Monday, October 19, 2015

#BooktagsBlogHop with Toi Thomas



Good morning. Today is the start of a new monthly blog hop whose purpose is to share and discuss books--ones you are either reading or writing. All the information about this bloghop can be found at The Toibox of Words. Care to join us? Go here.

I'm supposed to include an excerpt (500 words or less) along with an explanation of why I chose the book (300 words or less). I'm going to cheat and send you here for the excerpt, 'cause I've got a bit more than 300 words to share on this one.



Yesterday I finished The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz. This is an unusual book in that the characters created by Stieg Larsson (who sadly died before his Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series was published) became so freaking popular, that they spawned a number of successful films and now this new tale. I haven't seen this phenomenon since publishers continued to use the name V.C. Andrews to pump out incestuous tales for teen girls back in the day.

Is this a good idea? If the new author does a good job, it could be a great thing for the fans. But as a writer, would it bother you if someone else could duplicate your style enough to pull this off? If the author does a bad job, well, then the fans will feel cheated. Then again, if this monkey business is going on it won't matter much to you. You're toast in this scenario.

Okay, I'm digressing. Did I like this book? Yes and no. I thought Lagercrantz did a good job keeping the characters true to Larsson's version of them. The setting is cold, dark, and dreary. The overall plot has plenty of intrigue. Lagercrantz does a good job of weaving together the narrative from a large number of points of view. He's got to juggle swedish journalists, the police, bad guys, and even the United States' National Security Agency gets in the mix. Plus there's an autistic boy who is a savant in both mathematics and drawing who really drives the tale. His interaction with Salander is my favorite part of the story.

So what's the problem? Well, the cover has the words "A Lisbeth Salander Novel" in the top corner. This is the character fans can't let go of, right? So why do we have to wait until page 130 or so before she comes on stage? And she doesn't stick around much. Salander is hardly in the book at all compared to the other characters. 

Worse still, her trademark crazy, out-of-control violence is described second hand by other characters including the grand finale (which wasn't all that grand). 

I've got other nit-picks, but I'll leave it at that. Are you a fan of this trilogy? Have you or will you read the new novel?

16 comments:

  1. I never got into these books. I tried, but I just couldn't.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've read the first book but didn't continue beyond that. Shame that it's supposed to be the continuation of a character that's hardly in the book at all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've read the original trilogy and I did enjoy it (the first book especially; I thought the second and third dragged on forever), but I don't think I'll read this new one. Maybe it's just my opinion, but I think it's super lame when a new author takes over a series after the author has passed. Just let it go.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That seems to be the new future for writing: If an author's successful, continue after his death. Tom Clancy, Robert Parker--there's a long list. I always see a difference in the writing. I have yet to see one that reproduced the original author's voice perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anne McCaffrey's son started writing with her before she died and has since taken over her Pern series. I haven't read any of the new ones so I can't tell you if he's done a good job or not.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I haven't read the series, so I don't know. It seems that it would be difficult to continue a series of the original author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just requested this book from the library. I did enjoy the first three novels so I'll give it a try. Thanks for not spoiling. I read some other series where one one writer took over for one who passed away. One series was better, and the other suffered.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks bunches for joining the hop. I love your choice of book this month. I've been thinking about picking this one up, but wasn't sure. I wondered how the story would come off having a new author. Knowing that Salander isn't the major focus of the story makes a big difference. If I do pick it up, at least I'll know that much... Oh and I like the idea that a boy on the Autism Spectrum has a significant role.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds like he sailed in on the coattails of Salander. Too bad that authors feel the need to do that. I don't blame you. I would have felt cheated too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Tamara. Thanks for visiting my blog for this bloghop, I've heard overall good things for this book, but haven't read it yet. I agree it sucks that Salander doesn't turn up for so long, when most people probably bought it for her. Hmm. Thanks for your honest opinion, I must read it. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Have to say I did not read the books or see the movies. Maybe I've missed out. Not sure. I just have too many other things going on.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yeah, just a little too twisted for my psyche. I can understand what you're saying, and no, I wouldn't be cool with someone other than the original author penning a sequel. Even if they mimic the original voice well, I know I'd find at least one inconsistency.

    ReplyDelete
  13. انواع راهبند با بوم 4 تا 8 متر معمولا نصب میشن. مشخصات فنی راهبند در قالب کاتالوگ عرضه شده است بررسی گاتالوگ شرکت های فروشنده راهبند یه آتلیه عروس که دکور وایت روم و بلک روم با کلی دکور خوب و شیک کسی رفته بهم معرفی کنه ؟ دنبال یه آتلیه عروس حرفه ای ف با دکور های شیک هستم،دوستان خواهش می کنم بهم معرفی کتید . آخیش من بالاخره قرارداد و بستم و خیالم راحت شد . منو شمار 2: فیلم برداری دو دوربینه اچ دی و یک آلبوم 40 *80 به اضافه یک شاسی 100*70 و دو عدد شاسی 20*30 و ...

    ReplyDelete

I will do everything in my power to visit commenter's blogs unless I've been abducted by aliens or my children get sick. (If my children get abducted by aliens, I will be very busy, of course, catching up on my sleep.)