The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson

Last weekend I went to see the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I enjoyed the murder-mystery so much that I went and bought the sequel novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire. The book is huge and it's a testament to Larsson's writing that I finished the whole thing last night.

If you can't tell yet, I love strong female characters. After one weekend Lisbeth Salander has already made her way into my top five. At four-foot-eleven and 90lbs with the face of a teenager, Lisbeth's appearance doesn't immediately strike fear in the eyes of her enemies. Yet everyone who crosses her path in the wrong way finds out soon enough that her looks are more than a little deceiving. Whether it's using her keys as brass knuckles to punch out a thug who's trying to kidnap her, or using her wonderful brain to crack any computer security system that tries to keep her out, Lisbeth is a force to be reckoned with.

The novel drags a bit in the middle (how could it not with over 752 pages?), but even the slower parts have their purpose. Some great new characters are introduced that weren't in the first book and the relentlessly good Mikhail Bloomkvist is back and going at it working for Millennium.

Was it worth the read?

Yes. If length scares you off, just know that the writing is superb; straightforward, with a great flow. Larsson's trilogy (the third book comes out in a couple of months), is one of the best stories of the decade. Also, see the movie if you can--it's top notch.

Sidenote: I found out that Larsson died of a massive heart attack shortly after submitting the three manuscripts for this trilogy.