The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

In spite of an increasingly busy schedule, I got through Stieg Larsson's final installment of his Millenium trilogy (and the last book he ever wrote ever) in just about a week.

For those who've been waiting for the paperback edition: it comes out next month.

We pick up right where the last book left off, with Lisbeth Salander and her father hospitalized, and Ron Niedermann, the seemingly invincible giant, on the run from the cops. Salander's off the hook from the murders she was originally suspected of, but faces a plethora of criminal charges, including the attempted murder of her father. She accepts Mikael Blomkvist's sister, Annika Giannini, as her lawyer, and prepares for trial while in the hospital. Meanwhile, Blomkvist works together with Lisbeth's old boss, Armansky, to investigate what he dubs "the Zalachenko Club"--the group of men within the Secret Police who aided and abetted Zalachenko's crimes that went unpunished. They enlist the help of a division within the Secret Police after a time. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Zalachenko Club plot to rid themselves of Salander and Blomkvist forever--and preserving their abhorrent secrets.

Since Hornet's Nest picks up from the second book, there's no need for a plot setup, and the story gets going right away. While most of the plot occurs within a hospital during the first and second parts, there's no shortage of intrigue taking place within and outside of the complex. The plot also moves breathlessly by, with sharp twists and turns throughout. It moves so fast you hardly know it's already the climax (which, by the way, is a little disappointing for fans of the last book's violent climax). My biggest issues with this final book lie in the ending--everything resolves itself much too quickly. For example, Niedermann disappears entirely in the second half of the book, only to finally turn up again in the epilogue and be defeated by Salander--all in the space of less than 20 pages. And maybe it's because I'm not sure what the differences between Swedish and American criminal law are, but I thought she was acquitted of all charges much too soon--she was released practically the same day.

The best part of this book was the immense focus on Salander--Larsson has finally conceded that she's the real star of the series. Unlike Blomkvist, she does grow and change as a result of her experiences: begrudgingly more accepting of authority (though not by much), a gradual (slight) rejection of violence as a means of solving problems, and a realization that there are people whom she in fact does care about.

Now that the series is over, I'd have to say the best part of the trilogy overall was Lisbeth Salander herself--she's a heroine unlike any other that's been seen before in the mystery/thriller genre that I know of--ruthless, righteous, and asocial. She's also the character that fully develops over the three books--most of the rest remain the same as always--and her strangeness invites us to root for her, even though she has brutally punished the men who have ruined her. In the end, she moves past these more vicious tendencies and moves on with her life.

Nevertheless, I think this may have been my favorite of the trilogy. I give it the same rating as the second: 4 out of 5 stars.