The Girl Who Played with Fire

What do you think of the second book in the Millennium-series?

Posted by Editor i Stockholm, Sweden , 17 November 2008

I've read the first two out of this trilogy and must confess that there has not been any book for at least two decades, which has given me such a great time of reading. Unfortunately there will be no more books of this kind from this wonderful author !

Posted by jens , 10 September 2008

I have just finished reading Book 2 in 2 days. I couldnt put it down. I thought the first book superb but had no idea book 2 could be so much more absorbing. Translation into English is excellent and I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a good mystery crime thriller. Look eagerly to the next book.

Posted by Juleen Clarke, 6th November 2008 , 6 November 2008

As good as the first tome, characters are right on, multi-layered and my god does this girl kick ass. Only down side is the terrible, terrible French translation. The worst I've ever read (and i read a lot, plus I'm a certified Fr translator). I understand how editors are always in a hurry to have translations done to take advantage of the momentum, but is there really no way to do a better job??? God knows there are brilliant translators out there.

Posted by P. Renfer in Quebec , 3 december 2008

I haven't experienced such heart thumping, page turning reading in a long time. Excellent. Looking forward to the third book in the series. Would love to see them make a movie/mini series from these books. I'm sure I would be peaking out from behind a pillow as I watched it!

Posted by Andrea in Cape Town , 11 februari 2009

I am a prolific reader, as I am sure many people here are, and I have to say I haven't been this enthused about an author for many years. Larsson has managed to capture the real essence of storytelling with these novels. I've been trying to persuade my wife to read some of my favourite books for years and I invariably find that she has lost interest by the time she gets to chapter 3 or 4. She finished ??.Dragon Tattoo? in a couple of days and is now halfway through ??.Played with Fire? and is keeping ME awake a night with the bedside light on. As for myself, well I?m quite enjoying the anticipation and the frustration of waiting for the English translation of the third book ? in a masochistic kind of way!

Posted by Kevin Ogilvie-White UK in TauntonUK , 21 februari 2009

I have just two questions ... how did the Dr in Grenada who was killed, fit in with the plot and how did he get from the beach to a car park with bullets in his head? That was sure left hanging.

Posted by Barb in Medford , 27 februari 2009

@Barb

Place of the Dr. in the plot: I believe the main reason for the whole Carribean side-step was to caracterise Lisbeth even more. The Dr. scene on the beach shows how she reacts when confronted with injustice. It explains her way of 'moral sense' and her appropriate way of reacting.

The guy was blown to the car park by the tornado. Don't remember anything of bullets in his head.

Posted by jo in KL , 25 mars 2009

Thanks for the input!

Posted by Barb in Medford , 27 mars 2009

I must say I agree with Andrea from Cape town Ive never experience a book like it .I had to have a break very hour all so because it was getting so ...........I cant explain......it was great.........I cried I never cry it was brilliant......just finish the second book I cannot wait for the third.......

Posted by Gabby Donovan in Nambour ,AUSTRALIA , 15 april 2009

I have just finished "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and found it to be absolutely a page turner. I fell in love with Blomquist and Salander and cannot wait to read the second one when it comes out in July '09. Really too sad that this wonderful author died way too soon.

Posted by Betty in Birmingham, Alabama USA , 20 april 2009

I wholeheartedly agree with all the postive comments. I loved GWTDT and enjoyed GWPWF even more - against all expectations that the follow-up could not possibly be more enthralling than the first. I am just sorry that I have already read them. Can't wait for the next one.and wish there were more. I find it very tempting to think of Stieg Larsson as Michael Blomqvist - and f that's the kind of danger he exposed himself to, I am not surprised by the rumours surrounding his untimely death. A great loss

Posted by Zelda in Cape Town , 21 april 2009

I first read the second book of Millenium trillogy (amazing...)... Now I'm reading the first part (also amazing...but not as the second part)... I enjoy both of them very much... I didn't want to stop reading, but also didn't want it to end...

Posted by marta in barcelona , 9 maj 2009

Im reading the Girl who Played with Fire and really enjoying it but I'm irritated by the blatant "product placement"- Ikea, Billys Pan Pizza, Coca Cola, to name a few- seems to be excessive, unnecessary and inconsistent with the author's politics/ehtics.

Posted by Tourmaline in Moranbah, Queensland, Australia , 26 maj 2009

Wow. Just finished Girl Who Played With Fire, one of the best books I have read for years. Even with the (for me) foreign names every person was so clearly characterised and I never got anyone confused. What a loss of such a wonderful writer. Also can't wait for the next one.

Posted by Sandra Quinn in Exeter UK , 4 juni 2009

When you look at all the comments above we must be really wondering what is coming - the Girl Who Played With Fire leaves us with expectations.

I don't think in all my reading have I felt so compelled to keep reading at such a pace.

Posted by Carmen Auer in Burleigh Heads , 16 juni 2009

@Barb

I just finished TGWPWF. Dr. Forbes was described as "pretty badly knocked about" when his body was found in the car park, but no mention of bullets.

Posted by Jacqueline in Durham NC USA , 22 juni 2009

Help....just finished after 2 1/2 days--couldn't put it down either...but, who is she in love with? Mikael or Mimi? I keep going back and forth... She seems to trust Kalle but thinks of Mimi at the end...

Posted by Laura in Arlington, VA , 2 augusti 2009

I think Kalle is her man...Salander is simply exploring the limits of her sexuality with Mimi. Kalle really upset her with his affairs with both Harriet and Berger. She admits just before she sets out on her quest to kill her father..."Lisbeth Salander in love?" after receiving his letter.

Posted by Ryan in Shanghai , 4 augusti 2009

What amazing books. The beauty w/books is ones suspension of disbelief is stronger than it is for movies. It will be required a little and despite a few minor plot holes this is gripping, multi-layered reading. October is just a few months away (rumored when 3rd is available in the states) and will be counting down the days. From a self-admitted bibliophile not sure I have ever come across a character I fell in love with like Salander in quite some time, if ever.

Posted by Scott in Houston, TX , 9 augusti 2009

There is something special about these books, and it is a terrible tragedy that Stieg Larsson never lived to complete the series. He sends a powerful, crusading message as well as enthralling storienovels.

Yesterday I finished reading ".... fire" having made it my first priority to do after I read "... tattoo". But my emotions will need some time to recover from the emotion before I can read ".... hornets nest" Every now and again a fictional character comes along who almost develops a life of her (or his) own, and Lisbeth Salander is one. Thanks for you candid remark, Scott. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Posted by scormus in zurich, switzerland , 16 augusti 2009

What an amazing talent Stieg Larson had! He does an amazing job of captivating his readers and makiing his characters come alive. I felt i was "living" on every single page,

My only sorrow is that we are not going to get anymore books from this wonderful author!

Posted by Nina Allskog in Cyprus , 22 augusti 2009

I know this will sound silly but I forced myself to slow down reading the second book hoping the third one would be out before I finished. Loved it, one of the worlds greatest writers in my opinion. What captured me was in ability to keep the story flowing. Never once was I bored. I have to admit at times I did get confused with the names (not knowing how to pronounce them) but I made up my own and kept going.

Posted by Joan in Atlanta GA USA , 2 september 2009

Who was the girl in the first chapter of the book? Irina? Salander? Or just a trafficking victim?

Posted by Amber in Wichita Falls, Texas , 21 september 2009

I took a trip from Canada to China and had to have a book to read. I chose the first book and am towards the end of book 2.

One thing, if any one noticed. Blovmkist who doesnt believe in God, told Harriet Vanger when he first discovered her in Austrailia, something to the effect " by the Grace of God, I wasnt killed ". I am sure it was this.

Posted by Roger in Palm City, Florida , 29 september 2009

Wow! Can't wait for book three. Read two first and found it to be better than one, only because I knew much more background about characters.

Like others, I found myself reading more slowly to try to put off reaching the ending. Wonderful!!

Who do you think the girl who was tortured in book two is? I would guess it to be Salanader and that this referer to treatment by her father prior to the her trying to save her mother.

Posted by Dave in Pittsburgh , 30 september 2009

That was Teleborian, how he "managed" those who were "out of control" so to speak. I can't remember the exact quotes, but if you read the prologue again and then the parts describing what Teleborian did to Salander you can see the parallels.

Posted by Lucy in Minneapolis , 3 oktober 2009

I was confused whether it was Salander or not in the beginning too... but Salander was pretty frank about how Teleborian treated her, and at one point she states that he never even touched her... but in the first chapter, the girl mentions being raped by her captor....

Maybe it was Salander suppressing events? LOVED this book and 'Dragon Tattoo' cannot wait for third book to be released May 2010!!

Posted by Alexis in Mount Olive, New Jersey , 22 december 2009

The first chapter is what Salander experienced at age 13 while under the "care" of Teleborian. The first chapter never mentions any rape.

Posted by JM in Iowa , 26 december 2009

I just starting book two after falling in love with book one. One thing that I cannot accept in this book is the description of L. Salander as being "one meter and twenty-four centimetres tall" on page 15.

Can anyone confirm this?

I hope it's a typo on the part of the publisher/printer.

Posted by Bob Kingsley in Sydney, Australia , 19 mars 2010

In the third book Salander is described as 1.50m tall so might be a typo

Posted by geoff in unley , 24 mars 2010

And also her mother is 46 in the first book, but 43 in the second. Could have done with a good editor.

Posted by adriane in Perth WA , 30 April 2010

its late at night and i have just finished the second book of the trilogy. yes, i couldn't put the book down and he did create a complex and absorbing set of characters again. but i felt a little disappointed by the end of the book. i know theres a third in the series, but i felt the second book finihsed so abruptly. i also thought it could have done with a major twist with the identity of zala being a character we may not have expected. the first book was ridiculously good however. cautiously looking forward to the girl whokickedthe horentes nest.

Posted by vin in melbourne , 8 October 2010

1.5 meters is nearly 5 feet. That is not a typo.

Posted by Nathan in Denver, CO , 5 January 2011

She takes a ferry from St. Lucia to Grenada. There is no such ferry, although there might be one on the future. But if it went from St. Lucia to Grenada it would run into (or at least go by) St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And nobody would run a ferry past St. Vincent and snub the traffic between St. Vincent and the other islands. We live on St. Vincent in the winter.

My family comes from the swedish-speaking part of Finland and

I have visited Stockholm and Gotheborg. It is fun revisiting the parts that are described.

Posted by Karl Eklund in Berkley, MA , 10 September 2011