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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The Expose
Millennium publisher Mikael Blomkvist has made his reputation exposing corrupt establishment figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with an investigation into sex trafficking, Blomkvist cannot resist waging war on the powerful figures who control this lucrative industry.
The Murder
When a young couple are found dead in their Stockholm apartment, it’s a straightforward job for Inspector Bublanksi and his team. The killer left the weapon at the scene – and the fingerprints on the gun point in only one direction.
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Ex-security analyst Lisbeth Salander is wanted for murder. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society – but no-one can find her. The only way Salander can be reached is by computer. But she can break into almost any network she chooses ...
It’s been over a year since the events in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Lisbeth Salander is travelling the world and bending her tremendous intellect to understanding mathematics. Mikael Blomkvist has been building on Millennium’s reputation and hires a young journalist, Dag Svensson who with his girlfriend, Mia Johansson has been investigating sex trafficking and can expose prominent figures who’ve benefited from the same.
The worlds of Salander and Blomkvist collide again on her return to Sweden, the events set in motion by her corrupt guardian Bjurman who stumbles upon events in Salander’s past that some people want to remain secret. When Svensson and Johansson are found shot dead in their apartment, it’s Salander’s fingerprints on the gun and the police, knowing of her unstable history and guardianship, make her their number 1 suspect. To prove her innocence, Salander and Blomkvist have to use all of their skills and overcome both their strained relationship while Salander’s must address her natural mistrust of others and come to terms with her own childhood.
A more satisfying read than THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Larsson’s sequel (translated into English by Reg Keeland) goes more into Salander’s personal history, drawing out her abused childhood and the way she was drawn into and let down by the state. She comes more alive as a character here - her relationship with Miriam Wu giving her vulnerability and her sense of direct justice given more of a rationale. There remain some clichés however – her boob job, tattoos and piercings – the lesbian sex sometimes seems salacious while a section that shows her on holiday in Grenada clunks.
Blomkvist remains too much of an author self-insert to be believable and his irresistibility to women defies credibility at times. Strangely there’s less to get hold of with him as he’s used as a plot device to keep the events moving.
Larsson juggles his storylines more effectively, switching between the police investigation, Blomkvist’s involvement and Salander’s journey smoothly and using POV shifts to keep the action going. Again, the writing isn’t particularly great – dialogue is still clunky (noticeable the way everyone is “damn good” at their job) and he’s obsessed with giving details about rooms and houses.
However the way Salander’s personal history is unveiled is fascinating and while the cliff hanger ending is frustrating, it did have me desperate to find out how the story ends.
The Verdict:
While the writing remains clunky, the way in which Larsson weaves his different plot strands together and in particular the way he brings the focus on Salander’s personal history kept me hooked right up to the cliff hanger ending and made it a better book than THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (although you do need to read that to get the most from this).
The Expose
Millennium publisher Mikael Blomkvist has made his reputation exposing corrupt establishment figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with an investigation into sex trafficking, Blomkvist cannot resist waging war on the powerful figures who control this lucrative industry.
The Murder
When a young couple are found dead in their Stockholm apartment, it’s a straightforward job for Inspector Bublanksi and his team. The killer left the weapon at the scene – and the fingerprints on the gun point in only one direction.
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Ex-security analyst Lisbeth Salander is wanted for murder. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society – but no-one can find her. The only way Salander can be reached is by computer. But she can break into almost any network she chooses ...
It’s been over a year since the events in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Lisbeth Salander is travelling the world and bending her tremendous intellect to understanding mathematics. Mikael Blomkvist has been building on Millennium’s reputation and hires a young journalist, Dag Svensson who with his girlfriend, Mia Johansson has been investigating sex trafficking and can expose prominent figures who’ve benefited from the same.
The worlds of Salander and Blomkvist collide again on her return to Sweden, the events set in motion by her corrupt guardian Bjurman who stumbles upon events in Salander’s past that some people want to remain secret. When Svensson and Johansson are found shot dead in their apartment, it’s Salander’s fingerprints on the gun and the police, knowing of her unstable history and guardianship, make her their number 1 suspect. To prove her innocence, Salander and Blomkvist have to use all of their skills and overcome both their strained relationship while Salander’s must address her natural mistrust of others and come to terms with her own childhood.
A more satisfying read than THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Larsson’s sequel (translated into English by Reg Keeland) goes more into Salander’s personal history, drawing out her abused childhood and the way she was drawn into and let down by the state. She comes more alive as a character here - her relationship with Miriam Wu giving her vulnerability and her sense of direct justice given more of a rationale. There remain some clichés however – her boob job, tattoos and piercings – the lesbian sex sometimes seems salacious while a section that shows her on holiday in Grenada clunks.
Blomkvist remains too much of an author self-insert to be believable and his irresistibility to women defies credibility at times. Strangely there’s less to get hold of with him as he’s used as a plot device to keep the events moving.
Larsson juggles his storylines more effectively, switching between the police investigation, Blomkvist’s involvement and Salander’s journey smoothly and using POV shifts to keep the action going. Again, the writing isn’t particularly great – dialogue is still clunky (noticeable the way everyone is “damn good” at their job) and he’s obsessed with giving details about rooms and houses.
However the way Salander’s personal history is unveiled is fascinating and while the cliff hanger ending is frustrating, it did have me desperate to find out how the story ends.
The Verdict:
While the writing remains clunky, the way in which Larsson weaves his different plot strands together and in particular the way he brings the focus on Salander’s personal history kept me hooked right up to the cliff hanger ending and made it a better book than THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (although you do need to read that to get the most from this).
