Rating: 
Summary: Dr Hannibal Lector envites you into his 'mind palace'
Review: I read this book while I was supposed to be studying for exams at school and found it very hard to put down. There is much truth in this story, even a man as great as Dr Hannibal Lector falls in the trap that we call 'women'. What chance do we have? That is my question to you all
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent ! I read it in one sitting.
Review: While I do not disagree with the many people who believe that "Red Dragon" is the best book of the Hannibal trilogy, this new book seems to me to close the circle on the now familiar character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter perfectly. Harris knots precisely all of the strings, as Stephen King can do, but between three books instead of within one. The more thought i give to "Hannibal", the better i like it."Hannibal" is so much more elegantly written and tightly plotted than anything i have read lately. It has been years since i could not put a book aside before finishing it. This was the one. The years that Mr. Harris spent on this book were well worth the wait. His writing is more direct now; I was drawn into the world within the pages more deeply than with his other books. At the same time, his words and phrases are more subtle, shaded, shadowed by detail, his images more vivid; it all works brilliantly together to make this world rich and complete. The biographical information on Lecter was, of course, a plot device to make the monster more human, as he had to be for the book to end as it did. I found it fascinating. There had to be other monsters, another series of violent occurrences, to satisfy the thirst for justice, maybe..maybe vengeance. These are provided in abundance. Even the most bloodthirsty of us will surely be satisfied. At the same time, Harris had to assure the reader that Clarice, to whom we are so attached, perhaps because she is a sort of everywoman symbol of coming to terms with one's self and one's past, would be all right. As for the ending...I am still smiling. Harris concluded this story in the only proper, fitting, appropriate (take your choice :)) manner. I say no more, because i don't want to spoil the book for anyone. I give "Hannibal" 5 stars without reservation. Thank you, Thomas Harris !
Rating: 
Summary: Harris sells out...
Review: Let's face it...this novel is abominable. Lackluster plotting, half-baked characters, pathetic pacing, sophomoric narrative--this is a BAD novel. Harris' other novels were far better than this tripe. I only dread the upcoming hack-and-slash Hollywood film. Avoid this garbage; reread Harris' Red Dragon instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautifully written fizzer
Review: I have mixed emotions about this book. The fact I couldn't put it down meant it must have had some sort of resonant effect on me. However, the ending left me feeling completely deflated. It was as if the tight storyline had been torn apart like a rope suddenly breaking at its weakest point. All that was left were frayed edges and limp threads. Oh yes, in Australia we do not have quarters, the nearest value currency being twenty cents. I found that particularly disappointing as I took all of the Florentine detail on face value.
Rating:
Summary: DINNER IS SERVED
Review: I never but never read this type of book. My only delve into non-fiction is largely Dickens. I somehow read the coming attractions saw the movie Silence of the Lambs and marveled how I thought Lector quite charming in the film. With that in mind i purchased the book and let me say it was monies well worth spending. The gore and madness is written in such splendor, one hates to see it stop being described. The line where Hannibal is remembering his sister and says "she is dead and digested" made me absolutely sure he had done the deed himself--wrong and happily so. I felt the book carried you through wonderfully, made you never want to stop til completion (and my burnt dinner testified to that whim) and even made you cheer on Hannibal. How Harris turned a madman into a cultured and charming fellow just adds to the excitement. I must say that I think most who read this book will feel evil beings in the book got their just desserts (oops!). The ending might cause some consternation, but alas it does leave the door open for another book in another time. I loved this and for the violence, well a read of the usual daily fare in large cities (I am in New York), just might turn up more (albeit not as well written (sorry journalists). Cheers and hearty appetite Mr. Lector. Perhaps a guest shot on Martha Stewart awaits Hannibal ala brain saute with fresh okra and field daisies. See even the reviewer as gone mad!!!
Rating:
Summary: Partially immobilizing - pun intended
Review: I am not sure what I was expecting when I picked this book up, except for the attention to detail and evil men. I certainly got both, and more. The book was rather hard to get into, since, from my opinion, it seemed as though Thomas was trying to sell it to Hollywood and not his fans. However, getting into it, I was more and more taken, until the last 150 pages or so, where I was held, transfixed on my sofa, until I had devoured the bittersweet end. Others have written that they are dissappointed by two main things, the rationalization of Lecter, and the weird, breathless ending. First of all, rationalizing the serial killer is something Harris has done in all of his books, to where his emphasis is on the fact that someone can be a victim, but still be completely evil and completely deserving to die! Secondly, I am very impressed that Harris didn't go for the usual trilogy ending, which is usually an entire, complete denoument for the entire third work. This book, 'Hannibal', screams, at the top of it's mechanical voice, for a sequel, sequel, sequel! And the ending will stick in my mind for years to come. Perhaps Harris achieves his realistic madmen and women due to the ability to tie them into the evil things that he knows (and the truly honest among us know) are in the human heart and mind. My hat is off to you, Thomas. Toast yourself with the finest chateau you can imagine :)
Rating:
Summary: Tension, humor, ghastliness and sensuality
Review: If you can accept the fact that Hannibal Lechter is superintelligent and awe inspiring then this book is a can't miss. If you can accept depravity and live with it then this book is chilling. Accept all of the above and this book will live with you for days after you have read it and probably make you a vegetarian!
Rating:
Summary: Excessively Sick-- I loved it.
Review: Not the 5-star read that _Silence_ was, but more than worth the trouble to fans. Harris' prose is elegant and twisted-- what you paid for when you laid down your money. He's toying with us, and if you like being toyed with-- by a master-- you'll like this. Not for dull or unadventurous minds. DO NOT read this if you haven't read _Silence of the Lambs_...
Rating: 
Summary: Good, until you get to the ending.
Review: I also eagerly awaited "Hannibal." I greatly enjoyed "Silence of the Lambs" movie. However, "Hannibal" was my first Harris novel. Harris seems to be a master at psychological suspense. His characters are interesting.The cold blooded, devil, Dr. Hannibal Lecter as always is captivating. I found my self wanting more of the evil Mason Verger. The book kept me spellbound through out the beginning and the middle. Unfortunatley, then came the ending! What happended? It's as if the ending was written by a different author. Harris lost his sense of imagination, intrigue and creative writing. The ending was out of character, for both Dr. Lecter and Clarice Starling "the warrior." The end makes no sense and I'm left unsatisfied.
Rating:
Summary: This ain't your father's Hannibal
Review: Thomas Harris has sinned in the mind of many readers by delivering a sequel that is not a sequel. He has written a novel so unlike The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon that many have felt cheated or betrayed. This is not the Clarice Starling or Jack Crawford of Silence. It is not the Lecter we glimpsed in Red Dragon or saw more completely as he slithered through Silence. It is not a satisfying novel; it is not a moral novel. It is disturbing, daring, challenging and in the final analysis, completely experimental. Harris plays with the reader's minds and emotions the way he attempts to play with the English language. The book is vivid and stark at the same time. And the noble experiment Harris plays with his use of language in the end is what decided me to drop a star and only give it 4 (still high praise when placed in context with the bulk of other readers' opinions). We probably learn too much about Hannibal Lecter here, and certainly see a side of Starling only hinted at in Silence. I think Harris plays his grammatical games, mixing tenses in the same sentence, to immerse the reader into Lecter's world where the present and the past are one. Each act committed, enjoyed or endured by by all of the characters in the novel (from Lecter and Starling through Mason Veder, Barney and even Pazzi in Florence) is a composite of past deeds coalescing with present circumstances to create a chaos called Now. Harris spends much time discussing Lecter's vast mental warehouse and his methods of accessing the past to live at the moment. There is no future. Only a mishmash of what has been mingling with what is. But I think in a sense Harris succeeds a little too much in creating this chaos. His writing here is far less powerful than in the past, even though there are moments of gut-wrenching impact nearing poetry. The final effect is a distraction. The reader must go back and read passages again to see what he is really saying. Maybe that was my mistake, but I think had Harris held back a little in his language manipulation he would have created a much more powerful novel. That said, I think Hannibal is worth four stars, which is to say worth reading. Many, in fact most will feel emptiness with the ending, but it works. This is not just another entry in a series (though I certainly hope we hear from these characters again). It is a daring, highly original work that perhaps tries a bit too hard to break new ground. Thomas Harris almost, but not quite, succeeds in this experiment. Not 100 percent, at least. But he's one of the few writers around with the shortbreads to try it.
| 
