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Amazon.co.uk Review
A young girl lies in a hospital room, her tattooed body very close to death -- there is a bullet lodged in her brain. Several rooms away is the man who tried to kill her, his own body grievously wounded from axe blows inflicted by the girl he has tried to kill. She is Lisbeth Salander, computer hacker and investigator, and the man is her father, a murderous Russian gangster. If Salander recovers from her injuries, she is more than likely to be put on trial for three murders -- the authorities regard her as a dangerous individual. But she won't see the inside of a courtroom if her father manages to kill her first.
This is the high-tension opening premise of the third book in Stieg Larsson’s phenomenally successful trilogy of crime novels which the late author (a crusading journalist) delivered to his publisher just before his death. But does it match up to its two electrifying predecessors, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire? The success of Larsson’s remarkable sequence of books is, to some degree, unprecedented. Crime fiction in translation has, of course, made a mark before (notably with Peter Hoeg’s Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, published, in fact, by Larsson's British publisher, Christopher MacLehose). But even the success of that book gave no hint of the juggernauts that the Salander books would be (the late author's secondary hero is the journalist Blomqvist -- who bears more than a passing resemblance to Stieg Larsson himself).
There are two overriding reasons for the hold that this massive trilogy has attained on the public: machine-tooled plotting which juggles the various narrative elements with a master's touch and (above all) the vividly realised character of Lisbeth Salander herself. She is something of a unique creation in the field of crime and thriller fiction: emotionally damaged, vulnerable and sociopathic (all of this concealed behind a forbidding Goth appearance), but she is also the ultimate survivor, somehow managing to stay alive despite the machinations of some deeply unpleasant villains (and the new book has a slew of those) as well as the hostility of often stupid establishment figures, who want her out of the picture quite as passionately as the bad guys. She is, of course, aided by the protective journalist Blomqvist, despite the fact that she had dumped him as a lover. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest brings together all the elements that have made the previous books of the sequence so successful. Its relentless pace may be a bit exhausting for some readers, but most will be happy to strap themselves in for the ride. It's just a shame that this will be the final book in the sequence (though conspiracy theorists are hinting that Larsson began another manuscript before his untimely death…) --Barry Forshaw
Review
'A cyclonic force of a story, I experienced the same happiness and feverish excitement with which I read Dumas's Three Musketeers or the novels of Dickens… exceptional… I repeat, without any shame whatsoever: fantastic' Mario Vargas Llosa in El Pais.
'By some alchemy, Larsson has made a character who ought to be completely unbelievable into one of the most compelling and convincing in modern fiction … one wonders what Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple would make of her, but Lisbeth Salander bids fair to join them in the ranks of crime fiction's true immortals' Daily Telegraph.
'The pace rarely lets up … it's an exhilarating read … this is a strong and satisfying conclusion to a massively ambitious, richly textured trilogy' Daily Express.
'There is comparison with that other great work of contemporary entertainment, The Wire, in the rage and clarity with which injustice becomes the driver of a novel way of looking at society. Be warned: the trilogy, like The Wire, is seriously addictive.' Guardian.
'Complex, satisfying, clever, moral ... a grown-up novel for grown-up readers ... this is why the Millennium Trilogy is rightly a publishing phenomenon all over the world' Kate Mosse.
'Fans will not be disappointed; this another roller-coaster ride that keeps you reading far too late into the night. Intricate but flawlessly plotted, it has complex characters as well as a satisfying, clear moral thrust … most compelling is the character of Salander … I cackled with glee as she turned the tables on her enemies in a climactic courtroom scene … Who'd have thought a Swedish geek could set British pulses racing' Evening Standard.
'By some alchemy, Larsson has made a character who ought to be completely unbelievable into one of the most compelling and convincing in modern fiction … one wonders what Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple would make of her, but Lisbeth Salander bids fair to join them in the ranks of crime fiction's true immortals' Daily Telegraph.
'The pace rarely lets up … it's an exhilarating read … this is a strong and satisfying conclusion to a massively ambitious, richly textured trilogy' Daily Express.
'There is comparison with that other great work of contemporary entertainment, The Wire, in the rage and clarity with which injustice becomes the driver of a novel way of looking at society. Be warned: the trilogy, like The Wire, is seriously addictive.' Guardian.
'Complex, satisfying, clever, moral ... a grown-up novel for grown-up readers ... this is why the Millennium Trilogy is rightly a publishing phenomenon all over the world' Kate Mosse.
'Fans will not be disappointed; this another roller-coaster ride that keeps you reading far too late into the night. Intricate but flawlessly plotted, it has complex characters as well as a satisfying, clear moral thrust … most compelling is the character of Salander … I cackled with glee as she turned the tables on her enemies in a climactic courtroom scene … Who'd have thought a Swedish geek could set British pulses racing' Evening Standard.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The good news is, that this is *much* better than the second book in the series (which has a plot so ridiculous that the characters in the third book constantly make reference to how unbelievable it is).
The bad news is, you will have to read the second book before this one, because the story takes place immediately after that book and there are no concessions made to the new reader.
This is longer than both previous books, but doesn't feel too slack - although there are a couple of side-stories that have no bearing on the main story, which could perhaps have been dropped without anyone realising. The story moves along at a good pace (in the main) and always keeps you interested in what's going to happen next.
I suppose my main gripe is that there's very little feeling of peril; the protagonists are constantly one step ahead of their opposition, and it moves towards the climax with little in the way of genuine surprise.
Still, it completes the trilogy well (and leaves a few dangling clues for further books in the series, should the publishers decide to get someone else to write them).
The bad news is, you will have to read the second book before this one, because the story takes place immediately after that book and there are no concessions made to the new reader.
This is longer than both previous books, but doesn't feel too slack - although there are a couple of side-stories that have no bearing on the main story, which could perhaps have been dropped without anyone realising. The story moves along at a good pace (in the main) and always keeps you interested in what's going to happen next.
I suppose my main gripe is that there's very little feeling of peril; the protagonists are constantly one step ahead of their opposition, and it moves towards the climax with little in the way of genuine surprise.
Still, it completes the trilogy well (and leaves a few dangling clues for further books in the series, should the publishers decide to get someone else to write them).
56 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
With this, the third and final part of the utterly brilliant Millennium trilogy, Larsson brings to a close the compelling story of, what must surely be, one of literature's most compelling heroines, Lisbeth Salander. As said elsewhere, Larsson ties up all of the loose ends clearly visible at the end of the second book and, as such, this is really not a standalone book but a continuation. It is essential reading for Larsson addicts but like all addictions it will never be enough to sate the appetite induced by reading the first of the series. Gobble up this one just like its predecessors - sadly, there ain't plenty more where they came from!
Larsson's writing was obviously motivated by powerful emotions reflecting his views on certain social ills but I never felt, as I have with certain other writers, that I was being preached to. The books are moving, exciting, intelligent, compelling and superbly written (and, I imagine, translated) but above all, entertaining. The whole experience of reading all three is so affecting that the structural faults, most obvious in the second in the series, simply didn't matter - to this reader at least. Yes, I did get slightly tired with the too frequent references to women warriors from history and the utterly redundant sub plot of Berger's cyber stalker but was able to overlook these relatively minor irritants in view of the fact that there are just too few writers of such excellence around who can sustain the interest of their readers over 1600 or so pages and therefore his passing is truly to be mourned.
Now I'll wait some time to get my 'fix' and then begin with 'dragon' again.
Larsson's writing was obviously motivated by powerful emotions reflecting his views on certain social ills but I never felt, as I have with certain other writers, that I was being preached to. The books are moving, exciting, intelligent, compelling and superbly written (and, I imagine, translated) but above all, entertaining. The whole experience of reading all three is so affecting that the structural faults, most obvious in the second in the series, simply didn't matter - to this reader at least. Yes, I did get slightly tired with the too frequent references to women warriors from history and the utterly redundant sub plot of Berger's cyber stalker but was able to overlook these relatively minor irritants in view of the fact that there are just too few writers of such excellence around who can sustain the interest of their readers over 1600 or so pages and therefore his passing is truly to be mourned.
Now I'll wait some time to get my 'fix' and then begin with 'dragon' again.
150 of 169 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If by any chance you are reading this review wondering if you might get a taster of this much talked about trilogy by diving in at the end, my advice is simple: don't. 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' was a brilliantly original start to this series, and introduced us to one of the most compelling anti-hero creations in Lisbeth Salandar. The second volume - 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' - lost much of the sophistication of the first, and was a lesser book for it - but actually managed to be even more gripping. This third volume could not be more different.
It might have been titled 'The Girl Who Got Lost Between The Covers', since our heroine Salander is present for only around twenty percent of its gigantic 750 pages. Without the benefit of the first two books this volume would be utterly bemusing. The scene-setting and recapping takes around three hundred pages - with Larsson introducing a seemingly endless cast list of spies, policemen and women, journalists and officials. For Swedish readers this may be more satisfying, since he appears to be fictionalising modern Swedish history through conspiracy. But for us it is largely bewildering.
And how we miss Salander. Such is the power of this fictional creation that during her brief appearances the book roars back into life. Sadly however she doesn't become the central figure again until around 600 pages in - and it is only then that the book truly becomes a page turner. Happily Larsson recaptures the vulnerable, complex Salander of the first volume, and again makes this dysfunctional Aspergers girl compelling and adorable.
But while we wait for Salander, and the book, to capture us again, Larson actually creates two further ballsy female characters, one of which proves the love interest for Larsson's alter-ego, Mikael Blomkvist. Larsson attempts to give levity to this approach by dropping in occasional and flimsy one page factual interludes about the role of the female warrior in history. It's a creaky device - and he needn't have bothered. The fact is, it's refreshing to have strong women at the centre of a thriller, and there is no doubting Larsson's ability to create powerful female characters.
Most Amazon reviews are ecstatic - but that must surely be a measure of the power and originality of this trilogy, and not of this book. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest would have made little impact had it had been the first in the series; and if looked at on its merits it makes an adequate but ultimately disappointing last.
It might have been titled 'The Girl Who Got Lost Between The Covers', since our heroine Salander is present for only around twenty percent of its gigantic 750 pages. Without the benefit of the first two books this volume would be utterly bemusing. The scene-setting and recapping takes around three hundred pages - with Larsson introducing a seemingly endless cast list of spies, policemen and women, journalists and officials. For Swedish readers this may be more satisfying, since he appears to be fictionalising modern Swedish history through conspiracy. But for us it is largely bewildering.
And how we miss Salander. Such is the power of this fictional creation that during her brief appearances the book roars back into life. Sadly however she doesn't become the central figure again until around 600 pages in - and it is only then that the book truly becomes a page turner. Happily Larsson recaptures the vulnerable, complex Salander of the first volume, and again makes this dysfunctional Aspergers girl compelling and adorable.
But while we wait for Salander, and the book, to capture us again, Larson actually creates two further ballsy female characters, one of which proves the love interest for Larsson's alter-ego, Mikael Blomkvist. Larsson attempts to give levity to this approach by dropping in occasional and flimsy one page factual interludes about the role of the female warrior in history. It's a creaky device - and he needn't have bothered. The fact is, it's refreshing to have strong women at the centre of a thriller, and there is no doubting Larsson's ability to create powerful female characters.
Most Amazon reviews are ecstatic - but that must surely be a measure of the power and originality of this trilogy, and not of this book. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest would have made little impact had it had been the first in the series; and if looked at on its merits it makes an adequate but ultimately disappointing last.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A real character study and an amazing end to the Trilogy
Having read the first two books in Larsen's trilogy I simply had to read the third one. It was just as good as the other two, even more daring in its concept and a very fitting end... Read more
Published 20 hours ago by Eternal Optimist
My advice - read it in big chunks!
I have to say I was slighlty put off by a friend who hadn't managed to finish the last in the series. Read more
Published 22 hours ago by S5228
the girl who kicked the hornets nest.
brilliant ending to great mesmerising triology
.a really unpredictable nail biting sttory that won't let you put the book down
A must read
.a really unpredictable nail biting sttory that won't let you put the book down
A must read
Published 1 day ago by toni w
Completes the perfect trilogy!
I don't usually read books at all! But after the huge hype over this trilogy, I had to read them! It exceeded all my expectations! Read more
Published 2 days ago by TooHotForTea
Excerllent
From my personal view I really enjoyed all 3 Books its Sad to think the Author
(Stieg Larsson),not around to enjoy its success, Worth a Read you won't put the book/Kindle down... Read more
(Stieg Larsson),not around to enjoy its success, Worth a Read you won't put the book/Kindle down... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Kristine
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
This book was beyond fantastic sooooo good and finished the trilogy off well. Really sad when i finished the book thinking what was i going to read next that was going to be this... Read more
Published 4 days ago by J. Jupp
Now life can get back to normal.
If you have read the two previous books in this trilogy you will need no encouragement to read the final part. It is even more compelling and in my view the best of the three. Read more
Published 7 days ago by M. Palmer
Salander rocks.
All the way through I found myself rooting for Lisbeth. read all 3 books in about 2 weeks as I couldn't wait to find out what happened to her. Brilliantly written. Loved it.
Published 7 days ago by Mrs. M. J. English
Outstanding climax to the trilogy
Having read the first 2 books in this trilogy I could not wait to sart the third and final book. This book was a truly brilliant climax and finale and I am gutted that they are... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Wendy Jones
Finished on a high
Having just read the three books back-to-back I can honestly say it has been an extremely satisfying read. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Walker
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