Stieg Larsson Books

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Karl Stieg Larson was a Swedish based author and journalist. Karl is widely known for the Millennium trilogy, which was not only published posthumously but they were also adapted into motion pictures. Larson has resided for a bigger part of his life in Stockholm where he worked as a journalist and also as an independent researcher for the right wing extremism. Stieg Larson became the second bestselling writer, right behind one, Khaled Hosseini. The third installment in the Millennium Trilogy became the most sold book in the United States in the year 2010. By the year 2015, Stieg Larson’s series had managed to sell more than 80 million copies throughout the world.

Stieg Larsson was born on August 15th 1954 in the locality of Skelleftehamn in Sweden, which can also lay claim to Victoria Silvstedt. Larsson was born into a working class household, with his father working in a smelting plant. It was his father’s job that led the family to move to the Swedish capital, Stockholm due to him suffering from arsenic poisoning and having to retire from his job. However, Stieg Larrson was left to live with his grandparents in the in the north of Sweden until he was nine years old, until his grandfather’s death, when he moved to live with his family in the city of Umea. After he left school, Stieg Larsson was conscripted into the Swedish Army, and he spent 16 months in the service, where he trained in the use of mortars.

After leaving the Army, Larsson got involved in political activism, specifically on the far-left of the political spectrum, joining the Swedish Community Workers’ League and becoming the editor for a Trotskyisy journal. He went so far with his activism that he used the skills he picked up in the Swedish army to train Eritrean women in the People’s Liberation Front to be able to use mortars. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your view), Larsson had to leave Eritrea due to illness, forcing him to return to Sweden, where he joined the news agency Tidnongarnas Telegrambrya as a graphic designer, where he spent 22 years.

It was during this time working as a graphic designer that Stieg Larsson began work on the Millennium trilogy of novels. They were apparently never intended for publication, as they were only discovered posthumously and appear to have been written purely for Larsson’s own enjoyment in his spare time. Upon his death, the first book in the series, known in English-speaking countries as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (known in Swedish by the translated title Men Who Hate Women), was published in Sweden in 2005, and in the UK in 2008. Larsson won several awards for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, including the Glass Key Award in Sweden. After its publication in the UK in 2008, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo won Larsson the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for International Author of the Year in 2008, and the 2009 Galaxy British Book Award Thriller of the Year, as well as the Anthony Award for Best First Novel.

The second book Larsson had written in the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire, was released in Sweden in 2006, and won the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award that year. It got its UK release in 2009, a year after the publication of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The final book in the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nets (known in Swedish by the translated titled The Air Castle That Was Blown Up), was published in 2007 in Sweden and in 2009 in the UK. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest won Larsson his second posthumous Glass Key Award.

Sadly, Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack on November 9th, 2004 on the way to his office. However, his work has will not die with him, as he had finished around 75% of a fourth novel in the Millennium trilogy on a computer, which his partner has access to, but has not been released, and there is allegedly enough material left behind by Larsson, including storylines and manuscripts for further books. It is rumoured that Larsson had planned to write ten books in total in the Millennium series. The Millennium series was picked up by Norstedts, who hired David Lagercrantz to write a fourth book, but it is unrelated to the material that was found by Stieg Larsson’s partner, Eva Gabrielsson.

Larson was born in the year 1954 in Sweden. Stieg Larson’s grandmother and father worked in the local smelting plant. However, it did not take long before Laron’s father started to suffer from Arsenic poisoning. He was forced to resign from his line of work, and thus his family ended up moving to Stockholm. Due to their extremely cramped conditions, they were forced to leave their son, Larson behind who at the time was one year old. Stieg had to live with his grandparents until he turned nine years old. While living with his grandparents, they all lived in a wooden house that Larson loved. He was admitted to the village school where he maximized on his cross-country skiing skills to go to school and head back home as well.

When Larson was turning 12 years old, his parents gave him a typewriter as a gift for his birthday. Stieg Larson’s very first effort at writing was not in the crime genre but instead in the science fiction genre. Because he loved reading science fiction, Larson became exceedingly active in the Swedish science fiction fandom. In the year 1972, he attended his very first science fiction convention, which took place in Stockholm. Throughout the 1970’s, Larson wrote more than 30 extra fanzine issues. After moving to Stockholm in the year 1971, Larsson became exceedingly active within the Scandinavian Science Fiction Society. He first became a board member before eventually becoming a chairman in the year 1980.

Stieg Larsson Awards

As one of the most decorated writers, Stieg Larson has been awarded numerous literary awards such as the Glass Key Award, Galaxy British Book Award, Antony Award and a USA Today Award as well.

Stieg Larsson Books into Movies

Yellow Bird, a Swedish film company, adapted the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson. The film was co-produced by Nordisk Film’s, a Danish film production company. The television series was released in the year 2009, in Scandinavia.

Best Stieg Larsson Books

The Tattoo: This is the first book in the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. This is an exceedingly violent thriller that mainly focuses on the exceedingly complex financial fraud and the family secrets of an exceedingly powerful and sinister family. Tattoo begins slowly, with details being given about how one of the leading Swedish companies has been ripping the government its funds by funding a non-existent company in Russia. The novel eventually picks its speed up when the Larsson decides to get into the complexities of past of the extremely wealthy Vanger family. More than forty years earlier, one Harriet Vanger had disappeared from the family’s private island. The strange thing is that no one had seen Harriet leaving the island nor no corpse was found on or around the island. Harriet’s uncle is more than convinced that there was a family member, who had orchestrated her killing.

Blomqvist, a journalist, is living in disgrace after losing a case, which arose from his reporting of the scandal. Instead, he decides to take the case that involved the disappearance of a lady. Immediately after taking the case, Blomqvist can see the link between the disappearance with several other murders, which had been taking place throughout the town. It does not take long before Blomqvist meets up with a tattooed girl, who happens to be an experienced hacker. The girl and the journalist are not only ingenious but also believable creations that are not only in conflict with each other but also with themselves as well.

The girl and the journalist can form an indestructible bond because each and every person that they happen to meet is against them. Towards the end, Tattoo becomes an exceedingly beautiful love story.

Stieg Larsson FAQs

Q: When was Stieg Larsson born?

A: Stieg Larsson was born on August 15th 1954.

Q: When did Stieg Larsson die?

A: Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack on November 9th 2004.

Q: What nationality is Stieg Larsson?

A: Stieg Larsson was a Swedish author.

When Does The Next Stieg Larsson book come out?

Stieg Larsson doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and was released on June, 9th 2015. It is the newest book in the Millennium: The Graphic Novels Series.

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