Mind-numbing!
Finished GWtDT last month and it’s the worst book I’ve read in quite a long while.
Dan Brown outclasses this guy by miles, and Dan Brown is terrible. Nothing in this book works.
The characters are so one-dimensional and exist only to satiate the narrators ego, the plot is utter nonsense and then the book ends and then there’s 100 or so more pages or utter nonsense. The writing style is unbearable flat and dwells on the most unimportant details imaginable i.e. Coffee; sandwiches; computer specs etc.
This book has to be one of the most arrogant pieces of writing ever. Personally I don’t think I’ve
ever read anything quite as arrogant or self-serving as this novel. Obviously Stieg/Mickael fancied himeslf a Don Juan type. As for Berger: It doesn’t matter that she’s married (to some artist who never appears in the novel and is described disparagingly) Blom’s just such a cool guy that the husband doesn’t mind that his wife is loving him. It’s probably just as weel that Larsson dies, otherwise, he would have to answer some serious questions about the sexual politics in these books. What an absolute pig!
Posted by MC in Ireland , 15 May 2012
20 comments on “Mind-numbing!”
I couldn’t agree more MC. It’s a shame that these books are so popular and thay seem to be influencing how people critique books in general.
Posted by Pytor ,
Hey guys. You should check out the article written by Janet Potter on themillions.com. It’s called ‘Swedish Narcissus: Stieg Larsson’. It’s really great and it sums up how awful the books really are.
Also try googling ‘parsing Larsson’ for a blog showing a couple of rewrites by a copy editor named June Casagrande. She shows how it should be done.
Posted by Pia in Stockholm ,
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that made me feel stupider having read it. It happened with these books. Has Larsson ever heard of the maxim: Show, Don’t Tell. These books were – among many other things – tell, tell, tell, tell, tell! I think the publishers should be ashamed of themselves. I’t seems like no proper editing and re-writes were done AT ALL!!!! People comaplin about Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling being rubbish. But at least those books KNOW what they are. Larsson can’t seem to make up his mind who these books are aimed at. The cartoonish violence is not suitable for young people, and the rest of the books are too childish for adults.
Had to get that out of system. End of rant.
Posted by Stacy in Salford, UK ,
Well put, Stacy. Couldn’t agree more. Thank god there’ll be no more in this series.
Posted by Natasha in UK ,
Yeah, u got that right wspgims. The point is clearly JEALOUSY…JEALOUSY…& JEALOUSY…! Who in the entire world will read a book from 1st page to the last just to say it is extremely bad? & visit a website devoted for the so called author & waste the damn time? Well, I wouldn’t, or any sane soul wouldn’t. So you tasteless insane bastards, keep fantacising about vampires & warewolves & wizards & such stupid childish fairy tales while the world is taken by Steig. When it comes to Dan Brown, I kind of like him about his writings. But if I were to choose between Dan & Steig, it would unhesitantly be Steig. Remember Dan broke the goddamn rule ‘show don’t tell’ in the 1st chap of his Da vinci code.. Steig is, honestly the BEST author ever.
Posted by Leigh in Ny ,
Thank God someone had brain and thinks reasonably thank u Leigh
Posted by Wspjims in Zurich ,
You people are IDIOTS! To even mention Herr Larsson in the same breath as Thomas Harris is blasphemy. TWATS!
Posted by Mia in Stockholm ,
Why bother commenting on the author’s website if you didn’t care for the book. Talk about narcissism!
Posted by MS in US ,
My hsuband and I are both reading the Millenium Trilogy (I am halfway through the second and he’s halfway through the third) and we find the books SUPERB. We also watched the Swedish film on t.v. the other night and while it was nowhere near as good as the books (too much left out), it was still better than most films these days. I guess it’s all down to the individual.
Posted by Cecilia in Birmingham ,
Talk about stupidity. Ever heard of reading inbetween the lines? Just because it doesn’t downright tell you the themes and motifs of the book doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Maybe it’s just too much for your minds, which seem to think that going on an author’s fanpage just to criticize his last works makes you somewhat smarter. You’re the arrogant one here, darling.
Posted by Angelica ,
If you hate the books why go to Stieg’S site you trolling whores….
I read all three books in record time which to me means they were great. I really enjoyed them and couldn’t put them down. Yes, they could have used a bit more editing but I found them very original and with very compelling characters. Who can ever forget Lisbeth Salander? The books were better than I thought they would be. 60 million fans can’t be wrong. You’re enitled to your opinions however but don’t spoil it for those of us who enjoyed the series. I’m sorry that Mr. Larsson dies and that there won’t be any more books.
Posted by Lisbeth Salander fan in U.S.A. ,
I thoroughly agree with you!
I have read dozens of crime/mystery/thrillers (US and european writers) and rate Larsson’s trilogy as probably the most enjoyable – Trolls are very boring and are best ignored – no audience and they just fade away
Posted by Adam in Sheffield ,
I’ll stick with a proper writer. Thank you very much.
Posted by Alan in Ireland ,
I like lively debates but the name calling and cursing on this particular thread is not cool. Intelligently state your opinions, respect that others have different points of view and leave the demeaning comments out, OK?
If you want a book to read which rewards your time, try The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. That is how a novel should be: no extraneous parts, just a fine tuned narrative with prose of the highest quality from someone in perfect command of language and a plot that actually works.
Posted by Jack in Ireland ,
I agree the writing isn’t great, but I just finished reading the books for the third time just because I enjoy them, enjoy the setting, the escape from US culture, the fun, the comfort of good guys winning. I’ve read the great literature. The Girl Who books are fun and fairly intelligent. Sorry the guy died.
Posted by Bob in Barnwell, SC, USA ,
Small minds are easily numbed. People with no imagination need a special “spoon-feeding” kind of author. The Silence of the Lambs is a good book, but the characters are a bit conventional.
Posted by Dragonreader in Alamogordo ,
Larsson takes what seemed at the outset to be a juicy 'locked-island-mystery plot' and turns it first into an insightful family saga and then into a scathing political and social commentary that forces us to think about such a wide variety of themes and aspects that we normally refuse to accept as part of society. It takes an author like Larsson to shove it in our faces in all its stinking ugliness for us to stop turning the blind eye at these atrocities.