The fire has gone out (The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
Date:	18/06/09 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the characters

Disadvantages: the plot and pace

After eating up part one in the series, I was dying to read this new one. Larsson's story continues with his two main protagonists: Salander and Blomvkist, as they get mixed up in a new plot revolving around exposing the sex slave industry.

I absolutely loved 'The girl with the dragon tattoo', and couldn't have been much more disappointed with 'The girl who played with fire'. There is one major problem: the plot.

The plot of the first novel was different, original and unpredictable. With this one, it's old hat, and reads like a very average crime novel; there's been a murder, a cover up, and now the truth has to be found.

The pace is really slow; it takes 200 pages for the main event to happen that is listed on the blurb, so for 200 pages you know what you're building up to.

At 572 pages, it's a long old book, but whereas I savoured the first one, this one just dragged and dragged. It's a real shame.
Like the first novel, this book is brilliantly written, with very tight prose. Not once does Larsson look like a novice writer, and just to read it is a pleasure, but the storyline lets him down.

The only good thing is seeing the characters again, particularly the unique Salander.

There are three novels in this series and I just can't believe the next one will be able to pick up again. It's out in October, so we'll soon see. I will read it, but not with half as much passion as the first.

All in all, a nice return to some great characters from the first novel, but an unoriginal plot and slow pace left me wishing for the glory days of old.

Summary: don't bother