First, the conclusion. David Lagercrantz has done well. He was set an almost impossible task by Stieg Larsson’s estate when they asked him to write a “continuation” novel featuring Lisbeth Salander. He has carried it out with intelligence and vigour. The Girl in the Spider’s Web conveys the essence and atmosphere of Larsson’s Millennium novels. He has captured the spirit of their characters and devised inventive plots, most of them suitably exaggerated.
However, Lagercrantz’s tone is more subdued than Larsson’s, with more ideas and less action, and he hasn’t quite succeeded in matching the excitement and sheer readability of the original trilogy. That would have been beyond any author.
It was brave of Lagercrantz to make a fundamental decision which may disappoint millions of readers. The plot concentrates more on Mikael Blomkvist than on Salander, though it’s clear that readers see her as the box-office star of the show. One consequence is that Spider’s Web is less violent. Salander receives, and dishes out, far fewer injuries, and less imaginatively, than in her past appearances.
Blomkvist is in a bad way. His campaigning magazine, Millennium, is fading in influence and popularity and he has had no recent important scoops. The younger generation regard him and Millennium as has-beens. The magazine is bought by a group which promises him continued independence, but soon demands him to dumb down.
His revival begins with a middle-of-the-night phone call from Professor Balder, a scientist famous for his work on artificial intelligence. There are sinister men prowling outside, and he fears for his own life and that of his son, whom he’d recently recovered from his ex-wife and her violent lover. Eight-year-old August is an autistic savant who cannot speak but has extraordinary mathematical and artistic skills which play a crucial, and moving, role.
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At the same time, Salander, the genius hacker, motivated by vengeance, has penetrated the American National Security Agency, with dramatic effect.
Eventually, Blomkvist and Salander — who have not been in touch for a long time — find a common aim and a reason to co-operate. Along the way there is a vast array of villains of varying nationalities and nastiness, and, on the good side, the particularly poignant death of a Millennium journalist.
Other hacking targets and issues enter the picture, central to several plot lines. The problem is that all this frenetic activity is accompanied by conversations and detailed explanations of what’s going on. Many pages are more or less incomprehensible to anyone not versed in hacking and computers. True, Larsson also had a penchant for long discussions, but Lagercrantz goes that much further.
Larsson died in 2004 and the trilogy was published posthumously. It is generally accepted that had Larsson not died soon after delivering his manuscripts, his editor would have raised with him their shortcomings. They would have been published tighter and shorter. It is interesting — and right — that Lagercrantz did not try to correct Larsson’s flaws.
Making a late but impressive appearance is Lisbeth’s evil, non-identical twin sister who harbours a deep sibling hatred. A broad hint towards the end suggests that another Lagercrantz-Larsson novel is in the pipeline, featuring both sisters. On the evidence of Spider’s Web, most Millennium fans will want to continue following their Lisbeth.
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The Girl in the Spider’s Web, David Lagercrantz. Published by Maclehose, 432pp, £19.99
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