Rating: 
Summary: Pathetic slop
Review: Anyone wonder what's wrong with society? That so many can get so excited for so little is pathetic. The book is slop, cheap and exploitative. The ending is absolutely ridiculous. Harris must be laughing at us.
Rating: 
Summary: Elements of intrigue in an otherwise average book.
Review: I've read both Silence and Red Dragon multiple times, and like most everyone else, was very eager for this book to arrive. Luckily it only cost me 21 dollars. The book does have its shining moments...showing us a bit more of Hanibal's character. I am surprised that it took 10 years to write this book, it contains nowhere near the detail or researched information that Silence or Dragon does. If you are a die-hard fan of Lecter's character, you should read the book, but dont expect too much. The ending is not that good, and only opens the door for yet another sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Black comedy indeed
Review: Well, this is my first Thomas Harris book, but I've seen the two movie adaptions countless times. I would say that on one level, if you're expecting the same kind of a read as the prior stories, stop now, think twice, then proceed. the ending which had me shell-shocked The pure genious of it is the fact that it is the perfect demise for his character, and he should have been force fed. What else would be more appropriate for a character so...full of himself? I did miss the psychological suspense of the earlier stories, as whatever fruition it comes to in this story is more or less at an explanatory level, letting us see how perhaps Hannibal became the Cannibal. Disturbing as it is, it still takes some of the mysticism of his character away.
Rating: 
Summary: Stretches the Envelope
Review: Like many of Amazon's early reviewers, I am a Thomas Harris fan. Otherwise we'd wait for the paperback, right? Most of the reviews I've read compare the book with the previous Lecter novels, 'Red Dragon' and 'Silence'. 'Hannibal' isn't more of the same. It is beyond the comfortable. If this book doesn't disturb you, you have a problem. Harris' writing has two strengths: his illuminating perceptions of the minutiae of personal interaction; and his appalling imagination for the psychotic. If you want to learn a little bit more about yourself and those about you, and stretch your reason further than is absolutely comfortable - buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent, some very scary people out there
Review: I read it in 2 days, virtually non-stop, There are, indeed, some very scary people out there and this book brings them to life
Rating:
Summary: Haunting and visionary
Review: I am more from a Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner state of mind - when I dabble in horror, I like Clive Barker and the more provincial Stephen King - but I have long been an admirer of Thomas Harris and find myself deeply disturbed by his newest effort. I have little of originality to add to the myriad comments - I did want to touch on his use of the "Shavian second" in the descriptive passages - it's not many authors that could pull it off and I'm not entirely certain that Harris always did, but, then again, he loses no stars for the attempt. The ending that everyone talks about left me feeling disquieted for days. It is unconventional in every conceivable fashion and feels more like Poe than King in its brooding, hallucinogenic-nightmare imagery and insights. It is certainly a reading experience that few have ever matched for me (Klaven's TRUE CRIME, ELLROY's BLACK DAHLIA, McCarthy's BLOOD MERIDIAN and CLIVE BARKERS "In the Hills, the Cities" spring to mind immediately as others that have offered a similar visceral impact) - and on the basis of that alone, it must receive five stars from this nobody in Colorado!
Rating:
Summary: One Star, Only Because None's Not an Option
Review: Disappointing, beyond belief! I've liked all three of Harris' earlier books, including both with Lechter, and found them thoughtful, thrilling, and gritty. Better than "genre fare." But great thrillers need great villians, and the Lechter victim seeking revenge here is lamely underwritten, and foolishly cartoonish -- a hideous, disfigured, crippled meat packing czar who agents are secretly breeding the Terror Pigs of Europe as his instrument of vengeance. This is like something out of Danger Mouse or Inspector Gadget; James Belushi, not James Ellroy. Pathetic. The ending (interesting in principle) is so poorly developed and prepared that it turns preposterous, unconvincing, and arbitrary. Stephen King's review in the New York Times is inexplicable, except as a mutual back-scratching blurb bouquet.
Rating:
Summary: Thomas does it again
Review: If you read Silence of the Lambs, then you will love this. It is so in detail, you feel like you are right behind Dr. Lecture. I can't wait for the movie to be started on. This is one of the best novels in '99.
Rating:
Summary: Great - not predictable
Review: Hannibal was fast, riveting and almost as memorable as Red Dragon. I liked what many readers here found disturbing -- it's unpredictability. I'm glad that Clarice wasn't your typical "flawed but always victorious," squeek-by heroine, ala Cornwell's Scarpetta. Although I look forward to more by Harris, I hope there's not another sequel --- it seemed the perfect (again, unpredictable, not cliche) ending to the series.
Rating:
Summary: HANNIBAL is a look at horror and it's not what you expect.
Review: HANNIBAL does an amazing thing. It sidesteps the now recognizable and anticipated "horror" of Hannibal Lecter and shows a world full of characters who are more monstrous in their greedy, ambitious, petty, selfish, and hungry little ways.It was unfortunate that Jonathan Demme's version of Hannibal Lecter was so flashy and "monstrous." Thomas Harris' Lecter is an intensely focused, unlimited human being. To call him a monster misses the point. What Harris says with his Lecter trilogy is that there are no monsters, only human beings who do monstrous things.HANNIBAL is an incredible sensual feast. Harris' writing is wonderful. He can go from clinical pragmatism to poignant poetry at will.The point of HANNIBAL is that a person who recognizes and acknowledges you, the complete continuum of your being, can make up for every other pain and suffering in the world. It's a sad acceptance but a better option when compared to the apathy and indifference that surrounds us.Compare the monstrosity of Hannibal Lecter's insanity to the horror of Mason Verger and his family's greed.
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