Post by Charlynn on Apr 29, 2013 18:12:05 GMT -5
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
I read and reviewed the first novel in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo many months ago. Initially, I wanted to wait on the second installment until its US film version was released. My patience failed me before the movie even went into production, however. So, be warned. It will be a while before we can see The Girl Who Played with Fire brought to life on the big screen. (And let me tell you, forget about being able to hold off on the third and final novel in the series. This book is just too juicy to inspire restraint when it comes to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.)
It has been a year since Hedestad. Since Harriet Vanger. Wennerström. Since Blomkvist and Salander were lovers, friends, or have even seen each other. She left town and went abroad, and he continued to write, Millennium now a smashing success. Their paths once again collide when Millennium plans to publish an exposé into sex trafficking. After the article and book’s author and his research partner/girlfriend are murdered, Salander is accused of the crime. She fights back the only way she knows how – alone, but that doesn’t prevent Blomkvist from following her into “all the evil” that is her past come back to haunt her in the present.
Just like with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Blomkvist and Salander spend much of the novel together in plot but separate physically. In fact, they only come face to face on the final page of the book. And, just like with its predecessor, Larsson devotes a good portion of The Girl Who Played with Fire to explaining the past. This time, it’s Salander’s history, and this time the summarization works, because, rather than being dumped on readers all at once, the details are constantly forthcoming throughout the novel and interspersed with plenty of action and character interaction. Even without meeting face to face, though, Blomkvist and Salander are still in sync with one another.
Thanks to her hacking skills and because of his insistence, the two eventually start communicating with one another. Together, they start to unravel the twisted story of a corrupt government and a global crime ring, all of which circles back to the very people who and the events that shaped Salander into the woman she is. To do this, Larsson introduces a cast of new characters along with bringing back others from the novel’s prequel.
In his usual omniscient narrative style, Larsson slowly reveals a cover-up far more disgusting and haunting than that in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – a surprising feat. This makes for a compelling read, but it also means that The Girl Who Played with Fire is just the beginning. There’s no resolution this time. Instead, Larsson leaves readers with the ultimate cliffhanger: a life dangling in the balance. Apparently, this is the tradeoff for an even better book. And his villains are said to be the sadistic ones…
Four out of Five Stars
I read and reviewed the first novel in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo many months ago. Initially, I wanted to wait on the second installment until its US film version was released. My patience failed me before the movie even went into production, however. So, be warned. It will be a while before we can see The Girl Who Played with Fire brought to life on the big screen. (And let me tell you, forget about being able to hold off on the third and final novel in the series. This book is just too juicy to inspire restraint when it comes to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.)
It has been a year since Hedestad. Since Harriet Vanger. Wennerström. Since Blomkvist and Salander were lovers, friends, or have even seen each other. She left town and went abroad, and he continued to write, Millennium now a smashing success. Their paths once again collide when Millennium plans to publish an exposé into sex trafficking. After the article and book’s author and his research partner/girlfriend are murdered, Salander is accused of the crime. She fights back the only way she knows how – alone, but that doesn’t prevent Blomkvist from following her into “all the evil” that is her past come back to haunt her in the present.
Just like with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Blomkvist and Salander spend much of the novel together in plot but separate physically. In fact, they only come face to face on the final page of the book. And, just like with its predecessor, Larsson devotes a good portion of The Girl Who Played with Fire to explaining the past. This time, it’s Salander’s history, and this time the summarization works, because, rather than being dumped on readers all at once, the details are constantly forthcoming throughout the novel and interspersed with plenty of action and character interaction. Even without meeting face to face, though, Blomkvist and Salander are still in sync with one another.
Thanks to her hacking skills and because of his insistence, the two eventually start communicating with one another. Together, they start to unravel the twisted story of a corrupt government and a global crime ring, all of which circles back to the very people who and the events that shaped Salander into the woman she is. To do this, Larsson introduces a cast of new characters along with bringing back others from the novel’s prequel.
In his usual omniscient narrative style, Larsson slowly reveals a cover-up far more disgusting and haunting than that in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – a surprising feat. This makes for a compelling read, but it also means that The Girl Who Played with Fire is just the beginning. There’s no resolution this time. Instead, Larsson leaves readers with the ultimate cliffhanger: a life dangling in the balance. Apparently, this is the tradeoff for an even better book. And his villains are said to be the sadistic ones…
Four out of Five Stars