Shop Blog > Recommendation > The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage)
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage)
- Vintage
- 2009-06-23
- 25Rank
- $14.95
- See details at Amazon
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Larsson shows how it is done right. . . .
There are many "thriller" novels on the market today that are great only in their first read. The nature of the genre is tied to suspense and in that, much is often lost in the knowledge of how the story ends. I loved Angels and Demons and the DaVinci Code the first time I read them both. After trying to re-read them, the luster was gone and they did not hold up well at all. This is where Mr. Larsson's novel excels. As I generally have to re-read books to actually remember them, this held my attention to the end the second time through. Translated very well from the original Swedish by Reg Keeland, this book moves very quickly. The interaction of the unlikely duo of journalist-turned-outcast Mikeal Blomkvist and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander was clever and interesting. The ancillary characters were rich and were a pleasure to read. My only concern about this book is some of the techno-babble may be a bit much for those who do not use or are not familiar with computers. Some of said babble dates the book as the impressive computer specifications in 2003 are not all that impressive today. Overall, if one can gather that the technology referenced is the best and most innovative of the time, it can be overlooked. Mystery stories are often peppered with clich and over-the-top characters; I believe that this story does well in that the characters are generally believable. The settings are rich and the descriptions of people and place are detailed without being overdone. It is very hard to describe much of the book without giving it away, so I will end by simply saying: If you enjoy thrillers or mysteries, this is a good book to have on the shelf. epc
