How can you possibly top two books that emerged as literary blockbusters and are well on their way to becoming cinematic blockbusters all over the world? I really don't know, but somehow, having set the bar ridiculously high, Stieg Larsson manages to clear it with plenty of room to spare with the last volume of the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. Picking up right where Volume 2 left off, we see Lisbeth Salander in a tight spot. She's been shot in the head, somehow survived and is pretty much confined to a hospital bed, trying to get better and survive the massive amounts of injuries she sustained at the end of the last book. Unfortunately, the whole getting better thing is kind of a double edged sword, because once she is better, the police are waiting to charge her with murder and the enemies that have been stalking her in various forms for nearly two books now are circling, looking for an opportunity to get her confined to a loony-bin once and for all.
In short, our heroine is in a tough spot. But, she's got friends helping her out too: Kalle Blomkvist is back on the case, his dogged journalistic instincts digging up the truth to help out his friend. Erika Berger, Blomkvist's lover/editor in chief leaves for what she thinks is a fantastic opportunity only to end up right back where she started from and happier for it. Blomkvist's sister Annika comes aboard as Lisbeth's attorney and she in turn is assisted by the usual suspects from the prior 2 books, who all stand by Lisbeth and help her out as best they can. They in turn are opposed by the shadowy forces of Sweden's Security Police or SAPO, who are trying to make Lisbeth go away more or less permanently. Not to spoil too much, but the forces of good do eventually prevail over the forces of evil and bring the trilogy to a touching end. Actually, that probably gave away a lot- but if you didn't see a happy ending and an ass-kicking for the bad guys at the end of this thing, well then, I don't know what to tell you.
But Larsson closes out his trilogy in fine style, as per usual. The characters grow, change and get put through the wringer- though Erika Berger's little detour to the journalistic big time followed by her quick retreat back to Millennium seems a little pointless when all is said and done, but I guess it serves a purpose of sort. Our heroine, Salander is more introspective than usual- not that she's portrayed as a fountain of sunny optimism, but being stuck in a hospital and left to her own devices, the reader is allowed more access into the inner workings of Salander than usual- which is nice. Kalle Blomkvist is his usual crusading self and everyone, every character seems to be bringing their A-game to the overall narrative.
What do I like most about this book? Well, I think it's the denouement more than anything else. Very subtely, the protagonists get their ducks in a row and the reader doesn't see it happening- so courtroom drama, police drama- everything collides as the good guys pretty much unload on the bad guys all at once. Again, sorry about the general strangeness of the phrasing, but I don't want to give too much away- only to say that when the bad guys get kicked, they get kicked baaaaaaad and it's a beautiful thing. After all the reader learns about Salander and what's she been through, the thorough, just revenge taken by the protagonists almost makes you want to stand up and cheer- even though she is kind of amoral and not the most sympathetic of heroines.
Overall: a brilliant ending to a brilliant trilogy- the sad part is that Larsson died before more stories could be written- though the news media is apparently confirming the existence of another manuscript that was close to complete at the time of the author's death. Whether we will ever get to read it, I have no idea- and as the author's brother had indicated that the manuscript may be the fourth numerically, but it's actually the fifth chronologically, that should open up whole new realms of confusion and adventure for the reader. These books became phenomena for a reason and they are well worth reading- all three of them.
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