Rating: 
Summary: GREAT READ!!
Review: Not much to add to the numerous reviews already in (it's got to be a record}. I thought Harris was quite daring in this sequel and I commend him for the fine effort. The ending sequence to this novel was quite unusual, but hey, Hannibal's quite an unusual character! Loved your book Mr. Harris!
Rating: 
Summary: Adequate, but you expect more from the source
Review: I had not read either Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs before Hannibal came out, so I chose to read the three in chronological order. After being highly impressed with the quality of the first two books, I was fairly disappointed with Hannibal. Whereas in the first two books Harris does a solid job exploring the minds of both serial killers and those who track them, he descends into mindless psycho-babble in this third installment. I found the ending and the events that led up to it so difficult to believe, that I almost read it again just to be sure I did not miss anything. As a psychology graduate student, I was almost insulted at his explanation for the climactic turn of events. I feel as if he put forth great effort to develop the characters of Hannibal Lecter, Agent Starling, and other supporting characters in the first two books, only to destroy all he accomplished in this third installment. If you enjoyed Harris' first two books, do yourself a favor and re-read them instead of buying this one.
Rating:
Summary: an over-the-top masterpiece of horror and black comedy
Review: After seeing the great number of (quite puzzling to me) negative reader reviews, all I can think to do is to remind you: don't be rude!
Rating: 
Summary: The horror souffle sinks - but not without style
Review: Hannibal is the third and presumably final title in the trilogy which began with Red Dragon and continued with The Silence of the Lambs. In it, the homicidal genius Dr. Lecter has made his home in Florence, using his gracious charm to establish himself in the community. Back in D.C., Clarice Starling is fending off a barrage of unwanted media attention after a bungled drugs operation in which five people died, when she receives a letter on familiar stationery, in a familiar hand. This unleashes the power of Mason Verger, Lecter's only surviving victim, a skinless monstrosity with a pen of man-eating swine, whose only desire is to see Lecter eaten alive. These are the players: the scene is set. But Thomas Harris has, unfortunately, let this book down somewhat. Starling gets only cursory notice in this volume, and Jack Crawford, her "safe" mentor and Will Graham's colleague, is absently disposed of halfway through, for no apparent reason other than his impending retirement. Characters from Silence are dredged up and take fairly minimal roles, seemingly superfluous to the main plot. Mason Verger somehow seems to have switched roles with a James Bond villan, and there is a bungling Italian police officer in his employ who is an obvious candiate for Lecter's dinner table. In fact, Hannibal Lecter's superb performance is the only thing that keeps the whole book together, and you find yourself rooting for him because no one else seems worth the trouble. Then you come to the end, where the narrative lapses into a thoroughly odd description of Starling's own descent into cultured madness. Hannibal is a book worth reading, especially if you like Hannibal Lecter, but unfortunately it lets itself down with the rather weak and unsupported end. Enjoy the beginning and middle, but skim over the ending and just read the last chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy, intense, worldly, astonishing, hard to put down...
Review: I had to read the end three times before I believed what I was reading! I could not believe what Thomas Harris had in store for Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling and yet it was a strangely satisfying ending. I welcomed back characters from The Silence of the Lambs and of course, imagined them as they were protrayed in the movie. Doctor Lecter is a character written by a person who must share some of his characters' darker thoughts and visions, or perhaps it was me who shares them. I could visualize some of the action as sequences and scenes in a movie (the sequel) which was the only slight disappointment I had in the book. A very good book, and in keeping with history, I look forward to the year 2010 for the next Harris book, even if it does not contain Lecter or Starling.
Rating:
Summary: A bit different from the first two but a great read, anyway.
Review: Harris has done his homework, especially in the area of Italian history and art. These help make the book more than a simple scary story. Those parts, however, were a bit cumbersome for me because I read the book aloud to a friend and fumbled with Italian pronunciation. But the book is both smart and entertaining. I'm still wondering about the significance of some events and items. I'm a Harris fan, and I wonder how this tome can work in a movie unless Hopkins, Foster, and Scott are cast.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the squeamish, but poetic and intelligent
Review: This book is way above any other thriller on the market, for one simple reason: it dares to break out of the sterotypes that have ruined the genre. There is no formula here: everything is unpredictable. Hannibal Lecter's transformation into an antihero is the logical follow up to Silence of the Lambs. The people who have trashed this novel all suffer from the Disney "Bad Guys Should be 100% Evil" mentality.There's a little Hannibal in all of us; that is the point of the book. And the ending is perfectly appropriate, and easily filmable.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst sequel since "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"
Review: Harris is a "One-trick pony". Harris wrote the same book twice, in "Silence" and "Red Dragon". Now we know why. I will sell my copy of Hannibal for 25 cents. NO REFUNDS! The characters are completely without consistency, the plot far-fetched. Harris should have named this book, "Take the Money and Run."
Rating: 
Summary: Taken on its own merits a fine beach read!
Review: It seems many readers hyped the book as a sequel to the movie. This is not literature and it is not Jody foster-straight and vulnerable. As a stand alone popular novel it is a quick summer read. Give reading a chance-let the author write it his way! I enjoyed the characters for what they are and the plot is well-medium well.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Saw the first movie and read the book. Bought this as soon as it came out and read it. It started out well but the ending was ABSOLUTELY unbelievable. Any woman reading this book will probably be very disappointed as it turns out to be written like a man's fantasy. Doubt that Jodie Foster will sign up to do the sequel unless they modify the ending significantly. Too bad - had the potential to be a great book.
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