Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Not Silence But An Engaging Read
Review: It's amazing what a pre-publication marketing effort can do to sell a book without a review! For the past two or three months, "Hannibal is Coming" (kind of like the "Jaws" ads "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...") has been seen everywhere -- bookstores, web sites, etc. In the meantime, big pitches were made to sell "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon". I wouldn't be surprised that this has been one of the most successful marketing strategies employed in recent bookselling history.

To the book: It's an interesting read. I generally feel it's very unfair to compare a new book in a series where characters continue from a previous one. Our favorite book is likely never to reappear again in any series, so we really shouldn't go looking for it in a new book. I believe readers are better served by enjoying the merits of each story as it stands alone.

Harris writes an engaging book (Why it took over ten years is beyond me.) While a slow start and some disconnected pieces here and there, the book does indeed move into a gripping mode. However, the ending is just downright ridiculous. I was angry as I ended Hannibal -- about the last ten pages.

"Silence of the Lambs" will stand as the best among the three for all time. This ranks second and Red Dragon is a forget-about-it.

Enjoyable if you take it as a stand alone story. A bit frustrating at the very close.

Rating:
Summary: The Good(?) Doctor
Review: First of all, it seems that this is one book that has to be either loved or hated. I have only just finished it, and I'm still reeling from the ending. True, it wasn't quite "Silence of the Lambs", and to make a movie of this one might be a serious mistake, but it was, nevertheless, engrossing and excellent entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: Save your money and your time!
Review: I loved the previous books by Thomas Harris and couldn't wait to buy Hannibal...I should have. This was a mess....mixing of third and second person in the writing; wandering sentences; characters losing their characterizations; and an ending ... well that I just couldn't stomach.

My own imagination created a better tale than this and I really feel betrayed....it was as if Harris felt he had to give us "something" ...better if it had been "nothing" .... because this was less than nothing.

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling.
Review: Harris went exactly where I didn't think he'd ever dare to go and I love him for it. This book was not what I was expecting, it was better. A thrilling dark and messy ride.

Rating:
Summary: Does Harris hate the fans who made him rich and famous?
Review: How else to explain the shoddy product he took 11 long years to craft? I have no direct knowledge of Harris' motive in choosing to tell this particular story, but I for one got the distinct feeling of disdain for the reader, particularly in the last 50 pages. I completely disagree with those who say Harris has written this story with his eye on filming it. On the contrary, it seems to me he purposely wrote this knowing it WOULDN'T be made into a film (at least not with the same Oscar-winning team who made SILENCE). My two-star review reflects the multiple scenes where I was actually engrossed in the plot. For keeping me interested, it deserves more than a single star. But the ENDING!!! For me, the most important part of a novel, and we're given this sub-par DAWN OF THE DEAD nonsense? Look, SILENCE is a great book, and I count the movie as one of my favorites, so I obviously don't have issues with violence that is an integral, ORGANIC part of the story. But every character in this novel followed no motivation other than to allow the author to push the boundaries of plausibility and create a stir. I take that back; one character behaved in a believable way, and that was Ardelia Mapp. Everyone else in Harris' HANNIBAL world seems to exist in some goofy alternate reality. Mr. Harris, if this is a joke, can we please have a WORTHY follow-up to your masterpieces? On second thought, how about just an apology and we'll forget about the whole thing?

Rating:
Summary: A Thoroughly Satisfying Conclusion
Review: The strength of Silence of the Lambs lay in Harris' meticulous exploration of the psychopathology of his monsters. By giving Jame Gumb a history and a disease, Harris made Gumb's evil believable. Here, in Hannibal, he explores Dr. Lecter's history and turns him into a human being, albeit a highly damaged one. I got a great vicarious thrill from watching Dr. Lecter on the loose: secretly, I suspect many people would like to be smarter than everyone and simply eliminate anything that tries to block their way. The surreal ending was appropriate and reasonably well-handled. I understand the frustration of some Lambs and Dragon fans who saw Harris' writing as a brilliant example of tight, scary crime fiction -- Hannibal is more of a literary epic, hinting at Bulgakov in its surrealism and imagery of the devil on the loose on earth.

Rating:
Summary: Facinating but fatally flawed at the end.
Review: Harris has written a terrific book up to the last twenty pages or so. He exhibits, as always, an ear for a penetrating description; I loved, "The press brought out the Feliciana Fish Market incident every day and shook it like a rat." I love hearing about Lecter's various forms of expertise, from Italian Renaissance art to the proper way to field dress a nasty poacher. However, I think he misgauged how much readers liked Starling for her earnestness and her sense of justice.

Rating:
Summary: Exquisitely brilliant!
Review: It is a pleasure to be allowed to revisit our favorite hero and heroine in this exquisitely brilliant story. And make no mistake, both Lector and Starling share the role of hero. We are honored to be admitted into the rooms of Lector's memory palace and revel in his genius as he outwits his pursuers and doles out his unique, yet strangely satisfying brand of justice. The fact that Starling is instrumental in his final escape, after which he in turn rescues her from her own torment, is a delicious course in the gourmet meal that is this book

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely hated the ending!!
Review: I loved Red Dragon (the best I think), loved Silence of the Lambs and was prepared to love Hannibal. It pains me greatly that I cannot say I did. I expected Clarice to be a much bigger part of the story and the ending is too surreal to even be believed.

Rating:
Summary: HANNIBAL! is HORRIBAL!
Review: The only thing scary about this book is the fact that some people have given it more than one star. Not only was there no action or suspense, the characters were flat and unemotional. Who really felt bad about the demise of any of them? And the ending ... HUH? Harris builds some terrific characters in his earlier books only to wind them up like this? It makes no sense. Better luck next time (in the year 2010 probably).