Rating: 
Summary: Even only one star is too many...
Review: I think Thomas Harris must have hired someone else to write this trashy, blabbermouth novel. It sometimes reads like he only wrote the first few chapters, then had some insane fan write everything else. Harris spends way too many pages describing places and things that don't hold the reader's interest, and providing gruesome imagery that is totally unnecessary. Not enough plot and too much scenery makes a pretty dull book. Harris seems to want to cast Lecter as the 007 of serial killers, and it's just rediculous! I don't like the character. We weren't supposed to like the character. Why not do the logical thing and bring Will Graham back out of retirement to re-capture Lecter? Harris has revised his own history here so that Hannibal only killed demented weirdos, and only did it because of his traumatic childhood. I'd like to hear from Mr. Harris himself on this one, because I have a sly suspicion that he only wrote this book to point out a major flaw in readers of his material: they're rooting for the bad guy, and that's not right. Want to read a good book? Try any of Harris' other novels, and avoid this one like the plague. I'd rather have been left hanging; so to speak.
Rating: 
Summary: Sigh ...
Review: Just finished this book about an hour ago. Read all 480+ in 2 days. Now, don't take that fact that I finished it so quickly to mean that it was good; I read so fast so I could hurry up and get through it. About the only good thing I can say about it is that it is set mostly in my favorite part of the world, Italy. A good time to read this book is if you stuck in a hospital bed (as I was) and have nothing else to read ... IMO.
Rating:
Summary: An unadulterated piece of crap
Review: Not only is it a terrible book in its own right, but it also manages to tear down everything that the author built in the first novel. It reminded me of seeing a really bad sequel, like Mission Impossible or Highlander 2. When authors like Mr. Harris write novels, they are building a mythology in their readers' minds. The reader natually expects characters to behave a certain way and for certain things to happen to them. Examples: Luke Skywalker would never turn to the dark side, Mad Max will always end up as roadkill at the end his movies, and Dirty Harry would never take a bribe. When the writers go against these basic rules that have been established (in this case by Mr. Harris himself), the reader ends up feeling betrayed. Thats exactly the feeling I got from reading Hannibal. Not to mention the fact that the novel was totally irresponsible, from a moral point of view. Mr. Harris seems to be telling us that wanton acts of psychotic cruelty are ok as long as the perpetrater is "cool" and compelling. Where's the accountability? In "The Silence of the Lambs" I accepted the fact that Lecter got away because I naturally I expected a sequel. Sorry, if Mr. Harris writes another continuation, I'll skip that one. It took Mr. Harris 7 or 8 years to write Hannibal. I wonder how long it would have taken him to write a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was a twisted roller coaster of fun
Review: This is classic Hannibal Lecter. He is up to his usual business and Clarice Starling is hot on his trail. The presence of Mason Verger (Hannibals would be victim) was a great addition to the plot. In a nutshell this book deserves at least 4 stars if not 5.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely incredible!
Review: Thomas Harris has outdone himself! This book kept me on the edge of the seat throughout the book with a final twist that I didn't see coming at all, but made perfect sense. I'm almost sorry I read it, because I want to read it again!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: This book is a pathetic effort to make money after Silence of the Lambs. I must admit that I thought the whole premise was so off the wall that I was only able to get to the middle of the book.If you like stupid dialogue, plot, and poor characterization this book is the book for you. I didn't even pay full price and I still feel ripped off.
Rating:
Summary: a novel should not be written as a sceenplay
Review: I was rather disappointed with Hannibal as it is written like a novelization of a screenplay. Thomas Harris was obviously lobbying for his sequel to Silence of the Lambs to be on the silver screen before the mass market paperbacks hit the shelves. Although there were several bright moments in the story, by pandering to the filmmakers, Harris takes away the thing that makes reading so enjoyable-- the imagination.
Rating:
Summary: More meat, anyone?
Review: I must agree with the review from "A reader from Savannah", below. Ones appreciation of Hannibal is likely enhanced by a sense of humor, an appreciation of irony, and an understanding of the symbiotic relationship that often develops between the hunter and his/her prey. While many posted critics pan the ending, I rather enjoyed it - it "made sense" to me. This book is certainly the least intense of Harris' books, but, in my opinion, a pleasurable read nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: What was Harris thinking?
Review: I waited to read reviews of this book until after I had read it myself, and I was glad that I wasn't the only one who was terribly disappointed. I was first introduced to Dr. Lechter in "Red Dragon", and got to know him better in "Silence of the Lambs", but the Dr. Lechter in this book is not the same character. None of "Hannibal's" characters is well defined and mental imagery is fuzzy at best. I kept trudging through page after page of mundane text, anxiously awaiting another Thomas Harris climactic ending, only to close the book angily, and wonder "How could he do this to his readers?" My advice to potential readers is to just ask someone who had read the book about the ending. Once you learn what happens, you'll be glad you didn't waste your time or money.
Rating:
Summary: To boldly go.....
Review: This book made me feel, it outraged me, it made me laugh, it made me wonder about myself - made me wonder about Harris! Are we readers the morbid throngs at a torture exhibit? Good books are not read passively, the end of this one had me clamping my hand over my mouth saying "omigod, what is happening!?" Harris has written a book in which unique characters dare to find a unique ending that stood me on my head, a story of a world where good is overwhelmed with treachery, horror, and deceit, evil is at least honest, and the only true choices we have are what we will allow in our own reach. I don't think I can stand to see Hollywood gut this book. And I don't want a sequel.
|
