The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

(hb; 2005, 2008: first book in the Millennium series. Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland.)

From the inside flap:

"A[n]. . . amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.

"It's about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden. . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

"It's about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance. . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age -- and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it -- who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism -- and an unexpected connection between themselves. . ."


Review:

This is one of the best dark-family-history/conspiracy novels I've read in a long while.

Dragon Tattoo was unputdownable -- though I reluctantly did so, for social and writing schedule necessities.

The characters, the plot layers, reveals and twists (all skillfully interwoven) are often surprising, intelligent, relatable and reader-hooking, with an ending that left this reader aching for more.

Worth owning, this.

Followed by The Girl Who Played With Fire.

#

A Swedish film version of Dragon Tattoo was released in Denmark and Sweden on February 27, 2009. The film got a "wide" stateside release on March 19, 2010.

Michael Nyqvist played Michael Blomkvist. Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander. Lena Endre played Erika Berger. Michalis Koutsogiannakis played Dragan Armanskij. Jacob Ericksson played Christer Malm.

Ingvar Hirdwall played Dirch Frode. Sven-Bertil Taube played Henrik Vanger.

Marika Lagercrantz played Cecilia Vanger. Peter Haber played Martin Vanger. Ewa Fröling played Harriet Vanger. Gösta Bredefeldt played Harald Vanger. Gunnel Lindblom played Isabella Vanger. Willie Andréason played Birger Vanger. Julia Sporre played "Young Harriet Vanger". An uncredited Linn Björland played "Young Anita Vanger".

Peter Andersson played "The Lawyer Nils Bjurnson". David Dencik played Janne Dahlman. Tomas Köhler played "Plague". Tehila Blad (billed as Teilla Blad) played "Young Lisbeth Salander".

Björn Granath played Gustav Morrell. Sofia Ledarp played Malin Erikson.

Niels Arden Oplev directed the film, from a script by Nicolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg.

#

An American remake was released stateside on December 21, 2011.

Rooney Mara played Lisbeth Salander. Daniel Craig played Mikael Bloomkvist. Robin Wright played Erika Berger. Joel Kinnaman played Christer Malm.

Stellan Skarsgård played Martin Vanger. Embeth Davidtz played Annika Vanger. Christopher Plummer played Henrik Vanger. Joely Richardson played Anita Vanger. Julian Sands played "Young Henrik Vanger". Geraldine James played Cecilia Vanger.

Goran Visnjic played Dragan Armansky. Steven Berkoff played Dirch Frode. Elodie Yung played Miriam Wu. Yorick van Wageningen played Nils Bjurman.

David Fincher directed the film, from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian.

Octopussy and The Living Daylights, by Ian Fleming

(pb; 1966, 1967, 2002: story anthology -- fourteenth/final book in the original 007/James Bond series)

Review, overall:

Decent four-story anthology, best read as side-pieces to Fleming's more plot-substantial novels. It's a gotta-read for Bond fans, of course.

Review, story by story:

"Octopussy" - An alcoholic retired military man and sea-life enthusiast, Major Dexter Smythe, is confronted by a past misdeed when James Bond comes to visit him in the Caribbean. Solid, predictable entry -- light on action, heavy on corruption and karmic justice.

"The Property of a Lady" - In a Sotheby's auction room, during a Faberge egg bidding, Bond tries to flush out a high-ranking Russian agent. Another solid Bond tale, fascinating, with an exciting and quiet finish.

"The Living Daylights" - Bond, protecting a fellow agent (Agent 272) crossing into West Berlin from East Berlin, takes on a KGB sniper he'd rather not shoot. Great story, accentuating Bond's sense of humanity and decency, as well as his disillusionment with his "double-00" status. Memorable, classic.

"007 in New York" - Overly-chatty tale about Bond warning another agent about her cohabitation with an enemy agent. Bond's mission reads like an afterthought, given Bond's lengthier travelogue-style memories about New York in the past, an ex-lover (Solange) and his frustration in trying to order a breakfast consisting of properly-prepared brown eggs (which are curiously hard to find). Mercifully brief bit of fluff, this.

#

Octopussy became a film in 1983. It has little to do with its source story, aside from its title. The Faberge egg plot stems another Bond story, "The Property of a Lady".

Roger Moore played James Bond. Maud Adams played Octopussy. Louis Jordan played Kamal Khan. Steven Berkoff played General Orlov. Robert Brown played M. Desmond Llwelyn played Q. Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny.

John Glen directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, George MacDonald Fraser and Michael G. Wilson.

#

The Living Daylights was released in 1987. The movie expands on its source story (see above review).

Timothy Dalton played James Bond. Maryam d'Abo played Kara Milovy. Jeroen Krabbe played General Georgi Koskov. Joe Don Baker played Brad Whitaker. Desmond Llewlyn played Q. Robert Brown played M. Caroline Bliss played Miss Moneypenny. John Terry played Felix Leiter.

John Glen directed, from a script penned by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert

(pb; 1976: third book in the Dune Chronicles)

From the back cover

"The desert planet of Arrakis has begun to grow green and lush. The life-giving spice is abundant. The nine-year-old royal twins, possesing their father's supernatural powers, are being groomed as Messiahs.

"But there are those who think the Imperium does not need messiahs."


Review

Children, like the first two Dune books, is complex, with its interweaving characters and plots -- this makes for an heady, intellectual experience. Sad, cruel ironies continue to be a theme, as do other human frailties and desires (which keeps the Dune books, thus far, from becoming too emotionally-detached to be involving).

Less revelatory than Dune, Children is an estimable read. (Think of Dune like the Big Bang Theory: if Dune was the life-bringing explosion, any sequel that follows it can be defined, at best, as a sorting-out and refining of the initial explosive elements.)

Check it out.

Followed by God Emperor of Dune.

#

Children of Dune began airing stateside as a television miniseries on March 16, 2003 - its plot also incorporated elements from the second Dune novel, Dune Messiah.

Alec Newman reprised his role of Paul Atreides/Muad'dib (he played Paul in the 2000 mini-series, Dune). Julie Cox reprised her role of Irulan Corrino-Atreides. Daniela Amavia played Alia Atreides. Alice Krige played Lady Jessica Atreides.

James McAvoy played Leto Atreides II.  Jessica Brooks played Ghamina Atreides. 

P.H. Moriarty reprised his role of Gurney Halleck.  Edward Atterton played Duncan Idaho.  Susan Sarandon played Princess Wensicia Corrino.  Steven Berkoff played Stilgar.

Ian McNeice reprised his role as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.  Jonathan Bruun played Farad'n Corrino.

Karel Dobrý, who played Dr. Pardot Kynes in the original miniseries, played a different character in this miniseries - this time, his character's name was Korba.

Greg Yaitanes directed the miniseries, from a script by John Harrison (who scripted and helmed the original miniseries).