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iksolokin's review against another edition
3.0
Initially I would like to say that I have zero credibility in research or in investigative journalism therefore I will never aim to discredit someone's work and the hours and efforts that went into it by simply saying that I didn't like something. For the sake of transparency, the 3 star review is generous and biased and is primarily owed to the fact that I am a massive fan of Lisbeth to the point that I feel like I have a parasocial relationship with her given the hours I've spent with her.
It should be noted that with certain sentimental moments like when Lisbeth refers to herself as the girl who played with fire, a nod to the second book of the original trilogy and also the fact that Mikael was reading a book by Steig Larsson, the book eventually cascades form a very small snowball into a very "timid" and polite avalanche of suspense and mystery with a twist i didn't anticipate, by the time it got there I found myself already checked out and rushing through the pages only to get it over with.
Firstly, i am not quite sure whether it's due to Karin's style of writing or it was due to the translation to English, i found the book difficult to keep up with and not in the sense that it has so much going on but grammatically, something in the writing that made me re-read sentences multiple times to be able to understand what they meant.
Secondly, Lisbeth shows up waaaaay too late in the story where as even though in David's The Girl Who Lived Twice she also arrives late to the party, her absence was more than compensated with the better and quicker set up of the main storyline, as well as the introduction and re-introduction to the other main and supporting characters. Here, none of them are that enterasting or engaging or even seem like they have a reason as to why they do what they do other than them having to do it. You know? The villains aren't vilaneus enough , the good guys aren't good enough. The location, Norrbotten County (aware of its geographical size and the role it played in the industrialization of Sweden as well as the economic mistreatment of the workers by the capitol, Stockholm) should make perfect home to the greedy power hungry scheming characters and their overlapping relationships but unlike it's abundance of natural resources, it feels bare and lifeless compared to Stockholm.
Thirdly and most importantly, what could've been a very complex and interesting plot that expandes Lisbeth's character arc in areas i never saw her approaching not even with a ten foot pole, becomes it's biggest weakness.
The plot.
*SPOILER WARNING*
The book should’ve been called The Boy/Municipality/Wind Farm/Brother In The Eagle’s Talons because it has very little to do with the girl. Our girl, that is, who seems to have had all of her edges polished to the point where she is a shell of her former self.
Never in my entire life that i ever thought i would put Lisbeth's name and Santa Claus (and this is the last time i will mention it because that whole trip to Finland makes my skin boil) in the same sentence let alone the same book, but here we are.Once again, i appreciate the idea of a full circle moment, where Lisbeth is now in charge of the fate a young girl (who by the way, Svala feels like a very PG 13 gen-z washed down version of LIsbeth) and whether she ends up in the foster system, i couldn't for the life in me care about the whole relationship even though I get that the author was probably trying to tie the story to Lisbeth's past (the niece looking like a stark copy of Camilla even), but this is a child whose father's death i championed and celebrated and i think it could've served the book better had she not been related to Lisbeth at all, mainly because the book doesn't deal with how complicated and messy a relationship of that kind is as much as it should have. The only positive thing I have to say about their relationship is a conversation between Lisbeth and her therapist that said: "By helping the girl, you are helping yourself.By taking responsibility for her, you are doing what others should have done for you".
And it's not just Lisbeth that had her edges smoothed over, the whole book sticks to surface levels of depth, never fully committing to what it should be and never fully dealing with the complexities of the choices made by the characters. The pacing is so painstakingly slow and chopped up that mixed with the introduction of an array of new underdeveloped cliche characters who stumble into answers by situational circumstances and luck, it never fully depicts the severity of the situations that the characters find themselves in. Bronco, while I understand we'll probably learn more about in the following books, feels like yet another Marvel comic book villain aming to cleanse the world of those he sees unworthy of wasting the Earth's precious resources (his words not mine) and not even his horse-like penis (was that really necessary?) gives his villainy a chance compared to Zalachenko's or Camilla'a even.
And while the unanswered question about Plague got me and will make me anticipate the next title, this instalment only made me miss Steig and his Lisbeth even more,
Lastly, I will say that it is understandable for a recipe to change and shift with every added chef in the kitchen. I don't think Karin was trying or should try to replicate or emulate Steig's style of writing the same way David didn't try also, therefore the residue of mixed emotions is totally normal, considering that by the time David was done with his trilogy, The Girl Who Lived Twice, his last, became my if not second, my third favourite in the entire Millennium series, therefore i'm hopeful that Karin will find her pace and footing and will deliver a story worthy of being on the cover of the now nonexistent Millenium magazine (r.i.p).
It should be noted that with certain sentimental moments like when Lisbeth refers to herself as the girl who played with fire, a nod to the second book of the original trilogy and also the fact that Mikael was reading a book by Steig Larsson, the book eventually cascades form a very small snowball into a very "timid" and polite avalanche of suspense and mystery with a twist i didn't anticipate, by the time it got there I found myself already checked out and rushing through the pages only to get it over with.
Firstly, i am not quite sure whether it's due to Karin's style of writing or it was due to the translation to English, i found the book difficult to keep up with and not in the sense that it has so much going on but grammatically, something in the writing that made me re-read sentences multiple times to be able to understand what they meant.
Secondly, Lisbeth shows up waaaaay too late in the story where as even though in David's The Girl Who Lived Twice she also arrives late to the party, her absence was more than compensated with the better and quicker set up of the main storyline, as well as the introduction and re-introduction to the other main and supporting characters. Here, none of them are that enterasting or engaging or even seem like they have a reason as to why they do what they do other than them having to do it. You know? The villains aren't vilaneus enough , the good guys aren't good enough. The location, Norrbotten County (aware of its geographical size and the role it played in the industrialization of Sweden as well as the economic mistreatment of the workers by the capitol, Stockholm) should make perfect home to the greedy power hungry scheming characters and their overlapping relationships but unlike it's abundance of natural resources, it feels bare and lifeless compared to Stockholm.
Thirdly and most importantly, what could've been a very complex and interesting plot that expandes Lisbeth's character arc in areas i never saw her approaching not even with a ten foot pole, becomes it's biggest weakness.
The plot.
*SPOILER WARNING*
The book should’ve been called The Boy/Municipality/Wind Farm/Brother In The Eagle’s Talons because it has very little to do with the girl. Our girl, that is, who seems to have had all of her edges polished to the point where she is a shell of her former self.
Never in my entire life that i ever thought i would put Lisbeth's name and Santa Claus (and this is the last time i will mention it because that whole trip to Finland makes my skin boil) in the same sentence let alone the same book, but here we are.Once again, i appreciate the idea of a full circle moment, where Lisbeth is now in charge of the fate a young girl (who by the way, Svala feels like a very PG 13 gen-z washed down version of LIsbeth) and whether she ends up in the foster system, i couldn't for the life in me care about the whole relationship even though I get that the author was probably trying to tie the story to Lisbeth's past (the niece looking like a stark copy of Camilla even), but this is a child whose father's death i championed and celebrated and i think it could've served the book better had she not been related to Lisbeth at all, mainly because the book doesn't deal with how complicated and messy a relationship of that kind is as much as it should have. The only positive thing I have to say about their relationship is a conversation between Lisbeth and her therapist that said: "By helping the girl, you are helping yourself.By taking responsibility for her, you are doing what others should have done for you".
And it's not just Lisbeth that had her edges smoothed over, the whole book sticks to surface levels of depth, never fully committing to what it should be and never fully dealing with the complexities of the choices made by the characters. The pacing is so painstakingly slow and chopped up that mixed with the introduction of an array of new underdeveloped cliche characters who stumble into answers by situational circumstances and luck, it never fully depicts the severity of the situations that the characters find themselves in. Bronco, while I understand we'll probably learn more about in the following books, feels like yet another Marvel comic book villain aming to cleanse the world of those he sees unworthy of wasting the Earth's precious resources (his words not mine) and not even his horse-like penis (was that really necessary?) gives his villainy a chance compared to Zalachenko's or Camilla'a even.
And while the unanswered question about Plague got me and will make me anticipate the next title, this instalment only made me miss Steig and his Lisbeth even more,
Lastly, I will say that it is understandable for a recipe to change and shift with every added chef in the kitchen. I don't think Karin was trying or should try to replicate or emulate Steig's style of writing the same way David didn't try also, therefore the residue of mixed emotions is totally normal, considering that by the time David was done with his trilogy, The Girl Who Lived Twice, his last, became my if not second, my third favourite in the entire Millennium series, therefore i'm hopeful that Karin will find her pace and footing and will deliver a story worthy of being on the cover of the now nonexistent Millenium magazine (r.i.p).
catriona176's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lazydoc98's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
katelynking12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I've been a huge fan of this series for a while. This is the first book of the newest trilogy. Unfortunately, I didn't think the first book made as great as impression as I thought it would.
bthompson80's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
zero_point_zero's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
claredesausmarez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
woolyhooker's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The plot and characters were okay but pales in comparison to the earlier books .