The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I have seen the Swedish film a couple of times, which was great.
I also saw the US remake, which wasn't.
And unsurprisingly the book is also great, even if you know the story already.
I loved the writing, the people and the setting.
While the films only touch the surface, the book can easily dive into the characters, relationships and small details.
I am a bit of a Nordic Noir fan and this is probably one of the best.

This book is awesome. I mean it. It's even better than both movies -which is a lot to say- and it leaves you wanting for more. And more.
Lisbeth Salander is one of the most unique and complex characters I've ever read. She's so strong and cold that sometimes she made me irritated but in a way that I made me love her personality even more.
Mikael Blomkvist is so kind and intelligent that you can't not like him. His relationship with people is something incredible and above all the one with Lisbeth. They're a great work couple and I love how they relantionship evolves into something totally new and fresh.
What can I say? I loved this book and they way it's written and it makes me kind of sad to know that Stieg never knew about the potential of his books.
An absolutely must-read.

I couldn't stop reading this book and think I completed it in record time. And yet it barely made four stars for me. You can basically separate the books into three parts: pre-Vanger, Vanger investigation, post-Vanger.

The first part is ridiculously boring, it's almost as if Stieg Larsson went out of his way to make the financial stuff as boring as possibly could be. The second part is when the protagonist moves to Hedeby, and it is here where things get intriguing, utterly fascinating to read. If the book had ended after the huge reveal, I might have given this another star. But no, it goes on, and the author ends what he started in the first part, with the libel stuff. A lot of time is spent on this stuff, so I don't know, maybe it's just a lot of exposition for the other two books in the series. I don't know. The last 15% of the book were tough to read.

This book should however come with a big warning sticker. It starts with dry financial stuff and then dramatically hits you with graphic, sexual violence in the face. This book should have written trigger warning all over it. If you can deal with that, and face the horrors that humanity is capable of, then by all means, go read it.