Critical Consensus for 7/28: Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Stieg Larsson’s The Girl Who Played With Fire is out today, following The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo as the second book in the late author’s “Millenium” series. Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are back at the center of the action, but this time a string of murders point to Salander as the suspect. Blomkvist believes in Salander’s innocence and tries to find her after she drops off the radar. While critics praise Larsson’s dynamic, unique characters, they disagree on whether the plot is overly melodramatic. The New York Times describes some characters as “cartoony James Bondian villains,” but the Guardian says Larsson “constructs his suspenseful plot without ever ramping up the melodrama.” Most of the reviews mention Larsson’s reliance on coincidence to drive the plot, but they assert that the characters and suspense are so strong readers won’t mind the book’s shortcomings. If you enjoyed Dragon Tattoo, chances are you’ll devour this latest book. See below for full reviews.
“As he did in Dragon Tattoo, Mr. Larsson […] mixes precise, reportorial descriptions with lurid melodramatics lifted straight from the stock horror and thriller cupboard.” – Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
“The Girl Who Played With Fire is that rare thing - a sequel that is even better than the book that went before.” – Louise France, Guardian
“Larsson [leans] on coincidence a bit too often in the new book, but overall his storytelling is so assured that he can get away with these peccadilloes.” – Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post
“Another gripping, stay-up-all-night read, but it’s also a bit sloppy, too often falling back on annoying devices.” - Rob Brunner, Entertainment Weekly
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