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

by Stieg Larsson

2012

Status

Available

Publication

Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (2012), Edition: Reprint, 832 pages

Description

If and when Lisbeth Salander 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.

Media reviews

The tension builds relentlessly as backstories morph into intriguing subplots, threats to the very core of Swedish democracy are uncovered, men in positions of authority continue to abuse their power, and Salander and Blomkvist continue to fight for justice in their different, inimitable styles
10 more
Larsson was a cerebral, high-minded activist and self-proclaimed feminist who happened to have a God-given gift for pulse-racing narrative. It’s this offbeat combination of attributes — imagine if John Grisham had prefaced his writing career not by practicing law in Mississippi but by heading
Show More
up the Stockholm office of Amnesty International — that has made the series such a sui generis smash.
Show Less
Still—bad writing is hardly a barrier to success in this genre. A good plot can run right over pages and pages of bad writing. And if there is a bad plot, or an incomprehensible one, great writing can always go around it. By these standards, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is a failure. No
Show More
one should read this book for its plot or its prose.
Show Less
The best features of Larsson's books are lively, intricately improbable plots. These, however, are set forth in a banal style that demonstrates no more than minimal skills when it comes to most of his characterizations and descriptive writing. It sometimes seems that Larsson's interest in
Show More
novelistic detail begins and ends with the contents of a sandwich that one of his characters makes before dashing out on some potentially dangerous errand.
Show Less
Cutting nimbly from one story line to another, Larsson does an expert job of pumping up suspense while credibly evoking the disparate worlds his characters inhabit, from the coldblooded bureaucracy of the Security Police to the underground slacker-hacker world of Salander and her friends, from the
Show More
financially stressed newsroom Erika inherits to the intensive care unit of the hospital where Salander and Zalachenko are recuperating.
Show Less
Patented Larsson, meaning fast-paced enough to make those Jason Bourne films seem like Regency dramas.
Lecturalia
Salander planea su venganza contra el hombre que trató de matarla y contra las instituciones gubernamentales que casi destruyeron su vida. Pero no va a ser una campaña directa. Tras recibir una bala en la cabeza, Salander está bajo una férrea supervisión en Cuidados Intensivos, y se enfrenta a
Show More
un juicio por tres asesinatos en el momento que le le den el alta. Con la ayuda del periodista Mikael Blomkvist y sus investigadores de la revista Millenium, Salander tendrá no sólo que probar su inocencia, también deberá identificar y denunciar a los políticos corruptos que permitieron a los vulnerables convertirse víctimas de abusos y violencia. Antes una víctima, Salander está lista para devolver los golpes.
Show Less
BamS
Ein beeindruckendes Vermächtnis und eine Trilogie, der sich kein Krimifan entziehen kann.
Focus
Mit brisanten Themen und einem schrillen Ermittlerduo wird der Schwede Stieg Larsson postum zum Star der Krimiszene. (...) Beißende Gesellschaftskritik, (...) unerhörte Spannung, (...) ein gewaltiges Werk.
Hamburger Abendblatt
Selten hat es in skandinavischer Krimiliteratur eine so originelle, widersprüchliche und packende Hauptfigur gegen wie die gegen den Strich lebende Lisbeth Salander.
Der Tagesspiegel
Ein ungewöhnlich spannender Thriller, mehr noch: Dieser Roman zeigt an, was im Thriller derzeit überhaupt möglich ist.

User reviews

LibraryThing member brenzi
At this point in time, I have finished the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson and, since he died in 2004, there will be no more for me to read. That is truly unfortunate since this was a crime fiction series extraordinaire. As a matter of fact, I would never go out of my way to read crime fiction,
Show More
but when everyone was raving about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I climbed on the bandwagon and never got off until I finished Volume three, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. What a ride it has been!

This time, the story picks up right where the last one ended. Gutsy, quirky, unpredictable protagonist Lizbeth Salander is in the hospital, in critical condition, after being shot and buried alive. Naturally, she dragged herself out of her grave and managed to take an axe to her father’s face and put him in the hospital too. The gist of the storyline is that the Swedish secret police (Sapo) had engaged in illegal activity against Salander and her mother. Her father, a former Russian intelligence officer, turned up in Sweden in 1976 and was protected by a small group within Sapo. From page 235:

“Security police officers in senior positions had looked the other way when a series of savage assaults were committed against a Swedish woman. Then her daughter (Lizbeth) was locked up in a mental hospital on the basis of a fabricated diagnosis. Finally, they had given carte blanche to a former Soviet intelligence officer to commit crimes involving weapons, narcotics and sex trafficking.”

Most of this had been revealed in the previous book. The story moves on to allow Mickael Blomqvist, intrepid investigative reporter from the previous two books, to dig up the evidence and work towards saving Lizbeth from a prison sentence for bashing in her father’s head and other similar crimes.

I have learned a lot about Sweden by reading this trilogy, because Larsson includes quite a bit of Swedish political history in his stories and Swedish society has different views on promiscuity and other social issues that I found very interesting.

The thing that sets Larsson apart from other crime writers was his uncanny ability to write riveting narrative on every page as the story unfolds. You do not want to set this 600 page volume down for even a minute. He manages to effortlessly include conspiracy, espionage, murder, embezzlement and extortion in the storyline while the reader hungrily laps it up. Excellent! Don’t miss it! Fasten your seatbelt! Very highly recommended!
Show Less
LibraryThing member bfister
Now that the flurry of reviews on the US release of the third volume of the Millennium Trilogy have died down, I’m finally getting around to writing my own review. What can I possibly add? Nothing, really, but the publisher sent me an advanced reader copy, I enjoyed it, and I thought I’d try to
Show More
explain why. I’m going to do it without spoilers, a magic trick I will perform by not describing the plot at all. (Ta dah!) Instead, I’ll focus on why I think this book, and the entire trilogy, works for so many readers.

A recently-translated interview of the author made it clear that Larsson was very familiar with contemporary crime fiction. He read it, he reviewed it, he had decided personal tastes, citing Sara Paretsky, Val McDermid, Elisabeth George and Minette Walters as particularly praiseworthy–all women writers who don’t aim for trimmed-down, action-driven stories, but who have a fascination with character development or social issues – or both. Though his work has been criticized for violating readers’ expectations – the narrative takes leisurely detours at the expense of sustained suspense, there are more details about what Salander bought to furnish her apartment or what characters ate for dinner than “how to write mysteries” books advise – its flaws didn’t prevent it from getting published and gaining a passionate international audience. What made it such a success?

The obvious answer is the Girl of the English-translation titles, a character who grabs scenes and runs away with them. This tattooed waif, who can solve complex mathematical theorems, hack into banking records and make herself rich while kick-boxing her way out of life-threatening situations, has millions of fans. Yet Lisbeth Salander is in many ways unoriginal. For years the hacker as a form of deus ex machina has been a bit of a cliché in the genre. The lonely woman warrior who overcomes personal adversity and female role models to battle evil with extraordinary martial arts skills has appeared in lots of crime fiction, though I imagine she first served an apprenticeship in comics and movies. The socially tone-deaf but mathematically brilliant autist dates back to Dustin Hoffman’s performance in Rain Man, an “idiot savant” version of autism that annoys people with autism who are often expected to be capable of freakishly brilliant parlor tricks. Currently it’s fashionable to think that almost anyone who lacks social graces is “on the spectrum.”

(An aside: Blomqvist speculates that Salander may be autistic, but her behavior doesn’t bear out his theory. Though she doesn’t feel compelled to follow standard social cues and sometimes seems puzzled by other people’s emotional expectations, her independence from convention is a combination of personal choice and a traumatic childhood. She missed the usual early lessons in socialization, growing up in a home defined by extreme domestic violence, then while still quite young was isolated in an abusive mental hospital. Once she achieved her freedom, it was her choice to embrace brutal honesty rather than practice the white lies of social convention, lies that kept people from seeing the abuses she was subject to. She joined a community of outlaw hackers, responded unflinchingly to hypocrisy or injustice, and was guarded about whom to trust. Those are symptoms of a healthy response to abuse, not of autism).

Larsson managed to draw on crime fiction motifs and traditions to take his crusading journalism into a storytelling realm where he could play with the issues and conflicts that were his daily bread as a leftist journalist. In the final volume of the trilogy (one that wasn’t meant to be final, but does feel satisfyingly complete), Larsson adds two more subgenres to his palette.

In the first book, he combined an old-fashioned puzzle inside a family saga that took a sharp turn into a thriller plot, with sexual deviants who could be at home in a James Patterson novel (if they shed their cultural and political referents). In the second volume, the pacing is definitely that of a thriller, in which one of the lead characters is accused of murder and has to uncover a political conspiracy to clear her name, ending with an extended action sequence and a cliffhanger. The third volume combines espionage motifs with the trappings of a legal thriller. Larsson was not only familiar with the various forms the genre could take, he was trying them all out, as scornful of being boxed in by convention as his heroine.

But it’s not just the characters and plot devices that make the pages turn faster. Neither the plot elements nor the main characters are original. It’s Larsson’s earnest playfulness – or is it playful earnestness? – that distinguishes the trilogy. Salander begins as a bundle of clichés, but as her story is revealed and we are allowed to see the world from her point of view, she becomes a human being, one who may have superpowers, but who is compelling because of her humanity. Blomqvist is equally a pastiche of male wish-fulfillment: studly, driven, professionally accomplished and irresistible to women, but it is the way he clutches his moral compass for guidance as he dashes around the twists of the plot that makes him heroic.

Larsson was blunt about his commercial motives in turning to crime fiction. He thought they would be popular and would provide him with the financial stability that progressive journalism wouldn’t. But rather than study the market to produce something that met consumer expectations, he borrowed from formulas like a magpie, building a massive pastiche of the genre, infusing it with his political and social passions. The books are fun, they are entertaining, and they are bristling with righteousness. It’s a rare combination, but in his unconventionally conventional way, he found what readers seem to crave: heroes who make seeking justice into an adventure.

The third volume concludes on a hopeful note. Evil, it turns out, is not the result of fundamental flaws in social institutions, nor is it the work of unredeemable monsters who live among us and may attack at any time. The wrongs Salander suffered were caused by individuals making bad choices; within the same institutions, other individuals did the right thing, led by a strong woman who refuses to be a victim and a crusading journalist who can turn evil into a great scoop. I think it’s that combination of seriousness and optimism, of adventure and conviction, that innocent faith that ethical people can tell a story that exposes evil and makes things right, is what resonated with readers all over the world.

(cross-posted from the Scandinavian Crime Fiction blog.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Lman
Who watches the watchers?

If it weren’t for the recognised credentials of this author, I doubt I would have enjoyed these three books as much as I did. Don’t get me wrong, all are a fast-paced and enjoyable read, but the underlying premise is far more plausible from knowing the established bona
Show More
fides of Stieg Larsson – and far more unsettling!

Following on immediately from the somewhat cliff-hanger ending of the second book The Girl Who Played With Fire, this third book The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest achieves a satisfactory, and satisfying, conclusion to the mess which defines Lisbeth Salander’s life. And yet, this final instalment is a far greater indictment on Swedish society; rather, a pointed denunciation and comment on the system through the affairs of this most unusually talented woman, than an unveiling of her innermost self. Finally we get the full, unabridged story, and we get the why; though I am not sure to full satisfaction. All the most engaging and interesting characters from the past two books are involved here, with the addition of a compelling few more; and all take some intriguing, if at times superfluous, paths along the story line. And again, Lisbeth and her manipulated, traumatic past serves as the author’s fundamental accusation of what was at play in the Sweden he inhabited.

This last instalment is very long, and could easily have done with a tighter edit; I am not sure why it was necessary to detail so much of the ease of Mikael Blomkvist’s sexual conquests – though it plays to the consistency of all the stories. Plus I am at a slight loss, again, to the reasoning behind the interesting prologues of each section - a continuing theme within each book – except to underscore the historical disdain exhibited towards female warriors, and to emphasise the author’s belief to ignore these abilities at your own risk. There are some strong women fighters in his books! In addition, I am still undecided, even somewhat unconvinced, with the resolution to Lisbeth’s life. But what I am certain of is that Herr Larsson wished to illustrate that any modern society, despite the many supposedly ticks and checks in place, can be rotten and completely corrupt to its core! The crux of this narrative coalesces majestically around the flaws that can prevail in such a situation – how easily the rule of law can be subverted beyond belief. And how self-perpetuating it then becomes… As well, the author’s strong personal belief in the sanctity of freedom-of-expression; and the importance the role an independent press plays in countering and exposing all this, is basic to the story’s foundation.

Ultimately, these three books serve perfectly as an example of the expression: absolute power corrupts absolutely. How successfully Stieg Larsson prosecutes his case may be debated, but he weaves a fascinating, and troubling tale of secret state-sanctioned abuses of powers, in the name of the good of the nation. And where have we heard all that lately?

(May 15, 2010)
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
The final book in the Millennium trilogy gives us a resolution for the complicated story of Lisbeth Salander. The book picks up only moments after The Girl Who Played With Fire's ending. After an initial frenzy of events, things start to lag a bit as Larsson delves into the complicated details of
Show More
government agencies, conspiracy theories, the inner workings of Millennium and Lisbeth's recovery. Hang in there though, because after a little while
I remembered why I loved Larsson's work. He weaves complex plots that include half a dozen brilliant female characters. Because it was originally written in Swedish the names of supporting characters can be a bit confusing, but after I'd been reading for a bit it all came back to me.

There's a subplot with Millennium's editor Berger that didn't seem crucial to the main story, but I still enjoyed it. It's a testament to Larsson's skill as a writer that he can give us a side story that barely includes the addictive main character, Lisbeth, and we still love it.

As Larsson himself puts it in one section of his book, "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."

There are a lot of complications in this book, but in the end it's a story about women. I'm not going to discuss the final details and spoil anything, but when I was reading the courtroom scenes I couldn't wipe a silly grin off my face. To me, it was a wonderfully satisfying conclusion to Larsson's saga. It makes me wish I could read more from the deceased author.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jshillingford
I agree with many reviewers that this conclusion to the Millennium Trilogy was the weakest in terms of writing quality, but that may be due to the author's untimely death (is death ever timely? I digress). However, as a wrap-up to the story, it was highly satisfying and well worth reading.

The book
Show More
picks up right where the second left off - with Lisbeth being evacuated to a hospital after being shot by Zalachenko. This novel has a very different feel from the first two. Those were more suspenseful thrillers, whereas this felt more like a John Grisham legal thriller. Most of the book is concerned with Blomkvist's and the police's investigation(s) to determine just what the heck has happened, and who's to blame. The actual trial does not occur until very near the end. I felt the quality was lacking due to an overabundance of unnecessary detail (every new character that is introduced gets pages and pages and pages of backstory), a lot of history and explanation about the Swedish legal and parliamentary systems, and a lot less dialog. At times, it felt like info dumps on steroids! There was also an unrelated and unnecessary subplot concerning Berger that simply kept readers away from the main story. Despite this, I gave the book four stars because there were a lot of fun and exciting aspects to the story. Lisbeth brings in some of her hacker friends to assist with evidence gathering; there is a lot of spying, counter-spying and other nefarious goings on that keep a reader guessing who has the upper hand at any one time. The book wrapped up every thread, the villains all get their comeuppance, and the trial was exciting and succinct - especially the cross-examination of Dr. Teleborian. Overall, highly recommended to fans of the first two books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member RGazala
The first two of Stieg Larsson's novels in the "Millennium Trilogy" are great. The last installment, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," is only great when it's not tedious, and it's often tedious. This book is easily 150 pages or so too long, and desperately needs a skilled editor's
Show More
attention. That said, when the book works, it's excellent and gripping entertainment. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" is only worth the time of people who devoured its pair of predecessors, and are very eager to know how the trilogy ends. Otherwise, there's little to recommend this book as a "stand-alone" read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member queencersei
Computer whiz and all around anti-social genius Lizbeth Salander survived being shot and buried alive by her father and half brother in The Girl Who Played With Fire. Now Lizbeth finds herself recovering in a Swedish hospital. Salander is in danger as secret forces within the Swedish secret police
Show More
use any means at their disposal to have her locked up in a mental asylum for life so that their secrets remain hidden. But Salander is not a teenager anymore. Aided by allies, Salander is at last able to use the Swedish legal system for her own gain and finally receive the justice that has eluded her since the early 1990’s.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest is overall an engrossing and enjoyable read. The minutia of description about Millennium Magazine and the side plot of Erika Berger’s employment at SMP did drag the pace down somewhat. However fans of Lizbeth Salander should be satisfied as she is able to outwit and out fight all of her enemies.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MarkSouza
This was my first foray into Stieg Larsson, and my last. The storyline was interesting and multi-layered. However, it was painfully slow and plodding. I kept reading waiting for a big bang payoff. After plodding for so long, I figured I deserved it. But it didn't end with a bang, it ended with a
Show More
fizzle. The writing was good enough, and characters so well drawn, that it kept me turning pages all the way to the end. But I won't pay to go on that ride again. Even if given a free copy of one of the others, it's not worth my time. There's too much great writing out there that grabs the reader by the lapels and won't let go to spend time on this merry-go-round.

Just my opinion. There are millions around the world who feel I'm dead wrong.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Esquiress
Thank heavens for this book. If the series had left off with book two, I probably would've gone crazy. At least The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest wrapped some things up more tidily, even if there was a great deal more I would've liked to know.

I found the story of this one even more engaging
Show More
than the ones previous, and I enjoyed the characters quite a bit - particularly the new ones. As with the other two books, I found myself freaked out by portions of the book, but I came to expect that a little bit more after reading the other two.

I think I can see why these books were so popular. I definitely enjoyed myself, though I'm certainly not going to turn into a big fan of the "thriller" genre anytime soon.
Show Less
LibraryThing member callmecayce
I read the other two books shortly after they were published in English in the US, but I was reading too many other books and decided to try the audio. Simon Vance was the perfect reader and I completely enjoyed the audio version. I will definitely have to check out more audio books, because this
Show More
was so much fun to listen to. The book itself was extremely exciting and the end pleased me greatly.
Show Less
LibraryThing member snat
I knew the end was coming. I knew it couldn't last forever. I had braced myself for it (or so I thought), and now that it's here I don't know what to say. That's probably a good thing because there's not a lot you can say about The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest without giving away spoilers or
Show More
saying something new.

The book opens with Lisbeth Salander in the hospital and recovering from the gunshot wounds she received in The Girl Who Played with Fire. Under perpetual guard and severely injured, Lisbeth is helpless to act on the events occurring outside of her hospital room. After quite thoroughly stirring the shit in Fire, Lisbeth has made powerful enemies that will not stop until they destroy her credibility or take her life. She's become a loose end that must be dealt with and the only person standing between her and the world that has constantly misjudged and needlessly penalized her is Mikael Blomkvist. This is not to say that Lisbeth becomes needy or dependent on Blomkvist; while her situation seems desperate, Blomkvist helps return Lisbeth's power to her and she takes an active (albeit secret) role in affecting the outcome of her upcoming trial while Blomkvist makes plans of his own to turn the vitriolic media firestorm against Salander to her favor.

The problems with the novel are the usual suspects: too much detail, over the top and implausible plot twists, subplots that seemingly have nothing to do with the story, but I absolve Larsson of all these sins simply for the creation of Lisbeth Salander. Also, this novel came back around and neatly tied up some subplots that, at the time I was reading them in Tattoo and Fire, seemed trivial and inconsequential. Instead, they turned out to be key elements in affecting the outcome of Hornet's Nest. There may be subplots (such as Erica Berger's cyber-stalker) that would have come back around to play a pivotal role in later novels of the series had Larsson lived.

While other reviewers bemoaned the lack of Salander in this novel, I actually enjoyed the renewed interest on Blomkvist. While he's not my favorite character in the novel, he, like Lisbeth, is a force to be reckoned with. That they both have the same inability to compromise their morals, that both seek retribution against those who have sinned, and both intelligently and precisely use the tools at their disposal to exact vengeance, reminds us of why they made such a good pair in Tattoo. In addition, both take a firm stance on the important issues of women's rights. Blomkvist says more than once that Lisbeth "hates men who hate women," and so does Blomkvist (yes, yes, he sleeps around, but he's honest about it and expects the women in his life to have the same sexual freedoms enjoyed by men, and he does not objectify the women in his life--he never loses sight of who they are as people). Lisbeth and Blomkvist have much more in common than one might initially realize.

As I mentioned in my review of Fire, Lisbeth seems to be a constantly evolving character and this change realistically continues throughout this novel. As others work tirelessly to free her and protect her, Lisbeth begins to come to grips with the idea that she owes other people because they care about her--a concept that is alien to her. That's part of what makes Lisbeth so intriguing. In what direction would Larsson have taken this waif-like BAMF as she begins reaching outside of her protective shell and developing relationships that will sustain her? We, of course, will never know, but I think the final scene of the novel provides a poignant bit of closure to what fate might hold for Lisbeth Salander.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Jenners26
This is the third book in the Millennium trilogy, and I would not recommend jumping in without having read the first two books. You'd be terribly lost! So, I'm writing this review with the assumption that you HAVE read the first two books. So if you haven't, scoot out of here before I ruin
Show More
something for you ... but first read the next paragraph in which I make my pitch for why these books are something special.

In the Millennium trilogy, Steig Larsson creates unique and memorable characters and crafts thrillers that are truly thrilling but also morally complex and intelligent. The theme of violence against and the exploitation of women runs throughout all three books, and Larsson doesn't shy away from the dark side of human nature. There are multiple scenes of graphic violence that will make your stomach turn, but this ugliness is tempered by the strong moral code and sense of justice exhibited by the main characters of Mikael and Lisbeth. And Mikael and Lisbeth are what make these books so compelling and fascinating. Although at first glance, each may seem to be morally compromised by some standards (Mikael's "womanizing" and Lisbeth's hacking and sexual openness), I doubt you would find two characters with such clear-cut morality and drive to protect the exploited and abused. In fact, my only real complaint with the entire series is that I found the Swedish surnames and place names confusing at times. (But that certainly isn't Larsson's fault.) With each book, I became more enthralled with the series and the characters. In the end, I'm giving the entire series a rating of 4.5. I'm positive the series will be on my list of "best books I read in 2010." If I find another series that draws me in as completely as this series did, I'd be surprised (but happy).

So, for those of you who haven't started the series, be gone! The rest of you may continue on to find out the scoop on the third book, which is being released today. (I'm sure you have it on preorder or on hold at your library if you read the first two, am I right?)

Because this series is really one big interconnected story, let's recap briefly where we are at the start of Book 3.

Book 1 (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) introduced us to Mikael Blomkvist (crusading journalist) and Lisbeth Salander (hacker extraordinaire). The book also introduces Mikael and Lisbeth to each other as they meet and team up to solve a 40-year-old murder and extricate Mikael from the mess of the Wennerstrom affair. The book ends with Lisbeth making off with Wennerstom's millions and realizing she cannot handle her feelings for Mikael. Her response? Take off with the money and cut Mikael out of her life.

Book 2 (The Girl Who Played With Fire) provides us and Mikael with the back story on why Lisbeth is like she is. As with anything related to Lisbeth, the story is complicated and multi-layered and fraught with violence. And when her past comes back to haunt her when she is framed for a triple murder, no one but Mikael and Dragan Armansky believe she is innocent. The book focuses on the police's hunt for Lisbeth Salander, while Lisbeth and Mikael race to uncover the conspiracy against her and find the real murderer. The book ends with Lisbeth confronting her past head on (literally!) and ending up with a bullet in her head.

So, that brings us to Book 3 (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest), which opens with Lisbeth being choppered to a hospital with severe injuries, the worst of which is the bullet in her brain. Mikael then embarks on a mission with other "Idiot Knights" (those who believe in Lisbeth and work on her behalf, including Dragan Armansky and Olaf Palmgren) to redress the wrongs that have been done to Lisbeth since childhood. Naturally, this involves nothing less than uncovering a decades-long conspiracy that reaches up to the highest levels of the Swedish government.

The book is long (576 pages ... but you still want more!) and stuffed to the gills with non-stop action and revelations, culminating with the trial of Lisbeth Salander in which her life is laid bare and her fate decided. Will she end up in jail? Be committed to a psychiatric facility? Escape from the authorities and vanish? Be vindicated once and for all? I'm not telling ... nor would you want me to. I'll just tell you this ... Larsson puts the pedal to the metal and doesn't let up once.

One of the revelations is a physician's assessment that Lisbeth suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, which may account for her poor social skills and seeming lack of empathy. (Yet I would argue that she is empathetic to a degree that hurts her, and it simply manifests itself in action instead of sympathy ... witness her response to Berger's problems in this book for an example of this.) I'm not sure I buy into this though. Considering what she experienced in her childhood, I think Lisbeth's anti-social behavior is completely explainable and understandable. I would venture to say Lisbeth demonstrates resilience and emotional intelligence far beyond those of most people. I sincerely doubt whether most people could withstand what Lisbeth did and walk away with the the self-control and ability to assess options in a logical and impartial manner. To me, Lisbeth is damaged and protecting herself the only way she knows how ... by keeping her distance emotionally and socially.

Although this series has always been about Lisbeth at its core, Larsson takes time to focus on the beleaguered staff at Millennium (who are reeling from Erika Berger's decision to depart to be the editor of a large daily paper) and gives Berger a storyline of her own that was just as compelling as anything going on with Lisbeth. (Let's just say, Berger finds her new job to be a bit of a hostile work environment.) In addition, Mikael has a new love interest, but I personally didn't care for this development as I kind of liked the idea of Lisbeth and Mikael someday being an item. Mikael's sister Giannini also has an expanded role in this book, taking on the role of Lisbeth's lawyer.

I was worried how the book would end as Larsson originally planned to write more than three books before his untimely death. However, I'm pleased to report that this book ties up the loose ends and provides a satisfying conclusion to the story that started way back in Book 1. By the end of Book Three, almost all loose ends are tied up in a satisfying manner (though I have to admit, I wonder about Lisbeth's never seen twin sister Camilla), and you can close the book on these characters and walk away satisfied.

Farewell, Mikael and Lisbeth. I'll miss you.
Show Less
LibraryThing member hobbitprincess
I waited a long time to get this book from the library; it was worth the wait. This final book of the Lisbeth Salander series is my favorite. Through most of the book, I had no idea how Lisbeth was going to get out of the trouble she was in, but of course, it all works out in the end in the most
Show More
satisfying of ways. The first book of the series could almost stand alone, but the second and third books go together definitely since this book is a continuation of the third. I really like Lisbeth, and I learned to like her even more here. I could tell room was left for more books about Blomqvist and Salander, but alas, they won't be written.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ei214
This was probably my favorite of the Lisbeth Salander trilogy. As I neared the end of the book, I dreaded knowing that my "relationship" with Lisbeth would also be over. She is a very powerful character and a true survivor. I'm only sorry we lost Stieg Larsson - I would have loved to read more of
Show More
what came out of his brain.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AlisonsBookMarks
When I turned the last page, I half expected the lights to come up and the credits to roll, I felt like I had watched one of the best action-packed movies of all time.

The Millennium Trilogy has sold over 25 million copies worldwide so far – and are just catching fire in the U.S. The novels in the
Show More
series include, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo(2008), The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009) and now, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest (May 25, 2010).

From Random House/Knopf: 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.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest picked up exactly where The Girl Who Played With Fire left off. We don't miss a thing. Lisbeth arrived at the hospital and was prepped for surgery after suffering life-threatening injuries at the hands of her father and criminally insane brother, including a bullet to the head. Blomkvist was still handcuffed at Gosseberga farm, which was crawling with police detectives trying to piece together what happened, when he spots Salander's Palm.

Lisbeth Salander is like the female Jason Bourne. She's brilliant, sexy, sly, and she's mad as hell and isn't going to take it any more. She fights back, and none but a select few know how, since according to the corrupt government officials and sadists like psychiatrist Dr. Teleborian, she spent the entire novel isolated in her hospital room, unable to have visitors, contact or knowledge of the outside world, aside from her attorney and small medical staff. Small obstacles to Lisbeth. Due to her supposed isolation, Salander and Blomkvist spend much of the novel apart, and just one of the edge-of-your-seat mysteries is if and when the two will come together.

Lisbeth Salander is a brilliantly crafted character, but I love all of Stieg Larsson's women. They are strong, smart, beautiful, and even the victims don't whine, they get even. Each of the four parts of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest begins with a story of ancient female warriors, and the novel is not only about the corrupt workings of secret government agencies, but the women who are victims of the violence of these men. Victims turned into warriors. The literary world should truly lament Larsson's tragic death. After seeing the hero he made of Lisbeth Salander, I could only imagine what else he could have done with characters like Inspector Monica Figuerola and Susanne Linder.

I don't want to take anything away from Mikael Blomkvist, who is described as, "In the middle of all this mess he's like a hand grenade with the pin pulled." Yes. That's Kalle Blomkvist. Nor do I want to take away from the novel as a whole. Even though this was supposed to be only the third of a possible ten parts, there are no loose ends, there is no abrupt ending in the last twenty pages. Each mystery, each hanging thread comes together in its own time leading up to a climactic and satisfying end.

Suspenseful, exciting, smart, and sexy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is a must-read. If you haven't read the first two books in the Millennium Trilogy yet, they are both available in paperback now, so go read them, you won't be disappointed. If you have already read the first two installments, do not deny yourself the genius that is Larsson's final book. The vividly drawn characters, the forward moving plot, and the quest for justice. One of my favorites of the year.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ndeyton
As much an intellectual thriller as it is a mystery or crime novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest will keep you riveted until the last page, whether you like it or not. Once the book is over, you'll be glad that it is over & while you're reading it, you won't be able to stop.

The third book
Show More
in the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson, starts off somewhat methodically, if not slowly, as it winds its way through the various aspects of the Swedish CIA (Sapo/SSA/The Firm/The Section/etc). We are given characters to hate and characters to respect on varying levels, and the whole while we are left to unravel the motives and figure out how Salander, Blomqvist and friends will get the upper hand. If you've not read the first two books, start with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as you will want the back story. It may be advisable to go back and re-read the second novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, if it's been awhile since you've read it, as Larsson jumps right in where he left off.

Larsson pulls us into this story to experience the frustrating, arrogant, ignorant, and subsequently infuriating sides of a political machine that when allowed to run unchecked over-indulges its sense of power. This is not a new formula or even a new fear, but it plays itself out well enough to keep us interested in the story.

Through Larsson's writing we become another advocate, in an ever growing list of advocates, for our heroine Lisbeth Salander, who is suffering the wrath of this over-indulgence. Of course, some of the tactics Larsson uses to pull us into that story could be considered a bit far fetched, but we choose to believe. We choose to believe that Lisbeth Salander is spiteful enough to survive a bullet to the head and come out not much less the worse for wear. We believe that the arrogance and intellect of Mikael Blomqvist will allow him to out think the legal system, the politicians, and every bad guy he comes across. We believe that the SSA, Niedermann, and Teleborian are the evil, seemingly unbeatable nemeses. We do this because we are each of these characters. We are the struggles they represent. And through reading this book, we get to pretend to play out those struggles. A true catharsis.

If you've not read the first books, be warned, they are dark (& the movies are fairly true to the books, less some story lines), but they are well worth the read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JollyContrarian
One of the biggest mysteries in Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" trilogy (perhaps the only one which won't be revealed by the end of this doorstopper of a concluding part) is just what it is about the series that made it such a runaway success in the first place.

There is, of course, the "unpublished
Show More
manuscript of dead author" angle - call it the John Kennedy Toole factor - which guarantees no following swarm of copycats. All the same, the first 200 pages of the opening novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (a tattoo which, by the way, scarcely rates a mention in nearly 2000 following pages of text) is so leaden, slow and complicated that it is remarkable that this Zeppelin of a series ever gets off the ground.

To be sure, it is difficult to see how else Larsson could have introduced such a complex and labyrinthine scenario. If, like I did, you thought Sweden was a well meaning, well-adjusted, fresh, healthy, happy and therefore fundamentally dull place (I can say this: I'm from New Zealand), then career crime journalist Larsson has a shock for you: Lisbeth Salander's Sweden is a dark, gothic, misogynistic, corrupt and morally bankrupt den of murder, rape and industrial espionage. And they drink lots of coffee. Yet it *still* comes across as a place you'd quite like to visit.

And that, I think, is it. No-one's ever written a thriller about Sweden before. Almost no-one has even been there (but we've all heard stories of racey saunas, abundant shagging, lightless days, darkless nights and £20 pints of beer) and Larsson's major gift is populating and characterising this foreign country, while all the time writing in a way that - even in translation - is undeniably Swedish.

That is to say, a little meandering, a bit right-on in its political agenda and quaintly parochial in the incidental details it records of the various goings on.
Some of these details - such as a painstaking attention to street-level detail in the many characters' many excursions - and amusingly unpronounceable names they are, too - both lend the air of authenticity to proceedings and facilitate the business prospects of would-be tour guides.

Others just add a sense of otherworldliness. The most notable is Larsson's utter fixation with coffee. The entire ambition and reach of the plot can be charted round the caffeine consumption of his characters. On almost every page (of 2000 odd) coffee is brewed, poured or consumed: it is drunk for breakfast, at lunch and at dinner. At morning and afternoon tea. Before love-making and afterward. In espresso, cappuccino, latte, filter and by rip. In thermos and in cafetière. It is ordered, requested and declined. Characters argue about whose turn it is to pour. They refill their flasks of coffee, they wash out their thermoses after drinking coffee. They leave them in the sink or on the sideboard. There is an extraordinary level of detail about coffee, to the point where, if it weren't presented so poker faced, you'd surmise it was some sort of running joke. It's very Swedish, in any case.

Larsson's plotting is undeniably impressive and becomes more ambitious as the series develops, to the point where, in the last instalment, the scope of the conspiracy is almost Ellroyesque: by the end there are at least four different factions spying on each other for various purposes and thirty or more meaningful characters, most with long, complicated and strikingly similar names - to hold in contemplation.

While Larsson's prose is nothing like as economical or stylish as Ellroy's - way too much coffee for that - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest gallops along in a way that few 750 page books I can think of do, and therefore this, and the Millennium series in general, come as a well recommended read which justifies the runaway publishing phenomenon that so puzzled me at the outset of this review.

I suppose I've answered my own question, therefore.
Show Less
LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest picks up only minutes after the cliffhanger ending of The Girl Who Played With Fire. After being shot in the head during her run-in with her father - the Russian defector and criminal mastermind Alexander Zalachenko - Lisbeth Salander is in critical
Show More
care at the hospital. Unfortunately, she's also still under arrest for a triple homicide, and being kept under lock and key in a hospital room does not offer her a wide range of options to prepare for her trial. Also arrayed against her is the fact that she knows secrets about Zalachenko that a small group of very powerful people want very much to keep secret, and they're willing to go to extreme lengths to make sure she - and Mikael Blomkvist, who has uncovered many of these same secrets - stay quiet.

Review: Many reviews that I've seen of this book, and this series as a whole, complain about the excruciatingly large amount of unnecessary detail in Larsson's writing. I'm not going to dispute that. I myself have complained about Larsson's seemingly irressistable urge to provide the life history and backstory of even the most minor of characters. I've wondered how these books would be different if Larsson had lived to see them published, and could have had a few more go-rounds with an editor. (In this book in particular, there was a half-hour tangent on toilets. It led to an important plot point, and may have been setting up something for future books, but the same plot effect could have been done without the rambly lecture on the economics of the Swedish housing market.) So, I don't disagree that these books are longer than they need to be, and packed with a lot of extraneous detail. The marvelous thing about Larsson's writing, though, is that I quite firmly do not care. Even though it's not my genre of choice, something about his style and his story is just so compelling that I'm a willing and eager audience, even when the topic at hand is toilets.

The compelling nature of Larsson's story is down in large part to his characters. Salander (and increasingly Blomkvist) are both totally fascinating people, complex and interesting, and mesmerizing if not always entirely sympathetic. I was initially a bit frustrated with this book, because there weren't enough chapters from Salander's point of view (understandable, given that she's in a hospital with not much happening and not much to do), but as the book went on, I became increasingly enamored of two of Larsson's other female protagonists, Erika Berger, and Annika Giannini. Salander gets all the credit for being a tough feminist hero, refusing to be bullied or victimized, but I thought Larsson's other women were equally strong, and equally unwilling to take any bullshit due to their gender, and I really enjoyed reading their parts. In fact, as the book wore on, I think I almost enjoyed their parts more than Salander's, since she undergoes a bit of a shift towards the end of the book. Her schtick has always been that she refuses to be a victim - that's what makes her such a beloved character.. but in this book, she does a total 180 and almost embraces her victim status (when it suits her, of course), becoming more than a little whiney. While it wasn't out of keeping with her character arc, it was a little obnoxious, and caused me to cool towards her a bit by the end. Thankfully, though, there were more than enough interesting things happening in the rest of the novel to keep me totally engrossed and very entertained. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: This is one of those books where I feel like my recommendation is pointless: you shouldn't start on the third book, and anyone who's gotten to the second book will probably read the third as a matter of course. I will recommend the series as a whole to almost everyone, even if it's outside of their normal comfort zone - I don't usually read mysteries/thrillers, but I still enjoyed the heck out of it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member csayban
4.5 stars

RECOMMENDED

“I don't know how much you understand about what is happening outside your locked room, but strangely enough (despite your personality), you have a number of loyal idiots working on your behalf. I have already established an elite body called The Knights of the Idiotic Table.
Show More
We will be holding an annual dinner at which we'll have fun talking crap about you. (No, you're not invited).”

As Lisbeth Salander fights for her life in a Swedish hospital, the man who tried to kill her – her father, a psychopath named Alexander Zalachenko – lays just two rooms away. But he is only the beginning of Salander’s problems. The state wants her to stand trial for three murders she didn’t commit, corrupt politicians want her to be sent to a psychiatric facility for the rest of her life and a shadowy government agency dubbed “The Section” just wants the whole thing – including Salander – to disappear. Only her friends, can save her from her fate. But Salander doesn’t want to be saved…she wants revenge.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – the final installment of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy – picks up right where The Girl Who Played with Fire (4.0 stars, Recommended) left off. Lisbeth Salander has survived the attack by her father and half-brother, but her father survived and still wants her dead and her brother is the focus of a manhunt in Sweden. Larsson does with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest what he did so successfully in the first two installments. He takes a simple survival premise, immerses it in a complex pool of competing interests, but never lets the story become overly complex to where it loses its momentum.

The key to the success of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is once again the strength of the main characters – Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. One of the best parts of the Salander character is that she doesn’t make the kinds of decisions that most of the rest of us would. She is so different – but the magic of her character is that her decisions make sense from her perspective and her way of thinking. That is the essence of what makes this such a strong series. It puts us in the shoes of someone who is much different and lets us see life through her eyes – and does it so well.

However, there are many other storylines and characters that really takes The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest from just being good to becoming a great piece of storytelling. Larsson never wavers in his commitment to shine a powerful spotlight on the way the rights of women and – even more specifically, the rights of people who we perceive as different – are sometimes trampled upon in the name of what is good for the whole of society. It is not heavy-handed preaching – it is capturing the essence of a social problem inside of a well told story. But The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest expands the landscape to a Robert Ludlum level of intrigue not scene in the earlier volumes. At first, I was concerned that Larsson had pushed it too far. Fortunately, I was wrong and the pieces fell nicely into place as the story wound up.

Once again, Larsson delivers a wonderful story of action, intelligence and intrigue, even taken on its own. However, if you couple it to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (4.5 stars, Recommended) and The Girl Who Played with Fire (4.0 stars, Recommended) Larsson comes through with a mesmerizing conclusion to what I feel is one of the finest thriller trilogies written. I highly recommend the entire series. If you haven’t read any of these books, I suggest you do yourself a favor and pick them all up. You won’t be disappointed.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lesleydawn
It shouldn't take 300 pages to get interested in a book. The only reason I made it through it was that I felt invested in Salander's story due to the first two books and I wanted to see it to the end. Incredibly tedious.
LibraryThing member brizmus
This third installment in Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy (which was originally meant to contain twelve books; due to Stieg Larsson's premature death caused by a tragic and brutal heart attack, it became a trilogy) is easily the best of the bunch.
Stieg Larsson is a genious. And there is no doubt
Show More
in my mind that, in time, he will become known as one of the best crime thriller writers of all time. If not the very best. It made me step back and go "whoa!" on more than one occasion.
There is something complex and magical about the simplicity of his writing. Every word and every sentence flows easily into the next as we follow each of the characters through basically every step of their everyday lives (which, I must say, are nothing at all like my everyday life). At one point in time, we are follow six whole stories at the same time; never once does it seem daunting or overwhelming (even with all those crazy Swedish names). Never once did I feel lost, and I cared equally about all of the stories and their interconnections. Not one small thing is left out, and yet there manages to be nothing superfluous about the content.
Because we get to see each of the characters at their best and their worst, doing some of the most mundane things, we grow to know them and all of their complexities without even realizing it. I can easily say, without even giving it a second though, that Lisbeth Salander is the most real and unique heroine I have ever read. And Mikael Blomkvist is up there with one of the most believable, unique heroes I have ever read.
Even the secondary characters are well thought-out, well-developed, integral parts of the story.

This is a story about being on the wrong side of corruption and about fighting for the basic rights that come with being a human being. It is a crime thriller, to be sure, but this book is accessible to everyone (well, grown-ups at least). Stieg Larsson's to the point way of presenting all the facts one after the other will, without out a doubt, leave the reader open-mouthed at the edge of their seat until the very end. And even though, as this is the last of the three, everything is tied up nicely, with no loose ends so to speak, the reader can't help but crave for more.

GO OUT AND READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!! (but read the other two first)
Show Less
LibraryThing member busyreadin
Final book of the Girl Who books. This picks up exactly where the 2nd book ended with Lisbeth in danger of losing her life. Hospitalized, she is placed under arrest for multiple murders. Micael and other surprising friends plot to manipulate the news with information they have uncovered to see that
Show More
the truth is known and Lisbeth is cleared of all charges. I was very sorry to see this book end, knowing that there will be no more to the story, since the author has passed away.

My only "complaint" about the book was that I felt it bogged down near the middle with too much Swedish politics and history. I was so anxious to find out what was going to happen that it bothered me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member manugw
COMPELLING
This book completes the trilogy and is a direct sequel of the second book, it is about the cover up of a political corruption involving a nest of Swedish intelligent officers encroached inside the Swedish Secret Intelligence System and the fight of the free press along with the country
Show More
official institutions to destroy and punish them, It features the same pattern of dramatic intensity and equal depth of intrigue of book two and also the same shortcomings like very difficult to believe movie action scenes and references to the same issues over and over again. But overall is worthy to read and very gripping with good character development. To get a better perspective and understanding first read the other two books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Helen.Callaghan
I also finally got around to finishing The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest. The titular Girl spends the book largely confined to hospital bed with a Palm Pilot while the Millenium staff, who Larsson is clearly much more interested in, beat a secret runaway section of the Swedish Security Police
Show More
at their own game. Their actions are all about Lisbeth Salander, apparently, and each section of the book is prefaced with hilariously over-the-top commentary on the role of the female soldier throughout the ages, but this is nothing short of hyperbolic false advertising of the most egregious sort.

Salander, as if aware that she could never live up to such hysterical billing, instead lurks shiftily in the background of her own novel, while other characters talk about how dreadfully she's been treated and scheme to rectify things before her trial. She responds by giving them all the silent treatment.

Without her polarizing presence, the ongoing unsubtlety of the villains is quickly wearing - it's not enough to be in a conspiracy to commit an innocent woman to a mental institute, for instance - you've also got to have a hard drive full of child pornography. It's not enough to falsely believe her guilty of murder (though she actually is by intent, which is all kind of dropped), you also have to believe that she's a lesbian Satanist motorcycle gang member. And so on.

And while this was actually kind of fun and gripping in the first two books, which had the unpredictable Salander more centre stage so there was more to go wrong as the villains' high pressure hit her cold front, it's not working quite as well this time out, which is a shame.

That said, there were a couple of nice touches - there is a shocking early suicide, and a subplot about Berger being harassed in her new job which does not lead to the most obvious and signposted place - it is, in short, a genuine red herring, which Larsson does not normally do. I think, on balance, that the second book is the best of the series - and it really is tragic that his talent was cut off so young.
Show Less
LibraryThing member readingwithtea
Having now finished the third volume in Stieg Larsson’s worldwide bestselling Millennium trilogy, I have to say this has been one of my favourite reading experiences. I haven’t read many trilogies (Harry Potter ended up at 7 books and the Brontës stuck to stand-alone books…) but I enjoyed
Show More
the way that the circle closed, we had proper character development and plot resolution and mostly just a good fun read! There was a really entertaining mix of detective work, courtroom drama, complex relationships, entertaining subplots and computer hacking throughout.

“Hornet’s Nest” was right back up to the excitement of "Dragon Tattoo” – I have to admit, I am a fan of courtroom drama involving feisty women wiping the floor with idiots, but there was also some good scheming and conniving among both the goodies and the baddies which was fun to follow (or try to follow – I got mixed up with all the surnames ending in –sson). "Played with Fire” is definitely required reading for “Hornet’s Nest” as the action picks up right where it left off at the end of Book Two (dealing with the aftermath of a shoot-out at the Goteberg Corral) so the adrenaline is racing from page 3. They fixed the translation issues in Book 3 too – I didn’t pick up on anything (although I did read the whole book while enormously jetlagged, so…).

So in “Hornet’s Nest” (without giving anything away), Lisbeth somehow survives being shot, Blomkvist puts together the defence against the murder charges made against her, the Swedish secret police are being very bad indeed and are busy corrupting the “everyday” police and lots of bad guys die. Also there’s a massive giant who can’t feel pain, and Erika gets a crazy stalker after she moves jobs.

I think I need a break from Swedish surnames for a while though.
Show Less

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2007 (original Swedish)
2010 (English: Keeland)

Physical description

7.45 inches

ISBN

0307742539 / 9780307742537

Barcode

1604167
Page: 1.3174 seconds