The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

Last, but not least.

So here is the culmination of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and Girl who Played with Fire. I will say, this was actually a letdown, but one the same plane, this is also not toooooo bad of a letdown.

Where we are from Girl who Played with Fire: Lisbeth has been brought to an inch of her life because of her daddy dearest and half brother, and Blomkvist comes in right on time to get her to safety. The duration of Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is Blomkvist digging further into deep seeded government organizations and bringing his workplace with him, racing against the government who also has baddies run by old people who will not take responsibility for their actions. That is me trying to be vague.

I first say that it was a letdown because we started out with a slight jog with occasional rest periods, we jump to a pretty solid run/ possible sprint, and now here we are with I feel the cooldown. I saw some negative comments about how it was boring to have the main character, Lisbeth, basically be out of commission for the majority of the book while we once again make it all about Blomkvist. I personally did not see her completely out of commission, but I get the frustration. When reading I felt so stuck in limbo, like for months everyone is stuck and cannot proceed any further, until you are two thirds through, maybe over, both parties of good realize that they need each other to get the job done. Also, might seem petty, but once again law enforcement and the government are once again outdone and outwitted by “normal” people. Just once, I want to see law enforcement actually be on top of their game.

I think the redeeming factors of Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest are the little relatable things that we see with current events. I think it is a little jab at politicians who are not relevant to the times and probably should be benched, yet are still playing or want to keep playing. When you read it, this observation is probably pretty downplayed to what the Section did, but I am not wanting to open cans of worms. Anywhosies, I would also like to applaud this ending a really great legal showdown that you could only find by Alex Cabbot and Casey Novak via Law and Order: SVU. Not going to lie, the entire duration of the trial had me hoopin’ and hollerin’. If that is what it takes for them to come out of the 1950s way of thinking for mental health and treatment of women, then so be it.

To be honest, as much of a roller coaster as it was to read, I am glad to have finished the Millennium trilogy. I am glad to read something different, something controversial. I would recommend trying to read at least the first three of the series. For me, I will stop here, and not press forward with the next three. I am excited to dive into reading all of the other books I have in my library.

If you want to read the conclusion to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series, you will find it here.

6/10