Rating: 
Summary: An Unconventional Universe
Review: Finished the book this weekend. Absolutely enjoyed the 'Florence' section; here Harris returns to the descriptive prose that made parts of 'Silence of the Lambs' so enjoyable. The last two sections did a fair job of mixing psychological horror with action. Olfactory fixations ran throughout most characterizations. Obvious twist: all the 'humans' become monsters and Dr. Lecter (the Anti-Romish Monster) becomes the most civilized of the lot. Yawn. But this is where the story begins. Harris abandons the two conventional dimensions of female characterization in this novel (that is; 'damsel in distress' and 'independent Super Woman'), opting for twisted renderings of these forms. Margot Verger, who becomes obsessed with her brother a warped Isis to Mason's even more bizarre Osiris. Harris' Margot and Mason remind the reader to travel their own minds searching for the historical and mythical references to these timely characters, suggesting the universality of horror. The only omnipotence which actually exists and the only truth . Then there is Clarice Starling, a disintegrating woman who becomes the object of erotic fantasy for most charters. Combined with her killer nstinct/action, she becomes the realized Black Widow of Death, finding her Poe-ish role as sensual seductress through the drug and mind venom of the distinguished doctorre, consummating their union at a perverted dinner party where Clarice's nemesis becomes a 'special guest.' But this scene, where Harris combines the elements of the Last Supper with the delicious nuances of 'Babbet's Feast' suggests the total death of Ms. Starling and the resurrection of dear Mischa. The death of a female character never hurt so much, or will be denied by so many. Those poor souls who await the return of the "Bride of Lector-stein' in Book Four have truly missed the point. "Hannibal" recounts the slow, painful death of the faux-heroine, whose bitter demise began seven years on her first meeting of the good doctor. Admittedly, many fans of 'Silence of the Lambs' probably hate the ending. But to find the conclusion of this tale ridiculous is to miss the deep horror of the moment: all of us can succumb to the living death of Clarice. We simply utilize cheap, conventional belief systems in higher powers, political forces or moral platitudes to keep the death within us at bay. And when these conventions fail, some readers will resort to the want of a predicable, happy ending. But there is no deus-en-machina to save us from the dark abyss of madness and death. No pretty ending. Just the fall. And no thump. We are left in free fall, waging a war within the darkness of our own souls. Four stars only for the poor editing.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, terrific ending
Review: The entirety of "Hannibal" is not as exciting or fascinating as the entirety of his first two Lecter books. However, the ending more than makes up for it. The last fifty pages of the book are a conceptual roller-coaster: if you savored the gut-wrenching joy of having your morality turned upside down that the ending of "Seven" inspired, you'll love this. Lecter is not a monster, he's Neitzsche's Superman, and he uses his transcendence to coax an ordinary mortal into the ranks of Supermortality. Awesome.
Rating: 
Summary: Harris destroys the cult of Lecter in preposterous sequel
Review: Instead of adding to the chorus of those who hate what Harris has done, I have to wonder why he did it. Having read how press and fan-shy he is, I wonder if he doesn't hate the whole "Hannibal the Cannibal" cult of popularity that was created by "Lambs", and so, decided to destroy the characters. It also seems he came to regret signing a two-book commitment after "Lambs", and didn't have anywhere logical to go with the characters, so he lurched off into camp, and "healed" them both. I imagine him sitting in the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, laughing, thinking that since he created Lecter and Starling, he can do anything he likes, including ruin them. And ruin the characters he does, with the preposterous ending to this book. The book is a statement that the writer owes nothing to his characters, or to his fans. Loud and clear, Mr. Harris.
Rating: 
Summary: It's the best $$$ I ever spent
Review: So delicious, so full of subtle flavors, so rich, so satisfying... Reading this book is like a multi-course gourmet meat. Have you ever noticed how people who are used to white bread and margarine do not like real bakery bread and real butter? I suggest that the one-star reviewers of this book are fans of the literary equivalent of airline food, and we all know Dr. Lecter's opinion of the proper fate for rude persons without taste. No wonder they find the book disturbing.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent sequel
Review: Any reader who may have been concerned about Thomas Harris' ability to write a sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs" can relax: "Hannibal" has been well worth the wait. The plot is convoluted and suspenseful, and Mason Verger is a fittingly evil opponent for Dr. Lecter and Clarice Starling. The only problem with the book is that it isn't longer. One can only hope that Jonathan Demme, Jody Foster, and Anthony Hopkins wil be reunited in the inevitable movie version.
Rating: 
Summary: It was OK, until the end. Then it turned awful!
Review: The story was entertaining at first, not great, but just bad enough to still be entertaining. There were a few slow parts, but there were also some really good parts. Learning about Hannibal as a boy was interesting, he started to became a much more sympathetic charachter rather than the serial killer. My major gripe was with the last 100 pages. After the climax of the book, you have the biggest let down. I don't think that the ending really involved the same people that the book started off with. I think Starling must have an evil twin that replaced her in the very end, because what happened was totally out of character for her. Maybe she was bonked on the head and didn't remember anything about herself...
Rating:
Summary: Why all the complaining?
Review: I find it hilarious that many of the negative reviews of this book start off with thoughts like Hannibal "wasn't what I expected!" or "Is this what I waited so long for???" I understand that the structure and characters in Hannibal are different -- and as duly noted the ending is unusual -- but why does everyone want to re-read the same things over and over again?? This is a new story about evolving characters, told from a different viewpoint. I can guarantee you this: it will hold you riveted throughout. That being said, Hannibal is unevenly written and would benefit from the efforts of a talented author. I was also annoyed by the constantly shifting narrative voice (from 1st person to 3rd, etc.) but that very touch is used to great effect in the controversial ending. A last word about the ending: I finished this book about 4 days ago, and I find myself constantly thinking about the closing scenes and their potential meanings. How often can you say THAT about any book, be it a modern thriller or Shakespeare? I simply couldn't believe what I was reading and the direction the story was taking. When I finished, it was like waking from a very, VERY bad dream. This is the very atmosphere of that Harris was trying to create, and it is some of the best writing I've ever read in popular fiction. Ignore the reviews, pick up Hannibal with an open mind and be prepared for a different experience.
Rating:
Summary: Huge disappointment following "Silence of the Lambs"
Review: I clearly remember being "spooked" reading Silence of the Lambs back in 91 and looked forward to Harris'sequel with anticipation. What a let down! The first three quarters of the plot is well-paced and sets up the potential for a good finale. The final outcome, however, left me fuming with disbelief.
Rating:
Summary: The ending will blow your mind.
Review: I am a long-time horror fan of Stephen King, having read everything he has written in addition to seeing tv and movie specials. I also enjoy Thomas Harris and many others. Hannibal is by far the most intriguing book I have ever read. I am not going to ruin the book by giving anything away, just suffice it to say that I could never have predicted the way it ends. The entire book was impossible to put down and was a fascinating read. I don't know how Thomas Harris will ever follow this one up!
Rating: 
Summary: The fatal flaw at the heart of Lecter's darkness.
Review: Apart from the one, fatal flaw, the fusion and evolution of character and narrative in Hannibal is utterly, brilliantly, compelling. From the first sentence, there was never any question of reading it in anything other than a single sitting. But the ending !! I was left agape, stunned, at how a writer who could create such a truly horrifying, let absolutely believable explanation for Hannibal Lecter's madness - a reason so disturbing that my immediate response was to put the book down and try and engage in avoidance psycho-gymnastics - could be one and the same as the author of such an unbelievable ending. Whereas we get such a powerful insight into what possessed the bad doctor, the same cannot be said about the author. I just cannot imagine what vehicle Mr Harris suddenly hopped into to traverse the road of the final chapters; but it most certainly was not the one he had been steering for the rest of the journey. Every believable character motivation and truth that he had so far created, is ditched in favour of some wholly other set of dynamics and character traits. A device like this may work if it resonates with believability. Sadly, maddingly, it does not. Like Dr Lecter, I too ended up hoping for a reversal of time and new, different endings. How ironic, that in the very final pages, Hannibal even gives up on that quite believable desire.
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