The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Millennium Trilogy, 3)
Den tredje och avslutande delen i triologin tar vid där Flickan som lekte med elden slutade. Lisbeth Salander överlevde att bli levande begravd, men hennes problem är långt ifrån över. Starka krafter vill tysta henne en gång för alla. Samtidigt gräver Mikael Blomkvist i Salanders dolda förflutna och kommer snart sanningen på spåren.
Reviews
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Translated Reg Keeland
Alfred A. Knopf, 2010
Originally published 2007
563 pages
Thriller; Mystery
Third book in Millennium Trilogy
4.5/5 stars
Summary: Lisbeth Salander is finally found and will be going on trial shortly. Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist and her loyal friend, is out to clear her name and uncover a scandal that will rock Sweden's government. These are the two main threads of Larsson's massive tome, the conclusion to the Millennium trilogy.
Thoughts: I was super excited to get this because I thought I would have to wait until it was in paperback. But once my mom started reading the books, she bought the third one. My sister read it first (very slowly because she wanted to spite me!) and then I got it. Like the previous books, it had a slowish start but picked up toward the end. This time the end is centered around Lisbeth's trial, where she is being examined over multiple counts. I won't go too much in detail because I want you to read it for yourself.
There is also a good short summary of what the books are about: women who are abused and the men who enable that. I was frequently brought up short by the awful things done by men toward women, specifically because the abusers were men and the victims were women and how the system which should have protected them looked the other way or actively worked to cover it up.
I actually thought this book had a lot less of the content I found distasteful in the first two books: the drinking, swearing, and sexual content all stood out much less.
Overall: A good conclusion to the Millennium trilogy.
Cover: I do like the silver a lot but the hornets freak me out.
I will recommend this book (and the rest of the series) to everyone! Very detailed and well written suspense novel; I couldn't put it down.
Great book series. Loved all three. It's so sad this talented author passed away before his books where published and he could see the overwhelming response to his talent
I ordered this trilogy without any knowledge of Stieg Larsson or any advanced information about the book(s) except that Don Imus raved about "Hornets Nest" on his morning radio show and that Stieg was now dead. I looked it up and realized that it was the final installment of a trilogy and it became evident that I would have to read all three, in order, to get the full effect. I figured "why not"....I hadn't read a piece of fiction in a while. And besides, I needed a break from the political and historical stuff I have been reading. I mention this because I want to set the scene that I was just looking for some mindless fiction to relax with......no thinking, no deep thoughts, just relaxation.
The books arrived and I was slightly taken aback by the length of each book....between 500 and 600 pages. I am not afraid of a long read as long as it can hold my interest. Well, unfortunately, these three books had me slipping in and out of attention.
Who was the editor on these? These books ramble on and on with the most ridicules nonsense just taking up pages and pages of space. Time and time again, Mr. Larsson fills pages with completely unnecessary dribble and over-verbalized fluff. I wish I had kept track of how much coffee our hero drank or how many sandwiches Lisbeth ate. Who cares? Why did I have to know the thought process on how Lisbeth picked furniture for her humongous apartment that she did not use but 10%.
Just once I want to read a book where the hero is not humble and just so perfect. I get a little tired of reading over and over that every woman who meets our hero must seduce him. Give me a break. He goes days without sleep and writes award winning expose articles for his magnificent magazine. He is able to "Out sleuth" the real professional sleuths, time and time again.
When no one can find the missing 16 year old niece of the powerful Vanger family patriarch from 40 years ago, he tracks her down to a huge ranch in Australia. Please stop it already, I can't stand it....then she is so enamored with him, she beds him on the spot. Stop already. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to put these books down and move on to something else.
I find the heroine, Liz, far too smart, far too strong, far too sexy and far too unbelievable especially in a 95 pound package. She believes that a photographic memory is a curse? Stop it. She is a self-taught computer wiz who can hack any top secure system. She finds, quite by accident, that she is a math superstar too.....really? Way over the top. Shot three times, once in the head and she digs herself out of a grave to attack her father and half brother....right!
Maybe I expect too much, maybe I am a cynic who is never satisfied but the truth is, I was very dissatisfied with the three books.
A proper editor, I believe, could have pared this down to one book, with a stylish slick storyline without all of the fluff. This is just a money grab making us buy three books when one would have told the story very well.
Remember....you have been warned.
When temperatures top 100 degrees, you can't do better than this complex finale to the Sweden-set Lisbeth Salander trilogy. Larsson's protagonist faces horrific challenges head-on and triumphs by means that are sometimes expected but often unusual.
Settle in for a fascinating diversion with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.
L. A. Starks
13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy