Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book was scary, at least I thought so. Overall I thought the story was very good, almost as good at Silence and better then Hannibal. The book is heads and tails above the movie so do not use that as a guild. The detail of the killers character makes you really get to know him, and you do not like what you find. The end has its good points and bad, you will be surprised.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't make any plans
Review: I started reading this book at about 6PM planning to read for a few hours, the next thing I knew my alarm clock was reminding me to wake up. If you want to read a great book read this one, just make sure you don't have anything else to do.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific -- and terrifying!!
Review: This is the prequel to Harris' "Silence of the Lambs," but you don't have to read this first as Hannibal Lecter has just a small role in this book. (He's already in prison when the book starts -- put there a few years earlier by the main character. Only a little info is given about what he did. I'd like to see Harris write a prequel to this regarding how Lecter began and how the authorities found & captured him.)Excellent book! Scary, but not too terrifying -- i.e. if the book "Kiss the Girls" by James Patterson or the movie "Seven" or "Silence of the Lambs" were too scary or creepy for you, this may not be. Fascinating look at a couple of complex characters & their inner demons. I especially liked that it segued back and forth between describing what the authorities were doing and what the killer was doing. This made it much more interesting than a mystery that is told solely from the detective's viewpoint.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid story, runs out of steam at the end
Review: As someone who is intrigued by stories of mass murderers and serial killers, I enjoyed this book almost all the way through to the end. It spent more time inside the killer's head than Silence of the Lambs spent with Buffalo Bill, portraying the conflicting thoughts and emotions that the Red Dragon was experiencing. However, because the book touts "meeting Dr. Hannibal Lecter for the first time", I was hoping for a bit more from the character that has fascinated me in Harris' next two novels. Aside from a couple of letters received from Lecter, he is not involved with the story as much as I would have liked. I guess his popularity hadn't risen to the point it was after the second story. Last, I would have hoped for a better ending than this. There was a lot of leading up to a grand conclusion (which kept me on the edge of my seat) but it did not have the final impact that I've come to expect from Harris.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: After reading Hannibal, I should have known better than to actually spend money on anything by Thomas Harris. However, I had heard that Red Dragon was a descent book, so I decided to give it a shot. This was a stupid decision. The characters are flat and uninteresting. The element of suspense just isn't there. If you are looking for a frightening read, search elsewhere. The only good thing I have to say about this book is, at least agent Will Graham doesn't fall in love with the Red Dragon at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Where it all begins
Review: We are first introduced to our favorite doctor. Disturbingly delightful.
Rating:
Summary: An unrealistic ending to a terrific book (2/28/02)
Review: This book is so good that the ending is surprisingly disappointing. It's unrealistic and would just never happen. Serial killers don't behave, or change this way.
It reminded me of the end of Harris' other book, Hannibal. An FBI agent is going to actually let a serial killer get in her head to the point of running off with him? I think not.
Rating:
Summary: Tom Harris' best book (than S of the Lambs and Hannibal)
Review: You saw the movie (Manhunter, based on Red Dragon)? or waiting to see the movie (the prequel to Silence of the Lambs) ? Well, the book is different. The ending of the book is not the same as the cinematic ending. This book is good for an interesting reading.You'll see Hannibal Lecter in his chilling glory, you may find that the FBI-Criminologist Will Graham is more exciting than Clarice Starling and the serial killer "tooth fairy" is as psychotic as Norman Bates.
Some may find the movie ending is better but that only makes the book greater ! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Superbly Written, Chilling, A Classic Psychological Thriller
Review: Having read Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal, I find it hard to decide which one is best. But one point is for sure, however. Red Dragon is indeed a spectacular, grippling novel full of psychological suspense, leaving readers hanging in their seats and terrified until the very end. In it, we come to meet Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham, Jack Crawford, and numerous other familiar names. Lecter begins to develop his character, which we later delve deeper into in Silence of the Lambs and the recent Hannibal. We glimpse into Lecter's past, as well as that of Jack Crawford's, a different kind of FBI director. Crawford assigns Will Graham, a retired FBI agent, with an unusual, mystifying case that only he knows how to solve. Graham was reluctant at first, seeing how he came close to death previously when Lecter slashed his stomach with a broken piece of glass. But he eventually accepts, even though the risks are high and possibly fatal. The case involves a serial killer, Francis Dolarhyde, who hunts down innocent families through footage he receives at his work, the Gateway Film Laboratory. His thoughts and actions are inspired by William Blake's painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun. The murders are all part of his Becoming. As Dolarhyde selects his next victims, problems and challenges emerge. Graham, along with Crawford, follows right behind his tail, inching closer to finding the Dragon. Superbly crafted, masterful, frightening and fantastic, Red Dragon is a novel complete with surprise and a startling twist near the end that will shock you!
Rating:
Summary: Sharp Tension sharply done.
Review: "We should not only study good, and its effect upon our race, but also evil, and its consequences." Brigham Young. This book has a sense of creeping eeriness that fills your lungs and takes your breath away. I am one of the few who thinks that this book is actually better than "Silence of the Lambs." And I won't say anything about "Hannibal." I think Harris has been stuck with a popular franchise, but couldn't find a direction that worked right. But back to this book. It is a very twisted story that has two villains gaining up on Graham, the killer known only as the "Tooth Fairy" and the imprisoned Hannibal Lecter. Meanwhile, Graham, who still bears emotional and mental scars from his first encounter from Lecter, decides to use him as a consulting psychologist. So this book accentuates, in a better sense than "Silence of the Lambs," the hazards of thinking like a criminal to understand him. That is like asking the devil for directions out of Hell-you are not sure you are getting the straight truth. Harris pulled a "Citizen Kane" with creating Hannibal Lecter, who was marvelously brought to life by Anthony Hopkins, although there are a few Brian Cox fans out there. What bothers us about Hannibal Lecter is that we know that he knows what he his doing is wrong, and not only doesn't he care, but he thinks what he is doing is funny on a level. Hence, the "tingling breast" reference in "Silence of the Lambs." This book lets you see another side of Hannibal Lecter, how, despite his incarceration, he was able to control and cannibalize the life of another man, Will Graham. It is a different book than "Silence of the Lambs," since it is a typical murder mystery, with two absolutely twisted villains, who are like Sith Lords, a master Hannibal and an apprentice Dollarhyde. It is control, but from a different direction. This book makes a compelling and far reaching statement on evil. Plato maintained that the only reasons why anyone would choose evil are because they were insane, or ignorant (Timaeus 86e), but Harris illustrates with Lecter, that people can and do willingly choose evil. See "People of the Lie" by M. Scott Peck. This novel isn't graphic, but it does facilitate what your wild imagination so often does. This novel is both an idea and sharp tension that is well crafted and broadly illustrated. You have a hero that, without any reservation, you can root for.
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