50BC2011 #8: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I held off writing this review until I had read the sequel, which is why this is listed as 50BC2011 #8 instead of #7 (The Girl Who Played With Fire).



This is an intriguing book because Larsson didn't seem to know whether he wanted it to be a mystery, a thriller, a novel, or some combination thereof. The story is really fascinating, but if you are an instant-gratification kind-of reader, you'll be disappointed. Larsson takes his time in getting to the juicy mystery-type material. I like that Salander is instantly enigmatically likeable, even though he reveals very little about her in the first book. She's an excellent character--complex, but honest in that she occasionally surprises herself. I did feel the book is a bit heavy-handed with all the references to technology--there are pages that read like Mac ads. The Girl Who Played with Fire moves much more quickly, so I'm glad I stuck with this one long enough to want to read the second one.

50BC2011 #7: The Girl Who Played With Fire

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this one much more than The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...it moves at a much faster pace and didn't seem quite so intent on creating reality by including technical minutiae all over the place. It is nice to have a slightly better sense of Salander's character, as well, although she's still hard to pin down (and that is part of her character). I did NOT like the ending--it just doesn't ring true. I'll be curious to read the next one.