I awaited THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson with
the same fervor that many possess with respect to the latest
version of their favorite smart phone, video game, or film. The
stories behind what have become known as the Millennium
series, and their late author, are fascinating in their own right
and well documented elsewhere; I would urge you to familiarize
yourself, at least briefly, with both before undertaking this
novel. If you have yet to read THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, it
is not necessary to do so to fully enjoy the second volume of this
amazing series. Larsson does a magnificent job in making new
readers feel welcome, as well as bringing those familiar with the
first installment up to snuff as to what has gone before. If THE
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO was amazing, then THE GIRL WHO PLAYED
WITH FIRE is astonishing, perfect in every conceivable way.

The Millennium series takes its name from a fictitious
magazine, a publication of investigative journalism, that serves in
the books as the nexus for all that occurs. Mikael Blomkvist, the
publisher, is an interesting character, possessed of a steel-trap
mind and a razor-sharp intellect. He is also a bit of a rake, if
you will, having a number of “friends, with
privileges,” including two of the ladies on the staff of the
magazine. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO concerned what transpired
when Blomkvist became involved with a waiflike woman named Lisbeth
Salander, who among many other things saved Blomkvist’s life
and in some ways his career. We also learned that Salander is an
extremely unusual, very dangerous individual, who is highly
intelligent, capable of doing anything at any given time, and badly
damaged.

As THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE begins, approximately one year
has passed since the events described in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON
TATTOO; Salander, for reasons unknown to Blomkvist, has terminated
their relationship and has begun to impulsively travel. She is in
Grenada as the book begins, working mathematical problems by the
pool, taking a lover, and keeping an eye on a couple who are
staying in the room next to hers. After an eventful, even
breathtaking, series of occurrences, Salander returns home and
begins to try to establish at least the trappings of a normal
existence, using the proceeds from her ill-gotten gain to do
so.

Blomkvist, for his part, is settled back at the helm of his
beloved Millennium, which will be publishing both a story and a
book by a freelancing journalist/research couple who are preparing
an expose on the Swedish sex-trafficking
industry. Blomkvist’s life violently intersects with
Salander’s again when Salander unexpectedly, though not
inexplicably, becomes the primary suspect in a triple murder, the
victims of which are the freelancing couple, as well as a third
party who played a prominent role in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON
TATTOO; all of them are connected in some way to Salander. She
becomes the subject of a police manhunt that is exploited to its
limit, and beyond, by the press. And here we have but one of the
examples of Larsson’s genius.

Salander disappears from the book as an active participant at
this point, a little over a third of the way through, and does not
reappear for a good while. As the tale unfolds, it seems entirely
possible that she did commit one, if not all three, of the murders.
At first Blomkvist is the only person who believes in her
innocence. His investigation, carried on independently from that of
the police, slowly begins to reveal Salander’s past, the
history of which sheds light on some, but certainly not all, of the
reasons why Salander is the way she is, and additionally leads to
the revelation of why the victims were murdered to begin with. By
the time Salander reappears in the final third of THE GIRL WHO
PLAYED WITH FIRE, she is more understandable, and much more
frightening. The reader learns not of her limits, but of what she
is truly capable and why.

The book ends thunderously, and not without irony. By that time,
you might be reading so quickly you’ll overshoot the ending
and start another book. But never fear. A third --- and apparently
final --- volume, THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST, is planned
for publication in 2010. One can only imagine how that will begin,
let alone end. It’s not that there aren’t any possible
beginnings for the next book; it’s that the conclusion
of THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE contains so many
possibilities for what comes next.

Stieg Larsson was an amazing author, and the manifestation of
that conclusion continues to be so. For example, THE GIRL WITH THE
DRAGON TATTOO featured a fascinating character named Plague, who
barely appears in THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE; though he plays an
important role, he is barely present for two pages. A lesser or
intellectually lazier author would have leaned on him more, having
spent all sorts of blood, sweat, toil and tears creating him to
start with. Not Larsson. He instead populated THE GIRL WHO PLAYED
WITH FIRE with a new group of unforgettable characters, including a
number from Salander’s past, not the least of whom is Zala.
Watch out for that one. There also is a series of seemingly
pointless exercises in mathematics that, one might think, has
nothing to do with the story but has much to do with this one and,
I would guess, the next as well. And Grenada? I think that what
happens on that beach will have repercussions down the road.

Anyway, I’ve gone on too long already. Please read THE
GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE. Its 500-plus pages have the detail of a
thousand, but you’ll read them with the speed and intensity
of a short story. This is the book that should sell five million
copies, that people should stand in line for at midnight. Very
strongly recommended, if you hadn’t guessed already.