The Girl with the dragon tatoo - Steig Larrson

berengar

The Girl with the dragon tatoo .. aka Millenium I ...

part I of the trilogy _Millenium_ series ...

excellent book , just finished reading it there, anyone else read it ?

Just ordered the 2nd one (Girl who played with Fire) ...looking forward to reading it ..

Hennybug

berengar wrote: »

The Girl with the dragon tatoo .. aka Millenium I ...

part I of the trilogy _Millenium_ series ...

excellent book , just finished reading it there, anyone else read it ?

Just ordered the 2nd one (Girl who played with Fire) ...looking forward to reading it ..

Fantastic - i've read both and can't wait for the third to be released!

Quality

Loved the girl with the dragon tattoo, but personally found that the girl who played with fire was better.

Really looking forward to the last one!!

mountain

you dont have long to wait,
the Girl who kicked the Hornets Nest" is due out on the 1st Oct.

ADTR

Just finished it. Thought it was good enough for what it was. Found it a little too predictable, saw both endings coming. Don't think I'll read the other two books.

eclectichoney

ADTR wrote: »

Just finished it. Thought it was good enough for what it was. Found it a little too predictable, saw both endings coming. Don't think I'll read the other two books.

+1 on this. Wouldn't be the kind of thing I'd normally read though. I mean it was alright, but a bit longwinded and suffered from irrelevant detail at times. If it was a tighter 300 page length novel it could have worked much better imo. Won't be reading the other two I imagine :pac:

babystrawberry

i just bought the 'girl who kicked the hornets nest' at the weekend after seeing it got very good reviews

i then realised after buying it that it is a sequel to 'girl with dragon tatoo'
Would it be best that i buy this book and read that or will i actually get the gist of the book i bought?

Sephiroth_dude

Is this a fantasy trilogy?

eclectichoney

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Is this a fantasy trilogy?

No it's a crime trilogy.

Afaik they have to be read in order - particularly the 2nd & 3rd books, as they follow on from each other (or so I have been told!)

Woden

Have read the first two and enjoyed them both. Part of this though was they are based on Stockholm and referenced places I have been which I liked.

I did not enjoy the 2nd one as much as the 1st. I have picked up the 3rd though on its recent translation and just started it

Damian Duffy

I've really enjoyed the first two although I thought the ending to the first was a little obvious. The books badly need to be edited, could easily cut a 100 odd pages off each. Gonna wait until the last one becomes available in mass market paperback, that 17 euro trade paperback wouldn't even fit in my bag!

thebiglad

Damian Duffy wrote: »

I've really enjoyed the first two although I thought the ending to the first was a little obvious. The books badly need to be edited, could easily cut a 100 odd pages off each. Gonna wait until the last one becomes available in mass market paperback, that 17 euro trade paperback wouldn't even fit in my bag!

I have read the 3rd book, enjoyed it, easy to read etc but thought the story got a bit lazy - would still definitely recomend the trilogy.

By the way, picked up book in Easons at €12.99, you could also get a bigger bag:p

jackbhoy

Damian Duffy wrote: »

Gonna wait until the last one becomes available in mass market paperback, that 17 euro trade paperback wouldn't even fit in my bag!

It's £9.49 for hardcover version on Amazon with free delivery if your order is £25 or more.

Zippitydoo

Half way through the third book now- fantastic trilogy, pity he died so young apparently he had 10 of them planned, although 10 does seem a bit excessive to me.

thebiglad

Zippitydoo wrote: »

Half way through the third book now- fantastic trilogy, pity he died so young apparently he had 10 of them planned, although 10 does seem a bit excessive to me.

2nd book was the best, 3rd was a bit weak overall, all comes together too easily

Still maintain though a great concept and really enjoyed the triology - actually glad though there weren't 10 of them - just where could this story go - apart I guess from Eastern Europe:rolleyes:

pipelaser

Ive finished the book two days ago and i must say, im still stunned.
Surely Blomkvist

had to ride Harriet Vagner somewhere along the way.

Larsson prob just forgot to include this inevitable eventuality.

smcgiff

Good read - first 100 pages a bit slow though and some of the translation didn't come across so well. Will definitely get the other two.

something like €5 in Tesco. Although third book available in Tescos 2nd isn't. :eek:

Kalimah

I picked this up in a charity shop for €2. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it. I didn't like it all that much. The translation was very clunky at times and as someone else said it could have done with a good bit of editing. I couldn't really warm to the characters either. I got a loan of the last two in the trilogy and I will read them at some stage.

Chinafoot

I have only read the first one and I have to say, I really didn't get all the hype. Perhaps it was the translation but it seemed poorly written.

I had the ending sussed quite early on too and I agree that I didn't warm to any of the characters. I didn't really care about them, I guess.

I'll probably get around to the other two at some point but for now there are plenty of other books much higher on the list.

BopNiblets

I watched the Swedish movie, is it close to the book at all? It was good.

RacoonQueen

I started this book and really didn't like it much, I'd very rarely give up on a book that early on.

Kai

Read the first 2 and enjoyed them, will be getting the 3rd shortly. Lets be clear; they are not fantastic books but they do tell a good story and the pace and action is generally quite good.

I was surprised to find myself enjoying it as normally when a book or series is this popular (dare i mention the Da Vinci code) they are generally terrible. I enjoyed them though for what its worth.

LionelNashe

I avoided these books for ages and then decided that there must be something in them that was making them so popular. I have just finished the 2nd one, The Girl Who Played With Fire, a few minutes ago.

They could have done with some editing. I had to laugh at times during the first one when whole paragraphs would be devoted to the spec of the PC that the character was considering buying. And in the second book, similar treatment is given to a character's Ikea shopping list when kitting out an apartment.

But apart from this, I could tell from the first few pages of the second book that the writing was a bit more polished. And the character really develops. The story in Book 2 is really gripping. I got 4 hours sleep last night because I was nearing the end.

Denerick

I'm considering getting into this, someone I know is on my case... Would you recommend it? I've never read a crime novel and rarely read thrillers (And those that I do are usually historical like Robert Harris)

Asphyxia

I was also a bit cautious with these books for awhile as I am not a big fan of crime books, but as usual one of my friends bragged and bragged about them and I gave in and bought the the first two in HMV one day. After reading the first one I was amazed it was really hard not to put it down I found myself up at 2 in the morning most night while reading. I just finished the 2nd book but this time I took my time and again I thought it was brilliant.

I am very excited about starting the 3rd one but going to give my brain a rest for a day or two before I go mental. I would definitely recommend these books even if you don't read a lot of crime. Very good

Pontificatus

Pocketfizz wrote: »

I was amazed it was really hard not to put it down

What a lovely Freudian slip I wish i had put them down too!

I've read all three books with without spoiling the last for you i found it to be the best of the three. Personally i thought each book was too long by half and included too many pointless story arcs, too much mindless and intricate detail and too much sex for the sake of it.

I'm glad i read them so i never have to read them again and when a friend is telling me how 'awesome/amazing' the books are i can laugh and pour scorn. I honestly believe these books are over-rated and a lot of the praise they get are from people who are amazed that they read a 'long' book.

YouThinkThat

I just finished the 3rd book last night and am sorry that there arent any more for me to get my teeth into. I thought the court case description at the end was fab (I wont expand for those of you that havent read it yet!). Overall I have to say that I loved all 3, although the volume of characters (and the pronunciation of their names!) sometimes made it a challenge to remember who's who - particularly in the 3rd book. For those of you who have read the 1st and 2nd Id recommend you go for the hat-trick: you wont be disappointed.....

i-digress

I thought the first book was really good, but the plot got a bit fantastical in books two and three. I agree with a poster above, the books are good but not great.

ush

I've read them in the original Swedish. Live there (here?).

Larsson died before they were published. So I don't think they did much editing on them. The books could have each be about a hundred pages shorter.

me-skywalker

Just bought this gonna start reading it now.

calex71

Enjoyed the books, but all of them suffered from having way too much back story and tangents that really didn't need to be there. Guessed the ending of the 1st early on, and the 3rd dragged the most of the 3 although it was the best by a mile.

I didn't hate the characters, but what struck me most about the books was none of them were likable in the least, they all had their flaws. I wanted to slap Lisbeth and kick Kalle f**king Blomkvist in the balls.

Feeona

A good trilogy to get stuck into. Excessive detail about gadgets characters were using was annoying alright (although the makers of the Hollywood version will have a field day raking in the cash from endorsements!)

Saw the first film in the trilogy and I think it was far better than the book. Changed some things around and it had less needless detail than the book.

politicsdude

saw the film thought it was cool

cynder

I hated the film, loved the books read all 3 in less than a week.:D

rebeve

Very predictable series

Eoin

I just finished the third one last week.

I quite liked the first one (if a bit slow) - while it was really predictable, the Swedish angle was a bit of a novelty. The second one was absolutely ridiculous, and the third one (aka "most men are bastards to women") wasn't great at all. As others have said, all of them seemed to go into absolutely needless detail which didn't add much at all, other than the word count.

ncmc

They could have done with some editing. I had to laugh at times during the first one when whole paragraphs would be devoted to the spec of the PC that the character was considering buying. And in the second book, similar treatment is given to a character's Ikea shopping list when kitting out an apartment.

That bit just took the biscuit, I know the author died shortly after finishing the 3rd book, but there is no excuse for the 2nd being so long and with so much pointless back detail. Did the publisher not have an editor???

I am reading the 3rd one at the moment and am really struggling with it. I am finding it so boring and repetitive. There is so much pointless back story on EVERY single character, I find that I am skipping pages of detail that I know will have no bearing on the book. I am half way through now and feel I have gone too far to stop reading, but am dreading ploughing through the 2nd half.

I thought the first book was enjoyable nonsense, the second only ok and so far the 3rd is utter tripe. I am so disappointed in these books, as a couple of people (who's opinion I trust) raved about them. I would put them on a par with the Dan Brown books, and no, I don't mean that as a compliment :cool:

nompere

ncmc wrote: »

I would put them on a par with the Dan Brown books, and no, I don't mean that as a compliment :cool:

I don't think that is entirely fair.

I think that Larsson has been poorly served by his editor, who should have eliminated large chunks, and his translator, who seemed to me to have very little "feel" for English, whatever about his Swedish. But I enjoyed all three stories and I liked Lisbeth as a character.

I read all three books during a seven day trip to Malta last Christmas and I wasn't ever overcome by the urge to hurl any of the books into the nearest bin, which is the reaction that Brown provokes. (I read Angels & Demons years ago, and thought it was rubbish, but had forgotten who the author was when The Da Vinci Code was published, and bought that as well. A few chapters in and I remembered my previous experience!)

mav79

Really enjoyed the three books just thought there were parts that dragged on too long.

LionelNashe

Finished the 3rd one a couple of weeks ago - I think the 2nd was my favourite of the three. As I mentioned in previous post and as others have mentioned, I was a bit bemused at the amateurish writing style in parts but I think the story and characters were more than strong enough to compensate.

I watched the 3 Swedish films of the books last week. I preferred the books. I think that the material would have been better suited to a TV Series (or three) than trying to squash each book into a 90 minute film.

Boo Radley

The trilogy is definately worth a read but has its niggles, not least that any reference to sex - of the non-violent kind - is mechanical and loveless. Found that pretty strange. Also Blomkvist is written only how a man could write him; all and any woman throws themself at him. A bit too James Bond in that respect.

All the niggles aside, it was entertaining, the 1st being the worst and the 3rd the best.

ncmc

Well, (finally) finished the third one during the week.

I wasn't ever overcome by the urge to hurl any of the books into the nearest bin, which is the reaction that Brown provokes. (I read Angels & Demons years ago, and thought it was rubbish, but had forgotten who the author was when The Da Vinci Code was published, and bought that as well. A few chapters in and I remembered my previous experience!)

I stand by my Dan Brown comparison! Several times (especially during the first half of the book), I felt like hurling it against the wall (I decided against it as I have an E-reader so it would have been an expensive protest )

I felt the second half of the book was definitly stronger than the first half. I enjoyed

the court case scenes

. However the first half of the book was unforgiveably slow. The level of pointless backstory and the constant repetiveness was extremely irritating and hard to read. There were also alot of side stories eg

The whole story of Berger at the newspaper and the stalker

that were entirely pointless. I thought that story would tie in with the main story somehow, but it had no bearing whatsover and served no purpose other than to bloat and already bloated book.

any reference to sex - of the non-violent kind - is mechanical and loveless. Found that pretty strange. Also Blomkvist is written only how a man could write him; all and any woman throws themself at him. A bit too James Bond in that respect.

I found that element made me slightly uncomfortable. As you say, the ordinary love making was extremely mechanical and passionless,

yet he describes the rapes in excessive and disturbing detail.

I think my problem was that I was expecting too much from them. I would recommend the first one to someone looking for some light fluff reading. But would (and already have) advised people to stay clear of the 2nd and 3rd.

Eoin

This is quite a funny read:

The Girl Who Fixed The Umlaut

-Trek-

First book was interesting, I really only picked it up because of all the hype surrounding it. Am about 1/2 through the second instalment and just cant force myself to finish it, I guess I cant relate to any of the characters or themes, nothing really reaches out to grab me and so, I really don't expect to be buying the final book.
And also beside all the sex, how much coffee can one man drink before he gives himself a seizure? After 3 cups I'm wired to the moon for the rest of the day.

-Trek-

eoin wrote: »

This is quite a funny read:

The Girl Who Fixed The Umlaut

LOL, that was class! now I would have no problem reading three books of that.

ncmc

Trekmad wrote: »

First book was interesting, I really only picked it up because of all the hype surrounding it. Am about 1/2 through the second instalment and just cant force myself to finish it, I guess I cant relate to any of the characters or themes, nothing really reaches out to grab me and so, I really don't expect to be buying the final book.
And also beside all the sex, how much coffee can one man drink before he gives himself a seizure? After 3 cups I'm wired to the moon for the rest of the day.

Haha, between the sex and the coffee, how do they get anything done! Also what's with all the coffee at nightime? And the sandwiches for every meal!

EverEvolving

You know what; I read all three books and loved them.

They aren't perfect and there is a lot of waffle, but they are almost the opposite of a subtle film that you don’t ‘get’ until the second watch – you want them to give you more so it doesn’t always warrant the second watch. The names and places are a bit annoying to remember but if you are like me, you will imagine the person, make the name sound like their personality and remember them from that.

I definitely recommend reading them.

LiamMc

When does this book start to get interesting?
I'm half-way through Chapter 11 and I'm still waiting for the book to start.
It's painful reading at the moment.