Rating: 
Summary: How disappointing!
Review: I was expecting a good plot, characters you cared about, pulse-pounding suspense. NOT! It seems to me that Mr. Harris is simply playing on the popularity of Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal Lecter to publish another book that is egregiously gory and sickening without being shocking. You become uncomfortably immune to such vicious bloodletting and eventually feel entire sequences are there just to fill up pages. Lecter has always been scary but now he is preternaturally superhuman and pretentious. Minute details of esoteric culinary taste vie with underdetailed action scenes lacking enough lucid information to describe and create memorable pictures. Lecter's previous mind-games helped develop the horror of his character; here they seem pedantic and pompous -- and, worst sin of all, boring. The plot is simple, without suspense, because Lecter will always get away with it, big surprise. The climax to the story is next to non-existent and the denouement a definitive letdown. It's cheap. Thomas Harris has probably made a bundle of money with this best-seller -- the pity is that it came at the expense of fans of RED DRAGON and SILENCE OF THE LAMB, who expected and deserved more.
Rating: 
Summary: It was a very tasty experience.
Review: This sequel had everything a Thomas Harris reader would want. I was impressed by the depth which Harris expressed Hannibal. I couldn't believe the way the book ended. I had to reread it again. Although I really enjoyed it, I can't see it ending the same way when Hollywood makes the movie. It is worth reading for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent - Anticipating the next!
Review: a page turner! excellent! as someone familiar w/psychological profiling, i find that harris's understanding of the criminal mind is exact and profound! dr. lecter's memory palace was an incredible place to visit...but i won't be eating pork - or any meat product for that matter - anytime soon. the end of the book sets the stage for yet another harris book (we hope!)...something's bound to bring the real clarice back, and all ---- will break loose when it does! kudos to harris - it was worth the wait!
Rating:
Summary: Don't read this at night . . .
Review: Hannibal is suspenseful, well-written and hard to put down. Hannibal is not the only "monster" in this book--I was more afraid of those who had it in for him. And the knowledge Harris provides of what lies in store for Hannibal made it all the more compelling to read on. I have reservations about the plausibility of the ending, but it did make for a rather "tasty" finale. Overall the book was heavy on the gore, but it is the first of Harris's books in which Lecter is on the prowl, and thus our first real glimpse of his predatory behavior unleashed. I read Hannibal every spare moment I could . . . just try not to do it before you go to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: The only book that, after I was done, I wish I hadn't read.
Review: If you enjoyed Red Dragon or SOTL, do yourself a favor and DON'T READ THIS BOOK. I don't think I will ever be able to watch the Silence of the Lambs again. The characters are just ruined in my mind. What a waste. I was going to loan it out when I was done but now I am more inclined to burn it to keep it from ruining anybody else's memories of Starling and Lechter. This was the worst reading experience I have ever had. The ending was just flat out terrible. There is no way around it. I can see why everyone is fleeing from the possible movie. I think Hannibal must have eaten Thomas Harris' brain.
Rating:
Summary: really disappointing
Review: I'm glad I didn't buy this book, but got it from the library. If I had bought it I would have felt like I wasted a lot of money. I thought the book was okay until the ending. But the ending isn't what you would expect and really made the book a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: It met all my expectations
Review: In the years since I have read Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon I have hoped that Harris would deliver a sequel (or call it what you will) in which we find out everything we want to know about Hannibal Lecter.. what makes him tick? Why does he do what he does, what will become of his relationship with Clarice? I am deeply satisfied with the conclusion of this book, which I found to be thought-provoking and will probably continue to be, for me, long after Hollywood turns it into a catch-the-bad-guy thriller. My only complaint with Hannibal lies in Harris's inconsistent switching from past to present tense, and back again. Also, while it is plainly evident that Harris has done his research, I find the extent of detail provided to be at times unwarranted and discursive.
Rating: 
Summary: A highly implausible, disappointing ending
Review: Clarice Starling (aka Jodie Foster) wouldn't do it! I liked the book and feverishly "ate" through it, but I was extremely disappointed with the ending. I believe it is better written than the first, but that Mr. Harris was at a loss as to how to finish it, and it shows. The Silence of the Lambs was frightening, Red Dragon was absolutely terrifying, Hannibal was not. It turned into a silly, unbelievable "love" story that is more sickening than the gruelish crimes committed in the novel.
Rating:
Summary: a much more literary effort
Review: Okay, I admit it: I love Thomas Harris' work. Black Sunday, Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, each has been better than the last. But Hannibal is a different novel altogether. It is better written, certainly. It has a deeper narrative, a much more character driven plot. It is a wonderful book. I have read many of the pervious reviews for this novel and get the impression that many people are basing their opinions on the movie and not the previous novel. Fact: Harris DID NOT view the acclaimed (and magnificent) film of his last novel because he did not wish to be unduly influenced by the movie in his next effort. This book is not so much a suspense novel as it is a dark probing of the psychological make-up of characters that have become mainstay's of American popular culture. There is also a subtle, bitter attack on the many lunatics that have made Hannibal Lecter some sort of patron saint and hero. Much of this book's subtext deals with the commercialization of psychopathic killers who have turned into figments of popular entertainment. Here within there is talk of how artifacts from these awful, evil indiviudals have become revered collecter's items. Think about this as you bitch and moan about how your precious images have somehow gone astray. Chapter 21 of Hannibel, pages 132-138, is one of the most beautifully written chapters in all of literature. Harris has pulled away from the story, involved us directly in the psychology of people we could never understand. The story falls away as the reader is taken on a ride inside the mind of a genius who also happens to be a madman. It is a wonderful example of atmospheric psychology, the surrounding and the mental make-up of a character even Harris must admit has become something more than he ever intended. It is almost satirical yet within the structure of the story he is presenting. There is almost nothing more fascinating than entering the mind of someone whom we can never understand. This brief fragment of the novel succeeds almost beyond comparison (check out most anything by James Ellroy for further examples.) Yes, the final section of the book gets a bit silly. Yes, it is a bit of a cartoonish ending for such a sustained and horrifying narrative. But by this point I was well past caring as Harris had given me much more than everything I had anticipated. Do not take these misunderstood attacks on this beautifully written literary effort to heart. Quite simply, they are wrong. They don't know what they are experiencing. They have never read anything that is truly about the characters. All they want is action. They are wrong. You are right for buying it and seeing for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: It lives up to the expectations.
Review: Although not as good as "Silence of the Lambs," "Hannibal" is an incredibly thoughtful and interesting story. It is fast paced and unpredictable right down to the shocking yet believable ending. To all those who complain about the gore, what else would you expect from a novel about a cannibal.
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