Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson

The "Millenenium Trilogy" is an enormously successful series of novels by Steig Larsson. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and the latest best-seller, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest all were published after the author's sudden death. Originally written in Larsson's native Swedish, they have been translated into many languages and read by millions world-wide.

The books are all set, for the most past, in Sweden. and feature two main characters.

Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist and co-owner of news periodical Millenenium.

Lisbeth Salander is perhaps the most extraordinary fictional person ever created. After a physically and mentally abusive childhood, she has become a emotionally detached, anti-social, deeply disturbed, yet brilliant young women.

The first novel, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, begins with Mikael coming out on the losing end of a libel trial, after he publishes an article disclosing illegal dealings of a powerful corporation. When his findings are found doubtful he is declared guilty and sentenced to 3 months in prison. Shortly after, he is convinced by an elderly gentleman to investigate the disappearance of his young niece some forty years before. The very strange Lisbeth eventually finangles her way into the case and the odd couple perform the impossible and actually solve the mystery, but not before putting their own lives in danger.

In The Girl Who Played With Fire, Lisbeth disappears, partly to distance herself from Mikael, with whom she imagines herself in love. When her legal guardian (who sexually assaulted her) is murdered along with a young couple, she is suspected in the crime. Mikael desperately tries to make contact with her, so she can aid in his quest to clear her name. Many events in Lisbeth's past life start to make sense, but in an attempt to manufacture her own brand of justice, she is shot and critically wounded.

The last of the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, finds Lisbeth recovering from her wounds, and clearing her name. Now she and Mikael must bring down a powerful criminal organization masterminded by her biological father. There is danger lurking on every corner.

Each of these novels is lengthy and lavishly detailed, probably deserving to be reviewed individually. However, since each feeds on the subsequent book, I chose to discuss them as a unit. Often a book translated from another language can be a bit ragged, with plot and dialogue not always flowing smoothly. This is not the case with the Larsson works. Each one is immediately intriguing and spellbinding. The background of the Swedish culture and government also makes for interesting reading

Be forewarned; these books contain sexually explicit sections, some brutal and perverted. Also Swedish profanity must translate easily into English ,as there is some rough language.

This said, these are three amazing works of fiction and have sold millions of copies in 40 languages. Each numbers about 600 pages, so allow yourself plenty of time to enjoy. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate them as a group a 9.