Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 674
 Not usually a book reader... but couldn't put it down September 7, 2010
Jolene
I don't normally read books unless I'm travelling, but this trilogy was recommended to me by a colleague who has similar tastes in books, films etc. I was totally engrossed by this book, the first in the trilogy, and managed to finish it in record time.
Brilliant plot and ending. The only problem I had was keeping track of who was who at first, with the difficult to pronounce names and place names but after a few chapters this was fine. It was slow to get into, but persist with it as it's well worth it. A good start to the trilogy - and my favourite of all three of the books.
Well narrated audio book September 7, 2010
Franfran
I am everyday on the road driving to clients and customers and was looking for a good audio book. I received this Stieg Larsson detective novel in the mail.
A surprise from my stepmother who always knows the best thrillers and crime story books.
The story is well narrated, and, even though I got a bit lost at first with all the Swedish names and characters, I had to re-listen to a few lines here and there, I am now totally immersed'inside the story.
It's clever, suspenseful and transports you into the world of a detective agency, Swedish business owners and the dark world of human kind. I enjoy listening to the Girl with a Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson very much. It makes my driving routine more exiting.
A young girl disappears many years ago. Nobody knows what happened to her and how she could vanish into thin air, while 60 members of the family and a whole village was present. The investigation at the time leads nowhere. It can't even be classified as a 'murder' as there was no body to be found.
An 82 years old rich business man, head member of the family, is convinced that his beloved niece has been killed. He decides to re-open the case with the help of a too smart for his own good journalist in trouble. A great detective book!
F.D. CT, USA
 Doesn't justify the hype September 7, 2010
Lendrick (London)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm an occasional reader of thrillers (Rankin, Paretsky and Block being among my preferred authors) given the attention this has had I thought I'd try it as one of my holiday reads this year. Having done so I'm a bit mystified by the attention it has received.
It not a bad book, the core plot around the disappearance of Harriet Vanger is very good and mainly well-handled even if the outcome is a little predictable. At points I was absolutely hooked by the story but at others much less so.
I found it difficult to get into, the prose is clunky (not sure how much of that is down to the translation) and the story telling leisurely - it's about 100 pages in before it really gets going. It then seems to grind to a halt completely about 2/3 of the way through. Before the Harriet plot is rather speedily resolved. There is then a lengthy and rather tedious coda to resolve the Wennerström sub-plot with which the book starts.
Much is made of central characters in the praise the book has had. I did warm a bit to Mikael Blomkvist over the course of the book - though his ability to bed every attractive female was irritating. However, I found Lisbeth Salander entirely unconvincing - a middle aged man's fantasy of a hacker. While her supposed technical wizardry was a bit laughable. Felt like the author has once read an article on hacking, but had no real understanding of IT.
It is interesting that the title has been changed from the original "Men Who Hate Women". Amidst the mostly slow paced narrative there is some pretty grim violence against women - a theme reinforced by the statistics opening each chapter. Some of the violence just feels gratuitous. If this is meant to have a feminist theme it too clumsily done to be effective.
Another review said this felt like a first draft of a novel, and I tend to agree. Some promising elements but too many flaws. I can see it could make a good film. But I won't be rushing to buy the sequels.
Fantastic September 6, 2010
P. Knight (London UK)
Possibly one of the best books i've read. Get it, read it and lose yourself for a few hours.
 Flawed diamond September 5, 2010
Ellen V
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book on impulse as the name rang a bell, and glad I did.
It is a gripping read but far from perfect. I am assuming that as the author died just after submitting the manuscripts it missed out on being edited, which would no doubt have improved many of the flaws. The tale is set in Sweden, which is interesting and well presented - I felt I understood the essence of the country, both politically/socially and in terms of geography. The plot involves a historical murder and an unconnected current corporate fraud, but the two are awkwardly intertwined, really only by the main character working on both projects. The novel stutters about a bit, with the best section being the Harriet Vanger murder plotline. The author has put in too much - too many characters are mentioned that we just don't need to know about (other staff at Millenium, too many Vanger cousins etc), there is too much detailing in some areas and not enough at other points. Overall there are too many ideas - corporate fraud, murder, hacking, pseudo-spying, Salander's story, and an edit would have ensured these where simplified and strengthened. There are also odd errors (there is no mention of x knowing y yet x pops into y's office etc). The main characters are in the right ballpark but could be strengthened. However, saying all that the Swedish essence and the gripping Vanger murder plot mean you can't put this book down, and it's worth accepting the flaws for this. The Salander character is compelling enough for me to want to read the next 2 books.
I will be interested to see both the Swedish and awaited US film versions of this, as hopefully the screenwriters will have addressed the novels flaws, and the main plot would lend itself well to the big screen.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 674
|
![The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo [DVD] [2009]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00361GC7A.01._AA75_PU_PU-5_.jpg)
