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377 of 439 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent tense thriller with a conscience, 14 Aug 2008
Some incredible thrillers are coming from Scandinavian countries these days. Anyone who is a fan of the Kurt Wallander series of books by Henning Mankell will know what I mean. Now we have a new addition to the shelf, courtesy of deceased author, Stieg Larsson.
This is the first volume in the Millenium trilogy and after finishing this first book, I am very much looking forward to the next two volumes. Larssson died in 2004 soon after delivering the manuscripts for 3 crime novels to his publisher. It's a pity that this gifted author isn't around for a long time to come.
The tale is split between the shady secrets of a wealthy family and the murky dealings of a famous businessman. Mikael Blomkvist, a recently convicted journalist, is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his niece almost 40 years ago. Vanger promises Blomkvist the means to clear his good name as part of the payment and Blomkvist accepts.
The author manages to maintain an excellent pace throughout, but still delivers a strong social lesson while providing the thrills. It is an intelligent thriller with a conscience. Probably one of the best of its kind in recent years.
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35 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A SWEDISH DRAGON's LAST THREE BREATHS OF FIRE, 17 Aug 2009
I was late in picking up the two first books of Stieg Larsson's trilogy and when I did I decided to leave them for the beach. I can now assure you that THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is much more than a summer page-turner.
The story flows effortlessly yet is full of unexpected turns. Looking back one can only admit that, although he did not see it coming, the outcome was to be expected. No suspension of disbelief required here, the story could easily have been taken from news-reports. Larsson was a master of understanding human nature and life's minute nuisances.
What is more, this book reminded me of the good old classics that contained a healthy dose of moral lessons within their gripping story. Good literature should entertain as much as it make you think.
The only thing I regret is not being able to read Larsson in the original Swedish (always a handicap) but as far as I can tell the translation (by Steven T. Murray, under the nom-de-plume of Reg Keeland) is fluid and very well done. No awkward phrasing or translation artifacts that would gum up the experience. The book might as well have been written in English.
It is very unfortunate that Larsson died so young. He would have had a stellar carrier as a writer in front of him. Non the less, his Millenium Trilogy is what he will be remembered by.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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98 of 145 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Now I know what my price is.", 30 Sep 2008
When Mikael Blomqvist arrives on remote Hedeby Island to do research for the biography of Swedish industrialist Henrik Vanger and his large family, he is looking for a place where he can avoid attention. Blomqvist, a financial journalist for Millenium magazine, is due to serve a three-month prison sentence soon for libeling a man he accused of criminal activity. For his own reasons, he did not challenge the charge and offered no defense, preferring to get the sentence over with in the face of enormous publicity. The temporary job he accepts the on this remote island involves the search for Harriet Vanger, Henrik's niece who disappeared from the island when she was sixteen--thirty-seven years ago.
Sometimes helping Blomqvist in his research is Lizbeth Salander, a young woman thought to have Asperger's syndrome, who is under the guardianship of the state. Salander has suffered enormous sexual and emotional abuse and has withdrawn to the point that she trusts no one. Marking events in her life through tattoos and body piercings, she lives as solitary a life as possible, connecting primarily through the internet where she has "met" several fellow computer hackers. Gradually, Salander begins to respond to Blomqvist's honesty and respect for her talents as she discovers important new information about the Vanger family.
Though the novel starts rather slowly as the characters are introduced and the genealogy of the Vanger family is explored, author Stieg Larsson succeeds in creating a sense of Sweden's social culture and atmosphere as he sets up this "closed room" mystery and creates vibrant characters to carry the action. The reader cares about Blomqvist and Salander from the beginning, as both are vulnerable and have suffered unjustly, and as the novel develops, the author also creates sympathy for the elderly Henrik Vanger. Larsson himself, however, was the editor of an anti-racist magazine, and his unforgettable depiction of some of the other Vanger relatives, who were ardent adherents of fascist and Nazi movements, carries the ring of authenticity.
As the novel develops, the skeletons in the Vanger family closet emerge, and a host of repulsive crimes, including murder, rape, torture, and the wanton abuse of women over many years are laid bare. The novel becomes an utterly compelling can't-put-it-downer, as the reader "travels" with Blomqvist and Salander, sharing their frustrations and their physical danger as they investigate this decades-old disappearance. Developed in minute detail, this rich novel is especially satisfying because it leaves no loose threads, connecting every detail to produce a blockbuster conclusion which satisfies in every way. The first novel of a trilogy which Larsson completed just before his premature death in 2004, at age fifty, this thrilling novel will leave its fans panting for the next installment. n Mary Whipple
The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second novel in the trilogy
The third novel, tentatively titled The Air Castle That Blew Up, has no publication date yet.
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