Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: I can't believe this made it to print
Review: Hannibal Lecter as a well-funded Narcissus wandering through life admiring beauty? What? The few original ideas that show up in this book are quickly invalidated by rampant absurdity, and the entire thing quickly degenerates into unconnected and awkward confusion. The ending is ridiculous - I was sure I would turn the page and find a 'Just Kidding, here's the real ending' in enormous bold print.

Do not read this book. I read a bunch of these reviews while halfway through the book, and was skeptical of everyone that didn't like it. This book is truly bad.

Rating:
Summary: Overall pleasing but disappointing ending
Review: While I generally enjoyed the book, I was disappointed in the ending. I can not believe that Starling would join Lecter as a cannibal. The dinner scene was particularly unbelievable, unless you believe that Starling was then insane (perhaps I missed this point?).

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal Lecter: a new monster for a New Age.
Review: The Great Undying Monsters of film and literature are mostly the products of the Victorian era as seen through the lenses of 1930's Hollywood. Almost all vampires descend from Bram Stoker, via Universal Studios. Most Werewolves and other changers owe their existence to Robert Louis Stevenson's Mr. Hyde. The Mummy (and all other tomb crawlers) descends from the spectacular stories of H. Rider Haggard and his ilk.

There are a few more recent creations, but they lack the echoes of their Victorian and Edwardian elders. H.P. Lovecraft created an entire new world of Horror, and others have been playing in it ever since, but his vision is distinctly Victorian in tone, and never caught on much outside of the subculture of Science Fiction Fandom. Godzilla was something new under the sun, but rapidly degenerated into Tag Team Wrestling in rubber suits.

Hannibal Lecter may well be different. Over the course of three books Thomas Harris has created a monster that fits the obsessions of the modern era as well as Dracula and Mr. Hyde fitted the obsessions of the Victorians. The horror of Hannibal Lecter is not that he eats peoples' bodies (although that surely violates the modern health obsession) but that he is a psychotherapist and entertains himself by consuming peoples' MINDS. To the therapy ridden culture of modern America what could be more disturbing than a monstrous therapist?

The latest book, HANNIBAL, is the most surreal of the three in which Dr. Lecter has appeared. It is a much darker world even than the one Harris showed us in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Like the movie SEVEN, this is a deeply disturbing work and it does NOT have a happy ending.

Whether it is a well written book is irrelevant. Stoker's DRACULA is horribly written, but contained elements of such power that it became a classic anyway. TARZAN is a piece of the cheapest Pulp, but the character remains one of the great archetypes. Regardless of what future generations may make of Harris's writing style the power of HANNIBAL is impossible to ignore. Unless future generations completely forget the uneasiness of having a mental health professional crawling around in their heads the character of Hannibal Lecter is destined to immortality as surely as that of Dracula.

If you liked SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, you owe it to yourself to see the full blossom of the Lecter character. If SILENCE disturbed you, HANNIBAL will do so even more. If you are not prepared to take a walk into hell, DON"T READ THIS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Get Over It
Review: All this blah blah blah about how Hannibal is not not as subtle or serious as the first two books. How many serious crime novels do we get every year compared to the number of Grand Guignol masterpieces like Hannibal? And buried beneath it all is sly satire of American blood lust and our fascination with characters like Hannibal. This novel is to modern horror what "Unforgiven" was to westerns. He gives us exactly what we wanted in the back of our dirty little minds when we bought the book, then stands back and lets us see how silly and weird it all is. Pay close attention to the last line, it more than says it all.P.S. The final entrance into the Opera is a goulish and grand set piece that all but laughs at every word that hack Anne Rice ever put to paper

Rating:
Summary: The Renaissance monster returns taking more than lives.
Review: Another "didn't want to put the book down" story that took me deeper in to the life, loves and humanity of Hannibal Lechter. From beginning to end, the story continues to shock and thrill its readers while leaving a lingering "taste" of uncertainty. You can't help but wonder, how many villians are there in this book? Or better yet, who is the real villian seeking revenge. I hope readers are not comparing the novel to the movie [Silence of..] because it would be..well very plainly..stupid. This is a stand alone thriller full of hate, love and lust of art, food, music and more importantly, life! Unless I read passed it, how many of us thought we would finally understand what happened to Dr. Chilton? Keep guessing? How difficult was it to determine who we really hated and distrusted most? Was it Mason Verger, Margot Verger, Carlo, Paul Krendler or even Barney. Or are we disgusted with agent Starling? I was expecting closure on the relationships between Hannibal and his victims, his relationship with the FBI and of course Clarice Starling. As I eagerly read the final chapters (there are over 100) I had hoped that when I turned the last pages of the book I would have a smile on. Or maybe, just left with a nice, warm feeling inside. It didn't happen. Maybe because I was uncertain of the resulting relationship between Dr. Lechter and agent Starling. Or how will things end for the both of them? How their lives would continue. Together. Separately. Overall, I was very pleased and satisfied and hope all of us who have read the book don't become vegetarians.

Rating:
Summary: Forget it
Review: Disappointing, disgusting, worthless, and an addition to an otherwise fine series that this world could have done without. Forget about this book. It isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Rating:
Summary: NOT WHAT I ANTICIPATED
Review: I found Hannibal to be a quick and enjoyable read. I do not understand the poor reviews of this novel. While reading a novel readers must put their trust in the author. This novel was not what I anticipated but it was still great. I believe many readers were upset because the story did not go where they wanted it to go. This to me makes a great novel. I reccomend this novel to anyone who is willing to let Mr. Harris take them on an unforgetable journey.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe he was gone too long?
Review: Maybe authors write for themselves or for their readers. I'm not sure and probably will never know, but this book upset me because I was expecting so much more. Nothing to look for in a movie here.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking...but,a brave, unexpected move
Review: Like everyone else who's reviewing this book, I'd been waiting for this sequel for a long time. And while 'Hannibal' isn't the complete success that 'Red Dragon' and 'The Silence of the Lambs' were, it's definitely a book that MUST be read by fans of those great adventures. 'Hannibal' doesn't seem to follow a 'Serial Killer Hunt' format, so it isn't structured like RD or TSotL. Rather, it concentrates on the fallout of the events in TSotL; Starling's rapidly disintegrating career, and Lecter's flight from captivity. The book travels along as both Starling and Lecter's worlds slowly come together again, and for the most part, I found the bulk of the book to be less engrossing (or just gross-ing?) than I would have expected. But when the two of them inevitably meet again, by design of a malicious victim of Lecter's from long ago, Harris has concocted one of the most astounding reunions I have ever seen in recurring fictional characters.

I don't entirely buy into the motives or circumstances of the ending, and maybe I missed something along the way, but I have to give Harris his due, for his courage to wrap things up in such a shocking and unexpected manner. After I've had some time to think about it, I can honestly say...I like the ending because it's nice to be suprised, even though I don't think the circumstances or motivations are clear enough to be believable.

I rate 'Hannibal' at four stars, but the high rating is for the emotional shock value, not for a convincing, or entirely satisfying read. Harris has guts, I'll give him that.

Rating:
Summary: Surprising, disturbing, and unforgettable....
Review: Harris is being pilloried for not writing the book people expected. I won't easily forget the book's chilling final chapters. It's in these final scenes that Harris truly reveals how much of a monster Hannibal really is.