Stieg Larsson: The Real Story of the Man Who Played with Fire

Stieg Larsson: The Real Story of the Man Who Played With Fire  by Jan-Erik Pettersson

Ever since reading the Millennium Trilogy and learning about the tragic circumstances of the author's sudden death, I have felt compelled to learn more about this new Swedish author, Stieg Larsson.  And the more I have read about Larsson, the more I feel the literary world has lost a strong, passionate voice for women's rights and social justice. 

Pettersson shows how Stieg's energetic championing of social justice and women's rights characterized his life as well as his work, ultimately culminating in the Millennium Trilogy and particularly the characters of the unforgettable Lisbeth Salander and Michael Blomkvist. Larsson started his career as a journalist and eventually established his own magazine, called Expo, devoted to monitoring right-wing extremists.  In fact Larsson became an expert on extremist groups and was frequently interviewed or asked to consult with other countries, governments and political leaders.

Luckily, this book is not so much a biography, as it is a reflection and personal insight and explanation into a colleague and friend and what motivated him.  While the book starts out somewhat slow and tedious as Pettersson gets bogged down into a description and history of the area in which Larsson grew up, it picks up as he shifts his focus to Larsson himself.  His research spans Larsson's full life (1954–2005) and includes substantial detail about Larsson's early interests in left-wing politics, which motivated him to monitor and counter the rise of neo-Nazi fascism in Sweden, a course that endangered his life.  Pettersson claims this was the main reason why Stieg and Eva, his partner, never married.  He did not want to endanger himself and Eva by having information about themselves on a public register.  Pettersson provides several examples of deadly retaliation on journalists and the general public, when these extremist groups feel threatened.  Consider the current case of mass killings in Norway.

Pettersson claims Stieg had a sense that his books would be successful.  He was involved in the planning, production and negotiations in having rights to his books picked up by publishers in other countries. Stieg also was aware a film company in Sweden was interested in adapting his novels to the screen. Fans of the novels will appreciate this behind the scenes and insightful look into the Man Who Played with Fire.

The House of Silk: a Sherlock Holmes Novel

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

It has been a long wait, but Sherlock Holmes has returned.  The House of Silk is the first sanctioned Sherlock Holmes story by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate.  And they could not have chosen a better writer to tackle the style and tone of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.  Anthony Horowitz is a meticulous wordsmith, having penned a series of very successful novels, known as the Alex Rider series, but he was also the writer and creator of the BBC series, Foyle's War. 

Horowitz also is a Sherlock Holmes expert, and it definitely shows in this intricately woven tale of three interrelated mysteries.  Holmes is still in top form using his powers of observation and deductive reasoning as he alone connects the dots between three different mysteries. Horowitz gets everything right-the familiar narrative voice, brilliant deductions, a very active role for Watson, and a perplexing and disturbing series of puzzles to unravel.  As a student of 19th Century literature, Horowitz stays true to the master himself, Conan Doyle, in terms of authenticity of plot, language, and characters.

Speaking of characters, they are all here...from Dr. Watson, Inspector Lastrade, Mrs. Hudson, brother Mycroft, and Sherlock's crew known as the Baker Street Irregulars.   The story begins, as most Sherlock Holmes stories do, with a visit from a potential client to 221B Baker Street.  This client is a fine arts dealer who is seeking Holmes' help, because he is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America.  Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much more.  I mustn't give anymore away.  So come Watson...the Game's afoot!

I know I will be and I am sure other devoted Sherlockians will be hoping for Horowitz to convince Watson to reveal other Sherlock Holmes cases, which he was unable to publish before.  

The Informationist

The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

If you have been lamenting the loss of Stieg Larsson and his "one of a kind" female protaganist, Lisbeth Salander, you will find some satisfaction in Taylor Stevens' first novel, The Informationist.  Her female protaganist, Vanessa (Michael) Munroe, is a breath of fresh air.  She is an informationist and a linguist with the ability to blend into any country and obtain the knowledge sought by her high-paying clients.  Her client in this case is a distraught father, whose daughter has gone missing while traveling in Africa.

Vanessa Michael Munroe is both beautiful and androgynous at the same time. She is a chameleon by nature.  To some she is Munroe, to others, she can pass herself off as the boy Michael and to a select few, she is Nessa.  She has an encyclopedic mind, that stores, sorts and processes information.  Taylor Stevens has penned a fast-paced, gripping, edgy mystery with a heroine you will come to admire and respect.  As a huge fan of Larsson's heroine, Lisbeth Salander, it was exciting to run into another volatile and exotic female character, that will leave you wanting to learn more about her, just as Larsson did in his masterful Millennium trilogy.  I immediately went out and bought Stevens' next Vanessa Munroe thriller, The Innocent.  Stay tuned for that review.  Hopefully a studio will pick up the rights to these books.

The Map of Time

Nothing is as it appears to be in Félix J. Palma's The Map of Time!

Just when you think you have an idea of where this unique novel is going, it changes directions.  There are more twists and turns in this 600+ page novel (though it does not read like a long novel) than there are in a garden maze.  Palma mixes in a little bit of everything in his first novel: love, sex, adventure, mystery, science fiction, historical and imaginary characters, murder, time travel and much more.  Set in Victorian London, you will encounter Jack the Ripper, Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man, Bram Stoker, Henry James and H.G. Wells.  Palma weaves a historical fantasy as imaginative as it is exciting.  He will have you questioning what is real and what isn't.  So buckle your seat belts.  You don't want to develop whiplash.  AND Enjoy the ride!!!

Venice: Pure City by Peter Ackroyd

 

Venice: Pure City
by Peter Ackroyd

Venice is perhaps one of the most fascinating and mysterious cities in the world.  Having been fortunate enough to have visited this city on the lagoon, I have been eagerly looking for a book that would tell me the history of this magical and mystical place.  So when I discovered this book at B&N, I could not pass it up.  This floating city was the center of trade for more than a thousand years. Venice once housed the largest shipbuilding facility in the world, dominated the sea trade throughout the Mediterranean . This book will provide you a unique view of Venice from various perspectives.  Noted author and biographer, Peter Ackroyd, interweaves history with impressions on a host of topics about living in Venice: the light and color, Carnival, prisons, prostitutes, death, the Venetian republic's extraordinarily long existence, its artists, and the claustrophobic life of the city.  He covers the basics of Venetian geography, hydrology, and climate before turning to its history and architecture.

If you are planning to visit Venice anytime soon, this would be a great book to pick up and read before you travel.

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Angel of the Opera

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Angel of the Opera by Sam Siciliano

As a Sherlockian, I naturally gravitate to the wide range of Conan Doyle spin offs.  This particular series, "The further adventures of Sherlock Holmes", does not do too bad of a job of recreating the world's most famous consulting detective.  However, this particular case does not illustrate or describe Holmes' keen sense of observation and deductive reasoning.  That element of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories is what always grabbed my attention.  As Holmes would, somewhat arrogantly, explain how he reached certain conclusions, it always helped the reader, as well as his supporting characters, to understand how he ends up solving the crime.
 
Siciliano in this rendition, replaces Doctor Watson with a cousin to Sherlock Holmes, who also happens to be a doctor.  I love the tie in with the Phantom of the Opera, which just so happens to be one of my favorite musicals.  The author does a great job of recreating the intricate and labyrinthine design and structure of the Paris Opera House. 

Sherlock Holmes is summoned across the English Channel to the famous Opera House. Once there, he is challenged to discover the true motivations and secrets of the notorious phantom, who rules its depths with passion and defiance. The author does a nice job of connecting the opening of the novel to how Holmes resolves the phantom's escape.  Suffice to say that Holmes does have a soft spot for beautiful women.

The Enemy Within by Martin Dillon

The Enemy Within by Martin Dillon

This particular book was a gift from our taxi driver, Gerard McGlade, who provided us a living history tour of Belfast, the Falls Road (Catholic area) and the Shankill Road (Protestant area). His knowledge of the Troubles and regular references to a variety of books naturally triggered my interest. When I asked him for a list of the titles he referenced during our three hour tour through the "troubled" neighborhoods, he pulled this book out of his briefcase and handed it to me as a gift, after autographing it. So reading this book has special significance for me. And believe me, I was not disappointed. First of all it is written by Martin Dillon, a reporter, author and expert on terrorism in Northern Ireland. 

The subtitle of this book is: The IRA war against the British. Reviews of Dillons' books, including the Enemy Within, praises his uncanny ability to get key players and individuals from all sides of the issue to talk to him. This is a realistic and at times riveting historical perspective and analysis of the decades long conflict in Northern Ireland between the Protestants, the Catholics, the IRA, Sinn Fein, the British troops, and the Irish Republic and British Governments. Dillon provides an inside look at the strategy and tactics employed by the IRA in their effort to drive the British out of Northern Ireland. The IRA and its War Council firmly believed they had to take the "war" to the cities of Great Britain, or else their efforts to gain independence and representation in governing Northern Ireland would never be noticed or accomplished.

Ultimately, while you may not agree with their tactics and abhor the loss of innocent civilians as a result of those tactics, you will have to admit that the IRA strategy was successful. Dillon also covers the political side of the conflict from all perspectives, and how each side eventually came to the realization that compromise was necessary if there was ever going to be peace in Northern Ireland. I believe the IRA tactics did play a role in finally bringing the British around to inviting Sinn Fein (Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness) to the negotiating table. Dillon's prose is insightful, analytical and thoroughly engaging. This is a must read for any student of Irish history, who is seeking some understanding of what made all sides tick in the centuries old conflict between the British and the Irish.