Lagercrantz Has Picked Up Larsson's Sword
346939
Like a long-lost friend who has returned.  Lagercrantz has recreated all the key characters--Lisbeth, Blomkvist, and all the returning characters are perfect, as if Stieg Larsson was writing.  I hope there is another story by Lagercrantz in the works.
442658
This is the final volume of the Millennium trilogy, and this one is just as exciting and entertaining as the two previous ones.

The unique protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, has been admitted to hospital in Goeteborg in critical condition, with a bullet in her head. Following surgery she has a long stay in hospital before her, and two doors down from her lies her dangerous father Zalachenko who is also recovering from his wounds, but is still hoping to finish her off (and the feeling is mutual). Salander is kept under surveillance since she has been charged with attempted murder.

There is a conspiracy against Salander, but she has an unlikely ally and protector in the surgeon Jonasson.

The journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who saved her life, is still working on her behalf, while his lawyer sister Giovanni will later defend Salander in her trial.

Salander eats a basic unhealthy diet of bread, milk, cheese and pizza but she also eats kefir. I was pleasantly surprised to see that in Stockholm or wherever it is she lives one can apparently buy kefir in the sort of shops Salander frequents, whereas in Denmark, where I live, you can only get it, if you are lucky, from a health food shop.

The author delves deeply into the political side of things and the deep corruption within the secret police. (I don't know if this reflects the true state of affairs in Sweden, hopefully not, but probably.)

The amiable Blomkvist fights for justice, and has as his goal to reveal the truth of things to the Swedish public, in this case the whole Salander affair including  the reason for the hetz against this young woman. Blomkvist is apparently irresistible to most females, since they keep throwing themselves at him, and even the sullen Salander is not immune to his charms.

There is a sub-plot involving Erica Berger, the main love of Blomkvist's  life, who runs into a tricky problem, which Salander with her unassailable hacking skills tackles from her hospital bed.

The characters are well-rounded, and I like the way the "goodies" are not exactly paragons of virtue. Well, who is?

I did have a slight problem with two of the names: there was a "goodie" called Edklinth and a "baddie" called Erlander, and it was difficult to distinguish between the two names.

To sum up, this is a well-written, absorbing, unputdownable story that will keep you up all night. All the loose ends are satisfactorily tied up by the end. I strongly recommend that you read this volume, too.
3155241
Not just another Swedish mystery!  Missing in Malmo will keep you guessing who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy".  The course of an investigation is carefully developed and the cast of characters leads the reader in several false directions - but finally - it all comes together and a sense of satisfaction is achieved.  Well written with intrigue and this novel builds on the earlier books in the series.
395307
Steig Larsson continued the saga of Lisbeth Salander in a manner that keeps one glued to the pages of the book!
1108379
David Lagercrantz isn't as tight a writer as Larsson. He is however completely believable. The Girl in The Spider Web works perfectly. The story is more than a reason to get you to spend money. The story feeds the soul and Salander is pitch perfect.
3359706
Despite its title, the plot at the center of the first of Stieg Larsson's Millienium trilogy isn't about the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ("GDT"), but a belated investigation request on the part of a dying family patriach, Henrik Vanger, into the mysterious disappearance and presumed death of his beloved favourite grand niece many years ago. The eponymously named girl with the dragon tattoo is one Lisbeth Salanger, a hard as nails new age heroine spawned to survive the depravity and cruelty of our times, who gets co-opted to work in partnership with disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist to solve the decades old murder mystery. Blomkvist's own story book ends the novel and is really a subplot intended to beef up and generate interest in the characters of Blomkvist and Salanger who will presumably feature centrally in the following instalments of the trilogy.

The sprawling Vanger family and their hidden intrigues are nothing more than the stuff of old fashioned murder mysteries in the P D James and Agatha Christie vein, yet why has GDT become such a celebrated bestseller, even courting the attention and generous praise of literary critics who customarily turn up their noses at books of this genre ? I put it down to the ingenuity of Larsson who has brought the old chestnut bang up to date with thoroughly 21st century characters with modern values like Salanger and Blomkvist without losing the essence of a classic murder mystery and introducing the delights of this classic genre to a young new readership. Scenes of countryside life inhabited by the Vangers alternate with often shocking scenes of sexual violence involving Salanger and even Blomkvist.

Even if you don't buy into all that, GDT is still a pretty terrific page turner and a great read. Thoroughly deserving of all the praise lavished upon it. I can't wait to read the sequels.
1772918
While I've never ordered this sword from Amazon, I do own one, and I can say that it's a very high quality sword. The blued blade gives it an overall dark and slick appearance, and it's a very well-balanced weapon. As always, Windlass excels at making swords that are both excellent for decoration as well as functional. It's a thing of pride to be able to say that the sword hanging on your wall could serve in battle if it needed to.

One note: The description mentions LARP. This is a battle-ready steel sword, and it's not a good idea to try and use it to LARP with.
2399114
This is the second volume in Lagercrantzs continuation of the late Stieg Larssons mystery series starring superhacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo etc.). As with the first one, I found it to be a worthy extension, though not as complex as Larssons books.

This book has rather less of both Salander (a pity) and Blomkvist (fine with me) than I would have expected based on previous books. The highlights here are two other stories, one of two men who at first seem to have nothing in common but eventually discover a very close connection indeed, and one of a young Islamic woman from Bangladesh who is a fellow prisoner in the jail to which Salander has been sent for a short period in the wake of her previous adventures. The young woman, Faria, is abused by both another prisoner and her ultra-religious family, and Salander determines to rescue her.

Both stories are complex and emotionally involving, and the first one has connections with Salanders own hair-raising background, even though she herself doesnt know the two men. Naturally there are several mysteries to be solved, as well as suspenseful action. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the ending, which seemed both abrupt and puzzling. It wrapped up everything, or almost everything, but it did so in rather a hurry and then set up a cliff-hanger situation for the Swedish (and maybe world) economy that echoed some events early in the book but was not explained or resolved. I suppose its a lead-in to the next book, but thats an authorial trick Im not fond of; writers should have the self-confidence to believe that readers will follow them into the next volume without having to be tortured into doing so.
1972632
I'm so glad Mr. Langercrantz has taken this on.  I'm happy that Lisbeth is back. The door is left open for more and I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting more.
2401169
This book is an absolute must have for anyone interested in Viking swords and sword collecting.
2045080
If Thor carried a knife , it would probably be a KaBar BK2. This knife could cut Mt. Olympus in half !!!
2804135
Inspector Knutas is back in action, and so is the journalist Johann Berg, whose relationship with a woman who lives on the Swedish Island of Gotland grows more complex. This time, the series of crimes starts out with the beheading of one of the local Gotland ponies and conrinues with a murder at an archaeological site.  As usual, the island background is strongly drawn, and the setting becomes an important part of the story.  My favorite of this series, so far -- fortunately there are several still waiting to be translated into English.  As I believe I have noted in other reviews, when I visited Gotland, a hotel keeper informed me that there had been one murder there in the past several hundred years.  Ah well, any reader of Scandi crime fiction has to be willing to suspend the will to disbelieve --
864743
Lagercrantz does a great job of stepping up and continuing the series. In many ways, Lagercrantz brings more fiction writing craft to this series. The characters seem more human in their motivations and dialog.
4913624
This is a very nice axe.  Made in Sweden using their well respected steel.  The Carpenter size is in between a small camp axe/hatchet (which would have a ~13" handle) and a "boys" axe which would have about a ~24" handle.  Rumor has it that these may be made for Husqvarna by Hults Bruks a well known Swedish axe maker?  (Again, Just a rumor).
The handle grain is very nice and oriented correctly to the head for proper strength.  Included is a leather mask/cutting edge cover.

This axe does come out of the box fairly sharp, unlike some other tools you may have encountered, but, a final sharpening will bring it to a very nice edge.  If all you want to do is give it 5 or 10 minutes of final sharpening, that's fine, it is ready to go to work, as is.

  This axe does not come with the same fit, finish, and polish of a very expensive Grandfors Bruks axe, however, with a little bit of time and effort you can make this axe quite nice.  Check on You Tube for some good videos on this topic.
-Sand the handle, I used 220 grit, then apply boiled linseed oil, don't over apply or it will feel oily for quite some time, allow to dry fully.
-install a lanyard ( I used a brightly colored paracord to help find it if misplaced).
-Grind,file and polish the poll (the flat hammer head opposite the cutting edge)
-Sand, polish, and finish the axe head itself.  I used a wire wheel, then finished the steel with 'Super Blue' by Birchwood Casey.
-Finally, Sharpen it. (of course).

The Carpenters axe, as the name implies, is intended for wood working, cutting notches, timber framing joints, etc.  However, it would make a fine camp axe, without having to carry the extra weight of a "boys" axe.  The handle is long enough that you could use two hands and swing it, if necessary or you can choke up on it, almost to the head of the axe, to perform finer work like shaving, planing, etc.

It is a good all-around tool.  I am using mine for chopping, splitting kindling and a little bit of woodworking and it is performing very well.
3115254
I enjoyed reading this Asa Larsson book. The author builds the character of Rebecka Martinsson as a hot shot city lawyer who gets drawn into violent murder committed in a church in her old town of Kiruna from which, under shameful circumstances, she fled many years ago. The story includes a dark conspiracy by the church leadership, Rebecka's sister, as a prime suspect and a non friendly community. The author provided an exciting and unexpected ending.
1155816
I have very much enjoyed the Lisbeth Salander novels, the ones by Stieg Larsson and the ones by David Lagercrantz.  This latest story is no exception - good story, well written.  Lisbeth is a fascinating character and I look forward to future adventures.
1393535
I'm glad they included "Balder The Brave" with this.  Walt Simonson really took the Thor line to phenominal levels!  He's the reason I got so hooked on Thor!