Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Good, but too much
Review: I found the book very enjoyable. Harris' in depth depiction of a character as interesting as Hannibal is exhaustive and interesting. His mind palace was an excellent addition to the story, but at times Harris exploits it, feeding the reader too much information. In particular - Mischa. I thought the book as a whole was good - including the ending. I originally thought the ending warranted a better explanation in terms of reasoning (or maybe "better" reasoning) - but this goes against my opinion of Harris giving the reader too much. The success of Blair Witch reminds us that less could have made this story more.

Rating:
Summary: It's misunderstood...
Review: If you are looking for another Silence of the Lambs - this book isn't for you. I really liked it. I thought it was suspenseful and very imaginative. It definitely has a lot more horror than the proceeding installments, both in terms of gore and character development - but it also has a lot more elegance too. Mason Verger is one of the most disturbing characters I have ever read about in a mainstream book - and the ending is definitely a shocker to say the least. I can understand why some people didn't like the book - because it is a true sequel. Hannibal is not TSOTL rewritten. Yes - the characters are different but the book takes place seven years later - are you the same person you were seven years ago? Buy it now or wait for the paperback - either way - read it. Hollywood is not going to do a faithful adaptation of this book for the silverscreen - so this may be your only chance to enjoy the ride.

Rating:
Summary: Lambs should stay Silent- Hannibal starves for good ending
Review: While the book lacks many things, it has good qualities,including: Mason Verger- Mason is a bad guy equal to Lecter, bothphysically and mentally. Harris did an exceptional job creating the visual images of Mason and the evil he was capable of. Short chapters- The short chapters in this book lead to a fast-paced tale which I truly could not put down. Stephen King should pick up on this. While King tends to get bogged down in details, Harris gives us just enough details (sometimes too few, see below) to keep us interested. Even though there are good qualities, the book also lacks in many areas, such as: Short chapters- While it is advisable not to get bogged down in detail, Harris seemed to leave out too much detail in some cases. Many of the F.B.I. acronyms were not explained, and left the reader wondering about or accepting what was going on. Further explanation of technical detail, similar to that of Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Airframe, Disclosure) would have made Harris appear as an educated author instead of one who just threw in technical detail to appear to know what he was talking about. Grammatical detail- I found it disrupting and unacceptable to find several typing errors in this novel. There were several misspelled words and missing periods, which distracted me. This book came out 11 years after its predecessor, Silence of the Lambs. There was plenty of time to prepare an error-free text, and it shouldn't have been that difficult since Microsoft Word has upgraded both spell-check and grammar-check 15 times in that 11 year period. Not only did this book lack in technical detail, it lacked a quality ending. It was as if the ending was an entirely different plot. I'm not one for giving away endings, and I won't here, but it would spare many of you a lot of pain if I just told you what happened. You'll be disappointed when you get there. In the last subtitled section, Harris created his greatest monster. He created an absurd conclusion to a book that was relatively well written up to that point. The end of this novel was like morphing John Grisham with Disney Land; pure fantasy which had nothing to do with the plot at hand but left plenty of room for the heroes to ride off into the sunset. As a student of English and literature, I have been taught to review books in a fair and unbiased manner, judging only the literary quality and context of the material. In reviewing "Hannibal," I feel that it is not only fair, but also generous, to give it a 1 star ranking. Maybe I'm just upset with the conclusion of this novel, but I feel as if I have been betrayed. I spent my time reading a good piece of literature only to find Harris destroying his reputation for a credible and somewhat realistic author.

Rating:
Summary: An okay book with a bad ending
Review: For the most part the book was entertaining. I felt it dragged in the middle of the book, and picked up once the action went back to the US. The ending defiantly destroyed it for me. With an early climax and and ending that I just plan didn't like. While it may have been a protest against the movie industry did I, as a reader, have to suffer?

Rating:
Summary: a materpiece
Review: Hannibal is a masterpiece of style and mood, with the most shocking ending i have ever read. Truly brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: Grotesque and ridiculous ! It took ten years for this!
Review: I believe Mr. Harris spent too much time on ways to make the reader gag and not enough time on the story. The plot is mundane and the ending is so bizarre it makes no sense. I am sorry I read this book. I was a big fan of the other three novels. I guess if you write with a movie in mind the story suffers.

Rating:
Summary: Elegantly written with a wonderful ending.
Review: I realize I am in the vast minority, but I thoroughly enjoyedthe ending. I haven't read either of the two previous books, but I didsee the movie version of SOTL, which prompted me to buy this book, and I was very impressed with Harris's writing style that compares favorably with Anne Rice's Vampire series. Both use vivid descriptions and elegant prose that provide a depth many are hard-pressed to achieve. Many others may not have liked this book because it clashed with pre-concieved notions of what the plotline should be, but as a newcomer to Harris's written works, I can tell you I enjoyed it immensely. If you are open-minded, and like psychologically horrifying works, then this is a first rate thriller I would recommend to anyone!

Rating:
Summary: Great start, silly ending!
Review: Thomas Harris should have reconsidered the ending of this book. I was totally engrossed until the impossible ending. I hope that he does not continue with this story.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, I know it's in the garbage . . .
Review: When my roommate found my new book, "Hannibal" by Thomas Harris, in the garbage, he asked, "Why did you throw your new book away? Someone else might like to read it." In response, I said, "Throwing the book in the garbage, then dumping coffee grounds on top of it, then old salad, and the other stuff represents the BEST critique I can summon concerning that poor excuse for a book . . ." I honestly cannot believe I wasted ten hours of my time and $25 dollars of my money on what is probably the worst book I've read this decade. What happened at the end, really? What the hell was that?

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling and Engrossing
Review: Despite what some of the other people said, I found this book to be very entertaining and exciting. Harris does an exellent job of showing how gruesome and terrifying the bad guys are, such as Mason Verger.