Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Incomprehensible, choppy, terrible
Review: I was shocked to find a really horrible book by Thomas Harris. I was a big fan of all of his other books. This one, however, was BAD, BAD, BAD. The plot was not interesting, the characters wholly unlikeable, and the ending ridiculous. I can't believe that I wasted my time! Don't waste yours.

Rating:
Summary: Overtism in all Sences
Review: To say that this book is the most captivating of all books I have ever read is just a slight understatement in all aspects of the word. With every ploy created by the emotionally closed and almost totally unmoved mind of Dr Hannibal Lector, gave my mind a week of utter intensivness which a novel has not sparked in a long while.

The uraveling and insight into Lector's tumultuous childhood revealed not only motive behind his being but also enabled us to empathise and accept his horrific mutilations, Hannibal seemed this time not to mutilate the good and the innocent but only those who possesed an air of self absorbism, and evil intentions. Out to help see the demise of Dr Lector, the victims chose to do so not on grounds of human protection or the welfare of others but for thier own interest to see the fattening of thier own bank accounts. accounts. Poor Mason, being disfigured like he was, could not be described less than horrific, but the torture he made children endure was by far a worser crime! Good on you Dr Lector!

All the same I am thanlkful that the character of Hannibal Lector is not living down at the end of my street!

Thankyou Thomas Harris for yet another suberb, account of a criminal mind at its greatest.

Rating:
Summary: Pas gourmet, mais gourmand...
Review: With ample anticipation, I purchased Thomas Harris' novel with the impression that my grasp of Hannibal Lecter and other characters would become more lucid through the author's usual penetrating eye and style. However, as I turned from page to page, it became evident that something was awry. The clever repartee that I awaited was not extant. The characters, although fully fleshed, remain feeble and superficial. Mason Verger, the novel's antagonist (and I use this term loosely) is more annoying than sinister, and his henchmen loiter around the perimeter of the work, never seeming to join in (which is perhaps wise on their part). Both Mason and his sister Margot are not much more than "Jerry Springer"-esque individuals who canker the types of characterizations that Jame Gumb and Francis Dolorhyde made sacrosanct in the previous works. Verger's grand scheme to take vengeance on Lecter is nothing more than the puerile devises of an imbecile plotting against a genius. I found myself guffawing at his ideas. I pray that Harris intended Verger to be the fool that he is. Clarice Starling endures as a strong-willed FBI agent; however, she seems to flounder as second banana. Finally, there is Dr. Hannibal Lecter: psychiatrist, connoisseur, and cannibal. When I undertook the challenge of reading the novel, it was the insights into Lecter's personality and peculiar history that I eagerly awaited. What I discovered was a frightened little boy grown up, exercising frightening abilities all for the sake of finding his lost little sister. Pardon me, but big woo! As far as plot, it falls back on itself, unable to stand confidently in the face of extreme absurdities such as Verger's breeding of vicious man-eating swine and Paul Krendler's gourmet lobotomy, not to mention the "possession" of Clarice Starling at the end of the work. To put it simply, it became increasingly difficult to suspend willingly my disbelief as I progressed through the murky echoes of flashbacks and inane disclosures. Winding around the corners, it became apparent that I was lost within a labyrinth of my own creation. That is to say, I was bound to Harris' previous novels by invisible and velvet chains, while this essay seemed to imprison me within the confines of some medieval torture device. Although I could not put the novel down-mainly in hopes that it would improve and come to its senses-something about the rhythm of the text seduces the reader, hypnotizes him, deludes him into believing that arcane mysteries will be unveiled. I for one found myself muttering and grumbling at the fact that something was simply not right and that it never was going to be. In any event, I must commend Harris on his detailed research. Every particular is polished-each fragment brilliant. His work is reminiscent of Eco or Borges in its permeating gaze and de Sade in its brutality. However, even these perquisites are not enough to liberate Hannibal from the ominous death knell that critics will ring. Hannibal will be remembered (and most likely forgotten) as the novel whose reach extended beyond its grasp. Nonetheless, Hannibal, taken on its own is a striking, if often graphic exposé of the deviant and preternatural. It is the answer to the rhetorical question that readers often ask at the end of a novel: what happens next? Unfortunately, this question is one that no one really wants answered; it ultimately dispels the illusion the reader has carefully crafted in his mind. The novel is a good example of when too much is not a good thing. Hannibal is an inferior addition to an otherwise sterling set.

Rating:
Summary: A decent read
Review: Well, I didn't think I could wait for this to get here. I have read the other two books in the series and thoroughly enjoyed them, so in a way Hannibal is a bit of a disappointment. I kept picturing Jodie Foster continuing in her role from Silence of the Lambs and it just doesn't fit. Read the book, but don't look for a satisfying ending.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful...Powerful...Indellible.
Review: A worthy companion to Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal is a haunting, visceral, unshakable vision of pure evil. You could fault it at times for being sadistic, but is still an incredible rollercoaster ride.

Rating:
Summary: What A Rollercoaster!
Review: This book took me from exteme highs and lows! It was fantastic! The turn around in Clarice Starling was completely unexptected, but I could totally relate. Having been through almost and identical career situation as her. The ending was completely unexpected, and beautifully written. I can't wait for the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Utterly stupendous
Review: A fitting sequel to "Silence." I enjoyed Harris' newest creation of horror. Very few novels are as ineptly described and thought out as Hannibal.

After reading several review, I find that not all reviewers do not like the ending. I thought that the ending was the perfect ending to a perfect book. I think that most reviewers were hoping for a storybook ending, but obviously this was not. I think that this was the most realistic ending for the book. Clarice was rejected from every world she entered, except for Dr. Lecter's. She found comfort in Dr. Lecter and she brings out the good man in Dr. Lecter. I think that Clarice saved Dr. Lecter and he did likewise.

Also, I thought that most reviewers seemed to be relating the book to the MOVIE "Silence." One must remember that Mr. Harris did not and will not see the movie, and some people are subconsiously relating the book to the movie. To understand the book better, we all should put the movie out of our minds and treat Hannibal as it is, a sequel to the BOOK!! Both books were two of the best books I ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat disappointing
Review: Hannibal was a let down after the excellent work of Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. It seems Harris was going through the motions and writing a movie screenplay rather than a novel. Although the details of the story are compelling, Hannibal lacks the wonderful prose, the deep psychological probing, and the detailed forensic science of Harris's previous works. The exception is the section set in Florence, which I thought was very good. Although Hannibal gives us some explanation for Dr. Lecter's psychosis, it was not the in-depth look I've been waiting for over the past 11 years. And I hated the ending--it was a complete betrayal of the character of Clarice Starling who started so promisingly as a rich and interesting female lead in Silence of the Lambs.

Rating:
Summary: A great read!!
Review: Hannibal was great! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I never wanted to put it down. It was very suspenseful and had a very surprising ending. If you liked Silence of the Lambs you'll love Hannibal.

Rating:
Summary: A big tease.
Review: How exhilirating the first 400 pages were only to run head on into an ending that was very disappointing. The story was structured so well I was hoping it would never end but once it did disappointment & disbelief set in.