Millennium trilogy or best books I ever read

Most people who know me are well aware of the insane amounts of love I have for this little Swedish neo-noir thriller series of novels written by journalist Stieg Larsson (1954-2004). I just can't put the levels of passion and love I have for the characters and narrative of the beautifully intricate world he created in them into simple words, nor begin counting how many times I reread them. They spawned a massive global wide following as well as a number of adaptations, and had a profound impact on the popularity of European literature an culture (in particular the Nordic Noir subgenre) in the world. Without them I doub't we would have had Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series or the many incredible Nordic crime dramas and thrillers like Danish tv series The Killing (Forbrydelsen) or the Danish-Swedish The Bridge (Broen).

A little bit of fun trivia first:

The books (with the exception of the second one) weren't originally known as "The girl..." series, it was a decision made by English languge marketing execs to make the title more marketable to western audiences. The original titles are as follows:

Män som hatar kvinnor (Men who hate women)

Flickan som lekte med elden (The girl who played with fire)

Luftslottet som sprängdes (Castle in the air that blew up)

These titles would also be kept in most non-english languge editions (I myself am familiar with Croatian, Serbian and Ukrainian ones).

The girl with the dragon tatoo

The first book is a fantastic introduction to the world, characters and narrative of the series. It paints a dark, nihilistic and often times disturbing world of neo-nazism, organized crime, psychopaths, rape and other horrors of humanity as viewed through the eyes of a mildly succesful indie journalist and a private investigator with troubles of her own. It's a beyond fascinating and atmospheric read which, despite it's slow pace and numerous descriptions (which actually seve a narrative purpose, unlike in Tolstoi's works). A great chapter one to a terrific final product.

The girl who played with fire

A sequel which picks up where the last book left off, continuing with Lisbeth and Mikel solving grand conspiracies in the frozen Swedish landscape whilst dealing with trauma and other damages. It still features most strengths of the first book: a great pace, a sense of realism and well written characters. Whilst the first book can be enjoyed wonderfully as a standalone venture, this one is definetley much better appreciated if you have read part one, althought the main mystery here makes it a bit off a standalone read of it's own. A great way to continue a narrative, but not alienate possible new readers.

The girl who kicked the hornet's nest

Final books in series and trilogies can be extremley underwelhming. Fortunatley this is not the case with the excelent final chapter of this masterfully crafted trilogy. This is probably the only book in the series that isn't a partially standalone mystery, but just a geniuene, emotional and satisfactory send off with characters from both of the previous installments returning and the story wrapping up various loose ends culminating in a heart pounding conclusion. I couldn't think off a better ending to them. However according to a CBS news exposee Larsson planned seven more books. Even so, the ending feels perfect as is.

The dreadful sequels

But not all things are great as, in 2015, eleven years after the release of the books, David Lagercrantz released The girl in the spider's web (Det som inte dödar oss or That which does not kill us) which was followed by two more sequels: The girl who takes an eye for an eye (Mannen som sökte sin skugga or The man who chased his shadow) and The girl who lived twice (Hon som måste dö or She who must die). Karin Smirnoff would continue the series onwards with three more books starting with The girl in the eagle's talons. I've only read the first of these so I can only speak of that one, but it's a pisspoor read in my opinion. The themes of abuse of power, violence against women, nazism, fascism etc. are all present, but are handled in a very hookey and unrealistic manner, unlike the authenticity of Larsson's original works. The plot is also more action oriented which wounds the atmosphere significantly, killing the gritty realism which was a big part of the original. Not to mention that evewry chapter ends in a cliffhanger making it feel like a really cheap early 2000's network drama. Overall it was a massive dissapointment, but I'm sure someone found enjyoment in it, as in 2018 it would be adapted into a sequel/reboot of the American film franchise Dragon tatoo stories (started by David Fincher in 2011.). As of now I haven't seen it, but after hating the book so much I sincerly doub't I ever will.

Stieg Larsson; the man, the myth and the legend behind the books

Larsson is a personal idol of mine. His philosophies and worldview much reflect that of my own. He was raised mostly by his grandfather who taught him the fight for human rights and against the neo-nazi party which had started to gain more and more following in Sweden during his lifetime. Larsson choose a career of journalism, going with the route of the pen being mightier than the sword. Through his photographs and contraversial articles he caught the eye of both the opposing side and the public becoming both a partial national hero to some and a hated archenemy to others. His life would continue being filled with threats of violence and death threats, but he still stuck to his cause, wanting to make the world a better place. He tragically passed away due to a sudden heart attack in 2004, not long before his books would get published. Many speculated he was poisoned, but in reality he was just a chain smoking workoholic with lung cancer. But even after his life ended, a legacy still continues with many adaptations and devoted fans all over the world. He started and ran a magazine called EXPO which also continues to run to this day, dealing with many of the same issues Sweden faced back then and faces currently. Whilst he will be missed, he will live on in our hearts. Good job, big man, you did well.

A treasury of adaptations

Larsson's trilogy served as an inspiration for the style of many future thrillers to come, but in terms of adapting only two directors were bold enough to take on the task.

The Swedish trilogy

In 2009 Swedish director Niels Arden Oplev and screenwriters Rasmus Heisterberg and Nikolaj Arcel adapted the first novel into a feature film, following it up with two sequels the same year. This take on the trilogy was impecably recieved across the globe, and are some of the most commercially and critically succesful European films of all time. I've rewatched all 3 recently and they still hold up incredibly well, following not only the books storyline to a t, but also being geniuenly well crafted thrillers all the wy through. Noomi Rapace's performance as Lisbeth Salander was robbed off an Oscar. If you aren't in the mood for reading the books, but are still intrigued by the premise I highley suggest seeking them out.

Dragon tatoo stories

A failed American cinematic attempt of an adaptation was launched by David Fincher (one of my favorite directors) in 2011. Given the track record of most American adaptations of non-English languge novels (let's not forget the disatrous attempt at adapting the Japanese novel One missed call or virtually any live-action adaptation of a manga with the exception of Alita: Battle Angel) the lackluster reception from the fandom was obviously expected. However, Fincher's take on the story is a surprisingly well crafted and faithful adaptation of the original novel, leaving out only slight plotpoints (the Australia section of the book for example). Rooney Mara was cast as Lisbeth Salander, the pale autistic bisexual anemic investigator covered in tatoos and piercings, who does her job better than all of her colleagues, and Daniel Craig of James Bond film was cast as Mikel Blumqvist, a suave reporter and the owner of the Millennium magazine. Two more sequels as well as a possible continuation with adaptations of other novels in the series were planned to finish the story up, however due to the film's poor box office performance they were all swiftly cancelled which is a real shame, because, whilst Fincher's version doesn't offer anything too differnet, it still manages to feel uniquely it's own. Not to mention that it looks beyond amazing visually, as all of his films. As mentioned this new franchise would attempt to salvage itself with a cancellation with a soft reboot, but it was a big dissapointment when it comes to both critics and audiences so those plans tanked very soon.

The miniseries

From March to April 2010, a six episode miniseries premiered, presenting an edition of the original Swedish films with extended scenes that didn't make it into the final cut and is, atleast in my opinion, the definitive take on the books. If you feel like the films are too short I highley reccomend giving this one a try.

The comics

Two comic book adaptations of the novels were published in the US, bringing the series outisde the realm of simple words.

DC comics published the adaptation of Larsson's trilogy under their Vertigo banner. They were written by Denise Mina with stunning artwork by Andrea Mutti, Leonardo Manco and Antonio Fuso. They present the narrative in a very faithful-to-the-book recreation and I feel like Larsson himself would approve.

Hard Case Crime (a publisher behind three of Stephen King's novels: Later, Joyland and Colorado Kid) teamed up with Titan Comics would follow with an adaptation of the entire trilogy, Sylvain Runeberg adapted Larsson's original text and the, once again, gorgeous art would be done by Jose Homs. However, the story would not end there, as they decided to completley ignore the sequels written by the other Swedish authors and create a completley original fourth volume entitled The girl who danced with death.

Would I reccomend these?

Of course I would.

To everyone?

Not exactly.

The books are, whilst incredibly complex, still very not for everyone as they're, after all, psychologycal thrillers, filled with rape, violence, murder, sex and moral ambiguity, however these topics are very important and real and have been handled with extreme levels of compassion and sympathy. They present an authentic, real story, but it's not a story for everyone. If you don't have any specific triggers then I suggest to give these a read or give the adaptations a watch. I guarantee you won't be dissappointed.

Some additional interesting info I came across: