me too – I had the idea it didn’t fit squarely with the rest. is it a conspiracy?

Posted by emm in Perth, Australia ,

I’m there with you. There is an attempt to replicate the narrative style, but after reading all three books the epilogue does seem to have a slightly different style to it. Almost seems hurried.

Posted by ac in Virginia, USA ,

where can I get the epilogue?..did not even know one existed..

Posted by Vas in Washington DC ,

Exactly! I am in total agreement. Was not satisfied with the way it ended.

Posted by Snigdha ,

The epilogue is the section after Lisbeth is aquitted and goes to Gibralter. Yes, much is so totally different in word usage and writing style from the rest of the book. Having said that, maybe it just reflects Lisbeth’s awkward entry into society as an adult.

Posted by Judy in Axminster, UK ,

when does the girl who kicked the hornets nest gunna be available in paperback in the u.s

Although I agree that there seems to be a slightly different ‘feel’ to the Nest Epilogue, I don’t believe you can compare it to the one in Dragon. There were many more ‘lose ends’ to tie up in Nest than in Dragon and don’t forget, he was preparing for the next sequel. This essentially caused the Epilogue to be much longer that, in my opinion, at times gave it a ‘wandering around’ feeling. I count perhaps 3 or 4 issues that were dealt with in Dragon’s Epilogue versus at least 6 or 7 in Nest.

Posted by Stewart in New Orleans ,

well, larsson did plan to write other books that followed the trilogy, but I think that it ends wonderfully. I had water in my eyes when I read the last sentence.

Posted by charlotte in canada ,

You mean when she (Lisbeth) opened the door to find Blomkvist standing there? LOVED IT! Had me in tears!!

Posted by joehandy2 in BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA ,

after reading it….i felt….kinda empty….Stieg made me read the 3 books…and if there where more i would read them too, i think the epilogue was such a closure to the trilogy (and so lame in a way) since before the book was printed it has been edited, and of course Larsson wasnt the one who approved it, because he died before.

Posted by dafas in mexico ,

I loved the ending- the series came full circle. Stieg wanted to create another trilogy, so I guess it was natural for him to end it the way he did.

I’m not buying any of the conspiracy theories.

Posted by thehighroller5.tumblr.com/ in Chicago ,

The ending seemed like he planned an, like Camillaacterother book, but the attention to be focused on another char

Posted by rzSA in Durban, South Africa ,

The epilogue did not put a fire in my belly. But prior to reading Hornet’s Nest, I had no idea that Millennium was originally intended to extend out over 10 books. So I was expecting a very satisfying conclusion, and a complete tying up of all loose ends.

The implausible howler: Lisbeth was pulled intuitively towards that abandoned factory for seemingly the most trifling reason, then, by the sheerest accident, just happened to bump into the Blond Monster while she was there.

Here is why I think that is disappointing, and a fanciful load of crap, even for a work of fiction.

Froken Salander is portrayed all throughout the book as being extremely cerebral and possessing an almost computer-like level of rationality (even when that computer seems, at times, to contain the CPU of a T-1000 rather than a Friendly AI). That she would suddenly just drop all of that and allow herself to be manipulated by intuition, like some Tarot Card, reader seems to break continuity with the rest of the book.

In the world of fiction, it is easy to suspend your judgment and accept all sorts of improbabilities for the sake of drama and story development, but there are still limits to that, and this is one of them.

I think there would have been one scenario in which the sudden break from character would have been justified, and even a key plot element. Let’s say that she found something out about her past in that factory that was so earth-shattering, so tumultuous, so paradigm-shifting, that it caused her to crumble on the ground, weeping, and even to put a trembling pistol to her head and attempt to pull the trigger. In that case, the intuitive leap would have had deep meaning and could have been forgiven as an entirely justified and warranted break in character. But this character break, as it stands, seemed sloppy, rushed, and indicative of a clear lack of attention to detail.

Posted by mojo.rhythm in Hooville ,

I’m just glad that he didn’t stop at Book 2. Can you imagine this as the final paragraph: “Kalle Bastard Blomkvist. She closed her eyes and let go of the gun. He put it on the floor, took out his mobile and dialled the number for emergency services.” No one can save that, fake epilogue or not.

Posted by Kaat in Singapore ,

mojo.rhythm, Given that Lisbeth has a nearly insatiable curiousness about her–that is why she does her investigations, because they “interest” her, I find it quite easy to believe that finding her mother’s name on the sale documents would have been more than enough to trigger that curiosity, and when have we ever known Lisbeth to bypass a chance to scratch that itch of curiosity? Never, right?

Posted by Alvie Fletcher in Charlotte ,

I just finished it and I had that feeling trough the whole book. Erika Berger’s stalker being just a high school obsessed weirdo… it doesn’t fall in place with the other two books.

Posted by Eix in Mx ,

Erika Berger needed to be informed of Lisbeth’s value as an ally and of her desire for an ally even as she does not consciously know of this desire and would deny it.

And for the story Erika had to be hooked into the risks and efforts her magazine (and nearly everyone she cares about) was making for the younger woman who is, in Erika’s experience, odd.

Remember, Erika was one of the “popular girls” the one with all kinds of social skills (an a lot of libido) and as socially distant from Lisbeth as one can imagine.

Posted by turtle in California ,