Rating: 
Summary: An obvious movie bid
Review: I was quite disappointed in the book. Like everyone else, I waited for years to read the sequel that was so obviously coming. Now that I've read it, I feel somewhat cheated. I found myself being somewhat understanding of Hannibal's nastiness... instead of being in awe of a mysterious force of nature.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthy Sequel
Review: Very different from silence of the lambs and red dragon. Really a pschological study of Clarice and Lector. Gripping.
Rating:
Summary: The worst let-down in literary history.
Review: I wouldn't be so angry if the book had been awful from the start. But it's not. It's wonderful--full of wit and intrigue and the wonderful prose that Harris is capable of.But in the last few chapters, he goes so terribly wrong that it just makes you want to cry. Lecter and Starling go so far out of character as to make you wonder what Harris was thinking. Did he deliberately want to disappoint and anger his fans? He certainly did a good job with this one. After waiting so long for this book to appear, and after enjoying most of it thoroughly, I can only say that the last few chapters of this book are the worst betrayal of character and reader that I have ever come across. Shame on you, Mr. Harris. I want my money back.
Rating: 
Summary: Different
Review: Although this book is critiqued by most as different and bad, it is actually some more of a huge roller coaster ride into psychiatry
Rating: 
Summary: A real disappointment
Review: I really wanted to like this book. Hannibal was such a multi-faceted character in his other renditions. We do find out the why of the cannibalism--fine. But was it really necessary? Isn't it interesting enough to think he could be an incarnation of evil without psycho babble to excuse it? But that still wasn't the turn off. In Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Starling play a tension filled mind game. This is what Hannibal lives for in his denuded cell. He finds Starling a worthy opponent for the moment. He wants to extend his time with her, so he gives the tantalizing clues and she keeps coming back. Starling knows she's being manipulated, but in the world of the FBI powerful men are manipulating here just the same. No problem. Get what you need from them and go on with business. None of this in the new book. Hannibal is simply playing games--not intriguing mind games. But bloody games. And Harris foregoes his former restraint and steps over the gross quotient. The book begins reading like a bunch of twelve year olds in the clubhouse trying to outgross one another. The lapses into first and second person are self pandering and interrupt the flow. And talk down to the reader. If you can make inferences you know this stuff already. Harris needs to realize that his early success was based on clear writing suited to the genre. And he really needs to get over himself.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: I have waited years and years for this book and I was thrilled! I couldn't stop reading the book until I had finished. I love the little twists it takes. If you have been dying to know what has become of Hannibal and Clarice, you must read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: A great addition to the trilogy. Read it & then had to go eat some sausages with fava bean washed down with chianti. Great work Harris!!!
Rating:
Summary: It's two -- two -- two books in one
Review: And either way, it's extremely satisfying. Read it as a "summer beach book" or study it as the next step in the natural progression of Lecter's character. There's plenty in here to sink your teeth into (sorry) and a few laughs besides. As for gore, it's in there but it's not overdone. As for the complaints about Lecter being somehow diminished as a villain, because we're given a childhood trauma to explain his behavior -- well, it works both ways, doesn't it? A warm-blooded Lecter is just as chilling as the cold-blooded variety. Maybe more. I loved it. As someone told me when after I read some pre-publication negative reviews, read it and decide for yourself. I'm glad I did.
Rating:
Summary: 1/3 good, 1/3 so so & 1/3 awful
Review: Perhaps this book suffered from the expectations of this reader; another problem may have been that I read the reviews prior to reading the book. All that aside I can only state that this book was a disappointment. Mr. Harris started off well, and the plot moved rapidly for the first third of the book, after that it detiorated rapidly, culminating in the finale, the inane ending. Awful! Even with a substantial discount this book is not worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: A disgrace to publishing
Review: The only question still unresolved about "Hannibal" is whether it is merely the worst book of the decade or the worst book of all time. In one stroke Harris has torpedoed his reputation, trashed his most famous fictional creations, and insulted and alienated his loyal readers. It's almost pointless to analyze the book's innumerable crippling flaws -- the Grand Guignol absurdity, the flights of literary and intellectual pretentiousness, the total absence of believability, logic, suspense, or even basic professionalism. The worst hack writer banging out a book a month for his rent money would be embarrassed to put his name on this monumental dreck. For a writer of Harris's talent to have labored eleven years, with "Hannibal" as the result, is simply inexplicable.
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