Product Description

Brilliantly written ... the characters are superbly drawn and the story grips from first to last.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 542 pages

Review
A publishing sensation who seemingly came from nowhere ... crime fiction has seldom needed to salute and mourn such a stellar talent as Larsson s in the same breath - Sunday Times.

Just when I was thinking there wasn't anything new on the horizon, along comes Stieg Larsson with this wonderfully unique story. I was completely absorbed - Michael Connelly. --Reviews

Observer
A striking novel, full of passion, an evocative sense of place and subtle insights into venal, corrupt minds

Independent
Our surrender to the novel is guaranteed

Customer Reviews

Intelligent tense thriller with a conscience
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.

A SWEDISH DRAGON's LAST THREE BREATHS OF FIRE
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!

good read but over-hyped and hackneyed
Wanted to give this 4 stars but too many nagging doubts although i generally enjoyed it. Plus points are: it's well paced although there's a lot of background about business law, finance and the press - this is quite interesting but at times (particularly at the start) it reads like a textbook; the trail of detection is reasonably well threaded through the story and there are interesting characters. By the end however there were a number of weaknesses that rather devalued the book for me:
- Salander is not a credible character, one minute dysfunctional, one minute sharply acutely self aware, supposedly socially awkward and a fragile introvert one minute, the next a dominatrix, holding her own with international businessmen or perpetrating hi-tech stings against multi national corporations, supposedly educational subnormal and yet able to grasp complex legal, business and technological concepts. Asperger's syndrome is suggested - hmmmm!
- The use of technology for bugging, hacking, wire tapping, surveillance, digital image manipulation etc while generally pretty well researched is a bit too convenient and we've seen it all before
- the serial killer who leaves cryptic biblical clues - gosh that's new!
- the powerful family business empire with lots of skeletons in closets (literally) and everyone hates everyone else,
- Blomkvist comes across at times like a moralising hypocrite preaching about the ethics of the press etc when he's a self acknowledged bad parent and hops into bed with three different women in the space of about 2 chapters
- Salander's experience with her new guardian is gratuitously sadistic, used obviously to advance the plot but the situation is difficult to believe
- there are lots of short sections inserted to break up the action but serving no real purpose eg describing how Blomkvist has a shower, buys a paper and then goes out for a walk. The book is long enough without this
- the old missing person supposed murdered but whose body has never been found plot was a bit obvious
- the sadistic serial killer with the outwardly normal demeanour and respectable profession is always a bit implausible.
There are some other annoying cliches throughout but despite these this is a good read if you don't require gritty realism and it wont stop me trying the next in the trilogy. Three and a half stars on second thoughts!