The Premise
We carry on with the events from the last novel, with Lisbeth Salander's life hanging in the balance. We learn how a secret division (known as "The Section") within Sweden's Secret Police (Säpo) was behind Zalachenko and the mastermind behind Lisbeth's misfortunes since childhood. The plot mostly centers around them trying to get rid of the evidence of their existence, and the people who know too much - namely Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.Here, Mikael and Lisbeth truly shine as they each best The Section in their own way - Mikael with devious cunning and Lisbeth with more of her computer wizardry.
Lisbeth, on the other hand, gets justice at last as her case makes it to Court, and the nefarious details are exposed.
The Characters
The main players around whom the story revolves.Alexander Zalachenko. A sinister presence, albeit heavily injured. Comes across as tough as nails, and ruthless to boot. There's an interesting segment where he's being interviewed by Bublanski's team, and is far more agreeable to Holmberg than he is towards Modig. Ultimately, his overconfidence does him in as his former allies kill him off in a bid to cover things up.
Annika Giannini. Blomkvist's younger sister has been confined to bit parts so far in this series. Not in this novel. She is Lisbeth's defence counsel, and boy, does she deliver. Not only does she successfully ward off an assassination attempt midway through the novel by Evert Gullberg, she also successfully takes Teleborian apart in court and thoroughly defeats Ekström, after lulling them into complacency and allowing them to underestimate her.
Erika Berger. A strong woman who is faced with a chauvinistic work culture. She handles office politics like a pro, but finds herself severely tested by an obsessed stalker. The main storyline doesn't involve her all that much, but she's certainly the main player in one of the tangential story arcs.
Evert Gullberg. A Säpo veteran who sacrifices his own life in a bid to silence Zalachenko and bury the entire story. A semi-tragic figure who does a lot of fucked-up shit in service to his country.
Fredrik Clinton. Shrewed and ruthless. Decisive and pragmatic. Gullberg's successor, who retired due to health complications. The situation is dire enough that Gullberg decides Clinton needs to be brought back, and Clinton wastes no time grabbing the situation by the horns.
Lisbeth Salander. We get more naunced insights into Lisbeth's character - her awkwardness when forced to interact like a normal human being, her vulnerability and the sheet strength it must take for her to have endured so much up to this point, but still continue fighting.
Still ever the badass, but with many more layers and a certain vulnerability. We see a lot of that in her interaction with Annika.
Mikael Blomkvist. In this novel, Mikael exhibits an unprcedented amount of cunning - way more than the last two novels suggested he was capable of. I mean, we already knew he was smart and resourceful, but here, he hatches a plot to outsmart the Section and generally shows the outstanding nerve and boldness to pull off something like that. The best thing? He does it out of friendship, and a desire to see justice done.
Here we have the characters who don't play as prominent a role, but nevertheless are pretty damn important to the storyline.
Dr Anders Jonasson. A conscientious doctor who describes himself as a goalkeeper standing between emergency victims and the funeral home. Drew comparisons to Dr Sivarnardan in the previous novel. Larsson must have run out of names.
Dragan Armansky. He is quite instrumental in this story. Not only does he use the resources at his disposal to ensure that Milton Security's protection is extended to Team Salander, his friendship with Edklinth is how Team Salander obtains enough evidence against The Section. He also turns out to be a fair boss despite his reputation for being a stickler for the rules, giving Suzanne Linder a mild ticking off after she grossly violated the rules in order to protect Erika.
At the end of the novel, he admits to Blomkvist that he was jealous of the easy friendship between him and Lisbeth.
Holger Palmgren. He gets an expanded role here as part of Lisbeth's defence team during the trial and the parts in which he does get to speak are brilliant, considering he only just recovered from a stroke.
Inspector Monica Figuerola. An amazon of a government agent, she is an exercise freak and has a body to match. She's also pretty upfront about her sexuality and is the aggressor when her sexual relationship with Mikael begins. Near the end of the novel, she is portrayed with emotional vulnerability as she (gasp!) falls in love with Mikael, losing her cool on a few occasions (jealousy when meeting Erika, franticness when Mikael's life is in danger, etc)
Jan Bublanski. The good inspector here is fair and just as in the last book. He has been taken off the investigation but he doesn't intend to let that keep him from pursuing the truth and obtaining justice for Lisbeth, whom he's now convinced is innocent.
Even after he and his team have been bumped off the case, he continues to work on it, putting his career on the line in pursuit of truth and justice.
Dr Peter Teleborian. Utterly corrupt and evil, and being a paedophile is just the icing on top of a thoroughly rotten cake. He's the man who The Section got to put Lisbeth away in a mental facility and falsify her psychiatric evaluation. In short, he's directly responsible for a large portion of Lisbeth's misfortunes growing up. Gets his comeuppance in the end, in a sweet turn of karmic justice, when Lisbeth hacks into his computer and turns over all the child porn within, to the police.
Richard Ekström. More is revealed about the prosecutor. He's portrayed as an egomaniac and gloryhound who is susceptible to flattery and too convinced of his own importance. This leads to him being manipulated by The Section.
I liked the character here. He's one of the few character who is an utter asshole, and yet his fatal flaw isn't a hatred of women, but rather that of vanity.
Sofia Modig. The only woman on Bublanski's team. More of her personality is revealed in this novel as a compassionate cop who is willing to flout the legal obligations of her role in order to uphold justice.
A list of minor supporting characters, of which there are many.
Birger Wadensjoo. In contrast with Clinton, he is weak and indecisive. More of a bureaucrat than a leader. The old guard consider him a brilliant and talented accountant, but "a warrior who needs a fair wind". Becomes increasingly disillusioned with The Section as the novel progresses. Finally caves in at the end and sings like a bird when arrested.
Curt Andersson. A towering cop with a reputation for excessive violence. He gets his moment in the sun when he rescues Mikael from a hitman, ironically breaking Mikael's finger in the process.
He praises Sonja midway through the novel, and this surprises her, leading one to think that Curt is very sparing with this sort of thing.
Gunnar Bjorcke. This novel reveals him to be part of the team that kept Zalachenko's existence under wraps. He is killed off midway through the story as the team starts tying off loose ends.
Hans Faste. We see more of him, and this time he comes off as bumbling and ham-fisted in addition to being a misogynist.
Henry Cortez. A young enthusiastic reporter who sniffs out a very interesting story which ultimately plays into Erika's drama at the SMP.
Judge Jörgen Iversen. He's a senior judge who has been round the block a few times. This case, however, takes him by surprise and it takes every ounce of impartiality, fair-mindedness and expertise to see it through to a satisfying conclusion. To his credit, he's visibly appalled at all the things Lisbeth has been put through, but does not allow it to interfere with due process.
Jonas Sandberg. Described derisively by both Zalachenko and Gullberg as wet behind the years. Certainly does not seem forceful enough as a member of a very covert section of the government. Appears to find his feet after assisting with some killings, and even gets a little too eager about it. Gets put in his place by Monica Figuerola near the end of the novel.
Jerker Holmberg. Gets to do something useful in this novel, that actually moves the plot along. He just happens to know the ex-Prime Minister who could shed light on the case.
Peter Fredriksson. SMP employee. He turns out to be Erika's stalker and it's due to an irrational feeling of being ostracized by her during their school years. A sad, sad man who needs help.
Plague. Does more work for Lisbeth during her stay at the hospital. Their work dynamic is interesting and it's a pity he was not featured in a more prominent role.
The current Prime Minister. Calm, collected, and disturbed at all the occurrences of abuse of power under his watch. In his words, they have been "caught napping". Portrayed as having an uncanny political mind, enough to realize that the government's hands are tied regarding Salander. According to the law, she has to be acquitted by court.
Superintendent Torsten Edklinth. Of Säpo, director of the Constitution Protection Unit. An old friend of Armansky's and Monica Figuerola's superior at work. The character himself is rather colorless, coming off as an experienced veteran with a soon-to-retire vibe. Later, we find out that his cautious attitude is due to this being a potentially very politically sensitive case.
Suzanne Linder. An employee of Milton Security. There's some fascinating backstory about how she decided to stop being a cop and work for Milton Security instead, out of a strong sense of justice. She takes matters into her own hands to protect Erika, above and beyond the call of duty, resulting in a total takedown of Erika's tormentor.
Here's the overwhelming list of bit-part players in the novel who are mentioned a few times. I've also included characters who I feel were unnecessary to the plot, or pretty much just made up the numbers. I may have missed out a few.
Anders Holm. A news editor at the SMP who resents Erika's presence and does everything in his power to defy her. Portrayed as extraordinarily competent but egoistic and rather immature. Seems to have gained a lot of respect for Erika by the time she leaves SMP. (Yes, another Anders).
Anita Kaspersson. A nurse who gets captured by Neidermann and only after a lot of suffering, manages to get away.
Carl-Magnus Lundin. President of the Svavelsjö MC. Everything comes crashing down around him when he finds out that Ronald Neidermann stole the club's money and murdered the accountant.
Bertil Janeryd. Swedish Ambassador. He supplies information about Zalachenko and The Section, upon a written request from the former Prime Minister.
Assistant County Police Chief Carina Spångberg. Featured near the start of the novel as a competent leader, but never mentioned again.
Prof Frank Ellis. A brain specialist whom Jonasson enlists to help with his surgery on Lisbeth. Affable and laid-back.
Frank Jenssen. A temp reporter who gets his news from Hans Faste. He gets a lesson in journalistic integrity by Erika, but seems far more amenable to taking instructions than most other men at SMP.
Georg Nyström. A member of The Section, and his role seems to primarily be someone for Clinton to bounce ideas off of, after Gullberg is killed off.
Idris Ghidi. Other than some backstory, he's given little of importance to do in the tale except help facilitate Lisbeth's Internet access.
Jeremy MacMillan Stuart. He is Lisbeth's lawyer, a divorcee and gay man recently out of the closet. According to Lisbeth, he's brilliant but acts in stupid ways that fuck up his life. She gives him a second chance at life, allowing him to be the caretaker and investor for all the money she stole in the first novel. At the end of it, he even offers her some advice regarding Miriam Wu.
Kurdo Baksi. Editor of Black/White Publishing an an old friend of Blomkvist. He's the one who introduces Idris Ghidi to Blomkvist, and plays no further part in the tale.
Magnus Borgsjö. Erika reports to him at SMP. She's put in a difficult position when she uncovers some evidence of wrongdoing on his part. He comes across as magnanimous and benevolent at first, but rapidly turns into an arrogant and haughty bastard when confronted with evidence on his misbehavior.
Criminal Inspector Marcus Erlander. While he's not Jewish, his description and calm and fair-minded demeanor resemble Jan Bublanski. Apparently, they are friends.
The Minister of Justice. Advises the Prime Minister regarding matters of law, but otherwise his presence seems superfluous.
Miriam Wu. She is briefly reunited with Lisbeth at the end of the story and it's implicated that they have some make up sex (of course).
Miro and Timo Nikolich. Fugitives frm the law and assassins hired to off Blomkvist. Timo gets arrested by Figuerola and Miro gets the snot kicked out of him by Andersson in a very thrilling sequence.
Sonny Nieminen. Member of the Svavelsjö MC. After his humiliating defeat at Lisbeth's hands, he is obsessed with vengeance. As far as this story goes, he never gets it.
Inspector Thomas Paulsson. A bumbling idiot who makes very questionable decisions. The story later reveals that he has some kind of drug habit.
The Mood
Tense. Really tense. We get the impression that everything's on an extremely tight schedule and the slightest misstep could cost everything. It all comes to a head in the courtroom.The heavy action in the previous novel has been somewhat toned down to make way for political intrigue and courtroom drama. The plotting and machinations of The Section are laid bare to the reader, and there is a fair amount of flashback time as we explore the motivations of the villains.
What I liked
I felt a minor moment of awesome when Officer Bubble stood up to Ekstrom early in the novel, declaring that Lisbeth appeared to have suffered numerous violations to her civil rights since her childhood, and he's not about to let that continue - not on his watch.I expected to hate the entire Mikael-Monica affair as yet another cringe-worthy testament to Mikael's sexual prowess, but funnily enough, I kind of liked it. Added some soft touches to what might otherwise been an overly tense thriller.
The meetings with the Prime Minister were great, showcasing Mikael's slickness at negotiation.
I really loved the parts where Lisbeth logs in to Hacker Republic (and the awesome login sequence! Damn!) and interacts with her fellow hackers, even engaging some of them for assistance.
The entire courtroom scene. Here Anna Gianninni displays the steel under the velvety exterior and fights Lisbeth's case superbly. And after that, the interaction between her and Lisbeth is touching in the extreme. Lisbeth has come to trust Annika and feel grateful for her support, but can't quite bring herself to express it.
Lisbeth facing off against her murderous half-brother and playing off the MC against him to a bloody finale. This is one hell of a scrapper.
Even the villains are somewhat admirable - focused and resolute, and sacrificing their lives for a cause they truly believe in. Unlike Martin Vanger who's an evil rapist and murderer, or Zalachenko, who's just a horrible asshole.
What I didn't
The character overload - holy shit, what was up with that? This was the hardest novel in the series to read, simply because of the sheer amount of characters interacting with each other. More than half of the characters from the first and second novel make an appearance, along with a whole host of new ones.Erika's sideplot involving SMP and her stalker weren't too bad, but they had absolutely nothing to do with the main plot and added a bunch of extraneous characters to the already overbrimming cast. Still, this has something to do with The Millennium, and I guess the series is called The Millennium Series, not The Lisbeth Salander Show.
Also, what's with these little asides about Amazon culture and history? They sure didn't do anything but confuse me.
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