Rating: 
Summary: Not very scary
Review: I read here on the back of the copy of the book i read that this was one of "the most frightening popular novels of our time." Well, no it really wasn't. Still, it was a good book. I watched the movie first and when i started to read the book I regretted that, but by the time i got to the end of the book I was very glad that I had. If you read the book and expect the movie to be anything like it, you'll be dissappointed. The end of this book was the part I liked and disliked the most. I can't tell you what happened, but i could definately see a really bizarre next book coming out of it. Probably he won't write another one with these characters, but if he did the set up is there and I would absulutely have to read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning
Review: I adore Thomas Harris for having the balls to take his characters Clarice and Hannibal and put them in settings so over the top and extreme that it makes you wonder just what TH was smoking while writing this novel. I've heard over and over that he ruined what he began with Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs, but Hannibal seems like a perfect sequel to me. I was worried it would be another Clarice chases Dr. Lechter scenario, and it is to a degree, but there is so much more at work here. The blossoming love affair between them (so stupidly removed from the film) is a natural progression. Clarice has become the ultimate outsider, thirsty for revenge against the FBI and the people who ruined her career. Mason Verger, who drinks the tears of children in his martini's, almost tops Hannibal for bizare. Mason's lesbian sister, the flashbacks of Hannibal and his sister, the house Hannibal has created in his mind where he stores his vast knowledge, Clarice's unsettling return to the institution where she first met Lechter and the incredibly written final scene were all left on the cutting room floor for the film. Bravo to TH for not giving us more of the same.
Rating:
Summary: Above Average
Review: Who did not love the first two books in the sires? I thought they were both great so I had high hopes for this one. I would say that it is a bit of a let down, not so much that the effort is not a good one, but probably becuase I built it up in my head. I not only read the last book, but we all know the movie was just wonderful - that and the buss around this book probably meant Th I would be disappointed. The story was a good one, the additional characters are ok, not playing that large of a roll in the story so the fact that they are average is not a big deterrent. It was just that I thought he lowered his standards a bit by so heavily detailing the gore. I think the pace is great and if you like a straight forward story this is it, there are not a lot of sub plots. Overall the book was an ok effort from Harris, in the genre it is above average.
Rating:
Summary: "Hannibal" or "Mason"?
Review: Thomas Harris' "Hannibal" is a wonderful suspense thriller featuring the infamous Dr. Hannibal Lecter, adorned agent Clarice Starling, and a band of motley characters, each worthy of a trilogy unto themselves. Harris' mastery of character development in "Hannibal" is praiseworthy. "Hannibal" cuts through the red tape to show a different and even more menacing side of Dr. Lecter's life, bounty hunters. Mason Verger was a former client and victim of Dr. Lecter, who is permanently debilitated and sworn to revenge. Verger is the inheritor of a vast fortune, a sexual predator, and generally a very bad guy who has employed bounty hunters to chase Lecter. Clarice Starling, meanwhile, is having a tumultuous time with the FBI due to a botched narcotics bust, unfulfilled expectations, and a conniving influence named Paul Krendler. An episode unfolds in Italy, the transgressor is Hannibal Lecter, and the manhunt ensues. "Hannibal" is a fast, exciting, and intelligent suspense thriller that I'd highly recommend to all readers. The movie version of "Hannibal" distorts large portions of the book, including the ending, and should not suffice for true Lecter fans.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: I loved this book! Although, it isn't really as frightening as the back cover implies. It is more romantic, albeit, in a really sick and twisted way. The book is MUCH better than the movie. And the ending is much more different.
Rating: 
Summary: THOMAS HARRIS IS A WRITER NOT A READER...
Review: In this abridged, audio cassette version of "Hannibal", the author, Thomas Harris, decides to treat the listener by doing the reading himself. This was a decided mistake. Mr. Harris, while no doubt a masterful story teller, is unable to read his own work without making the listener wish that Hannibal Lecter would creep up upon him and put an end to his reading. Mr. Harris should stick to writing, something at which he is quite capable, and leave the reading to those whose talents lie in that direction. This is, without a doubt, one of the worst audio cassette versions of a book that I have ever heard. Mr. Harris has a voice that gives the same effect as one who is raking one's fingernails across a blackboard. The story itself is fairly good, though it is not in league with "Red Dragon" or "The Silence of the Lambs". Here, Hannibal Lecter, having escaped from custody about ten years ago, is living the good life in Europe. Unbeknownst to him, however, he is being hunted down by Mason Verger, a fabulously wealthy, former patient of Dr. Lecter. Verger is also one of Lecter's victims who happened to have survived Lecter's unusual mode of attack. Left horribly disfigured by his former encounter with Lecter, Verger is very determined to hunt him down, and what he has in mind for Lecter will chill the listener. It is Verger who is truly monstrous, as the listener will discover (though with his unskilful reading, Harris gives him a run for his money). FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling remains an integral part of the story. After heading up a drug bust that went bad, she becomes persona non grata with the FBI. Still, when the FBI gets a tip about Lecter's whereabouts, it is she to whom the FBI turns, given the unusual relationship she previously had with Dr. Lecter. This assignment, too, turns bad, as Agent Starling is being set up for a fall by members of her own agency. What ultimately happens to all the players in this story is horrific. This abridged audio cassette version gets three stars for content and one star for the reading by the author. If one is interested in an audio version of the book, it is recommended that one pass on this one and try any one of the other versions in which the author is not the reader.
Rating:
Summary: No Silence of the Lambs
Review: I was so disappointed by this book, maybe because my expectations were too high, but it certainly is no comparison to Silence of the Lambs. This book was way over the top it was borderline disgusting. While I was reading the first few pages in this book, I was thinking to myself what kind of person could have wrote such a book. I found myself disliking every character in this book, and had great difficulties finishing the gruesome story. If you liked the first 2 books by Thomas Harris skip Hannibal, you will be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it - ending and all
Review: Most of the people who do not like "Hannibal" will start
their reviews saying they are big fans of SOTL and
"Red Dragon" and then comes a big "but......". Well, but nothing. You cannot compare those books to "Hannibal" beyond the
in the most trival of ways - some characters are common. They surely don't have to have the same motivations after
a space of ten years? In many ways this is a story about the progreesive
disillusionment of Starling and her final realization of
her true nature. It is about her finding happiness. "Hannibal" is a way more ambitious book than SOTL and
ultimately more satisfying too. It is nice to see an author
prepared to let evil win out in the end and have virtue to be
so completely vanquished. That makes the ending exquisite - to take a character and have
them end up happy and contented in a life of ( from any rational
standpoint ), monstrous depravity. And all this stuff about "feminist icon"? Hmm. Why can't she
still be a feminist icon? Finally emerging as an equal partner?
I think all this "feminist icon" nonsense came from the fact
that in SOTL, there were no intruding male characters ( except
Crawford and he was too old for her ) amd she got to figure it
all out and shoot the bad guy. Now Dr Lecter has shown her her true nature and she is not under
any hypnotic or chemical influences, she can be an "icon" again,
fully in control, doing whatever she wants, confident and smart. But just "playing for the other side".
Rating:
Summary: One of the scariest books I have ever read.
Review: If youre looking for a deliciously disgusting novel that will creep up on you in your dreams you should definitely read this.Its a straight ahead shock thriller and Harris's attempts at shock value work.One of the best horror novels since The Exorcist,The Shining and Salem's Lot.If you think that most Stephen King and Dean Koontz novels just arent horrifying enough give Harris a try.
Rating:
Summary: Hannibal by Thomas Harris
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Thomas Harris. If you are trying to compare it to the movie, don't, you may have some difficulties. The book does describe a number of the relationships in much better detail and it is interesting to see the history/relationship of the characters to one another. I do not wish to give away the story. It was a quick read.
|
