The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium Trilogy, #2)

by Stieg Larsson

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

• ISBN10: 0307269981
• ISBN13: 9780307269980
• Publish Date: 28 July 2009 (first published 1 January 2009)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Hardcover (Deckle Edge)
• Pages: 512
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780307269980

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

First The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo did a modern take on the 'Trapped on an island' who-done-it plot; now The Girl Who Played with Fire does a take on the 'It wasn't me, it was the one armed man' plot

[inlibrisveritas]

I loved the first one in this series, which I practically devoured in a week, so I had no second thoughts about picking up the second. As was mentioned in the description this is the second in the series, but this is a book that can be read as a stand alone. However I do not really recommend it. While the main story does not directly connect to the last book's, the rest of the story does so there is a chance of feeling out of the loop if you do choose to skip the first book. Also there is a really good chance that you may not really like it as much without reading the first one.

If you've read the first one then this one will feel pretty familiar. The length of the book is around the same as the last, thick, and the story flows the same way as before. Also like the first one the plot does take a bit to get into, but once it starts rolling along it gets harder to put the book down. However do not enter this book thinking that Salander is going to dominate the pages, because she's not hugely predominate in the story until about half way through. That does not detract from the storyline in fact it kind of adds to it, and it definitely makes it harder to figure out the "who dunnit" aspect. Mikael takes the forefront on this one and does a brillant job with being as interesting as he was before. I actually loved the fact that Salander wasn't take the spot light this time, don't get me wrong I think she's great but it was nice to have Mikael but the focus for awhile. The plot is great and the mystery part is hard to figure out, so in that aspect it will definitely keep you reading in hope for more clues as to who it is.

Of course there are a few drawbacks to the book, hence only 4 stars. I wasn't fond of the word "dyke" being used, I suppose I'm not sure if that's a everyday term in Sweden and I suppose it's because it's always been used around me as an insult. But of course that's not hardly enough to detract a star. Of course I've mentioned before that the plot is slow towards the beginning as it is in the first one, so it is possible to loose some interest then. Luckliy there is less of the random relationships in this one, but it is still sort of a forced subject. You will quickly get the fact that Larsson believed in equal treatment for all, and you'll get it again and again and again. Despite the annoyances though the book was still fantastic to me.

If you read and enjoyed the first book, you'll enjoy this one too. So you should definitely pick it up. If you are thinking about looking into this as your first Larsson read, then I do suggest getting the first book as it will make this experience better for you if you do choose to read it.

[dokie80]

Lebih seru daripada yang pertama, latar belakang Lisbeth Salander terungkap! Tapi banyak sekali karakternya, mana namanya susah2 lagi :(

Salander ternyata selain jago komputer dan punya "photographic memory", ternyata juga jago berantem! Lincah, pernah belajar tinju, wah.. makin mantap aja deh dia. Sedangkan si Mikael masih tetep playboy ;)

Nah, penasaran ga kenapa si Salander bisa jadi anti-sosial, ga gampang percaya sama co, dan benci co yang suka nyakitin ce? ada kejadian apa sih di masa lalunya? Silahkan di baca deh :P

Tapi terus terang, akhirnya sedikit mengecewakan, kalau The Girl Who Played with Fire itu akhirnya terkesan cepat, begitu juga dengan yang ini, malah terkesan terlalu mudah, untuk musuh yang hampir ga kebayang gimana kalahinnya, ternyata pada akhirnya cuma begitu saja kalahnya.. Tapi penyelidikannya lebih seru ketimbang buku pertamanya.

[ibeforem]

As much as I enjoyed The [b:Girl With the Dragon Tattoo|2429135|The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)|Stieg Larsson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275608878s/2429135.jpg|1708725], I liked this even more. When the story begins, Mikael Blomkvist has regained his status as one of Sweden’s foremost journalists, thanks to the continued success of Millennium and the popularity of his book about the Wennerstrom affair. But he hasn’t seen Lisbeth Salander for nearly a year, despite stopping by her apartment on a regular basis hoping to catch her. Salander, who has also benefited from the Wennerstrom/Vanger affair, has decided to go on a bit of a vacation across Europe and the Caribbean, keeping tabs on things at home (including her ne’er do well "guardian" and Blomkvist) in her own special way. Both find themselves involved in an investigation of human trafficking, in quite different ways.

It’s when Salander is accused of a series of brutal crimes that you realize what a genius character Larsson has created. Because despite how much you like Salander and want to root for her, you completely believe that she *could* have done it — or at least I did. And it’s a very long time before you discover the truth, with each scene without Salander in it making you wonder even more.

I can’t recommend this trilogy enough. It has suspense, mystery, relationships, and a little bit of social commentary. However, if you can’t handle cliffhangers, I would wait until the third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, is released (June 2010!). As soon as you finish this one, you’ll be ready for it.