Sunday, June 29, 2014

Review of The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

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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