Highly recommended
I spent my summer vacation finally reading this much talked about Swedish trilogy. I tend to resist reading books that get that much hype, particularly when the author is no longer around to explain or defend his books (Larsson died prematurely of a heart attack and all three books were published posthumously).
That being said, I found Lisbeth Salander a compelling and fascinating character. Nearly autistic, she is a highly talented hacker and misanthropist, a person so damaged that the Swedish state has deemed her incapable of handling her own affairs and appointed a guardian for her. One of the many pleasures of this trilogy is watching Lisbeth exact her revenge on those she feels has wronged her, including her guardian. She has no scruples about violence, but her moral code is quite inflexible.
The plots of the three novels follow on each other's heels, and are as much centered around Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist and publisher of an independent magazine, as they are Lisbeth. The magazine, Millenium, is devoted to exposing corruption and malfeasance in sensitive places and Blomkvist's original contact with Salander is using her computer skills to research a story.
Larrson has done a masterful job of delineating his characters with all their virtues and flaws nicely illustrated. The plots are interesting and well constructed, but the real pleasure of these books is the process of getting to know both Salander and Blomkvist, and following their difficult and unusual relationship.
There are allegedly a mostly finished novel and several outlines for others that Larsson left behind, but since his estate is in dispute, it may be years (if ever) before those are published.
Available in hardback, paperback, mass market paperback, audio and Kindle versions.