Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Indulgence in cuisine, art, Italian culture...nothing else.
Review: Where to begin? No focus, far too many characters, over-indulgent, dull. Save your money.

Another modern-day vampire tale that has been told by lesser authors. Hooray. This is not a worthy follow-up to the two magnificent books that have preceded 'Hannibal' in this trilogy. This was, at best, a disappointment and is far outclassed by 'Silence' and 'Red Dragon'. The completely engrossing nature of those books were the forensics within the FBI, how a madman's psychosis and minutia of evidence was revealed and left him vulnerable to be tracked, and both offered a terrifying climax and conclusion. You will find none of that here. Two-thirds of 'Hannibal' are evidently Harris' travel journal where he reveals all the delicious foods, drink, and art he discovered during his time in Florence, as well as a new-found education on Dante' Inferno. Yes, we know Dr. Lecter is a man of high taste, but after many, many labored references we get the point. Mason Verger is a bore and his plan for Dr. Lecter's undoing is entirely ridiculous. And if Clarice truly is the essential good to Dr. Lecter's evil as was proposed throughout, it is absurd for Harris to have Clarice follow a drug-induced transition to Dr. Lecter's side.

Even with a film like Demme's 'Silence' which was a worthy complement to the book, I somewhat regretted seeing it after the read because it compromised the awesome and horrifying visions Harris places in one's mind. With 'Hannibal' I have to hope for a film sequel if only to make some sense visually out of the complete mess that is 'Hannibal'.

Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: My excitement about the release of the sequel to Silence of the Lambs was only matched by my disappointment and amazement at how bad Hannibal (the book, not the character) is! The book's plot meanders all over the globe, characters (who we thought we knew) are inexplicably out-of-character, and the gore is profoundly boring. Don't waste your money on this mess!

Rating:
Summary: I blame South West Airlines
Review: I wanted to read the reviews before I read this book. I REALLY wanted to read the reviews. However, I had a 2 hour wait for my flight at an airport, and I succumbed to buying this book. I will spare you all my thoughts because all of the reviews listed say it all. But I do have to add this; my flight went well, but this book went down in flames.

Rating:
Summary: Very Bizzare and Surreal
Review: I read the reviews before I read the book, so my expectations were low. I thought it moved along pretty well. Mason was a bit "007 Bad Guy" dramatic with his elaborate revenge plot. I did want another hunt-for-Hannibal story, but Harris already did that twice before. I think the book has much more depth and lesson-to-be-learned imagery. I don't think the point or the ending were meant to be taken at face value. I'm not too worried, though. Harris could write another one. I can't see how De Laurentis is going to make a movie out of it. He would have to redo the ending to make it Hollywood friendly. Mr. Harris...good book and I'll continue to look at the deeper meaning I think you intended the readers to find.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing, at times almost ludicrous.
Review: In a marathon-reading session yesterday (I got the book, newly- cataloged, at noon from the library and read until I was done), I completed _Hannibal_, the latest thriller by Thomas Harris, chronicling the continuing adventures of Hannibal Lecter.

I'm not sure just what to say. I wanted very much to like this book and much of it was very good. But there is also much to despair about in the book, including the entire final portion of the book, which is so ludicrous, so ridiculously over the top, that it is hard to imagine what Harris was thinking as he wrote it. I've read reviews that call it "black comedy," but if it is, I don't see it.

This took eleven years?! I'd be embarrassed to have this work go out with my name on it. I'd be embarrassed to be the publisher connected with it. This is a case where raw greed got in the way of such simple things as basic proofreading and editing and should provide some proof that there is no one who is such a great writer that his/her work could not use some editing.

How this could possibly be adapted into a film is beyond me.

Rating:
Summary: Harris does a great job performing Hannibal
Review: Books read by the author can be horrible. Authors are writers, not trained audio performers. Thomas Harris, however, does a great job with a challenging role. Harris makes Mason Verger all the more disgusting. He does such a good job that the "reader" gets more from the audiobook than the printed version.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good until the preposterous ending....
Review: I read "Red Dragon" (5 stars) for the first time and re-read "Lambs" (5 stars) in anticipation of reading "Hannibal." I really "devoured" this story until the silly ending. I enjoyed Dr. Lecter much more when he was "out there somewhere." An opera with Clarise? Come on, Mr. Harris. I look forward to the movie, but only if you change the ending before you waste acting talent on what could be in the league of the first two books. Keep it scary, not silly.

Rating:
Summary: The ending was disappointing.
Review: I could not wait to receive my copy of "Hannibal". However, I expected much more of the the author, Thomas Harris, in describing Dr. Lector. I was very disappointed to see how Claice fell so short on her character and could not believe that she would fall under the 'control' of Dr. Lector. As for Mason Verger, his death was not as I expected and once again I felt cheated out of a meeting between the him and Hannibal. The ending could have been one of excitement and hair-raising, however, it let me down. Maybe Mr. Harris will write another sequel to "Hannibal", one with a more believable ending and one that will leave you wanting more. I enjoyed reading this book; however, when the ending came, it was a different story. Mr. Harris, please try again.

Rating:
Summary: Non-threatening Hollywood mystery for the masses.
Review: I bought this book not knowing a word written by Harris, but I was pretty optimistic. The character created in the movie "Silence of the Lambs" had a definite magnetism-I hoped that this book would do the same, because after all;"the books are (usually) much better than the movie"... let us hope that a movie is made based on this novel too. Not because the novel is worthy of a multi-million dollar cinematic project, but because I know that someone else would do a much better job of interpreting this literary failure.

Harris has a very poor ear for dialog-this is the first thing that repelled me. The man actually writes, "don't make me put a cap in your a**." The camp is laughable. Another thing that repelled me was Harris's pseudo-poetic descriptions of EVERYTHING just to bulk up the book (a precedent created by Stephen King, who by the way also reads like a lollipop wrapper).

I suggest that you all not purchase this book-reading the summary on the back flap will do just as well. We dont want to get the publishers to pressure Harris into writing another installment now do we. SAVE THE TREES! SAVE THE INKS!

Rating:
Summary: Caught by the hype!
Review: Well, where do we start. You have probably read all the other reviews, some giving maximum stars and others not so kind.

If it is one review you read, read mine.

The book is sumptuous in feel and beckons the reader. It smells gourgous, it deserves a read you hear your mind say.

Thomas Harris, if you are reading this apologies for any offence this review might cause, and this review has been written for you to read.

Stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes (quaint English expression). This books reeks of movie script. Gone are the bleak and black storylines, the virginity of of literature. What you wrote was a crass attempt of a sequel to a mainstream movie picture.

Oh Hannibal, you are so brave to be bringing your own packed lunch on an aeroplane, and then being upstaged by a little boy. Ha Ha, very funny, pass me the bucket someone.

And the ending, oh dear, what were you thinking of. At risk of giving the storyline away, don't you think it was a bit riduculous. I mean, okay, I just about got over the bit in silence of the Lambs, the part where there are only two cops looking after Hannibal when he was caged up in that big hall and there were around two thousand other cops in the basement. What was the problem in putting a few more guys in the same room to look after the cops when they were serving Hannibal with dinner before he managed that stupid getaway, just about shows the competence of American police.

You have made your millions and will go down the same road as that other poncy horror writer, Stephen King. Every book is a successful rip off purely designed for a 'Straight ti video' movie.