#17 The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
This review has some spoilers for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. There are no real spoilers for The Girl who Played With Fire.
After the events of The Girl of the Dragon Tattoo, Mikael and Lisbeth have gone their separate ways, Mikael returning to Millennium Magazine, and Lisbeth traveling the world on the billions that she stole from Hans-Erik Wennerström. Then their separate lives are forced back together again when two of Mikael's friends are murdered, and Lisbeth's fingers are found on the murder weapon. Mikael believes that Lisbeth is innocent, and that his friends' deaths are connected to their controversial book on sex trafficking that Millennium was planning on publishing. But how much does Mikael really know about Lisbeth, and her past?
The Girl Who Played with Fire is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the second book in The Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson. Although I did enjoy the first book in the series, I had serious issues with the pacing of the book, which took forever to get off the ground, then seemed to continue for chapters after it was already finished. I'm happy to report that The Girl who Played with Fire is a much smoother read all around, although it has it's slow moments. I found the book to be the most compelling when it focused on the characters of Lisbeth and Mikael, and when it strayed too far from them, the story suffered as a result. The Girl with Played with Fire also possesses some truly suspenseful moments, I didn't want to stop listening to my audiobook the closer I got to the end.
The greatest strength of The Millennium Trilogy can be found in it's central characters. Although Mikael at times feels like a male wish fulfillment fantasy (especially with his ability to pick up no-strings-attached female sexual partners), I found him to be an all around solid and likable lead that anchors the story well. Granted, the complex character of Lisbeth Salandar is the real draw here. In The Girl who Played with Fire, the reader really gets to see a new side of her as we learn more about her past. Lisbeth also begins to see how her cold nature has hurt those she cares about. This results in her character being softened somewhat, although she doesn't completely lose her hard edges.
Similar to The Girl of the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played With Fire is concerned with misogyny and crimes against women. We see this in the storyline involving sex trafficking, as well as within the investigation of the murder itself in the way that a female detective is treated by her fellow officers. I felt that Larsson handled these themes quite well. Unlike The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, with plenty left to be resolved in the thrid and final book in the trilogy, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I plan on picking it up the next time I'm in the mood for a thriller.
Rating: four stars
Length: the print version is 503 pages
Source: Overdrive
Other books I've read by this author: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Next I will be reviewing Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
After the events of The Girl of the Dragon Tattoo, Mikael and Lisbeth have gone their separate ways, Mikael returning to Millennium Magazine, and Lisbeth traveling the world on the billions that she stole from Hans-Erik Wennerström. Then their separate lives are forced back together again when two of Mikael's friends are murdered, and Lisbeth's fingers are found on the murder weapon. Mikael believes that Lisbeth is innocent, and that his friends' deaths are connected to their controversial book on sex trafficking that Millennium was planning on publishing. But how much does Mikael really know about Lisbeth, and her past?
The Girl Who Played with Fire is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the second book in The Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson. Although I did enjoy the first book in the series, I had serious issues with the pacing of the book, which took forever to get off the ground, then seemed to continue for chapters after it was already finished. I'm happy to report that The Girl who Played with Fire is a much smoother read all around, although it has it's slow moments. I found the book to be the most compelling when it focused on the characters of Lisbeth and Mikael, and when it strayed too far from them, the story suffered as a result. The Girl with Played with Fire also possesses some truly suspenseful moments, I didn't want to stop listening to my audiobook the closer I got to the end.
The greatest strength of The Millennium Trilogy can be found in it's central characters. Although Mikael at times feels like a male wish fulfillment fantasy (especially with his ability to pick up no-strings-attached female sexual partners), I found him to be an all around solid and likable lead that anchors the story well. Granted, the complex character of Lisbeth Salandar is the real draw here. In The Girl who Played with Fire, the reader really gets to see a new side of her as we learn more about her past. Lisbeth also begins to see how her cold nature has hurt those she cares about. This results in her character being softened somewhat, although she doesn't completely lose her hard edges.
Similar to The Girl of the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played With Fire is concerned with misogyny and crimes against women. We see this in the storyline involving sex trafficking, as well as within the investigation of the murder itself in the way that a female detective is treated by her fellow officers. I felt that Larsson handled these themes quite well. Unlike The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, with plenty left to be resolved in the thrid and final book in the trilogy, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I plan on picking it up the next time I'm in the mood for a thriller.
Rating: four stars
Length: the print version is 503 pages
Source: Overdrive
Other books I've read by this author: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Next I will be reviewing Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads