Stieg Larsson Millennium Trilogy Audiobook CD Bundle: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Audio CD – CD, May 25, 2010

Where does one start with this trilogy? Lisbeth Salander is anything but a normal girl. Her deeply troubled past gives way to many interesting confrontations and plot twists. Couple this girl with a charming yet persistent journalist who somehow gets himself caught up in situations that are a lot bigger than he realizes, and you can only end up with this trilogy. In addition, it takes place in a corrupt Sweden that is shockingly close to many societies today.Larsson has a unique writing style. He is able to dedicate so much time to delving into the history of a place or character with both detail and flow in a way that you feel like you are really on the inside scoop of whatever he is talking about, like you are being told information other people don't know. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, he is able to form dialogue between characters that is real. Speaking of history, there is a lot of it in this series, particularly in the beginning of book one. If you have a hard time with history, just push yourself to finish the first few chapters in it. You will be really glad you did.One thing I love in these books is the author's aim to expose the abuse against women in Sweden (though far few people really understand the scope of female abuse across the globe). From page one all the way to the last chapter of the series this theme is very apparent. Some of the statistics he reveals are horrifying, and the graphically violent crimes dealt with in the book are sick and tragic. I can only shudder mentally as I hope some of the crimes carried out in the book are not mirrors of actual ones that have taken place.My favorite thing about these books is Larsson's scale of storytelling. The first book felt like a home. The second book felt like a city. The final book felt like an entire country! What I mean is that the author was able to weave all the events together from book one to book three in a way that you go from a simple, clever mystery story to literally an epic tale set in modern Sweden.This series really is something else. Other reviewers have mentioned moral ambiguity, and it is something you definitely will notice. However, given the obvious trope of the horrors of female abuse, I think Larsson was trying to convey that 'lesser evils' are justified when they help combat the 'greater' evils. Do I agree? I don't think so. Nonetheless, he was able to weave all this into a wonderful story with lovable, characters with whole personalities -- even if they do have strange ideals about life, sex, or whatever.I'm not sure what type of books you're into, but this is a series that appeals to readers of all types. You're really missing out if you turn this one down.

I was a little hesitant at buying these books for my kindle because I'd heard it had some disturbing parts in it. While it did have a few disturbing parts, I am truly glad I read this. It's one of the more intriguing and creative stories I've read in a long time.The first book revolves around Mikael Blomkvist and his attempt to solve the mystery of Harriet Vanger's disappearance. He later teams up with Lisbeth Salander, an anti-social, extremely talented young woman who becomes the main focus of the next two books. Both Mikael and Lisbeth are great characters whom I wanted to learn more about throughout the books. One of the reasons these books held my interests is the character of Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth is very different from most protagonists you're going to find in a novel. She isn't exactly a pleasant character and yet the reader is compelled to learn more about her to understand why she is the way she is.All three stories are very interesting and it was hard for me to put them down. One criticism I did have though was that the beginnings of both the first and second books were pretty slow. It does take a while for the first two books to get interesting, but the pay off was definitely worth it. I would encourage anyone who was having problems getting into the first book to try and get past the first few chapters. The book gets a lot better after that, in my opinion.One of the themes of these books is violence and mistreatment of women, which does lead to a few very disturbing scenes. Those scenes are certainly not for the faint of heart. That being said, I would still recommend reading these books. I would compare the series to 'Game of Thrones' in the sense that I haven't read anything quite like this before and the characters are not your typical generic fare. Their motivations and actions are fleshed out well, giving the reader an understanding of the characters even if you don't agree/like them.Overall, I'm really glad I bought this. It was a good break from the generic and stale stories that I've been reading recently.

I just completed reading this Millenium Trilogy. It is a great novel and has all the ingredients to keep the reader's attention. It is an amazing page turner. When one starts the book it never lets up and all the various incidents that occur to the two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomquistsomehow all tie in with a host of other very unsavory characters which cross their paths one way or another. The book holds one in suspense from start to finish. This applies to all three books in this amazing trilogy.When I finshed reading the first book, I just hoped that it would continue. Lisbeth Salander is an incredible character with a super amount of stamina and strength despite her relatively small size. She had been through so much in her life that had moulded her the way she is. I felt relieved that there were another two books to go after reading the first book. Many of the scenarios are rather far-fetched and unrealistic, but this did not spoil the gist of the book. It somehow aroused the reader's curiosity even more. It did not spoil the content.I highly recommend this novel because of its fast pace that never leaves a dull moment. The characters are well described in the book without excess verbosity and this in itself is a great talent not often found in writers of thrillers who tend to digress for too long a time that one very often loses the thread of the story. This never happens here as there is repetition of various incidents at various stages of the novel. Even if you put the book down for a while, you pick up the story without any problems because of the continuity of one incident connecting to another in various, ingenuous ways.It deserves a 5 star rating. I am sure that had Larssen been alive today, he would have gone on writing about Salander and Blomquist in new scenarios and situations of intrigue that would keep the reader on his toes.

I’ve been looking for this set for ages. The hardcover is very pretty and made of excellent material.

It took a bit for the story to proceed, but somewhat necessary to understand what is going on. After the first fifty pages or so, I was hooked. Great read, all three of them back to back.

Una bellissima trilogia.

I read these when they first came out and still have a box that looks like a couple of breeze blocks. Having watched all the films recently (the Swedish versions with the options of English subtitles or dubbing) I wanted to read them again. My eyesight's not so good now so paid for them again on Kindle. Absolutely riveting, detailed writing - far more information and atmosphere than you get from the films (hardly surprising). Only wish Larsson had lived long enough to write more - these are a gripping read! Good for my handbag that I can carry them round on my Kindle now and read with ease. More expensive than if you buy second hand paper copies but well worth the money!

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