Rating: Summary: A silk bow, somewhat tatty, but attractive Review: I'm not sure what benefit it is to read the 1541st of the reviews here, but I am sufficiently moved by this work to go ahead regardless. The silliest criticism is that Hannibal is irresponsible. True, it does not feature a Stirring Moral Principle. It is therefore not recommended bedtime reading for toddlers. The publisher was remiss in not clearly stating this fact on the cover. The most salient criticism is that it is sloppy. Certain narrative phrases are unnecessarily repeated. One might think the book to have been written in haste and then shipped out to meet an arbitrary publishing deadline. A work which celebrates in all things artifice, taste, and obsessive planning ought to have been crafted to exacting standards. It is not. Though loose in execution, Hannibal is ambitious in scope. Its ending, though failing to provide the Righteous Scouraging of Evil so missed by the moralists among our 1540 co-pundits, provides the appropriately shocking and thought-provoking conclusion to Harris's trilogy of transformations (Dollarhyde, Gumb, and Starling). Its ultimate transgressiveness is rigourous and apt. The complacent deserve to feel its bite.
Rating: Summary: Characters inconsistent; Harris not true to his creation. Review: The major flaw of Hannibal is that the characters which Harris created in Silence of the Lambs do not remain true to themselves. Here, they do not behave in the manner which Harris himself established in his previous work. The characters of Lecter and Starling are unbelievable, and their actions are incomprehensible. I felt that the author betrayed his own work, and that left me very disappointed. I simply cannot reconcile the behaviour of the main characters with the established patterns we have previously been given. I was also disappointed in the trite and simplistic way that Harris tried to explain Lecter's compulsion to kill. The character of Lecter is far too complex to have such a banal explanation. Most of Lecter's appeal lies in the fact that we don't know why he behaves the way he does; this heightens the mystery, and lends itself to believability. In life, there are rarely pat little explanations for human behaviour. The apologia for Lecter was unecessary and undermined the complex and interesting character he was in the first two books. The only remarkable idea in Hannibal is the concept of memory palaces. For that, I'll give Harris a star.
Rating: Summary: Good writing, an ending you DO NOT want to believe Review: I like the style of writing, but the pigs were a bit much along with a couple of unbelieveable characters. The ending is a stretch of imagination that plummets you to new depths in surrealism. An ending you do not want to believe. Classic Harris, a riveting and compelling read.
Rating: Summary: Stink, stank, stunk Review: I guess I'm still trying to figure out the ridiculous ending to the book. Maybe I just don't get how this would ever happen. The story line up till the end was somewhat believable and at points graphically gory and morose, but I think Harris has been reading too many long-winded Steven King novels. There are a couple of parts of the book that were intense and worth reading a couple times over, but too many pages in between them. Although, Harris' the "Red Dragon" is still one of the best and most horrifying books I've ever read.
Rating: Summary: This book is BRILL!!!But Review: I have just finshed Haniibal and i can honestly say that it is one of the best books i have ever read! I think it is almost as good as silence of the lambs. The way Harris has built the relationship between Leture and teh detective is really good but i feel that the ending lacks a bit of originality.
Rating: Summary: What does it take to be truly evil? Review: Those expecting Dr. Lecter to be brought to justice get what they expect--but not in a form they're comfortable with. Harris asks us, "What is evil?" and the answers he comes up with have already made lots of people uncomfortable. There have already been more than 1,500 reviews at this site--just buy the damned book and know that whether you love it or hate it you've been witness to a cultural phenomenon.
Rating: Summary: BREAK OUT THE LIVER AND FAVA BEANS! Review: DR. LECTER RETURNS IN THIS LONG ANTICIPATED SEQUEL THAT OF COURSE ALL OF US WANT TO READ! I THOUGHT TAHT A SEQUEL TO THE ORIGINAL STORY WOULD BE A BAD IDEA, BUT HARRIS WRITES AN EXCELLENT STORY THAT GIVES YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO READ AND LEAVES YOU WITH AN ENDING THAT WILL LEAVE YOU THINKING FOR WEEKS AFTER. DON'T MISS THIS GREAT SEQUEL!
Rating: Summary: Ruined the whole experience Review: I gave this two stars because the first few hundred pages werean enjoyable read, although not nearly as well written or well plottedas SOTL. The ending was so disappointing that it effectively ruined the whole trilogy for me, and I will never be able to enjoy the first two books the same way again. I'm going to try as hard as I can to forget that this book ever existed. Some of the people who actually liked it told me to go back and rethink the book in light of the ending. What Harris does to Starling is even worse than what the FBI did. A profoundly sexist book (and I'm a man!) Also I like a good bottle of wine now and then and consider myself to be a cultured person and I found Harris's literary masturbation in Florence insufferable. I wish I could turn back time and unread this bloated waste of time.
Rating: Summary: Disappointing Review: Disappointing. I recently read the book "Red Dragon". I found that to be a great page turner. So, What about Hanibal? Starts off great! Had me hooked from the first chapter, only to be let down with the remainder of the book. What was meant to be a shock for the readers turned out to be uncharacteristic of Harris and unimaginative. It seems as if the Lecter/Starling Saga ends with little creativity and a lot of screenplay.
Rating: Summary: what a crushing disappointment Review: What happened to you, Mr. Harris? Are you the same author who wrote Red Dragon & Silence of the Lambs? This is execrable work from someone who trailblazed a new genre. Here's hoping you will find your path (and humanity) again.
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