Swedish Fish Number Two (The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a fantastic book I had read before I started this blog, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I had the second book in the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire, in my basket waiting to be read. Well, after reading numerous other books, I finally picked it up. I guess I was afraid it wouldn't be as good as the first one, as many times sequels are terrible, particularly the second book (look at Harry Potter. I don't know anyone who would pick Chamber of Secrets as their favorite HP book. Although, the foreshadowing is brilliant...).

I was wrong.

The Girl Who Played with Fire was BETTER than Dragon Tattoo. One problem I often have with sequels is that the characters become boring; the reader has already learned everything about them that is pertinent to the book. Larsson's characters, however, remain multidimensional and are constantly full of surprises.

The one problem that I have with these books lies in the translation. Since they were originally published in Sweden, they had to be translated into English, and at times the writing style is inelegant and clumsy. Also, there is too much attention to detail at times--the reader really doesn't need to know what time the characters showered or ate a pizza (I guess that goes along with the clumsiness of the style too, though. And maybe that's typical in Swedish novels? I don't know...).

Overall, though, the book was fantastic. I would certainly recommend both of Larsson's books that I have read to anyone. They're interesting, fast-paced, complicated, detailed, and un-put-down-able. Yep, I think I made that last one up. Anyway, go pick one up. They're a great summer read.

Next up: Elizabeth Bennett, Mr. Darcy, and....Zombies? Until next time, Happy Reading!