And so I reach the end of the Millennium Trilogy, and mourn the untimely passing of its author, Stiegg Larsson, before he could continue the adventures of Lisbeth Salander any further.
The third and final tale of the girl with the dragon tattoo is a curious one. As with other famous trilogies, it's much more closely connected to its predecessor than the second episode was to the first (think Empire / Jedi), working as a direct continuation to the cliffhanger ending of the previous novel. It also makes the somewhat ridiculous climax of The Girl Who Played With Fire slightly less so, as Lisbeth spends the majority of this book in hospital recovering from the dramatic injuries she sustained during the showdown with her father.
Not only is Lisbeth hospitalised, she's also under arrest and facing trial for attempted murder (among other charges), so the plot this time is dedicated almost entirely to Mikael Blomkvist's quest to clear her name. There's a satisfying subplot in which Lisbeth (despite her confinement) investigates a stalker who's harrassing Blomkvist's former partner Erica Berger, but other than that the eponymous heroine takes a passive role while the rest of the cast carry the action.
Action is still the weakest area of Larsson's writing though, the investigative stuff proving far more exciting, the history of Sweden's secret police far more engrossing, and the real dramatic climax takes place with Lisbeth's day in court... a final violent showdown with her brother, awol for most of the novel, feels tacked on and unnecessary. It'll no doubt work better in the movie which will sadly have to jettison much of the political intrigue, but was Larsson really writing with an adaptation in mind?
Minor gripes aside, the Millennium trilogy remains one of the most exciting series of thrillers I've read in recent years, well deserving the publishing phenomenon status it's achieved. I have gorged myself on these books, and would have happily done so for many years to come.
Rest In Peace, Stieg Larsson. You deserve it.
