The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Paperback)

over-hyped, over-rated, unsatisfying . . . don't bother I think I must have read a different book entirely to those who gave this 5 stars. Sadly this is another over-hyped book that has only achieved success on the back of the hype (so how did it get the hype in the first place? A new 'chicken and egg' question). I don't understand how any agent got past the first few chapters without putting it on the reject pile as the beginning is extremely dry with no real action to hook the reader. The characters are all one dimensional, and I didn't care about any of them, perhaps with the exception of Lisbeth Salander, the editing was non-existent which lead to a very frustrating read. The crime denouement is far too easy to guess and happens two thirds of the way through the book which then limps along for an excrutiatingly long time tying up the dry, dead ends. The worst offence the author committed was having his protagonist go and confront the antagonist in a totally unbelievable, horror-movie way where you're shouting at the character don't do that, that's just plain stupid but he did it anyway. I only read to the end as a stranger saw me reading it when I was out and told me it was worth perservering with, I wish I hadn't bothered.

Dragg(on)ed on a bit... The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a pretty meaty murder mystery set in rural Sweden starring disgraced journalist and magazine publisher Mikael "Kalle" Blomkvist, hired by aged industrial magnate Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his treasured niece many years previously. Lured by a huge pay cheque and the opportunity to escape the Stockholm heat following his libel conviction, Blomkvist soon finds he is not a welcome visitor to the tight knit community, particularly with the other Vanger family members some of whom hide dark secrets going back many years. Enter Lisbeth Salander (her with the infamous tat), damaged goods and computer hacker par excellence. The duo form an unlikely but effective alliance to try and unravel the mystery that spans generations, ruffling some very dangerous feathers in the process. The book enters dark territory as macabre and sadistic murders are uncovered and the family's Nazi past is brought to light. Not for the faint-hearted or animal lovers, Larsson goes into grisly detail describing grisly tortures and murders involving fire and small mammals going into places that quite frankly they have no business being. The author is not afraid to make the "good guys" bad though, in this case Lisbeth being judge, jury and (indirect) executioner in the end game. This can make it difficult reading from a male point of view, with too many male protagonists being women haters and violence against women stats paraded at the beginning of each chapter. It's a bit of a feminist war cry from that point of view and a bit over the top in my point of view. That said it is a well written and original crime novel if a bit over long, overstaying it's welcome by a good 100 or so pages. It is difficult to tell if the author wanted to make Lisbeth Salander a hero or not as she exhibits several disturbing character traits herself. She is a bit of an enigma, her troubled past and how she acquires her "skills" not expanded on in any great depth but perhaps one day I'll read the second book to find out more.

Couldn't put it down What a great book. I started it the first time and found it heavy going, I think it was the unusual people and place names and the fact that the plot was a bit slow at first. I went back and started again and it was worth it. The plot suddenly took off and from that point I was hooked. The thing I really liked is that you have no idea what happened until right at the end of the book, always the best kind. The characters were unusual and I loved the way they were developed, I also liked the unusual relationships which I found quite realistic, nobody had a happy ever after. All in all an excellent and challenging read, I am going to start reading the next one now! By the way the film, which I watched after finishing the book was just as good.

Awesome book I bought the entire millennium trilogy from amazon following recommendations from numerous friends. I am glad I did so too. I'm currently a student and would often check out the prices in WH Smith and they were steep, thankfully amazon makes reading more accessible to al with their fantastic pricing structure. The Girl with the dragon tattoo hooks you from the outset, and keeps you wondering throughout who the murderer is.. It is natural for the brain to conjure up the alternative endings and storylines that will be coming up as you progress through a book, but the ultimate ending was not one I fully predicted. As someone who is not a massive fan of fiction, I found this book gripping and provided me with a great deal of mental imagery to keep me interested and engrossed in the story, and the lives of the characters. I have just commenced part two and am suspecting that it'll be devoured within no time at all!

scary/weird intrigue This is a detective story - but not like any other. Remember the weird psychology in the TV series 'Cracker' - well thats the atmosphere, except not all the weirdness is with the villain...... I loved the main characters even tho I was never sure I wanted to turn the page to find out what they had done next!