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The Girl Who Played with Fire

By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Editorial reviews

Stieg Larsson was a crusading Swedish journalist, committed to the fight against political extremism and racism in his home country. In his spare time he completed a trilogy of striking crime novels, which he delivered to his publishers just before his untimely death in 2004. The first novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, centred on Mikhail Blomkvist, a crusading journalist with a social conscience; its sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, shifts focus onto the socially awkward computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, who becomes entangled in an investigation into sex trafficking, murder, and establishment corruption. This unusual central character is the story's main strength, allowing it to stand apart from the raft of contemporary and classic crime novels which Larsson fondly draws on. An expert hacker and mathematics-obsessive, Salander is a clenched fist of a character; difficult, psychologically traumatised, and capable of extreme violence.

Simon Vance endows her with the accent of an East London street urchin, a fitting voice for this embattled woman. While his narration is crisp, Vance's other characters range from working-class Northern English accents for Blomkvist, assorted police, and journalists, while others are given accents somewhere between Scandinavian and Bela Lugosi. However, as the plot thickens, such incongruities are forgotten, and a compelling social reality is created by Vance's skilled performance, which includes a sensitive rendition of a stroke victim's voice. Vance's cool delivery also suits the reportage feel of much of the writing; characters are introduced through their occupation, address, and educational background, while a mass of tiny observations (such as coffee mugs decorated with the logo of the civil service union) at times convey the tone of a police report. It is a tribute to Vance's delivery that the narrative thrust carries the accumulation of detail effortlessly from one action-packed set-piece to the next.

Larsson's published books have been a European phenomenon, due less, perhaps, to any narrative or thematic innovations as to the author's visceral anger at social injustice and the mistreatment of the vulnerable, particularly women. Violence against women is the work's central motif: the Swedish title of the first book in the series translates as Men Who Hate Women, and Salander is "the woman who hates men who hate women". In fact, there is an element of salacious revenge fantasy to much of her actions as she fights fire with fire; the story treads a fine line between condemning sadism and revelling in sadistic imagery. The real enemy of the tale is institutionalised machismo: policemen are loutish, rape is endemic, and villains enjoy guns, motorbikes, and magazines about motorbikes. Everyone, meanwhile, summers in wood shacks in the Swedish countryside.

While very much part of a larger whole (there are numerous references to events that occurred in the first part of the trilogy), The Girl Who Played with Fire stands alone as a highly enjoyable, if not always smooth - and often disquieting - mixture of classic crime tropes, searing violence, and vivid characterization. Dafydd Phillips

Publisher's summary

The electrifying follow-up to the phenomenal best seller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ("An intelligent, ingeniously plotted, utterly engrossing thriller" The Washington Post), and this time it is Lisbeth Salander, the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker, who is the focus and fierce heart of the story.

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to publish a story exposing an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

On the eve of publication, the two reporters responsible for the story are brutally murdered. But perhaps more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander.

Now, as Blomkvist, alone in his belief in her innocence, plunges into his own investigation of the slayings, Salander is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

Listen to the rest of The Millennium Trilogy.
©2009 Stieg Larsson (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Boasts an intricate, puzzle-like story line . . . even as it accelerates toward its startling and violent conclusion.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)
“[A] gripping, stay-up-all-night read.” ( Entertainment Weekly)
“Gripping stuff. . . . A nail-biting tale of murder and cover-ups.” ( People)

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What listeners say about The Girl Who Played with Fire

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Listen

Couldn't stop listening, it was very intriguing with a twist ending.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal reading

No other way to say it - this trilogy is a must read and will become an all time classic. Spellbinding, intriguing, smart, and a hundred more descriptives. Don't miss it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Filled with excitement and mystery.

From the Caribbean to a shallow grave you won't be disappointed in this book, or maybe at one point you will be for a short while. The second book by steig is as good as the first and will make you wonder more than once how this one will turn out. How will our hero's come out of this one.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

swedish people using a Cockney British accent

What did you love best about The Girl Who Played with Fire?

The development of the story and characters.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

It was totally annoying listening to Swedish people using a Cockney British accent.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

INTRIGUING!!

I was so excited to see there was a sequel to the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. I think this was a perfect sequel and just as interesting, if not more so, than the first. I am impressed by this author and his writing style and wish he had more work available!! Despite the present day language (adult language/cursing - which was fitting and situational) I find his writing style to be more intelligent and complex similar to classic authors and less like some of the simplistic methods and styles of today's authors.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

As good as the first book

I was waiting for this to come out and was not disappointed. Simon Vance does an excellent job in narrating and bringing the characters to life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Oh so good Larsson knows how to hook me

The first book could stand on its own and I wasn't going to pick up the second one, but I read the first chapter and knew I had to get the next audible, because its not the same unless Vance is reading it. This time, though, the book ended with me needing more! There are so many good twists and the different angles kept me listening and needing to know the new details like a gossip junky.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed the entire The Girl series!

Would you listen to The Girl Who Played with Fire again? Why?

I'll listen to it again at some point, and I'll put them into the proper order.

Any additional comments?

I wish the narration had been done by someone who actually spoke Swedish. Simon Vance's mispronunciations detracted somewhat from my experience. This is not to disparage his skill as a narrator, but more a comment on the choice of narrators for this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Don't wait, get this now!

I was extremely happy with the second book of this series. If this was a physical copy of a book I would say I couldn't put it down. But since it's an audio version I'll say I couldn't stop playing it. Simon Vance once again Makes this story more incredible than it already is. I love the character of Lisbeth and how it focused a lot on her and her backstory. There are some twists that will leave you seriously shocked. But it all made perfect sense.
Yes there are some swear words so if you're sensitive to that then this series isn't for you. I look forward to the next book!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the Best

By Barbara
I could not put the books down and I read all 3 books --- I read in today Paper (July 28th) that they are going to make a movie out the the "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" With Daniel Craig playing the role as Mikael Blomkvist. The role of Lisbeth had not be pick.. It will be Directed by David Fincher and it will be in theaters next year..

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