INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER Lisbeth Salander is back with a vengeance. The series that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo continues as brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander teams up with journalist Mikael Blomkvist to uncover the secrets of her childhood and to take revenge. Lisbeth Salander—obstinate outsider, volatile seeker of justice for herself and others—seizes on a chance to … for herself and others—seizes on a chance to unearth her mysterious past once and for all. And she will let nothing stop her—not the Islamists she enrages by rescuing a young woman from their brutality; not the prison gang leader who passes a death sentence on her; not the deadly reach of her long-lost twin sister, Camilla; and not the people who will do anything to keep buried knowledge of a sinister pseudoscientific experiment known only as The Registry. Once again, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are the fierce heart of a thrilling full-tilt novel that takes on some of the world’s most insidious problems.
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My reading style is eclectic, and I’d probably use the same term to describe this series and book. I first picked up the ‘Millennium’ series when I saw all the hype and read the description of the published novels. I particularly love genealogical mysteries, and when you toss in some thrills and suspense, it’s likely a good fit for my reading preferences. I absolutely adored and rated The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in my top books of all time. I read the next two in the series and was saddened over the author’s death but excited to see another writer’s take on the characters and setting.
Lagercrantz is a worthy successor, and someday, I will read one of his prior books too. I’m troubled when reviewers complain about the choice of a new author to to continue writing a series because all they do is compare the two and start out with a pessimistic attitude. I prefer to have some sense of an open mind and look for the positive in a new take on an old favorite. I’m also an optimist and respect an author’s efforts and talent and find it difficult to give something a poor rating unless it was absolutely ridden with errors and issues. Hence… for Lagercrantz’s versions, I enjoy the style, writing quality, different views, and continuation of a fantastic concept. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye is the second of his in this series that I’ve read, and while it was a good read, there were a few items that didn’t work in totality for me. I ended up at a 3.5 rating, comfortably rounding upward to account for all the effort that goes into a series and taking over another author’s work.
One of my favorite aspects was the revisit to Lisbeth’s childhood when abuse formulated her outlook on life. In an earlier book, when we learned the extent to which she’d been attacked and damaged, I felt horrific sorrow for her. Seeing what else happened, via this book, I’m even more devastated. Initially, I thought… wait, is this a history rewrite? I didn’t go back to compare the timelines and actions, as I’m sure the editors and author’s did their justice… but I did find myself wondering how this aligned with Zala’s influence on his daughter, Lisbeth. I’m kinda hoping to get a book dedicated to Agneta, Lisbeth’s mother, as there is a bigger story there – I’m certain! For me, these characters are so flawed, yet so lovable (not in a cozy way, but in an ‘I want to help you’ way). Learning what they went through and what forced them to become the people they are today… that is excellent character development. Possibly over-the-top in a few places (not unlike the whole series… just a bit more in this book), I put aside my ‘hmmm…’ attitude and focused on what bond must exist between Mikael and Lisbeth to support each other through these tragedies. These are two friends we should all have. I particularly enjoyed the Muslim-focused story-line, and I was irate over the way these men treated their sister (and in general how certain attitudes still prevail).
The translation (actually, was it translated? The originals were, but I’m honestly not sure about these ones. Did the author write originally in his own language? I checked and the Swedish and English versions came out on the same day.) was good and offered new vocabulary for me to learn. I found some of the individual scenes a bit repetitive, but they moved the story forward. The end was satisfying in terms of catching the bad guys (sort of), but I wanted it to be more of a showdown. The sixth book in the series comes out later this year, and I’m going to try to read it relatively quickly close to this one, as I suspect some of the ending components will continue into it. What did everyone else think of this book?
There’s a clear indication that Lagercrantz has the necessary mojo to carry on with Salander and Blomkvist. Although Salander is the truly complex piece of the Millennium puzzle, Blomkvist plays a necessary, almost superficial role in the series that cannot be ignored.
In Eye For An Eye, although the title is not indicative of any major themes in the book that have not been applicable to earlier works in the series, there are not one but two cases the hacker heroine and the superstar journalist tackle, somewhat related but not wholly woven. I will comment no further as this would risk spoilers.
Suffice it to say that Lagercrantz still suffers from overwriting, but I could sense an improvement (over Spider’s Web) with smooth texture in this novel. To put it simply, the book is worth a read, and quite leaner than previous entries in the franchise.
Post Script: I am still a Larrson loyalist, despite my praise for Lagercrantz.
Great author!
Lisbeth Salander is back again, though not with her original creator Steig Larson. His prose was more vivid, and his endings more open-ended and mysterious, but Lagercrantz does a nice job of continuing the saga of Lisbeth and the other characters from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. If you are a follower of the series, this is well worth the read. The book takes you away from our mundane and scary quarantine, to an earlier time when we might have run around town maskless, chasing through large groups after bad guys and crooks.
The book description sets the stage, so no need for me to rehash. I’m still impressed at how well David Lagercrantz has taken over the Millennium series and I’m grateful that Lisbeth and Mikael are still around. Right from the start, I knew this was going to be a great read. Mr. Lagercrantz writes with confidence and assurance, he has now made the characters his own, while not deviating from the late Stieg Larsson’s creations. I loved that, at the beginning, a cast of the recurring characters is included.
There are many new characters and several subplots in THE GIRL WHO TAKES AN EYE FOR AN EYE, and while I had no idea how they would all intersect, it was done seamlessly; I was interested in every one of them, and this is not easy to accomplish. My attention never wandered, possibly because the pace is steady, increasing as the tension mounts. The writing is vibrant and dynamic, and the characters superbly defined. And oh my goodness, there is an “Oh no!!!” moment that stunned me. I still can’t believe it!
The translation is excellent, but it’s a bit odd that the spelling is English while the verbs alternate between American and English (colours, but realized and dialled!). The author’s meticulous. research on several topics is superb and added to my enjoyment; I learned quite a few things. There is an epilogue and it is perfect. If you liked the previous books in the Millennium series, don’t hesitate to pick up THE GIRL WHO TAKES AN EYE FOR AN EYE.
What a wonderful surprise I got when walking into my local library to find this book on the shelf.
David Lagercrantz did a wonderful work getting right into the heart of the story of Salander where Stieg Larson had stopped.
A brilliant followup on the Millenium series as Blomkvist and his team unravel another story deep in the heart of the governmental organization. The pace was the same and I was absolutely locked in my room to get the latest update on this remarkable series.
A must-read for every person that likes a psychological thriller, set apart from all other books.
I found this slow reading . It took me a long time to read it. But loved Blumquist as always.
I’m at the beach and cannot put this book down!
Keeping Steig’s style moving along.
Gotta go now…just hit mid-book aha points….
This is the fifth book in the Millennium Series. I enjoyed this story almost as much as I enjoyed Stieg Larsson’s earlier books starting with “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. I know there are many who feel that David Lagercrantz does not stand up to Larsson’s writing, but I think it comes close enough. I’m not saying it’s better than the first three, just that it holds up to the series.
The main appeal for me is always the kickass Lisabeth Salander character and Lagercrantz understands that and doesn’t try to move her too much from Larsson’s original motivation and personality. This story begins where the last one left off, with Salander in prison. As I would expect, prison is no problem for Salander and she is able to dole out a bit of justice there before she is released after her sentence ends. She is a complex character and is not infallible in this story which makes her realistic. There were a few small issues I had with her role in the ending, but I don’t want to leave any spoilers.
I enjoyed Lagercrantz’s views on the financial markets and genes verses environment. Those storylines made for some interesting thinking in the middle of the book that was a nice change of pace from the action. The story was complex and although I did guess a few of the twists early on, I was still turning pages with interest all the way to the end.
If I have any complaint about these books, it’s the Mikael Blomkvist character. He’s a magazine editor, investigator extraordinaire, and apparent every women’s sexual dream. I don’t know why that bothers me, I guess it’s that he’s a bit of a James Bond character, but while Salander does all tricky thinking and the necessary violence, he still get’s the cocktail and the girl in every book. Despite that nagging annoyance, I enjoyed this book. I don’t expect earthshattering revelations in these books, just some good twists, turns and a health dose of Lisabeth Salander outsmarting and overpowering her evil adversaries. And that’s what I got.
Same characters as Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Story got drawn out in the middle but gave us more information on Salanders past. Love the characters and twists along the way.
it was a great read. I especially like Lisabeth….a great character !!
Couldn’t put it down, fast pace, good mystery reading.
This was enjoyable, but I’d have REALLY enjoyed for Lisbeth to have played more of a meatier role here. The story was just a little too Lisbeth-lite for my taste. Overall, I found it to be a gripping story that makes me think Mr. Lagercrantz is planting seeds for the next book which I anticipate (hope) will give us more of Salander and Blomkvist teaming up they way they did in the earlier books.
Another Great book !