#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The thrilling first book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series featuring Lisbeth Salander: “Combine the chilly Swedish backdrop and moody psychodrama of a Bergman movie with the grisly pyrotechnics of a serial-killer thriller, then add an angry punk heroine and a down-on-his-luck investigative journalist, and you have the ingredients of Stieg Larsson’s first novel” (The New York Times). • Also known as the Millennium series
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
Aaron (verified owner) –
Note: I’m trying to write this as a review of the entire Millennium trilogy, broken into three parts. For those who are wondering how the trilogy should be read, my opinion is to read them in order and back-to-back. Although Larsson does a fine job of re-introducing recurring characters, it helps to know their back story; and back-to-back because Larsson’s cast of character is HUGE. I’ve written up a list of characters for the trilogy, which you are free to use and distribute as you wish ([…]). I also made a more condensed version ([…]) that removes all the minor or non-recurring characters. If you do read this trilogy and you’re unfamiliar with Sweden (as I am), you might want a map of Sweden on hand or have Google Maps handy. It’s not necessary, but it did help me picture things better in my head. This is especially true of the latter two books, which explores Sweden a lot more. Google Maps is especially great for this because you can use Street View for many of the locations.
AlanC (verified owner) –
If I had stopped to review this book three-quarters of the way through I would have given it a full five stars. It was that entertaining, compelling, and well done. The story kept me flipping pages, the characters were engaging and well drawn, and — let’s face it — there are few literary devices as effective as an expertly turned Dysfunctional Family With Secrets. I think Larsson is a wonderful talent and I plan to jump happily into his next two (and, sadly, final) books. That said, he bites off a bit more than he can chew here. Like many first novels, this one is too ambitious. There are really two stories here . . . and they are not linked as well as you’ll hope. First, there is the disgraced journalist who has been burned by a vengeful corporate titan and is looking for redemption. Then there is the tale of young Harriet, who disappeared one afternoon back in 1966. Her uncle — who cared for her and has been tormented by her disappearance (and more to the point, by the mystery of her fate) — convinces the journalist to take up his cause and spend a year sequestered at the family compound in a remote part of Sweden, looking into the crime (if, indeed, there even was one).