taking it to the next level (poll)

I’ve realised that I have a tendency to read the first book or two in a series, really enjoy it and then get completely distracted and not read the rest of the series.

Over the past couple of years, I have done this so many times that I would like to remedy it…but I don’t know where to start.
So – I have decided to put it to the vote – I’d love the input.  Please comment if you have reasons for your choice

agent 6 – tom rob smith

Agent 6

I was lucky that my boss remembered I liked The Secret Speech and Child 44, and gave this to me once he had finished reading it.  Unfortunately, it definitely feels like it is the final book in what must be a trilogy.

This book starts in the 50s when Leo is still a KGB Agent and part of a group looking after black American singer Jesse Austin who is a vocal and prominent supporter of communism.  we also witness Leo meeting the woman who will become his wife – Raisa.

We then jump forward in time to the 80s when Leo is no longer working for the KGB and Raisa takes their two daughters on a trip to New York as part of a dimplomatic mission. Events seemingly spiral out of control and this part of the story ends with the family in ruins and Leo determined to exact his revenge, no matter how long it takes.

The rest of the story follows Leo in the 15 or so years following tis devastating event as he travels across Afghanistan and to America to find answers to the questions that he so desperately needs to ask to the right person – but will the truth really set him free?

I was really sad when I realised that this was probably the final book – the first two were fantastic.  There were some real heart-wrenching moments in this one, but I am not sure that overall it was a fitting end to the trilogy.  I was still left wanting more.

Out of the three books, it was definitely the weakest, and yet still a brilliant read.  The parts in Afghanistan were eye-opening especially.

the girl who kicked the hornet’s nest – stieg larsson

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

It feels like ages since I finished a book.  I started reading The Famished Road by Ben Okri as part of my Reading Group with the library, but got 40% through (according to my Kindle) and just had to stop, as I simply couldn’t get through it, and having to keep picking it up and persevere was depressing me!

So, I picked up The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest as that had been sitting on my ‘To Read’ pile for quite a while.

Seeing as I enjoyed The Girl Who Played With Fire so much, and the fact that it ends with everything so up in the air, I guess it’s a bit odd that I hadn’t got around to reading it before now as I had it sitting around.  However, the Millennium books are all actually rather big and can be a bit daunting/cumbersome for my relatively short tube journey

I’m glad I finished the trilogy though – it was another fast-paced, action-packed., hugely enjoyable romp.  However, although I was really drawn in with the whole tying the loose ends procedure, there were more things about this book that niggled me.

The first two books had a huge cast of characters, but this one includes all of the previous ones and introduces a whole load of new ones, and I found it rather overwhelming.  There were just so many people that I found it hard to keep up with who was who – and sometimes their first names were used, and sometimes their surnames – and so many names were so similar (as I think is typical in Scandinavia) and I often got lost with who was talking/referring to who!

I also got a bit annoyed with a whole plotline concerning Erika Berger, who was always shown to be this strong, switched-on woman, and yet the whole plot relies on the fact that she’s had the wool pulled over her eyes by a couple of people.  It just doesn’t ring true for this character that has been built up over the previous two books.

However, the small negatives didn’t detract from the fact that it was an intensely enjoyable book, and a fitting end to the trilogy storyline.  I highly recommend!