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A review by beth_books_123
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
5.0
3rd best book of 2014!
‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’ – another 5* crime thriller.
Okay, so I’ve been working hard on this trilogy and I am so I’m quite depressed that the Millennium trilogy is over. As I expressed in my ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’ review, to be reading these books and not having the opportunity to experience these books again really saddens me. I have no idea why Stieg Larsson committed suicide and my review is not the time to dwell about the situation but it is upsetting and depressing that this happened to a talented writer. Possibly it is selfish of me to want more books but then again it could be interpreted as an admiration for his writing to experience that experience when you read a book for the first time with all the anticipation, excitement and apprehension.
Anyway, let’s get to my thoughts, feelings and analysis of the book…
Plot
I won’t mention the plot because if I do then I will accidentally spoil it. I don’t want to do that for any prospective readers. So my main summary is that this book follows directly on from ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’ where Blomkvist (and friends) aim to fight for a girl who has lost all form of rights since she was thirteen against a conspiracy sown deep within the Swedish government.
Characters
Blomkvist- (still after three books, I am not sure how you spell it!) He was my favourite character by far. Often when I’m reading a crime thriller I analyse the effectiveness of the characters and question the probability of the events. However, in this book I was so lost in the writing of Larsson that I just grew to love this character. This was not over one book though, this was a relationship created between the character and reader over three books. What I admired about Blomkvist the most was his method in detective skills- the fact that he wasn’t even a detective was even more admirable. He just wanted to uncover scandals that should never have happened from Wennerstrom (and I found out about the real Wennerstrom which I would probably never come across. I don't usually stumble on Swedish history of politics) to the Zalchenko club. I think this reflected Larsson’s own history as I read the ‘notes about author’ where he was a graphic designer and a writer (I think I can’t really remember) in a Swedish newspaper. His job (I am speculating here) was to uncover scandals and news to the public and this knowledge allowed Larsson to create the world of Salander.
Salander- I know because of her (suspected) Asperger’s syndrome she is often unsociable and I know the portrayal of Salander is intentional. Yet my only critical point of this book is that it still doesn’t show how inspirational of a character Salander is. To be subjected to the violence, the rape and the violation of her human rights and still be sane is phenomenal. I just don’t think that it is credited enough. She is such a powerful character and the main subject/protagonist of this trilogy; I just think she deserves more credit.
Overall, this trilogy (Millennium) has been phenomenal and I don’t care if you’re reading this and thinking I’m over exaggerating. This is my honest opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was definitely worth the time.
‘The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest’ – another 5* crime thriller.
Okay, so I’ve been working hard on this trilogy and I am so I’m quite depressed that the Millennium trilogy is over. As I expressed in my ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’ review, to be reading these books and not having the opportunity to experience these books again really saddens me. I have no idea why Stieg Larsson committed suicide and my review is not the time to dwell about the situation but it is upsetting and depressing that this happened to a talented writer. Possibly it is selfish of me to want more books but then again it could be interpreted as an admiration for his writing to experience that experience when you read a book for the first time with all the anticipation, excitement and apprehension.
Anyway, let’s get to my thoughts, feelings and analysis of the book…
Plot
I won’t mention the plot because if I do then I will accidentally spoil it. I don’t want to do that for any prospective readers. So my main summary is that this book follows directly on from ‘The Girl Who Played with Fire’ where Blomkvist (and friends) aim to fight for a girl who has lost all form of rights since she was thirteen against a conspiracy sown deep within the Swedish government.
Characters
Blomkvist- (still after three books, I am not sure how you spell it!) He was my favourite character by far. Often when I’m reading a crime thriller I analyse the effectiveness of the characters and question the probability of the events. However, in this book I was so lost in the writing of Larsson that I just grew to love this character. This was not over one book though, this was a relationship created between the character and reader over three books. What I admired about Blomkvist the most was his method in detective skills- the fact that he wasn’t even a detective was even more admirable. He just wanted to uncover scandals that should never have happened from Wennerstrom (and I found out about the real Wennerstrom which I would probably never come across. I don't usually stumble on Swedish history of politics) to the Zalchenko club. I think this reflected Larsson’s own history as I read the ‘notes about author’ where he was a graphic designer and a writer (I think I can’t really remember) in a Swedish newspaper. His job (I am speculating here) was to uncover scandals and news to the public and this knowledge allowed Larsson to create the world of Salander.
Salander- I know because of her (suspected) Asperger’s syndrome she is often unsociable and I know the portrayal of Salander is intentional. Yet my only critical point of this book is that it still doesn’t show how inspirational of a character Salander is. To be subjected to the violence, the rape and the violation of her human rights and still be sane is phenomenal. I just don’t think that it is credited enough. She is such a powerful character and the main subject/protagonist of this trilogy; I just think she deserves more credit.
Overall, this trilogy (Millennium) has been phenomenal and I don’t care if you’re reading this and thinking I’m over exaggerating. This is my honest opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was definitely worth the time.