Customer Reviews

The Girl Who Played With Fire

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Godly people find life; evil people find death." -- Proverbs 11:19

If you enjoyed Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you're in for a treat: This is Lisbeth's story, explaining how such a brilliant woman came to be a ward of the state, taken "care of" by a pervert lawyer. What's more, she's on the run . . . first from her disappointment in loving Mikael Blomkvist, and later from the authorities who rely on circumstantial evidence to decide that she's a murderer. With all of Sweden after her, can Lisbeth outwit her foes?

The story is very much a David and Goliath conflict: Tiny Lisbeth is pitted against rich, powerful, and evil enemies who wish her the very worst they can wish. In developing that theme, Stieg Larsson raises fascinating fundamental questions about duality in the reader's mind such as when strength is weakness and weakness is strength, when doing good leads to evil and when doing evil leads to doing good, when friendship is more important than love and love leads to friendship, what the basis for personal morality should be and when public morality is immoral, and how the family bonds can be horrible while friendship bonds can be redeeming. You'll walk away from this book with a more objective view of the next news story you read about a crime and its punishment.

Stieg Larsson makes quite a bit of Lisbeth's extraordinary intellect. When she's running circles around conventional people, you'll feel like you are reading all about Robin Hood again. Those sections provide something of a letdown however for readers when they have to go back to following the conventional people as they bumble around. I found myself impatient for the next dose of Lisbeth several times in the book's middle.

As in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this book pulls off the respectable front of the rich and powerful to reveal the evil underneath, the sick predators who will stop at nothing to satisfy their every whim. Be ready to be dragged through the mud of gross human depravity. Like a modern-day Joan of Arc, Lisbeth doesn't let the muck stick to her as she slogs through it.

Enjoy!!!!!!

Lisbeth Salander is one of the most original and intriguing characters to appear in modern literature for a very long time. When was the last time you came across a featherweight female boxer with more than a touch of Asperger's syndrome; with strong kung-fu when it comes to computer hacking skills and an unstoppable fighting spirit when it comes to physical blows; with a photographic memory and an uncanny ability to grasp mathematics; a master of social engineering and a ghost of disguises; a formidable chess player and an enemy few people could afford to make?
It is Pipi Longstockings with breast implants, real guns and a killer PowerBook!

Whereas the first installment of the MILLENNIUM Trilogy was more on publisher Mikael Blomkvist and his quest to solve a decades old locked-room/island mystery, this second book gives us a ample view on Lisbeth's history as she straggles to clear her name of a triple murder. She had both motive and opportunity and all physical evidence points to her. Was she desperate enough to actually have done it? What could possibly push her over the edge?

Women trafficking, rogue agents of the Soviet GRU and the Swedish Sapo trying to keep their crimes in the shadows, biker gangs and obscure members of Lisbeth's family all interweave in a very absorbing story that kept me turning pages into the morning hours.
And amongst the fog of all this war, Lisbeth comes up with Fermat's alleged elegant solution to his Last Theorem on her own (no, unfortunately the solution is not described in detail).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I ordered this book online because none of my local stores carried a hard copy of the second book. I was really impressed that my book arrived carefully packaged (my book was in perfect condition, not a scratch on it) and it arrived only 4 days after I place my order.

As for the book itself, there are plenty of reviews for the Millennium series to explore. I personally enjoy the books, very intelligently written and totally mind gripping.

LE LIVRE EST EN STOCK DEPUIS LONGTEMPS VOTRE POLITIQUE EST DE 3-5 jours pour l'expédier et max 6 jours pour l'envoyer je n'ai toujours rien cela fait 12 jours....et Rien n'a été expédié...

There's a reason why Mr. Larsson's series of three Millenium books is so hot in Europe. The books are based on excellent character development and elusive, but ultimately credible plots. Knowing that the third book in the series won't be available in English until January 2010, I didn't want the "The Girl Who Played With Fire" to end, but that didn't stop me from putting on a full-court press to finish the book - that's how keen I was to read on! It's a great piece of mystery fiction. Lisbeth Salander, the "Girl" referred to in the title, is an extraordinary character who lives on in the imagination well beyond the pages of the books.

I really enjoy this series and can't wait for the third. Lisbeth is a most compelling character and beyond doubt the star. A few problems: it's hard to keep all the strange sounding place names straight; it's hard to keep all the strange names of the minor characters straight (both of these are minor irritants, and if I were not so lazy I would have a map of Sweden beside me); the writing style is very matter of fact and odd, almost as though the translator is not a native English speaker. But, I got used to this. The book is intricly plotted but does not fall into the habit of being so complex that it cannot be followed. I recommend this thriller without reservation. (As I do the first in the series "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo")

The first installement of this series was quite a tough act to follow and I must say that while "The Girl who Played with Fire" was slightly inferior, it did not disapoint. While the novel centers around most of the same characters, mainly Lisbeth Salander, the plot is altogether different. Salander is a truely unique and mysterious character that prompts the reader to carry on reading just to uncover more about this fascinating girl. The novel tackles a variety of topics such as sex trafficking, domestic abuse and police corruption and keeps you interested until the very end.

Do not read if you don't intend to follow through with the third installement because the book ends on quite a cliff hanger.

The novel could however have used some editing. Too many secondary characters were introduced to the point where it got difficult do distinguish one from the other being that they were so underdeveloped and frankly, practically unrecognisable. Not to mention that their names all sounded the same to me. The book could have lost a hundred pages just by removing alot of the mundane coffee drinking, cigarette smoking and errand running that lead nowhere. It could have also done without the seemingly useless subplot early on in the novel about an American couple who never reapeared during the rest of the book.

All in all, it was a very good read, but it could have done with a bit more focus.

Loving this series. Both this book and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have amazing characters and riveting, intelligent story lines. Can't wait to get to the third, though I`m NOT looking forward to being done with Lisbeth and Mikael! For me, it feels somehow like a very welcome marriage between Ian Rankin and John Grisham books!

This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down. A must read I am really sad this author is no longer with us because I would have read everything he wrote.

Just finished this and have now completed two of the three books in this series. Can't wait to get my hands on the next one! This book is a great follow up to a great first part! So far this series has lived up to the hype, do yourself a favor and get to know Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist!