The Girl in the Spider's Web

A Lisbeth Salander Novel

By: David Lagercrantz

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return to the Girl in the Dragon Tattoo series in this ripped-from-the-headlines, high-octane follow-up to Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. • Also known as the Millennium series

“Rest easy, Lisbeth Salander fans—our punk hacker heroine is in good hands.… A twisty, bloody thrill ride.… An instant page-turner.” —USA Today

The next installment in the Millennium series: a genius hacker who has always been an outsider; a journalist with a penchant for danger. She is Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo. He is Mikael Blomkvist, crusading editor of Millennium. One night, Blomkvist receives a call from a source who claims to have been given information vital to the United States by a young female hacker. Blomkvist, always on the lookout for a story, reaches out to Salander for help. She, as usual, has plans of her own. Together they are drawn into a ruthless underworld of spies, cybercriminals, and government operatives—some willing to kill to protect their secrets.

Look for the latest book in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl in the Eagle's Talons, coming soon!

©2015 Random House Audio (P)2015 David Lagercrantz

Not a "Lisbeth Salander Novel"... just a story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes and no. If they want to read a story about the Millennium Series characters, then yes. If they wanted a true book 4 to the series, definitely not!!

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting was the prospect of the continuation of Lisbeth Salander's story. The least... the whole book.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to many of Vance's performances and he is brilliant. I think the only reason that I made it through the book and didn't give up on it was because of the narration. He did a fabulous job of trying to carry on as Stieg Larsson would have wanted, with what he was given to perform.

Did The Girl in the Spider's Web inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me give up on my hope that even though there are outlines for additional Millennium books, if they are written by this author, sadly the characters and brilliant, intricately woven plots are gone forever.

Any additional comments?

"Any additional comments?" What an opening, and where do I start? The "Phenomenon" does not continue as claimed.

I was hopeful when I saw that Simon Vance was returning as the narrator but when I saw that the length of the unabridged recording was only 13hrs and 22min, hope vanished. Being an avid fan of books that continue in a series, it has been my experience that as the series progresses, the next book is usually at least the length of the previous book, if not much longer. The audio version of book three in this series was 20hrs and 20min. That should have been my first clue.

The story started off with some of the intrigue of previous books. In the previous books, I had to really pay attention, and sometimes rewind to listen again, to make sure that I caught all of the details, and character introductions that Larsson so flawlessly laid down in the beginning of the other books. Although I have never been to Sweden, Larsson was able to create it for me, show me the country, the cities, and it's people. In the preceding books, I was able to see Lisbeth, and Blomkvist as they made their way through the novels. I had no trouble following this one. The story is basic, the characters flat. Not once, during the entire book, did the setting and the characters come to life in my imagination.

The story itself is lacking the essential "Larssonesque" style. Larsson had his own "language, his unique narrative", as Eva Gabrielsson so eloquently stated in an article posted on The Guardian's website. Although at times graphic in nature, Larsson's stories were real to me. We knew exactly why the characters were the way they were. The characters handed to Lagercratnz were fully developed, yet he was unable to continue theLisbeth into, of all the unforgivable sins, a girl!! "Any additional comments?" What an opening, and where do I start? The "Phenomenon" does not continue as claimed.

I was hopeful when I saw that Simon Vance was returning as the narrator but when I saw that the length of the unabridged recording was only 13hrs and 22min, hope vanished. Being an avid fan of books that continue in a series, it has been my experience that as the series progresses, the next book is usually at least the length of the previous book, if not much longer. The audio version of book three in this series was 20hrs and 20min. That should have been my first clue.

The story started off with some of the intrigue of previous books. In the previous books, I had to really pay attention, and sometimes rewind to listen again, to make sure that I caught all of the details, and character introductions that Larsson so flawlessly laid down in the beginning of the other books. Although I have never been to Sweden, Larsson was able to create it for me, show me the country, the cities, and it's people. In the preceding books, I was able to see Lisbeth, and Blomkvist as they made their way through the novels. I had no trouble following this one. The story is basic, the characters flat. Not once, during the entire book, did the setting and the characters come to life in my imagination.

The story itself is lacking the essential "Larssonesque" style. Larsson had his own "language, his unique narrative", as Eva Gabrielsson so eloquently stated in an article posted on The Guardian's website. Although at times graphic in nature, Larsson's stories were real to me. We knew exactly why the characters were the way they were. The characters handed to Lagercratnz were fully developed, yet he was unable to continue the

This book completely lacks the "unable to put it down" factor. Unlike the previous stories, I had the ending figured out half way through, and was never surprised. The ending was horrible. Lagercrantz wrapped it up way too fast, leaving out so much of the intrigue, and build up that Larsson always provided. To top it off, Larsson's Lisbeth would have NEVER "put on makeup" to go see Blomkvist, nor would she have ever just sat there and waited on his doorstep for him to come home. All the sappy, romantic innuendo of the last scene, is so not Lisbeth's or Larsson's style.

I was skeptical regarding the decision to write this book from the moment I heard who was going to author it. I felt that the motive of the "estate" of Stieg Larsson for allowing another author to continue the series was not because they wanted to "keep alive the characters and world." as they stated in the aforementioned Guardian article, but solely for monetary gain. If they really cared about Larsson's millions of devoted readers who they "felt had been longing for a continuation of the series", they would have found a way to compromise, to allow Lagercratnz access the unfinished draft of the fourth book that had been written by Larsson himself, giving him a fair shot.

Or... the would have let us keep the characters, and world that Larsson created. They wouldn't have left us with characters that are forever changed (and not for the better), and a Millennium world stuck in the aftermath of an atom bomb. Lost to us, just as gone as Larsson himself.

Disappointment

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but "The Girl in the Spider's Web" was a disappointment. I was always waiting for the story to start. It seemed like it was mostly the outline of a story, not filled in enough. The old characters rarely became as sympathetic and engaging as previously and only a couple of the new characters were compelling. There are interesting points and plenty of action but don't expect the psychological drama and suspense of the first three books.

Exceeds all expectations...Yes, indeed!

I was thrilled to discover that the estate of Stieg Larsson had selected an author to continue the completely mesmerizing "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series...but dubious that it could be pulled off successfully. This wonderful sequel has exceeded all my expectations! I am wildly enthusiastic about every aspect of the book, and of course, the absolutely splendid narration of Simon Vance. I can hardly wait to listen to it again. The entire series is superbly suited for listening, and this one continues to flow uninterrupted. Five stars!!!!!

Lagercrantz tales up where Larsen left off "Great"

Excited....'Lagercrantz does not let me down' Hope that there is more in the near future...

great performance

pronunciation porn! loved every minute of this artists read through.
elizabeth salander, destroyer of men who hurt women!

Great Thrill Ride

Good story with twists that kept me running longer than I had planned each day.

I missed Lisbeth

I had read the three prior books and watched all 3 Swedish movies. When I was done knowing Stieg Larsson had passed away I knew Lisbeth went with him.

I watch the American version of the movie, "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" and was very disappointed. It just didn't seem right. Although the actress did a wonderful job, she was not Lisbeth.

So when I heard someone was going to continue the series... I resisted reading the book. I finally read the book this week and to my surprise Lisbeth was back. The ending left me feeling the same way that Stieg Larsson, did in the three prior books.

The book The Girl in the Spider's Web was everything I wanted from the next part of the series... wonderfully written and I couldn't put the book down. I can't wait for the next....

Loved this mystery!

Simon Vance can read a mystery like no other and this is outstanding! The story, the intrigue! Wonderful!

Felt a few hundred pages shy of a full book.

Though its certainly a page turner, and thus an easy and engrossing listen, over all the thing’s half baked. Character development is skipped in lieu of heating the pace back up. You’re then left with a cast riddled with characters who pop up and you ask yourself, now who was that again? You’re easily invested in all the original characters if you’re a fan of the series, but the introduction of new characters and plot lines and quasi-scientific and mathematic anomalies rings dilettante at best. And then worst of all, once you’ve agreed it’s just an action thriller, the action scenes are hurried through, leaving you flat on all fronts. Either half this book was left on the cutting room floor, or it never progressed much past it’s pitch stage. This book, like a Ludlum novel, is probably best read as a guilty pleasure on pages you race through while procrastinating some better task. Simon Vance is a terrific reader best lent to more stronger libations of the literary soul.

Love a girl hero

This is a great audio book. I listened to it twice now as all of the salander series. It's unique and not your usual story. The reader is very good too - perfect voice for Mickael Blomquist.