Review: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

THE STUNNING THIRD AND FINAL NOVEL IN STIEG LARSSON'S INTERNATIONALLY BEST-SELLING TRILOGY

Lisbeth Salander - the heart of Larsson's two previous novels - lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge - against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

Finally, it's over and I'm a little relieved. I didn't like this one as much as the first two but I am glad that I read it and that the story was wrapped up for me. I really was afraid that there would be unanswered questions left hanging. I also wondered if some brave soul would try and continue the adventures of Lisbeth and Mikael as Larsson had planned. I don't believe that's the case.

Obviously, I had a few issues with Hornet's Nest. There was too many boring patches sprinkled about in Hornet's Nest; all the Swedish governmental history I encountered here has already left my brain as I have practically no retention for uninteresting bits. Some of it was actually relevant to the plot but it didn't do anything for me. I also didn't like the title. Yes, I know it's extremely picky of me but it implies that Lisbeth is the one who keeps causing the trouble when in fact Lisbeth is the real victim of this series.

Lisbeth finally gets to grow up by the end of Hornet's Nest. I really appreciated that. The circumstances of Lisbeth's childhood and treatment by the state kept her from being an adult in the eyes of other people and in her own.

On the whole, I did enjoy reading this one. Some twisty plots and resolution made it a satisfactory end to the Millennium series. Earlier today I watched the Swedish film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and was pleasantly surprised with it. I'm not sure though if anyone not familiar with the book would have been able to follow everything and they had to edit tons of stuff out to manage to fit it into a reasonable movie length (it was still two and a half hours long). The actors picked to play Lisbeth and Mikael were both good and well-suited for their roles. So far, there has been Swedish movies made of the first two books and there is even a television program called Millennium airing in Sweden. Daniel Craig has been picked to play Mikael in the US version that is to be directed by David Fincher with a release date in 2012.

Our Most Anticipated Books for May

This is a new monthly post we'll be doing where we both will pick the books we each are most looking forward to getting this month. Since we're still working out the details of how we're going to be doing joint posts and whatnot so I'll be doing the posting for this one. Here's my pick...

The ultimate secret. The ultimate agent. The President's vampire.
Zach Barrows is an ambitious young White House staffer whose career takes an unexpected turn when he's partnered with Nathaniel Cade, a secret agent sworn to protect the president. But Cade is no ordinary civil servant. Bound by a special blood oath, Cade has spent more than 140 years in service to the president, battling nightmares before they can break into the daylight world of the American dream.
Immediately Zach and Cade receive their first joint assignment: one that uncovers a shadowy government conspiracy and a plot to attack the Unites States with a gruesome new biological weapon. Zach soon learns that the world is far stranger, and far more dangerous, than he ever imagined . . . and that his partner is the least of his problems.

There are a ton of awesome books coming out this month but this book caught my eye last fall and I have been lusting after it ever since. I'm a fan of Tom Clancy as well as Vince Flynn (I know, it's weird) so when I read Blood Oath's description I thought, "Clancy with vampires? Cool!"

Here are Jane's picks:

The #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series - the basis for HBO's True Blood - continues!
After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the brief but deadly Faery War, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and she's angry. Just about the only bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But he's under scrutiny by the new Vampire King because of their relationship. And as the political implications of the Shifters coming out are beginning to be felt, Sookie's connection to the Shreveport pack draws her into the debate. Worst of all, though the door to Faery has been closed, there are still some Fae on the human side-and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry...

The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson’s internationally best-selling trilogy
Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.
Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

Jane says:
I have TWO books that are coming out this month that I'm really excited about. The first one is Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris which is being release tomorrow...yeah! I've already pre-ordered it. The other one is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson being released on May 25th. That one I plan on reading as an ebook.

Back to Jen:
There you go, folks. All three books mentioned here are on my TBR list with Sookie and Blood Oath also on pre-order. Lisbeth I'll get from the library. I can't wait to see what she does.