Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
The "Millennium Trilogy," written by Stieg Larsson, is a series of three crime novels that center around the compelling characters of Lisbeth Salander, a skilled computer hacker with a troubled past, and Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist. The first book, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," follows Blomkvist as he investigates the decades-old disappearance of Harriet Vanger, aided by Salander, who uncovers dark family secrets and criminal activities. In the second installment, "The Girl Who Played with Fire," Salander becomes embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation while facing accusations of murder, leading to a deeper exploration of her complex family dynamics, particularly with her estranged father, Alexander Zalachenko. The final volume, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," concludes the trilogy as Salander fights to clear her name amid political intrigue and corruption within Sweden's secret police. Throughout the series, themes of abuse, revenge, and the quest for justice are intricately woven into the plot, showcasing both characters' resilience. The trilogy has garnered significant acclaim for its gripping narrative and rich character development, making it a notable contribution to contemporary crime literature.
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Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
- Born: August 15, 1954
- Birthplace: Sweden
- Died: November 9, 2004
- Place of death: Sweden
First published: Män Som Hatar Kvinnor, 2005 (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2008); Flickan Som Lekte Med Elden, 2006 (The Girl Who Played with Fire, 2009); Luftslottet Som Sprāngdes, 2007 (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, 2010)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Detective and mystery
Time of plot: 2005–7
Locales: Stockholm, Sweden; Hedeby, Sweden; St. George’s, Grenada
Principal Characters
Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker
Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist
Martin Vanger, a serial killer
Miriam Wu, Salander’s former lover
Alexander Zalachenko, Salander’s estranged father
Ronald Niedermann, Salander’s half brother
The Story
The first novel in the trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, introduces Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist and publisher of the left-wing magazine Millennium. Blomkvist has recently lost a libel case against Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström, and instead of serving time in prison, he resigns from his position on the magazine’s board of directors. Shortly after, Henrik Vanger, former CEO of Vanger Enterprises, hires Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his great-niece Harriet Vanger, who vanished forty years earlier. Vanger believes she was murdered by a member of his family, many of whom still reside on the island of Hedeby, outside Stockholm, Sweden.
To ensure that he is trustworthy, Vanger hires a computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander to look into Blomkvist’s history. She is a troubled, antisocial person who was deemed incompetent as a child. Her legal guardian, Nils Bjurman, is a sadist who withholds her allowance until she performs sexual favors for him. After one particularly horrific experience, she blackmails him so she can have total control over her own money.
When Blomkvist realizes that Salander has hacked his computer, he convinces her to help him research Harriet’s disappearance. Their investigation uncovers that Harriet’s brother Martin, the current CEO of Vanger Enterprises, has been serially raping and murdering women for years. Martin traps Blomkvist in a hidden torture chamber inside his house, but Salander saves him. Martin flees and then kills himself by driving straight into an oncoming truck.
Blomkvist and Salander also discover that Harriet was not murdered, having fled to Australia after killing her abusive father. She returns to Sweden and helps Henrik lead the family business. With their job finished, Salander manages to clear Blomkvist’s name by uncovering billions of dollars in offshore accounts that Wennerström was illegally hiding. Blomkvist writes a successful book on the subject, and Millennium becomes a prominent magazine. Salander admits she has romantic feelings for Blomkvist, but he goes back to his former lover, Millennium editor Erika Berger.
The second novel in the trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, begins with Salander saving a woman from her abusive husband during a hurricane in St. George’s, Grenada. Salander then returns to Sweden and uses money she secretly laundered from Wennerström in the previous novel to purchase an upscale apartment. Miriam Wu, Salander’s former lover, takes up residence in her old apartment.
Blomkvist is asked by journalist Dag Svensson to help investigate the sex trafficking of underage girls in Sweden. Salander hacks into Blomkvist’s computer and learns about this investigation. A man named Zala mentioned in the research catches her attention, but before she can investigate further, Svensson and his girlfriend are found dead and Salander’s fingerprints are discovered on the murder weapon. Shortly after this, Salander’s former guardian Bjurman is also found dead. She is the prime suspect in all three murders.
Salander tells Blomkvist to look into Zala and his possible connection to the three murders and the trafficking ring. She then travels to Bjurman’s cabin, where she learns that Zala is actually Alexander Zalachenko, a Russian defector protected by Sweden’s secret police, known as the Section. At the cabin, two bikers attack her. Salander fights them off and goes to Zalachenko’s farm. There, she realizes he is in fact her estranged father, whom she tried to kill when she was thirteen years old.
Zalachenko shoots and injures Salander, then buries her alive with the help of her half brother, Ronald Niedermann. She manages to dig her way out and attack Zalachenko with an axe. Blomkvist arrives at the farm and calls in help to take both Salander and Zalachenko to a hospital.
The third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, picks up with Salander and Zalachenko arriving at the hospital. Niedermann escapes police custody and becomes a fugitive. Using a portable computer, Salander is able to clear her name of the three murders from the previous novel. However, she is still being charged with assault on the two bikers who attacked her at Bjurman’s cabin. Evert Gullberg, former head of the Section, believes that Zalachenko will expose their cover-up of the sex trafficking, so he kills him and then commits suicide. The Section begins watching Blomkvist and the Millennium staff. Blomkvist learns of the surveillance and feeds them misinformation to throw them off.
As Salander’s trial is about to start, the Section discovers Blomkvist has been aware of their surveillance, so they try to discredit him and Millennium. When that does not work, they unsuccessfully attempt to murder him. Salander’s defense team manages to get her released with a clean slate. The corrupt members of the Section are then arrested, and Salander leaves Sweden to visit Wu in France.
When she returns to Sweden, she looks into an old factory that she inherited when Zalachenko died. It turns out Niedermann has been hiding out there since he became a fugitive, and when she arrives, he attacks her. Salander subdues him by pinning his feet to the ground with a nail gun. She calls the police, anonymously tipping them off about Niedermann’s location. Salander returns to her new apartment in Stockholm, where she reconciles with Blomkvist.
Bibliography
Burstein, Daniel, Arne de Keijzer, and John-Henri Holmberg. The Tattooed Girl: The Enigma of Stieg Larsson and the Secrets Behind the Most Compelling Thrillers of Our Time. New York: St. Martin’s, 2011. Print.
Peacock, Steven. Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Nordic Noir on Page and Screen. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.
Pinichi, Andrea. The Stieg Effect: An Analysis of the Life, Work, and Social Change Created by Author Stieg Larsson. Diss. Pace U, 2012. PDF File.
Thompson, Laurie. On Stieg Larsson. New York: Knopf, 2010. Print.