Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Deliciously Written right down to the end!
Review: I am very pleased with Harris' Hannibal. As the book is based on the desires of a human cannibal, Harris managed to take the most believable route. It can be taken for the obvious that a book about a cannibal is going to be bloody and gory, i don't understand why eveyone is so surprised. For once though, I do think the movie may be more satisfying than the book. So many times while i was reading i pictured this on the big screen and i got the chills. iIt was hard to get the full effect of the last chapter without seeing the phsical setting Harris had pictured. Overall i am impressed with both the plot and outcome of this book. Each time i read it i couldn't wait to come back for seconds!!

Rating:
Summary: Very dissappointing
Review: Mr Harris, Jonathan Demme is right. Do yourself a favor and let him make the necessary changes if you want the film of this dissappointing book to be successful.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, shrewdly unexpected -perhaps disappointingly so
Review: With "Hannibal," Harris has once again exhibited how a skilfully cultivated master of storytelling can craft a truly intriguing piece of literature. I found the writing to be fantastic ...lush with detailed description -tickling each of the five senses. Despite whatever misgivings or objections I found raised throughout the plot, the writing still managed to entice me further, crippling me from stopping in five minutes or at the next chapter. Characters old and new are certainly fleshed out (pardon the pun). Overall... a fantastic piece of writing. Plotwise, well... many have found it objectionable to say the least. But it must be specified that it is only the ending (however critical) that flounders in this respect. The story is bold and clever from catching up with aging characters, through its tour of Florence, plunging through the blackness of Verger's estate, and even through a carefully crescendoing climax. But then, I must agree with the many before me that the implausible ending does fail. Harris goes through a tremendous amount of effort to sell this ending, giving us many intellectual reasons to expect the unexpected, but it just doesn't sell. For me, this was the most disappointing. Here, Harris has produced another prolific look into the darkest sides of human psychology, but here in its most essential points, it is exactly the psychology which falls apart. The insight granted into Lecter, while ringing true and enabling the ending, nevertheless detracts from the mythic greatness of this character. And alas, in poor Starling, Harris ultimately sacrifices a deep, insightful character and fundamental psychiatry for simply... and ending, ineffectually turning her against the essence of her identity. (Almost seemingly as if he didn't know how to finish it). Ultimately, I found this book like quenching a parching thirst for fresh lemonade with cold coffee, satiating but not satisfying. But its definitely worth the read and makes for great discussion.

Rating:
Summary: The ending is impausible
Review: I looked forward to this book with great anticipation. There is much of it that I immensely enjoyed, especially the unraveling of new facets of Dr. Lector, and the inclusion of some wonderful old (Barney, Aurelia), and new (Margot) characters. However, I cannot fathom how Mr. Harris justifies the complete reversal of Clarice's personality. The fact the Clarice must be 'drugged' before she can make this total transformation, is proof enough for me that even Mr. Harris had his doubts about this cheap trick and sadly disappointing ending.

Rating:
Summary: The Gruesome Gourmet Returns
Review: Newsweek magazine said that Jonathan Demme is not interested in doing the film version of "Hannibal". I read the review before the book and thought, "Come on, how nasty can it be?" Could it be that bad that Demme would think it's too violent. Short answer: Yes. Carnivorous and quite hungry pigs and creative dinner time surgery are just some of the fun awaiting you. If you've got a strong stomach and can believe a rather preposterous relationship succeeds, GO FOR IT. Otherwise, pick again.

Rating:
Summary: Great Ending to a Legendary Trilogy!
Review: I read Hannibal in two days and couldn't set it down! Dr. Lecter keeps us intrigued and awesrtuck! He is one of the greatest characters in modern fiction and he leads this suspenseful thriller that definitely did not dissapoint!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding sequel to Silence.......
Review: This book is an excellent sequel to Silence of the Lambs. The location in Europe is the perfect place to enhance Dr Lector's senses of the supernatural. Quite a surprise ending.

Rating:
Summary: Controversial !!
Review: Why write a thousand word essay when a few simple words will suffice ? This book is self-indulgent drooling hardly worthy of a writer of Robert Harris' stature. Do yourself a BIG favor and avoid Hannibal. Read something just as riveting but not as stupid, like one of the fine new Stephen King books, or that towering Second World War novel, THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY. Or if you absolutely insist upon reading Harris, read SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, not this sewage called Hannibal.

Rating:
Summary: It's not THAT bad
Review: I completely agree that the ending is ridiculous. It seems that Harris painted himself into a corner with the plot, and was forced to walk all over the place to get to an ending. However the first 400+ pages are well written and kept me reading. Could have been better, but all is not lost. I am skeptical that a film version COULD be made from the book.

Rating:
Summary: Boring, Slow and Predictable
Review: Unfortunately, Mr. Harris has elected to demystify Hannibal Lecter by completely changing his behavior and offering a childhood trauma to explain his psyche. It's quite disappointing and removes the fantastical horror of his previous books. However, it seems to be the fashionable thing to do because Starling also completely changes character, enabling a most predictable and entirely uncompelling ending. Other characters are poorly developed and make obviously foolish decisions which only serve the purpose of positioning them to be dispatched in a gory fashion. Darwinism, I suppose, but it makes for a tedious and uninteresting read.