Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Less character development, less plot, less tension, just less everything than the previous books in the series, so less stars.
Not my Salander
Review of the Audible Audio edition narrated by Simon Vance
After my disappointment with The Girl in the Spider's Web (2015), the first of the post-Stieg Larsson continuation series of Millenium novels, I didn't have any great compulsion to pick up "The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye" when it was released in 2017. I did pick it up though when I saw it on sale at Audible and also noticed that veteran narrator Simon Vance was the reader.
Continuation series have become a guaranteed income generator in the detective and thriller genres since the time of Sherlock Holmes. The best of them are able to recreate the beloved traits of the lead characters in recognizable ways for fans while increasing the scope of their experience. The worst of them read as barely acceptable fan-fiction. Lagercrantz's Millenium series continuation falls somewhere in the middle of the pack.
Lisbeth Salander captured people's imagination as an underdog character who possessed unique computer skills which she often utilized to assist co-lead character Mikael Blomkvist in investigative journalism. She would act as a nerd vigilante hero to right wrongs that society was unable to correct. On the surface this might seem easy to duplicate, but Lagercrantz just doesn't seem to be able to do this in any sort of compelling manner. The setups are all in place but there is a lack of authentic feel to the follow throughs.
This somehow results in Salander and Blomkvist feeling like secondary characters in their own series. A subplot related to separated identical twins (no further spoilers here) is actually more intriguing than the main plot here. You can't just capture Salander by putting in a few defenses of the weak, some random computer hacking and a vigilante revenger fantasy. Some actual in depth character development is required. Otherwise it just feels like going through the motions and ticking off boxes in a paint-by-numbers recreation of a character that first captured readers' imagination.
The narration by Simon Vance was outstanding of course, no fault to be found in that.
Review of the Audible Audio edition narrated by Simon Vance
After my disappointment with The Girl in the Spider's Web (2015), the first of the post-Stieg Larsson continuation series of Millenium novels, I didn't have any great compulsion to pick up "The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye" when it was released in 2017. I did pick it up though when I saw it on sale at Audible and also noticed that veteran narrator Simon Vance was the reader.
Continuation series have become a guaranteed income generator in the detective and thriller genres since the time of Sherlock Holmes. The best of them are able to recreate the beloved traits of the lead characters in recognizable ways for fans while increasing the scope of their experience. The worst of them read as barely acceptable fan-fiction. Lagercrantz's Millenium series continuation falls somewhere in the middle of the pack.
Lisbeth Salander captured people's imagination as an underdog character who possessed unique computer skills which she often utilized to assist co-lead character Mikael Blomkvist in investigative journalism. She would act as a nerd vigilante hero to right wrongs that society was unable to correct. On the surface this might seem easy to duplicate, but Lagercrantz just doesn't seem to be able to do this in any sort of compelling manner. The setups are all in place but there is a lack of authentic feel to the follow throughs.
This somehow results in Salander and Blomkvist feeling like secondary characters in their own series. A subplot related to separated identical twins (no further spoilers here) is actually more intriguing than the main plot here. You can't just capture Salander by putting in a few defenses of the weak, some random computer hacking and a vigilante revenger fantasy. Some actual in depth character development is required. Otherwise it just feels like going through the motions and ticking off boxes in a paint-by-numbers recreation of a character that first captured readers' imagination.
The narration by Simon Vance was outstanding of course, no fault to be found in that.
I liked it least of all the books in the series. Lisbeth wasn't in it as much as I would have liked and she didn't do anything different than usual. It has a good flow and kept me engaged though.
I must say that I do like the writing in the newest Lisbeth Salander book - the characters are interesting and well-rounded, and there isn't a lot of fluff to deal with. It's quite bare and gets to the point without being overly descriptive or flowery.
That being said, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the others, and I think it's mostly because Lisbeth had such a minor role in this one. Oh, she did some pretty cool stuff and she's still badass, ruthless, and fiery. But the story wasn't about her as much as I wanted it to be.
It filled in some dark spots in Lisbeth's history and strengthened the recurring characters, but I just wanted more Lisbeth at the end of it. Let's hope the next one is darker and turns the spotlight on the character I read these books for.
That being said, I didn't enjoy this book as much as the others, and I think it's mostly because Lisbeth had such a minor role in this one. Oh, she did some pretty cool stuff and she's still badass, ruthless, and fiery. But the story wasn't about her as much as I wanted it to be.
It filled in some dark spots in Lisbeth's history and strengthened the recurring characters, but I just wanted more Lisbeth at the end of it. Let's hope the next one is darker and turns the spotlight on the character I read these books for.
Another good Lizabeth Salander novel that fills in more of her backstory.
I enjoyed reading it, but in comparison to the other 4 books... well especially the originals... something seemed off... I'm not sure if I can explain it. I do suspect that the market issues at the beginning and end have something to do with Camilla... I mean it didn't really add much to the book anyway.... the funeral seemed off too.
I found this novel to be such a disappointment after The Girl in the Spider's Web. The continuity that I thought was done so well in Spider's Web was totally missing in this book. While the story had promise, it seemed to go in several directions. We barely saw Lisbeth and when we did, she had lost the parts of her personality that made her so intriguing. I don't know whether this series will be continued, but I will have to think about whether I'll continue the journey.
