The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Millennium Series, #4) by David Lagercrantz
Fiction
2015 Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Read by Simon Vance
Finished on December 7, 2015
Rating: 3/5 (So-so)
Publisher’s Blurb:
Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return
She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution.
Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it . . .
The duo who captivated millions of readers in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest join forces again in this adrenaline-charged, uniquely of-the-moment thriller.
I have now read all four books in the Millennium series. I had a tough time getting interested in the first (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but wound up giving it a rating of 4/5. I enjoyed the next two installments much better (perhaps seeing the movie of TGwtDT helped) and gave them both ratings of 4.5/5. When this fourth installment was released, under a new authorship, I was a bit hesitant. Could Lagercrantz pull it off? Well… yes and no. I enjoyed the audio production (Simon Vance does an excellent job of reading and accents), but once it was all said and done, I’m not exactly sure what took place! It was just a tad bit convoluted. The good news is that I couldn’t see any difference between Larsson and Lagercrantz’s writing, and, the book was entertaining. Just confusing!
Final Thoughts:
I think the only reason I finished this book (and it took me almost an entire month!) is due to the excellent narration by Simon Vance. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have stuck with the print edition after a chapter or two. The Millennium series has been fun, but I don’t plan to read any more.
You can read my thoughts about Stiegg Larsson’s books (and movies) here.
I'm generally not a fan of a series when a new author tries to continue them.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I don't know if I've read many (if any!) other books in a series by a new author. I probably won't again now that I've tried it with this series.
DeleteOh please tell me that Lagercrantz doesn't feel the necessity to tell readers every street name that his characters traverse! I like Larssen's stories but certainly wish they would have been edited more.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Lisa. The street names and neighborhoods continue to play their part (or at least be mentioned!) in this novel. I'm glad I listened to the audio. If I were reading the book, I'd probably get more annoyed about those unnecessary details.
DeleteI would like to read this one of these days given that I really enjoyed the first three books but I am in no rush for some reason. Glad to hear that it was entertaining even if convoluted! :)
ReplyDeleteIliana, no need to rush to read this one! I am interested to know if they plan to film it, though.
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