In the ream of literature, there was no story as perplexing as that of Stieg Larsson, who died prior to the release of the juggernaut bestseller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." It was a crime thriller that rocked the world of literature with a protagonist who was exciting and new. Lisbeth Salander wasn't so much a hero, but one that the 21st century could adopt as a hacker who sought revenge on the "men who hate women" of the world. The two sequels were also written by Larsson and together spawned four film adaptations. But what does the future hold for the book series that was cut short by an unfortunate event? Well, it took some meddling from the family and the agreement of author David Lagercrantz to write the fourth book in the series "The Girl in the Spider's Web," which continues the series in the actual meaning of the word, though it does little to capture what made the series so exciting in the first place.
One of the key components of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" wasn't so much the murder mystery, but the characters behind it. This is specifically in the dual protagonists of Millennium newspaper owner Mikael Blomqvist and Lisbeth Salander. Their chemistry was enough to fuel hundred of pages of intimate banter, especially given their polar opposite personalities. However, Larsson's story worked because it had more of an affection for them. The drudgery of running a newspaper was only part of Blomqvist's appeal. He was also someone who had a rich inner life full of sadness and struggle to live through a boring Swedish winter. Salander was even more of a runaway icon, as her story not only had her doing the coolest stunts, but also featured an unwinding history of her family - the unpleasant criminals known as the Zalachenkos. The three books were as much a chronicle into Salander's life as it was about the mystery, and it's what made them compelling.
Lagercrantz is aware that these books exist. He quotes them with a regularity that shows that he at least took notes. However, the story that surrounds it feels more of a selfish attempt to capitalize on a brand name. While the Zalachenko name is brought up several times, there's nothing engaging or new about Salander's family to bring up. She isn't given a new and exciting wrinkle to her life. It's all back story that's repeated as if the readers need to be briefed every 50 pages. It's not only that, but what's also a burning indictment of Lagercrantz's approach to the story is that Salander, the titular "girl" in all of these books, doesn't show up properly until page 100. Even then, she is held in a mythical light, only ever being discussed by third parties elsewhere. Salander is a mystery, never being allowed to appear as more than skin deep. She's still an action hero who gets to do the cool stuff, but it's all lacking a deeper emotional core.
What the story is more obsessed about is a murder that could be reported by journalism, i.e. Blomqvist's journey. With Millennium failing, there's a need for a salacious piece of news. This calls in a murder mystery involving an autistic kid who gets more page time than Salander for his gifted abilities to draw his surroundings verbatim. Had this been a generic novel, the plot would seem less egregious and maybe actually clever. Even the chemistry between Salander and the autistic boy has moments that could qualify as interesting. In fact, Lagercrantz achieves a halfway decent crime novel that probably wouldn't have sold if Stieg Larsson's name wasn't needed in the ads. Instead, it's a brisk 400 pages (thankfully) that reads like fan fiction, or someone who doesn't understand the appeal of the series. It wasn't about how cool the mystery was. No, it was about how Salander grew and changed as a character along with Blomqvist.
The irony behind it all is that Lagercrantz also seems to favor a trendier approach to the character. While Salander is spoken almost exclusively in third person, her background gets bastardized with pop culture references that make the film's release seem a bit more cynical. Salander is a hacker whose code name is Wasp. While this book came out in 2015, the references feel prominent to this summer's Marvel movies, especially given that Wasp is considered to be the same as the Ant-Man character who fights such foes as the hacker named Thanos. This is all in the book, and it frankly adds a baffling wrinkle to Salander, in that it makes her less rooted as an independent character and more as someone who panders to modern audiences. Lagercrantz comes across like he wants to make the franchise more streamlined, which means less emotions. This means that any detail that remotely sounds like a pop culture reference is now one. Forget that Salander was edgy and cool, she's now playing some weird game of Marvel heroes vs. villains through the dark web.
It's strange to complain about this detail given what worked about the previous three books. In them, there was a camp sensibility to Blomqvist and Salander. There were constant asides that read as playful. These characters had personality that were accessible to readers. They felt genuine. For Lagercrantz, there's almost no effort put into making the characters as compelling as their former selves. There's little here that makes Salander - when she is in her own scenes and not spoken like an object in a mystical tomb - feel like a real character. She isn't vulnerable, even though everyone says she has had a rough life. She isn't tough, even though everyone says she has incredible gifts. Outside of the mystery, Lagercrantz fails the show vs. tell aspect of the book by describing scenes in third person that would be better had they been constructed interestingly and seen played out in detail. Salander is undermined by men for the first time over four books, and the irony is rich.
All things considered, it's something that's to be expected for reviving a book from an author who's been dead for over a decade. The intention has been lost in favor of marketability, and everything that made the early books interesting has been ignored in favor of what works for the generic clones in the mystery genre. It's too early to suggest how the film adaptation will do, but it does feel like those who have only followed the films, specifically the 2011 American adaptation, will have plenty to gripe about. Considering that there's already a sequel, "The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye," there is a sense that things will be growing in the series, but in what way? Will Lagercrantz pull back and develop Salander and Blomqvist in meaningful ways, or will he be more obsessed with referencing fads that add nothing to the rich legacy? It's hard to tell, but after this book it's almost predictive, unfortunately.
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