Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Can't decide between revolting or plain bad
Review: It took Thomas Harris this long to write a substandard sequel to "Silence of the Lambs"? The ending was so lame but then again it only was in keeping with the rest if the book. This really was an insult to the previous books

Rating:
Summary: The joke is on us people, and it is NOT funny!
Review: Basic rule: Write for your audience. I have been reading reviews and it gets to me when people who loved this book say those who didn't lack the intelligence to understand it. I get it. I hate it. That simple. Now............. I don't know who Harris wrote this for but it was not for his readers or the fans or actors of SOTL who thrust him into literary stardom. It was strictly OK for the first few hundred pages then went completely to hell. The ending is ludicrous. I mean, were the characters of SOTL just a little inside joke for Harris and his crew at the publishing house? Like, "Oh, we'll have millions buy into these characters and then in the next book which will sell even more copies we will screw them over! Yeah." please...I could go on forever but then I would ruin it for any of you who have the time to waste who plan on reading this. I recommend counting the cracks in the sidewalk outside your house. That would prove more productive.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I found the direction taken with the characters disturbing and unexpected. Definitely not the best of Thomas Harris. Maybe the less we know of Dr. Lector and his past, the better.

Rating:
Summary: Atrocity withouy titillation; the lyrical writing impresses;
Review: This book will disappoint those who are looking for a bit of violent titillation. The many atrocities are described with style and restraint with no attempt to linger in gore. I read the book three times in as many days and it improved immensely with acquaintance. The imagery of the writing is so astonishingly vivid that the forthcoming film will almost inevitably disappoint in comparison. My abiding memories of the book, however, are the many moments of lyrical writing. Harris has developed a style of writing that can communicate almost like music; poignancy has never been conveyed so softly. The memories of Mischa are exquisite, little tone poems to read over and over again. The ending is almost surreal but you can sense a Harris smile lurking behind the scenes; it's only a story, he seems to be saying. It is difficult to imagine a sequel, especially if we have to wait ten years for it. However, after spending so much effort in the last twenty years documenting the worst excesses of the human psyche, I would love to see him produce a book that could fill us with hope and warmth and a sense of humanity. He has the power; he has the readership. And the world of today needs it more than ever.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to expectations!!!
Review: The author had an opportunity to take his character...Hannibal...from his previous SOTLs and write perhaps the novel of the decade. Instead he daudled in the inner-workings of the mind of the killer and lost the plot almost entirely. This book was certainly not up to his previous efforts.

Rating:
Summary: Good until part VI "A Long Spoon"
Review: The book started well and it really gets you going through this enigmatic Dr. Hannibal Lecter. It seems to me that Mr. Harris stop drinking or smoking what was inspiring him until Part VI of the book, where I just didn't understand anything. Don't know what happened to him. Very conusing. A mix of Rose Color end for a book that was delivering a catastrophic and bloody final.

Rating:
Summary: "Hannibal" was this summer's biggest disappointment.
Review: Pedestrian prose and a dumbed down Clarice Starling made this book a major disappointment to me, especially so at hardcover prices. "The Red Dragon" is still the scariest book I have ever read, but "Hannibal" is a real ho-hum. Don't waste your money; it'll be all over the used bookstore shelves in nothing flat.

Rating:
Summary: NO SILENCE OF THE LAMBS!!!!!
Review: Sorry but Mr. Harris really falls short here. Way too unbelievable to even be entertaining. I was especially dissapointed in Clarice Starling's part, or a lack of one. Hannibal deserved better but in being a fan of his it makes it a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: While Mr. Harris has a great ability to bring to mind very graphic images, often without fully describing those images, it's not enough to write a great book. My expectations were far too high after reading SOTL. The beginning of this latest book was excellent - it captured my interest immediately. The rest of the story went along fairly but began to bog down. My biggest complaint was the end. It seemed as if Mr. Harris had written enough and said to himslf, "Okay, time to end this one." The ending is just too far-fetched for for me. The characters seemed way out of place in their roles. I don't wish to give away the ending of the book, but I'll say that it was not worthy of the rest of the story. I was extremely disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Don't be turned off by the negative reviews- read it!
Review: By the time I got a copy of Hannibal, I had heard so many negative and luke-warm reviews I almost skipped reading it. I'm glad I didn't - I raced through it and thought it was great. True, the ending surprised me, but it didn't really bother me, either. I kept thinking all the way through how hard it would be to end this novel in a fully satisfactory way. I'm still not sure he managed it, but I'm glad Harris did it his way and not with one of the endings I had imagined.