Book #23. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson. Unabridged audio.
The last book in the “Millennium Trilogy,” this novel deals
with the plot and character consequences of the first two novels. This novel
turns into a police procedural, a spy novel, and then a legal thriller. Lisbeth
finds that she has to testify in court, and then later has to accept the
responsibilities that accompany legal adulthood in Sweden. These situations
take her on an interesting journey.
The parts of this novel not involving Salander are less
compelling. We have action taking place at two publishing concerns in this
novel, and the novel drags in those places. And the same complaint I had about Mikael
Blomkvist in the prior novels, that he is a wish-fulfillment “Mary Sue” for the
author, are as strong as ever here. The virtuous journalist (Larsson was a
journalist) finds himself desired by every woman he comes across, who
willingly and regularly offer themselves up to him, with no questions asked and
no consequences.
But the novel moves at a brisk pace, and the tension that
arises in the last third of the novel is worth any slow points and other issues
I had along the way. And the subplot of corruption in the intelligence service
brought a nice second plot to accompany the strong Salander plot.
There were rumors floating a few years ago of the
possibility of at least a half-dozen sequels that were in various stages, based
on notes and drafts found after Larsson’s death. I hope that those books never
reach publication, as the novels in the current “Millennium Trilogy” hold
together as a completed work.
Endings are hard, and all things considered, this ending was
quite satisfactory.
Source: public library
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