Stieg Larsson’s heroes get an update

The just released fourth ‘Millennium’ book, ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’, wasn’t written by Stieg Larsson. The real author says the job terrified him – and not because of Lisbeth Salander’s intrigues with the NSA.

Mikael Blomkvist, the main character in Stieg Larsson’s ‘Millennium’ trilogy, could have been the deceased author’s alter ego.

Like Blomkvist, Larsson was also an investigative reporter for many years. David Lagercrantz, the Swedish author who has completed Larsson’s draft for the fourth book in the Millennium series, is a journalist as well, known for his biography of the Swedish-Bosnian soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Despite being an experienced writer, completing the ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ was no walk in the park for Lagercrantz. He was “terrified” and “obsessive” throughout the writing process, he told the press last Wednesday. “I was bipolar and manic-depressive the whole time.”

‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’, available in stores in some countries since last Thursday, is the continuation of the crime series by Larsson, who died 11 years ago. Swedish publisher Norstedts has kept the storyline under lock and key ahead of the release.

The author, the editors and the translators were only permitted to work on computers without an Internet connection to prevent hacker attacks.

What is known, however, is that journalist Mikael Blomkvist and young IT expert Lisbeth Salander are still the centre of attention in the story.

A hacker attack on the NSA also plays a role. As Lagercrantz told the press, he’s a journalist who is impacted by current events. “It struck me that if Lisbeth would have a worthy opponent, it would be NSA,” he said. “We live in a world where we need Lisbeth Salander more than ever.”

But doing justice to the complex, dark character of Lisbeth Salander was a challenge for the writer, who added that Blomqvist was a character he could identify more with.

Stieg Larsson died of complications following a heart attack in 2004. He was only 50 years old. The trilogy he left behind only became a bestseller following a bitter inheritance battle between his family and his longtime partner Eva Gabrielsson.

Since Larsson left no will and he wasn’t married to Gabrielsson, his assets, including his manuscripts, went to his family. Larsson and Gabrielsson had been a couple for 32 years and there is speculation that she had helped write the drafts for the first three Millennium books.

Before his death, Larsson is said to have started the fourth book in what was to become a 10-part series. Whether or not a manuscript actually existed has not been confirmed.

The book completed by David Lagercrantz was in any case completely rewritten in cooperation with the Norstedts publishing house and Larsson’s father and brother.

Old friends of Larsson’s, like administrative director Anders Lindblom and psychiatrist Svante Brandén – who are actually mentioned in one of the Millennium books – have criticised the project. They’ve said it’s disrespectful to the author and have called Lagercrantz unqualified for the job.

Lagercrantz, however, is convinced that he’s done his best and says he’s proud of the result.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.