed Blomkvist’s friends and Burjman, along
with who is the mysterious Zalachenko, and his faithful sidekick Ronald
Neidermann and why Lisbeth Salander mixed into the middle of all of this.
Salander
finds herself on the run from the law for the three murders she didn't commit, and a couple of other powerful Swedish
mobsters in charge of a fairly large sex trade ring. Blomkvist, being the ever
loyal friend he is, decides to launch his own investigations into what happened
in order to clear Salander’s name. Finally, the book itself concludes with the
unveiling of what exactly happened to Salander when she was younger.
This
book is much more fast-paced than its predecessor, and even though it is almost
900 pages long, it is hard to put down. Not only is there a lot more action,
coupled with much more devious characters than Burjman, or the raving madman
who is unveiled at the end of The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo could ever be, finish the first book and you’ll find
this hard to believe.
I
would give this book a solid 4, due to its gripping storyline and the passion
that one begins to feel for both Blomkvist and for Salander. Not only that, but
after you finish this book, you have to go straight to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. The cliffhanger demands it.
4/5
Stars
**SPOILERS
BELOW**
This
book has it all – giants who can’t feel pain, crazy stalkers who are almost as
perverted as Burjman (see above), murder, sex rings, gang shootouts and one
whopping government cover up.
Picking
up moments where The Girl Who Played with
Fire left off, Salander is in critical condition. A bullet in her head, it
is hard to say whether or not she will pull through. Not only is she in the
hospital, but she also is a prisoner, with guards outside her room at all
times.
Where
Salander is no longer being sought after for the murders of Svenson, she is
still wanted for the assault of a biker gang leader, for questioning in the
murder of Burjman and for the attempted murder of Zalachenko.
Once again,
Blomkvist rushes to the rescue in order to clear Salander’s name and blow the
top off of one of the largest, oldest government conspiracies in Swedish
history. And, once again, Salander seems to be in the middle of all of it.
This
is the book where we finally find out what ‘all the evil’ is that Salander
constantly refers to in both The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl
Who Played with Fire. This is done through the introduction to one of the
most evil characters yet to make an appearance, the devious Dr. Peter
Teleborian.
I
would rank this book a solid 4 as well. This is due to all the action that
quickly moves the story line along. The only reason this book did not get a 5
is because there were way too many plots to keep track of. Where all of these
plots are extremely interesting and great page turners, it is hard to keep
track of who does what, when and how is it relevant to the overall story arc.
As
for the whole series of books, I would give it a 3. With the last half of the
first book, as well as the other two being so interesting, it is hard to get
past how large these books are. This normally does not bother me, as I read
such long books as The Stand and IT by Stephen King both of which are
over 1000 pages, but these particular books are much drier than they need to
be.
Props for Stieg Larson for being extremely detailed and thinking of every
little plot point, but he seems to drag on in plot points that are unnecessary
to the overlying story.
If
you enjoy mystery mixed with some pretty intense action and a kickass spunky
gothic girl, this is the book series for you. But if you like faster-paced
books that are quicker reads, probably want to steer clear, if anything, at
least take a break in between each one. Trust me, I read all three in a row and
it took me almost 3 and a half months, an unheard of amount of time for me to
finish a book series.
Note from us here at Book Nerd Paradise: Due to
the graphic nature of this series, we recommend these books for mature audiences
only.
Review by M.J.D.
Get it here:
