Book review- "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

A lot of people read for a lot of different reasons. Some read to keep their mind sharp, while others, to calm their mind's incessant chattering. Some people like to read fiction to keep themselves up to date, or satiate their curiosity, while others like to absorb themselves in fiction. I love reading the type of books that grab you into their worlds and just won't let go! Also, since I love to write, I appreciate good writing just as much as I appreciate a gripping story. As much as I loved the Twilight series, I thought Stephanie Meyer's writing was Mickey Mouse prose in comparison to J K Rowling's style in the Harry Potter series. Same with Shantaram- interesting story... but man did the Editors do a bad job!

I was at the airport 3 days back when I saw a sign below the stack of the newly launched book, "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" and read the most interesting caption that read somewhat along these lines- "If you'd read either book 1 or book 2 in this trilogy, you wouldn't be standing here reading this. You'd have grabbed the book of the shelf, and immediately found yourself a quiet spot to immerse yourself into the 3rd and final installment of this trilogy." Wow! Talk about marketing! I wouldn't have quite been as convinced if two excited girls didn't run over to the stack and done a mini song and dance at finding the books there. "Is it that good?" I asked them, and they gushed, confirmed it indeed was and pointed me in the direction of Book 1- "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

The beginning starts of quite slowly and confusing, and you don't really get into the book till you're around one-fourth in. The writing however, stands out from the first page itself, and by page 20, I was flipping the front and back to find out what background the author had before writing the book. Turns out, sadly enough, the author died in 2004 without ever having a chance to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Anyhow, once you get into the main crux of the story, it really is the type of book you can't put down. It's sort of a murder mystery, but an extremely well written, intelligent one, and the type that makes you gasp a couple of times. The title sounds like it's kinda got a bit of SciFi in it, or sounds almost like a superhero type of action novel. Be rest assured, these two descriptions are far from the reality of the book. I was up till 5 AM this morning trying to finish it off, and when I woke up with the book in my hand, I spent most of today doing the same. When I finally read the last page, I immediately ran out of the house to buy Book 2 and 3. If you're looking for a great summer read that you won't be able to put down, THIS IS IT!!