"Reading Stieg Larsson produces a kind of rush — rather like a strong cup of coffee."

David Kamp, New York Times

That said, I'm a little surprised that it took this long for me to read the entire book. I was in the book store on the day of its release and fully intended on reading the entire thing in one day, but you know what they say about best laid plans…

Having been left dangling on a cliff in The Girl Who Played with Fire, I was anxious to discern the denouement but (in trying to keep with the metaphor) my arms grew tired until a third of the way in, when finally Larsson's pulse-racing narrative picked back up. To be fair, there were several reasons as to why it was so difficult to get through the first part of the book, most of them my fault. However, there were a couple of times I found myself skimming to keep the story moving… yet in the end I found myself fighting sleep in order to finish the book. 

The book pulls together all the characters and subplots very nicely. No over-the-top sex scandal to get you to the next chapter (as was in The Girl Who Played with Fire), just the promise of Salander's revenge–which is sweet.

*****

Now that I've finished the series, I'll go back to the beginning to re-live the experience in film. That's right the film version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is already out (review). Here's a link to the official Swedish film's site where you can find the trailer as well as theaters that are showing the film.

The Girl Who Played with Fire will be out in select theaters July 9, 2010.

The Swedish films' official site does not declare when The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest will be out, but you can find a sneak peek on YouTube.

There is talk of a Hollywood version. Kristen Steward of the Twilight series is interested in the project (via MTV.com). Who would you cast in the Hollywood version?