The Millennium Trilogy [Box set] [Hardcover]

 

 

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Authors who are only published posthumously rarely get the attention they deserve', or any attention at all. Fortunately, such is not the case with the late Stieg Larsson's bestselling Millennium trilogy -- it starts off slow, and soon winds itself into a tight knot of tautly-written thriller and mystery elements. It's raw, bleak, intensely disturbing noir.

In "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," take-no-prisoners journalist Mikael Blomkvist has just lost his reputation, his savings and his freedom (hello, jail sentence!) after a nasty libel suit from an executive named Wennerström.

Then he's unexpectedly contacted by aged industrialist Henrik Vanger, to discover what happened to the guy's grandniece. He's offering evidence on Wennerström, so Mikael has no choice but to accept -- and as he investigates the sinister Vanger family, he joins forces with Lisbeth Salander, an eccentric, abused computer hacker. And as Mikael unearths the clues to Harriet's disappearance, he also finds some skeletons long kept buried.

"The Girl Who Played With Fire" finds Mikael investigating sex trafficking in his own country, and young girls who are sold into it. Unknown to him, Lisbeth is keeping very close tabs on his work -- especially since she was abused as a child, and now plots revenge on the sex traffickers. But when she's accused of murder and ends up on the run, Mikael must discover what lies at the core of these crimes...

"The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest" takes place directly after the second book. Lisbeth has been shot in the head, her malevolent dad Zalachenko is in the same hospital, and some nasty government forces want her locked away, as she was as a child. Her only hope lies in Mikael, who must unravel a government conspiracy formed around the young hacker...

Finally, "On Stieg Larsson" is a solid accompaniment to this trilogy -- it's a nonfiction book that compiles four essays about him along with his email exchanges with his editor. Reading his own viewpoints on his characters and books really shines a spotlight on different facets of their stories, and why he wrote them the way he did.

Larsson's books are a unique blend of old and new -- he takes the usual mystery/thriller tropes (locked room mystery, government conspiracies) and enfolds it in a ruthless, blistering look at modern Swedish society and sexual aggression. It's a dark, dangerous, unfair world where the truth is quashed, powerful forces conspire against individuals, and women are treated horribly -- usually shown via the eccentric, punky "girl with the dragon tattoo."

His prose is rather bleak and often quite gritty, and a certain brand of understated passion shines through -- the kind that feels the need to express itself even though it takes place in fiction. And while most of the first book focuses in Mikael, in the second and third Larssen's style splits in half -- one half is the more staid, ordinary perspective of Mikael and others, and the other half is the wild nihilism of Lisbeth ("If death was the black emptiness from which she had just woken up, then death was nothing to worry about. She would hardly notice the difference").

Mikael and Salander make an intriguing odd couple. He starts world-weary and demoralized that he seems to care about nothing, but regains his passion for the truth; the only downside is that he's a bit Marty Stuish, since all women seem to adore him. And Salander is a mass of hurts and quirks -- she's a vibrant, wild genius who lashes out at those who hurt women, and has been constantly tortured by those around her since childhood (even as an adult, she's forced to have a legal guardian).

Take your average thriller/mysteries, smother them in disillusioned, morally-bankrupt noir... and you'll have something like the Millennium Trilogy. A hard read, but worth the journey.

To be absolutely honest,my purchase of The Millenium Trilogy was driven by the desire to own in a fine quality edition of arguably one of the finest three books written for a very long time.Each book is stand alone and bears plaudits richly deserved.
Over the past 20 years or so,the vast majority of thriller writing has been written by "system" in that the basic plots are very similar and minor changes to people,places and times has all that has been required to produce the "next" Best Seller.
Stieg Larsson,now sadly not with us has produced an "original".Maybe the majority of purchases have been made on the back of huge publicity but these three books are without doubt a combination of fine writing,fine plots and above all very individual with writing from detailed knowledge of the subjects through personal knowledge and no doubt massive research.
It may be a long time before we see such a book let alone a trilogy of such quality.
Jo Nesbo has been designated as the next Larsson.It will need a lot more than so far written to get near.

A set of books to display proudly and a sneaky poster of other covers of the books thrown in makes this a must-have item for anybody who appreciates Stieg Larrson's incredible novels.
The supplier themself also delivered the products very quickly.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
I bought these as a Black Friday deal. Partly because they looked so nice and partly because i wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Read more

Published 1 month ago by bumbleblue

5.0 out of 5 stars Read the whole night long!
I purchased this trilogy at a special discount price, which was roughly equivalent to the separate books without extras and hardcover. Read more

Published 1 month ago by vrt

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
This is a splendid edition, bound according to the ancient art of bookbinding and at a decent price. It is a fine, readable translation of a great thriller. What more can one want?

Published 3 months ago by Heli

5.0 out of 5 stars The Millennium Trilogy - Hardback Set
Comments as follows:
- High Quality Item
- Well Presented
- Excellant Detail
- Subject Matter Engaging
- Potential Collectable Item
- No issues with... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Mr. Robert Preston Jnr

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!!!
The set is so beautiful and fits the legendary trilogy so well. The set is great I would recommend to anybody who enjoys these books. Read more

Published 13 months ago by WASP

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not great either...
Bought this as a gift for my parents. Lovely looking set.

Unfortunately two of the books had a number of bent pages, the small volume of correspondence had a page that... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Chris Bell

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I was delighted when this product arrived!

A Great present for anyone who loves the series! Well Worth it

Published 14 months ago by Mandy Murphy

5.0 out of 5 stars What an auther
Three really outstanding books that you just can't put down.When I finish them I felt cheated that there are no more to come and all the books I have read since have been good but... Read more

Published 14 months ago by cookalot

5.0 out of 5 stars Boxset Review
First, i will admitt i haven't read any of the books, i will even say that, all i know about them is the main character's name. Read more

Published 15 months ago by J. M. C. Muñoz

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stories, well told.
Stieg Larsson was a good storyteller and his so-called Millennium Trilogy characters remain compelling, especially Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, hence it's not surprising... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Joseph A. Haran Jr.

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