2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.
[In this case it's books that no longer fit my personal tastes, and are of such monstrous sizes and density I cannot see myself rereading them.]
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original (embarrassing and naïve and oh-goddess-it's-been-years) Review:
Well that's it. I've finally finished this series.
The review of the ending will be more emotional than intellectual, even though these books deserve to be the subject of great, in-depth discussions and debates.
The reason for this is that 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest' - despite being close to 750 pages long - has very little action in it and I can't really say what I've already said in my 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' review. This doesn't make 'Hornets' Nest' bad - nor does it mean the book lacks plot progression and character development. Far from it. It does however showcase Stieg Larsson's weaknesses as a writer of fiction. Weaknesses such as overly-describing everything a character is doing, detailing histories not relevant to the overall plot, lacking subtlety with themes by having characters outright come out and say what they are, introducing truckloads of people to keep track of (there are more new characters in the final book, and I didn't think that was even possible), and sometimes too much focus went into the journalism aspect of the series instead of the actual crime and murders that have happened (Mr Larsson was a journalist and it shows).
These are far more apparent this time round. There were not quite enough enjoyable events and thrilling twists to keep me as invested as when I read the previous two books in the 'Millennium' trilogy. It took me two weeks to finish 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest' (not as action-packed or scary as it perhaps sounds).
However, the weaker elements to the story are only present in the middle. The beginning and end are fantastic - from where the mystery and conspiracy plot threads take off, to where at last they're resolved and an action scene with Lisbeth Salander finally happens. The whole conspiracy plot is rather complicated - with so many players dating back to the 1960s. It does require the reader to have a high attention span to get through it all. I was looking forward to the character growth scenes. There are still clever moments here and there that move the plot forward, consisting of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth using the magic of computers and 21st century technology to help those in need.
Though the real person in need in 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest' - her final adventure, as it turns out - is Lisbeth herself. The strange-but-lovable hacker spends the majority of the novel hospitalised from a bullet to the brain, and she is awaiting trial for a whole assortment of crimes, despite being acquitted of three counts of murder. Blomkvist and his friends at Millennium magazine and in other, much higher places do what they can to try to prove her innocence. This means succeeding in convincing all of Sweden that a conspiracy within a security police force, Sapo, has been going on since the 60s. A "Section" exists to cover up certain crimes, and to condemn an innocent girl to a life of hell.
Corruption lurks everywhere. The system will be hard to crack. And this will be Blomkvist's biggest news story ever. And his last chance to save a friend who has decided she wants nothing more to do with him.
Lisbeth doesn't want to just sit around and let other people work to prove her own innocence. But not by using fists: by obtaining a simple computer and access to the internet. She is a hacker and a genius, and a computer is her only weapon in 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest' (except for the other weapons she uses in the epilogue, but that's hundreds of pages away).
In this installment, Lisbeth's development stems from finding friends where she wouldn't expect them. She's been the victim for so long; forced to be independent and solitary all her life thanks to the Section. So to find that there are good people in the world who are willing to help her and expect nothing in return... it must be a damn breakthrough in her dark and miserable existence. But no matter what happens to her, she is as smart and snarky as ever, still untangling her trust issues.
Mikael Blomkvist is much the same as he's always been - determined, brave, fatherly, and a ladies man to the core. He gets around an awful lot in 'Hornets' Nest', despite the high stakes involving a conspiracy to murder and an investigation which must expose it before Lisbeth's trial. This side of his character is deconstructed, however, with the women in his life talking about who he is and what drives him to do what he does - both personally and professionally.
Annika Giannini, Blomkvist's lawyer sister, has a remarkably prominent role. She really has developed a lot from the first book. She has to represent Lisbeth for the trial which determines the hacker's fate. Larsson shows how great women can truly work under pressure. Even better than the evil men who wish to bring her down, in fact. Annika is determined to save her client's life and clear her name, and she will rock the nation's socks off doing it.
Erika Berger has her own subplot where she leaves Millennium magazine for a huge opportunity as editor-in-chief at Sweden's biggest newspaper, Svenska Morgan-Posten. But being one of the few women in a position of being in charge in a male-dominated industry has its unfortunate setbacks. As well as discovering from Blomkvist a career-destroying-but-needs-to-be-published story about her new boss, the most important of Berger's male colleagues are patronising and condescending towards her (not all of them are, thankfully, but it doesn't help her situation). She starts receiving misogynistic emails and rape threats via email. Someone even starts stalking her and breaking into her house.
Sadly these events are far from fictional and over-the-top. It reminds me of the disgusting shit real women of opinion and power have or had to put up with constantly. We are not as progressive as we might think. Major corporal industries are still being run by a patriarchal society which consists of older men refusing to adapt. They are much more comfortable sticking to the days when working women did nothing more than factory labour and serve tea and biscuits. Outspoken women with brains still scare a lot of the male population for ridiculous and unfounded reasons (we are not deliberately trying to take your jobs or ruin your chances of a simple sex life! Respect, man, respect!).
Berger's story really spoke to me in regards to this, even if its entire point was to further highlight the "Men who hate women" theme of the 'Millennium' series and doesn't achieve a great deal plot-wise.
And it is here where we come to Inspector Faste. Even though he doesn't appear much in 'Hornets' Nest' nor does he really get a resolution to his character, I still have stuff to say about him.
Faste is a corrupt cop, and a misogynist. The way I see him, he is nothing more than a stupid kid who's too quick to jump to conclusions without proof.
Here's a line from the book told from his third-person perspective:
'He [Faste] reminded himself that she [Lisbeth] was a lesbian and consequently not a real woman.' - page 521 of my copy.
Consequently? CONSEQUENTLY!!?? You little sh-!
Okay, so a woman's sex life determines her status as a "woman"; meaning, whether or not men have had their way with her yet. If she doesn't want to have sex with men - or gives the impression she doesn't want to - then she is unattainable and therefore not a "real woman". This translates to: not a real human being. "Real Women" don't demand that difficult thing called respect. Gotcha.
Or her sex life is nobody's business but her own. And it doesn't determine her worth as a person.
This is why I kind of wish that Faste had received comeuppance for his messed-up views on women, and then he would see why he's so terrible at his job. But maybe not having more time spent with such an ignorant waste of space is for the best. There are far more important and engaging characters to sort through and develop.
New characters include Anders Jonasson (Lisbeth's trusted doctor), Inspector Monica Figuerola (another awesome female character), Gullberg and a boatload of other Sapo and Section members, and Susanne Linder from Milton Security (another strong female who protects other women and does it with an iron fist). Returning characters include Sonya Modig (who sadly doesn't do much here), Jan Bublanski, Amansky, Palmgren (hooray!), and Dr Teleborian (oooh!!!).
Lisbeth Salander - for the little she actual does physically in the final installment of a series in which she is the heart of - is still determined not to be a victim. Blomkvist might end up saving her from an injustice that has been repressing her since childhood, but she will seek poetic justice in her own way.
Because it is her right not just as a woman, but a living, breathing, thinking and strong human being.
Plus she's earned it. I mean, she practically rose from the dead in the previous book!
Series Verdict: The 'Millennium' trilogy is a thrilling, intriguing, clever, suspenseful and brilliant crime saga that I can almost believe is real; populated by real people. It is set in the mainstream world controlled by journalism, the media, security ops, and other authoritative figures such as the police. What corruption goes on behind closed doors will likely shock and open the eyes of some readers. The books are abundant with a cast of likeable and memorable characters, and with plot threads that, while some may not be as relevant as others to the story, are interesting nonetheless. The first book will always be my favourite. I do think the series gets weaker and more complicated as the story and themes draw nearer to the conclusion, however I am still glad I'd decided to give it a go ('The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' was recommended to me by my book-loving aunt back in 2012. Thanks again, Auntie!)
Final Score for 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest': 4/5
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