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The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium Trilogy)

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The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium Trilogy)

(1381 customer reviews)

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Features

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Hardcover with a Book Jacket
Written by Stieg Larsson, Translated from Swedish by Reg Keeland
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, NY
26th Printing, April 2011
ISBN-10: 030726999X, ISBN-13: 9780307269997

Description

The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson's internationally best-selling trilogy...

Lisbeth Salander--the heart of Larsson's two previous novels--lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge--against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

Product Details

Author:	Stieg Larsson
Hardcover:	576 pages
Publisher:	Knopf
Publication Date:	May 25, 2010
Language:	English
ISBN:	030726999X
Product Length:	6.55 inches
Product Width:	1.73 inches
Product Height:	9.55 inches
Product Weight:	2.06 pounds
Package Length:	9.1 inches
Package Width:	6.2 inches
Package Height:	1.8 inches
Package Weight:	1.75 pounds
Average Customer Rating:	based on 1381 reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.5

( 1381 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1259 of 1323 found the following review helpful:

Beautiful Conclusion to an Almost Perfect Trilogy Oct 08, 2009 By J. Avellanet "author of Get to Market Now!"
Just as Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" is held up as the trilogy to which all fantasy trilogies are inevitably compared, I've little doubt that Larsson's Millenium series will play that benchmark role for mystery thrillers over the next few decades.

"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest" is an incredibly worthy successor to the previous two books in the trilogy. And toward the end, there will be moments when tears are brought to your eyes. Larrson knew precisely how to play with timing, rhythm, and wording to pace the story and its ending just right. I'm hard pressed to even guess how else he could have ended this series.

The story follows the natural conclusion of the events in the first two books as everything dovetails toward a "behind-closed-door" trial. Larrson did a very good job of the first part of this book that takes place in the hospital where Lisbeth is recovering. I really enjoyed reading things from her perspective, then spinning out to others involved and each of their limited pieces of the evolving puzzle. And things just get better as the book moves along.

Frankly, once you hit part three of the book, it's almost impossible to put down. I picked it up just once...just to read a chapter or two in the second half of the book...only to find that three hours had gone by and the book was over.

Larrson's tying up of many loose ends throughout the book - and this is key - throughout the book (not all in the last few chapters like so many other writers) is masterful. And that emphasizes the one tragic aspect of this final book: knowing that we will never again be graced with Larrson's storytelling mastery.

784 of 860 found the following review helpful:

A must-read for fans of this trilogy, but... Dec 29, 2009 By E. Jacobs
For the ending of this book alone, it is worth reading. However, while I wish I could say that this book was of the same caliber as that of the prior two books, in my opinion it was not. The book picked up right where the last left off, with Salander in the hospital being treated for her injuries. Blomkvist continues to sleuth on her behalf in order to expose those who have made her life hellish and attempted to frame her for all manner of crimes. Of course, in his spare time he also still manages to attract every woman within a 500-yard-radius like a bee to honey, but I digress. All of the other familiar characters from the prior books return.

I don't want to spoil the plot of the book, so I will give a general review. The overall feel of the book to me is that it was the least edited and least considered of the three. This would make sense if Larsson had intended to go back and do some more tweaking and editing before publication, but he was obviously unable to do so after his death. There are entire sections of the book that meander on and on with no apparent purpose with regard to moving the story forward. These sections would have benefited greatly from some serious editorial paring.

To me, the plot did not at all move along at the same clip as the prior books. The suspense just wasn't there to the same degree. I recall that I simply could not put down the previous books, but I was nowhere near as riveted by this one. In addition, there were a number of somewhat annoying grammatical errors, sentence fragments, etc.

For the good points of the book, the ending (if that is what we can call the last 150-200 pages) is a very nice, tightly written section that ties everything together beautifully. Again, it struck me that perhaps Larsson had written the ending earlier than the rest of book three, as it appeared to be the best-constructed section of the entire book. For the ending alone, this story is worth reading. I wavered between a 3-and 4- star review for this reason. Ultimately, I considered whether the book, standing alone without the other two, would be a 4-star book, and I don't believe that would be the case.

As an aside, one minor issue is that on the book cover of the copy I picked up while in Belgium, the first blurb says "The Trial", as if the book is mostly about Salander's trial itself, which it is not. The trial itself takes up about the last tenth of the book. Whether this type of advertising will occur with the North American edition I don't know, but I write this warning simply so you might know what to expect.

In summary, anyone who has read the first two books simply will not be able to deny themselves the final installment, nor should they. Although I did not find the book to hold the same level of suspense and I sometimes found it rather dull, the ending of the book makes it very worthwhile reading. It is a great loss that Mr. Larsson passed away before he could really fine-tune the final book, and before he could write another.

272 of 301 found the following review helpful:

Complex, Satisfying, Clever, Moral; Evil Versus Good Oct 13, 2009 By prisrob "pris,"
For those of you who have not read the first two volumes of this trilogy, I urge you to start on Volume one and proceed. The characters are so complex and real that an understanding of their background seems to me to be a must. The first two novels set up the reader for this wonderfully clever conclusion. The tale of good versus evil is one that is a history in time, and Stieg Larsson has given us a treat to savour.

The first one hundred pages of the third novel brings us up to date, and then we start the real read. More characters are introduced and at times during this 600 page read, I wondered if I could keep them straight. For the last two hundred pages, this book is very hard to put down. This is a tale of a series of conspiracies and how they come to cloud the Swedish democracy. How did Lisbeth Salander become the abused young woman, and will the people and times trying to destroy her win? And, Mikael Blomkvist, the journalist, will he be able to expose through his words, the wrongs that have been done. Will he regain Lisbeth's confidence?

Lisbeth Salander is in the Intensive Care Unit, she has been shot in the head. Her father is in a room down the hall, reportedly shot by Lisbeth. How did this come to be. Why are the Swedish Secret Service surreptitiously going in and out of his room? Why do we pick on those we do not understand? It is easier for us to believe those that are in power than to question the truth. The theme of the trilogy is that women are equals. There is no unnecessary overt sex and even though there is violence, it is believable. Blomkvist is a hero, he is the main antagonist and the muscle behind the investigation. He is out to assist Lisbeth Salander in becoming the woman she is meant to be instead of the woman who was looked at as the mad lesbian killer. He says, "When it comes down to it, this story is not primarily about spies and secret government agencies; it's about violence against women, and the men who enable it." The characters who surround them are wonderfully sketched out. We can picture in our mind's eye their faces and their countenance. This novel sums up the story of Lisbeth Salander, but leaves us wondering what is to be. Unfortunately, Stieg Larsson. because of his death, won't be continuing the series, it is up to us to find her rightful place.

It is easy to understand why this trilogy of Stieg Larsson's has become such a phenomenon. The search for justice and truth from a young, abused woman who has the nerves and strength of steel gives us all hope. We can believe through this wonderful narrative that the world is indeed a good place.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 10-13-09

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage)

113 of 127 found the following review helpful:

No spoilers review Oct 10, 2009 By doggroomer
I bought my hardback from Amazon.UK because I couldn't wait until next year to finish Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy. The US publisher should move up their release date for this book, what the heck are they thinking?

No spoilers here! At 600 pages it's a whopper. The first half of the book is filled with at least 6 different stories being told and is a little hard to follow, but hang in there. It's when the stories begim to cross each other that makes it hard to put the book down. When you get to the last 200 pages, it's just impossible to stop. There are parts where the suspense builds and you get that awful feeling something really bad is going to happen. All in all, Larsson wraps his very feminist trilogy up nicely. I wasn't disappointed at all, only sad because that's all, folks.

4 stars because I loved "Played with Fire" as a 5 star book. Larsson wrote Salander as a remarkable unapoligetic feminist hero, and there is more of her in "Fire" than "Tattoo" and "Hornet's Nest."

74 of 83 found the following review helpful:

Tips on How to Read a Stieg Larsson Novel! Apr 02, 2010 By Mary Lins
It was bittersweet to finish the last novel of Stieg Larsson's about Lisbeth Salander, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". What a unique and fascinating character Lisbeth has been throughout the three novels. This last of the triumvirate begins the very moment that the last one leaves off. I highly recommend that one reads these novels in order for the best effect. I've enjoyed them all thoroughly and found the conclusion to be immensely satisfying.

Others reviewers have summarized the plot, and described the qualities and shortcomings of the novel, but I would like to take a moment to help readers who may be a bit daunted by Larsson's work. So here are my Tips on How to Best Read a Stieg Larsson "Girl" Book:

* Read it in hunks of time. Larsson's books aren't amenable for dipping in and out of in 5 or 10 minute increments. If you do that, you'll spend most of your time backtracking to get back into the complicated flow and plot. It's best to devote some time so that you can keep up with the pace.
* Don't be embarrassed if you need to make a character "cheat-sheet" - it's difficult to remember all the characters and it's cumulative; "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" has all the characters of the first two novels in addition to its own set! Larsson had nothing on Tolstoy for a long list of characters...and with the Swedish names being unfamiliar to the average American reader, it can be even more confusing. Just look at some of the "B" names: Blomqvist, Berger, Bublanski, Bjork, Bjurman, Bodin, Beckman, Berglund, Billinger, Badenbrink, Bladh, Borgsjo...then there is a Niedermann and a Nieminen and a Malm and a Malin...too similar to keep straight. Which are the cops, which are journalists, which are villains, which are heros?
* Don't be discouraged by the techno-babble. The first book has a comprehensive description of International Business standards and practices, the International Banking system, as well as specific Swedish business practices. The second book has a long and technical section about computer systems and hacking processes, the third book goes into great detail about the Swedish Secret Police and Sapo operations and super-secret sub-ops. Don't feel daunted by these, you don't need to understand every nuance to enjoy the story!
* Suspend judgment on the Swedish justice system and some of the "morals" of the characters. It would be, in my opinion, unpleasant to read these books while constantly thinking: "That wouldn't happen in the US!" or "We do things better in the US." so don't. As for the character's "morals"...there are villains who are 100% villains in these books, but there are no "heros" who are 100% heroic or fault free. Sweden never had the Puritans like we did, so their views on sex might be a little different than the average American's. All this is part of what is interesting , educational, and intriguing about these novels.
* Enjoy!

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