Fiction Review: The Millennium Series (Part 2/4)

The Girl Who Played with Fire focuses greatly on Lisbeth Salander's childhood and establishes that she was just as badass when she was a kid. This is not a standalone piece of fiction, as it references facts from its predecessor The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and ends in a cliffhanger. Mikael Blomkvist has a prominent part to play here as well.

Lisbeth and Mikael spend roughly 90% of the novel physically apart - one on the run from the law, the other trying desperately to prove the former's innocence.

Interestingly, the theme of violence and abuse against women continues, with The Millennium's new project about sex trafficking in Sweden the glue that holds everything together. Lisbeth's biological father, Alexander Zalachenko, is the main villain in this one and he's exactly as cold a bastard as one would expect.

The number of characters has increased from the previous novel. While some are not heard of again or mentioned only in passing, characters that previously had a minor to negligible part to play in the story suddenly get a speaking role or something important to do, and more backstory - such as Greger Beckman, Holger Palmgren and Mikael's sister Annika. New characters are introduced, such as Jan Bublanski and his team.

The Premise

The Millennium has a new project - release a publication to blow the lid off Sweden's sex trafficking problem. To that end, two new people are involved - Dag Svensson and Mia Johansson.

Meanwhile, after the events from the last book, Nils Bjurman is out to remove Lisbeth Salander from his life... permanently. In doing so, he uncovers a deadly enemy of Lisbeth's and enlists his help. This leads to Dag and Mia, and Nils Bjurman, being murdered, and Lisbeth being blamed for all three murders. Mikael Blomkvist sets out to clear Lisbeth's name.

All this culminates in a showdown between Lisbeth and the real murderers in a remote farmhouse, and ends with a cliffhanger. Lisbeth survives, but only by a thread.

The Characters

The main players in this novel are the following...

Alexander Zalachenko. The main villain of the book. A defected Russian spy who enjoys the protection of the Swedish authorities and literally gets away with murder. Got his ass handed to him by Lisbeth years ago when he brutalized her mother one too many times, and has held a grudge since. While he's confined to a wheelchair and severely maimed thanks to nine-year old Lisbeth, he remains cruel and calculating, a truly sinister figure.

Also comes across as incredibly hard to kill, just like his daughter. Survives being set on fire by young Lisbeth, then takes an axe to the head by adult Lisbeth and is still alive at the end of the novel. 

Lisbeth Salander. We get more of the scarily intelligent badass who has no qualms about inflicting physical violence to punish the wicked and save the innocent. There are more excerpts about how she utilizes security loopholes (in Milton Security, of all places) to gain access to information.

Mikael Blomkvist. Idealistic and determined. He enjoys some of the limelight in the novel, in his bid to find Lisbeth and prove her innocence. Even Lisbeth thinks that this makes him naive. Dragan Armansky seems to have a better handle on Lisbeth's character - Mikael thinks Lisbeth incapable of murder, but Armansky somehow understands that that Lisbeth, when pushed, has great capacity for violence.

Ronald Neidermann. Zalachenko's son from another woman, and Lisbeth's half-brother. A huge hulk of a man, cold and remorseless. He has a genetic defect that deadens him to pain, making him very dangerous in a fight. Add the fact that he's cold and ruthless just like his father, and you have a bona fide monster. His weakness - superstition and a crippling fear of the supernatural.

The following characters play a supporting role. Some of them are killed off midway but their presence in the novel is nevertheless fairly prominent.

Dag Sevensson. Author of the proposed expose on sex trafficking that The Millennium is about to publish upon completion. Mikael sees him as a kindred spirit, the kind of investigating reporting mind that mirrors his own.

Dragan Armansky. Like Mikael, he believes there's more than meets the eye regarding the triple murders. Unlike Mikael, he doesn't believe in Lisbeth's innocence, but believes she must have had a compelling reason to murder these people. Actually goes to the extent of  setting up his own team to investigate.

While Mikael happens to be correct in this case - Lisbeth is innocent of these particular murders - his belief is based on emotion and faith in his friend. Dragan, who has known Lisbeth far longer, knows that Lisbeth is perfectly capable of murder if the reasons are compelling enough.

Erika Berger. Doesn't have all that much to do in this book (other than have sex with Mikael, of course), but there's a sideplot about her departure from The Millennium that will carry on into the next novel.

Mia Johansson. Dag's fiancee. A really smart woman who's doing a dissertation on how prostitutes are treated by the Swedish government.

Miriam Wu. A dominatrix and Lisbeth's lover. Takes no shit, even from a huge guy like Neidermann. Sure, she got slapped down easily, but she stood up to him in a physical fight - that's either awesomely ballsy or utterly stupid. Probably both.

When interviewed by Bublanski's team, she takes no shit from them either, and actually returns Hans Faste's hostility with her own. However, she is proven perfectly capable of being reasonable when she meets the more even-handed Bublanski and Modig.

Nils Bjurman. The same sadistic rapist from the last novel. He's obsessed with getting Lisbeth out of his life and this ultimately results in his death.

Paolo Roberto. Described as a "cocky devil". Certainly has enough cred in the boxing industry to justify that swagger. In the book, he's described as having a chivalrous streak a mile wide. Gets a very nail-biting action sequence when he rescues Miriam Wu from Ronald Neidermann.

Despite the prominence of his role in the novel, it's pretty much an unnecessary one. Not that I didn't enjoy it!

Here's a list of characters with minor supporting roles...

Hans Faste. Detective on Bublanski's team. A closet misogynist and chauvinist pig. Spends the entire book convinced that Lisbeth is guilty and trying find evidence to prove it, in the process antangonizing Sonja and Bublanski. Especially Sonja, whom he considers an unfit police officer.

Holder Palmgren. His part in the story has been upgraded. He actually has a speaking role in this one (well, sort of, his speech is mostly slurred due to having just survived a stroke). His presence serves to humanize Lisbeth somewhat, and their scenes together turn out both touching and funny.

Jan Bublanski. "Officer Bubble" is a Jewish detective who comes across as competent and fair-minded. He's in charge of the task force put together to investigate the murders of Dag and Mia, and Bjurman. Initially thinks it is a foregone conclusion that Lisbeth is the murderer, but has the intellectual humility to challenge his own assumptions during the course of the investigation.

Per-Ǻke Sandström. A journalist who samples the wares of the sex trafficking group... repeatedly. Gets a "gentle" interrogation from Lisbeth.

Plague. Lisbeth's hacker friend has a greater role in this novel, if not a physical presence. His online interaction with Lisbeth is filled with snarky banter.

Richard Ekström. The public prosecutor who's a little too obsessed with public perception and favorable press. Spends the entire novel trying to sew up the case, and seems to get really exasperated when the facts start to contradict the hypothesis that Lisbeth committed the murders. He appears to find it all a huge inconvenience in what otherwise appears to be an open-and-shut case.

Sonja Modig. The only woman on Bublanski's team, portrayed sympathetically and with compassion. This makes her weak and unprofessional in the eyes of the chauvinistic Hans Faste, and indeed she does fly off the handle in one glorious moment of temper.

But it's also worth noting that of all the officers Bublanski has recruited for this investigative team, he seems to trust Sonja's judgment the most.

And of course, the characters with only bit parts to play, or cameos. There are tons of them.

Dr Anders Sivanardan. The physician in charge of Holger Palmgren's case. Seems to be a conscientious doctor who is endlessly surprised by Lisbeth's seemingly deep pockets.

Annika Blomkvist Gianninni. Mikael's sister. They appear close, and she gives him a stern talking-to about keeping her in the dark when he's in trouble.

Carl-Magnus Lundin. President of the Svavelsjö MC. Appears as a menacing figure, battering Mikael the first time they meet, with very little effort. However, he comes into contact with Lisbeth twice in the novel and comes off worse each time.

Christer Malm. Always fun to watch. We also get a glimpse of his personal life during a short scene with his boyfriend.

Cilla Norén. Feisty and snappy, she's the frontwoman for an all-girl rock band. She also happens to have studied law for three years and has a lawyer for a father.

Curt Andersson. Detective on Bublanski's team. Backstory has him being investigated for excessive use of violence on criminals.

Ella Carmichael. A perceptive and discreet woman, owner of the cafe Lisbeth frequents at the beginning of the novel. We hear no more from her after the first third of the book; indeed for the rest of the series.

Harriet Vanger. Has joined the board of The Millennium and appears to be having fun. Her appearances in the novel are sporadic and serve mostly as a tie-in to the previous novel. And also, to have sex with Mikael (groan).

George Bland. A shy math student whom Lisbeth seduces, then saves from hurricane Miranda. The last name seems unfortunately apt.

Greger Beckman. In the first book, he's painted as a cuckolded husband. This is given more depth here, when it's revealed that he's the man Erika Berger truly loves despite her ongoing affair with Blomkvist. In fact, letting Erika roam free is part of their very kinky sex life (he's got strong bisexual tendencies). In fact, as a husband he appears emotionally supportive and even a soul mate to Erika.

Gunnar Björk. A patron of the sex trafficking group and Zalachenko's main contact with Säpo. Gets grilled and coerced by Mikael. The book made him sound too similar to Sandström and I ended up confusing the two of them most of the time.

Jerker Holmberg. Detective on Bublanski's team. We don't get much on him other than the fact that Bublanski considers him a good investigator.

Johan Fraklünd. He's a member of Milton Security and one of the guys Armansky tasks to investigate the case. Like most, his impression of Lisbeth isn't exactly stellar, but he discharges his duty as best he can.

Malin Eriksson. An intern in The Millennium. This book shows more of her warming up to Mikael as they begin working together. And thankfully, she's one of the few women in the series who doesn't fall for Mikael. Though I was almost certain that given enough time, Larsson would have written that in.

Niklas Hedström. One of the guys Armansky tasks to investigate Lisbeth's case. Has a personal grudge against Lisbeth and comes off as a conniving weasel and corrupt to boot. Does everything in his power to gain revenge, including leaking sensitive details about Salander to reporter Tony Scala.

Dr Peter Teleborian. In the beginning of the novel, we see him as a sinister and unnamed presence. Later, we find out that he's the one who Gunnar Björk hired to put Lisbeth away by falsifying her psychiatric analysis.

Sonny Bohman. One of the guys Armansky tasks to investigate Lisbeth's case.

Sonny Nieminen. Member of the Svavelsjö MC. A tough guy who gets totally owned by Lisbeth.

Tony Scala. A sleazy reporter who unethically prints salacious stories about Lisbeth, Miriam Wu and The Evil Fingers.

The Mood

Action, action, action, all the way. A ridiculous shit-ton of ass-kickery.

Other than a bit of a laid-back prelude early on, once the action starts, it rarely lets up. This novel was almost all about breaking faces and kicking copious amounts of ass. Quiet time is spent in reflection and investigation, and even the investigative part is deliciously violent at times.

All in all, less research, more fighting.

What I liked

The premise is interesting in itself - The Millennium investigates sex trafficking in Sweden.

Early in the novel, there's a short segment where Lisbeth attempts to buy an apartment but ends up being patronized by the manager. In retaliation, she exploits a security leak she finds (just by being there!) and sends incriminating evidence of tax fraud by the manager, to the police. This is amusing, but also highlights two things - Larsson's understanding of the human factor in cyber-security, and how vindictive Lisbeth is when provoked.

The scene where The Millennium editorial team bought Harriet Vanger out and let her back in, in almost the same breath, was both amusing and heartwarming.

Speaking of heartwarming, we get a nice tour of Lisbeth's human side when she finds out that Holger Palmgren is still alive after two years and tearfully rushes down to visit him. How this stone-cold badass practically grovels for Holger's forgiveness for her unintended neglect is touching and amusing at the same time, and firmly underlines their surrogate father-daughter relationship.

Having a real-life celebrity, Paolo Roberto, written into the novel and taking an active part and getting his ass kicked, is nothing short of awesome even if you don't follow boxing.

As mentioned previously, Mikael and Lisbeth spend the majority of the novel physically apart, only coming together briefly at the beginning and end. But their interaction via his computer is striking in its earnestness.

Lisbeth handing two members of the Motorcycle Club their asses is awe-inspiring if a little over-the-top. Definitely one of my favorite moments. Lisbeth normally comes out on top due to a lot of planning, but this time it was down to being prepared and sheer nerve.

Cilla Norén giving Hans Faste a tongue lashing. A golden moment.

What I didn't

Lisbeth's new deal with math. It seems a little pointless. We already get that she's scarily intelligent. And I was expecting something to come out of it, like a Chekov's Gun, maybe? I was disappointed on that score. Come to think of it, the entire beginning of the novel where Lisbeth spends her vacation doing math, bedding a student and rescuing a woman from her abusive husband, just seem like so much filler. Very little of it is pertinent to later events. The story was interesting enough. It just felt irrelevant. All it shows us is that Lisbeth is both smart and ruthless, and let's face it - we know that already.

Harriet and Mikael's sexual relationship. This served no purpose at all. Yes yes, we geddit, Mikael's a God in the sack. Now lay off already.

Is Ronald Neidermann supposed to be unaffected by the taser? Yes, he's immune to pain. That should not cancel out the effects of being zapped by several thousand watts of electricity. I mean, he probably didn't feel the kick in the balls by Miriam Wu, but it stopped him all the same. That's not only scientifically suspect, it's inconsistent.

Conclusion

There's more to like than dislike about this novel. Ties in the first and third novel superbly, and slowly grows the characters while adding to their existing depth by way of backstory. The characters who had little to do in the previous novel, such as Palmgren and Miriam Wu, get their moment in the sun. It could very well be my favorite among all three of Larsson's work so far.

My Rating

9.5 / 10

Next

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest