The Girl in the Spider’s Web
Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return in a continuation of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series.
This much anticipated continuation to one of the best-loved crime series of the last decade will be published in Sweden as Det som inte dödar oss (“What Doesn’t Kill You”). The English-language title will differ, and is yet to be confirmed.
David Lagercrantz, the author of “What Doesn’t Kill You”, will be visiting the UK in the Spring as part of a seven-month build up to publication which MacLehose Press are aiming to make the event of the publishing year.
Publisher Christopher MacLehose said: “In one sense the chance to publish a new novel in the Millennium series merely underlines the sorrow of every one of his readers that Stieg Larsson could not have gone on to complete his planned ten-book oeuvre. But – and it is now almost a new and certainly fabled genre – the continuation by another hand has been long anticipated and David Lagercrantz will keep a very great storyteller’s flame alive. The MacLehose Press are delighted to help him to do that.
David Lagercrantz wrote I AM ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, the prize-winning and bestselling “autobiography” of the Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and is also the author of a brilliant novel of the life and death of Alan Turing entitled FALL OF MAN IN WILMSLOW which we will publish in May of this year. Lagercrantz is simply an exceptional storyteller himself and his continuation of the Millennium series can be awaited by the millions of Stieg Larsson’s readers with confidence and great impatience.”
Lagercrantz is a Swedish journalist and author. His ghosted autobiography I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic was one of the most successful books in recent years, not only in Sweden but worldwide; it was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award and the prestigious August Prize.
Eva Gedin, the publisher of Norstedts, says: “We all felt that David Lagercrantz was perfectly suited for the task. He is an accomplished author who has created and written about complex and highly original characters throughout his career. We knew he would write this new Millennium novel in his own voice, while being faithful to the DNA of Stieg’s characters.”
Stieg Larsson’s family has been involved at every stage of the process. They wrote an agreement with David Lagercrantz for this novel and, given his bona fides, gave him creative latitude while working on the project: “By letting David Lagercrantz write his own Millennium novel we keep the characters and the universe Stieg Larsson created alive.” Joakim and Erland Larsson, the Stieg Larsson Estate
David Lagercrantz says: “Stieg Larsson was a master at creating complex stories with a lot of different plotlines and that was something I was determined to live up to . . . [His writing style] is down to earth and unaffected. But there is a kind of journalistic authoritativeness about his work. I realised early on how idiotic it would be for me just to imitate him. This is my own prose.”
Stieg Larsson’s Millennium books have sold more than 80 million copies in 50 countries making it one of the most successful series of novels in modern times.
Publication worldwide will be on 27th August 2015, 10 years since Norstedts published Män som hatar kvinnor which in English was called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
16 comments on “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”
I am looking forward to “What Doesn’t Kill You.” I have read and enjoyed Larsson’s trilogy and I am looking forward to a Larsson-like, tightly drawn complicated story.
I have seen the Swedish version and the American version of the film, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” My preference is the Swedish version. One criticism about the American version is that Michael is warmer than Mikael, and therefore the relationship between Lisbeth and Michael is a more likely progression. I was not looking for a likely relationship between the two, but rather one that evolved from their mutual needs. Sorry I don’t see more of the Swedish version on American television.
- Mary Sandipher,
Oh my God!! I’m shaking with so much excitement!!!
- Sierra Edson,
To the uninformed it seems his “family” brilliantly find a way to lock out his true half-finished next novel, his writing partner, and his life companion. She’s Back might be a great novel derivitive of Larsson. It just won’t be Larsson
- Q Smith,
Stieg Larsson would not have wanted hacks working on his material, for several reasons. 1. They don’t know and repect the material the way that he did. 2. It’s offensive to his wife. 3. The wrong people are in charge of his literary estate. If you respect the man, you will not buy these. They won’t be good anyway, which will solve the problem – but you won’t buy them. His partner should be in charge of his estate and at her discretion Stieg’s words – written by him – should be released, UNFINISHED. That means half of book 5, God’s Revenge.
- TM,
I tend to agree. I loved the ending of book three when Mikael comes over and she lets him in as a friend. I was in tears. End of Story unless Stieg himself were alive to do number four.
- Tara Lawrence
-Stuart,
I could not agree more. The originals are awesome and Hollywood tends to take things over the top.
- Entertained American,
No SL, no Millennium. Don’t let their sales pitch fool you. It’s hard to realize we could’ve had 7 more of these. But the man is dead. Thankfully, we have 3 and they pretty much arc and draw a close to the series.
- Tom M.,
Yes, I agree, the casting of the original movies was not good (other than Lisbeth). Some of the character development and interaction was completely left out of the movies as well. This needs to be better. If it makes for a longer movie then so be it. The final movie diverged the most and left me wanting a remake. Keep the characters true to the book.
- T. Gaines,
Does anyone read Swedish? It is only someone who has read Lagercrantz can say if he is a hack or has a voice. If fear he is not only abandoning the 4th book (6th in arc of 10), but the arc of 10 as well…
- Leo Cottage Grove, Oregon,
I hope this is a continuation of the 290 pages for his 4th novel that Stieg Larsson had completed before his death.
- Pien Pakvis,
Below is the review I put in to Amazon. Its long but its still my two cents worth
Fourth Book:Lagercrantz and Dad/brother fail Stieg
I purchased Girl…Spider Web on my Kindle prior to its publication date and got it, promptly as August became September. I went to bed at 4:30 am, got up at 9:15 and was reading it as I drank my morning coffee.
I am disappointed It is a good tale of daring-due but, instead of a good graphic novel it slides down into a comic book. I found the Millennium Trilogy to be so visual that I was convinced that Larsson had, like me, a visual awareness that was cinematic and that often offers the graphic novelist an opportunity. I am aware that Lisbeth has been drawn in this format though I have never seen it up close.
David Lagercrantz put Lisbeth in a comic book as a maybe unconscious betrayal of his opinion of Larsson’s books, He has her doing things Child would have his 6 ft 5 in 250 lb. Jack Reacher do, only faster.
It betrays Lisbeth’s story, as I see it.
I see Lisbeth as a mix of a gifted young adult whose emotional life has been warped and stilted by constant violence in her childhood culminating in traumatic events.
She is frustrated and abandoned by all adult authority, spending her puberty strapped to a bed with a pedophile hovered above her. She has stayed below the horizon since waiting out High School (don.t know what the Swedes call their adolescent socialization institutions). Being small in a milieu that is lawless, she has learned to defend herself by outright intense attack and flight: witness the encounter that breaks her computer
Then we are told about the rape where she has under-estimated her new guardian, Bjurmann and she is overpowered and then, when the bastard is done, she limps off and broods on the subject. She puts together a plan, gathers information, her video tape, adds a taser and a tattoo implement and strikes fast and resolutely, pressing the advantage of surprise to quickly implement that plan.
Lisbeth uses her successful understanding of how to defend herself and Blomkvist by a full-bodied, two handed swipe(s) at Vanger with a weapon at hand and then giving chase relentlessly (in the book, without a firearm and without Blomkvist’s permission).She does not kill Martin because he kills himself.
In “Girl who played with Fire” Larsson outlines Lisbeth learning to be a warrior.
Lisbeth uses learned tactics on Granada to thwart the deadly plans of the guy who is intent on using the hurricane to cover the murder of his wife.She uses a found weapon but does not kill him but she does allow the storm to do it.
She is caught unaware shortly after returning to Sweden, but again uses surprise and quick, intense, and violent tactics to exploit her appearance (small, skinny, female) to the disadvantage of her assailant. She does retreat effectively.
She takes her hardware even when she does not expect to need it when she goes out to her Bjurmann’s cabin in search of her papers and, when the Bikers arrive, she knows she is in for a fight and that her only chance of survival is to deploy all her resources quickly and without hesitation. The result is she adds the Makarov pistol to her kit and uses a Harley-Davidson to get clear. She recognizes one of them as the one who assaulted her and shoots him in the foot—she does not kill him.
She takes her inventory of weapons to confront Zala and Niedermann, whom she anticipates only vaguely. Her plan, this time, is not thought through because her accumulated methods of self-defense have proved sufficient in the past. Lisbeth, hose experiences with Milton Security should have informed her, finds her tactics are not adequate to the the job because of electronic security equipment.
Her screw-up gets her killed—almost.
Still, her tactics serve her when she digs herself out of her grave but in her weakened state she does not kill Zala and she fails to press her advantage, still surprise effects a scare in Niedermann’s warped, superstitious perceptions.
She is learning the whole time.
Lagercrantz takes this character through a series of actions from a distance where she defeats opponents trained to kill and the reader has only has a vague narrative of her progress to that point, other than some reference to workouts in a boxing gym. She remains a static Lone Ranger figure
In passing; his Camille is an even worse cut-out figure who lacks any kind of reality—she cannot even be described except as some sort of siren who fogs the mind of men. It is goofy and her character is allowed to escape for the next book like a comic book arch-villain – think the Joker or any of them From Marvel or DC–an interchangeable cardboard villain. A missed opportunity to create a really interesting character.
None of the subsidiary characters are taken anywhere new: Inspector Bubble has some sort of religious musings and meets a girl, Modig, except for her orange flavored chocolate has no developemnt and Ekstrom remains a clueless weasel
I don’t even want to mention all the computer crap except that another opportunity to inform is missed by a lack of effort. Some characters around it are moderatly interesting even as they lack credibility. I suspect it is really safe to cite N.S.A. Over-reach in Sweden—no insight into things Swedish other than a bunch of greedy or ambitious bureaucrats—all cardboard cut-outs. This is the only nod toward Larsson’s political awareness.
Logercrantz insults the whole of the Millennium series by creating stereotypes such that it will go straight to comic books and not even appeal to a Graphic Novel. The movie will be by a modern day Hanna-Barbara type studio, who will job out the animation to the Philippines, or some such and put it straight to DVD and it will appear on the Streaming sites that offer goofy stuff with commercials for deodorant and food choppers.
And, I liked “I Am Zlatan” and I am not sorry I bought it instead of getting it from the Library. I heatedly object to having paid for this effort: a weak-ass bundle of money grubbing prose.
I think this ends my concern for this topic
- turtle,
Did Lagercrantz use the incomplete fourth novel the family has and how does Eva Gabrielsson feel? What if she finishes Stieg’s partly written fourth book? Maybe we will see Dueling Dragonns? I write this in 2015, and Lagercrantz’ book The Girl In The Spider Web is out here in the USA. I have had misgivings about reading so far but ny curiosity is growing.
- Tara Lawrence-Stuart,
Is book 5 in then works? Book 4 end unfinished again.
- Sandra,
the 4th "Millennium"Book was quite interesting, thrilling ... but not so good as the first three books. There were places where so called "look into the future/ predictions" were written - it was too revealing, stealing the whole excitement from not-knowing what's going on at first sight. and at the end L.Salander coming on herself to M.Blomkvist... unbelievable, not typical for her... but maybe people change... maybe L.Salander's changing (as Keane's singing ;)) I've that book. I've quenched my curiosity. PS. Sorry for my English, I'm not a native Speaker and English isn't my everyday Language.
- Gogh Van,
I am no deep literary theorist. I very much enjoyed the first three and hence was really keen to read this. Turns out I enjoyed it equally, but this one brought me to tears where the others didn't.
[…] got a jump on her summer reading. “I dived right into beach reading in Cuba last week with The Girl in the Spider’s Web (the fourth instalment of the Millennium series and the first not written by the characters’ […]