Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal
Review: Incredible...and the movie does follow quite well. Could not put the book down. The reader tends to become as entralled with Lechter as much as Starling. Harris is a genious in continuing the saga of Dr. Lechter...more to come? I hope so. Harris is able to keep the reader held hostage from page to page. Viewed the movie also...and was pleased with the transition from book to film ...well done Ridley Scott, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Harris not true to his character
Review: It is rare that I would argue with a writer about a character in his or her book; after all, the writer did create the character. But I will in this instance. I was very disappointed in this book, for I don't feel that Harris was true to the character of Clarice. I just can't accept the ending as valid. My recommendation - see the movie instead.

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal: Mediocre compared to Silence Of The Lambs
Review: Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lector is back in part three of the trilogy. Hannibal couldnt live up to Silence of the Lambs, though.Dont get me wrong, it was good. But Thomas Harris couldn't recapture the magic he had in Silence of The Lambs or the Red Dragon

Rating:
Summary: From "Wow!" to ...sow...
Review: The book was riveting for the 1st 400 pages. I actually astounded myself (very busy working mother, 4-hour/day commute, very little personal time) by finishing it within 2 days. But that's because it was superbly written...up to the last 100 pages or so.

Unfortunately, the "suprise ending" ruined the possibilty for my ever wanting to actually see the movie--and I am truly a fan of Anthony Hopkins. I found the grotesque dinner with the droll humor a real stretch--for the character "Clarice," and for the reader's imagination.

To Harris' credit; however, the really well-developed characters were the Vergers, Barney, the French inspector Piazzi (sp?). They were obviously penned with care and the rationale for their behaviors throughout the novel were consistent. The two main characters--Lecter and Clarice--lose their credibility at two important junctures, respectively: Lecter, when he triumphs over Mason (after all, he is only human); and Clarice, when she emerges from her grief as a totally different human being--devoid of her ethics, integrity and humanity (these attributes, after all, comprise her character).

I'd say overall, it's a good book, with some wonderful psychological work (the Vergers), but it leaves a lot to be desired.

Rating:
Summary: disturbing between snores
Review: The book was exciting in parts, every bit as good as silence of the lambs. But then it would digress off on to characters that really were not that essential to the plot. More needed to be written concerning Clarice and her efforts to locate Hannibal and not how to raise and train pigs. I felt as though I were being given a crash course in Italian arts and that was not what I bought the book for. If you combined the begining with a brief explanation of the other characters and finished off with the ending, you would have an excellent story. As it was, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Rating:
Summary: Thomas Harris where are you going with this book?
Review: Even though years have passed under the bridge since Harris wrote Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs the author, as king of the macabre, has certainly lost none of his biting edge in his writing like fellow author Lawrence Sanders has (Deadly Sins Series of Thrillers).....

On the contrary I think the edge now is sharper than one of Hannibal's knives ....

I could say this book 'goes over the top' but then I would be accused of gross understatement. If Silence was Starlings' book then Hannibal definitely IS Lechters book.

We see many more facets of Hannibal in this book, and, with the explanation as to events surrounding the sister Misha, is the Harris trying to eke out a feeling of sympathy and understanding for Hannibal from the reader?

Clarice as well has some very significant development of her character in this book as we see her embrace her dark side.

Can't say more here without giving it away but after you read the book you'll also be left with many many questions... I believe that Harris tries to get us to identify with Hannibal and that is absolutely mind blowing and an unbelieveable challenge to the author and his writing skills.

I haven't seen the movie since I would tend to believe that many many scenes could NEVER be shown on the silver screen, and, it's easy to see why Jodie Foster didn't come back as Clarice since she would have to have a dark side in her in real life to be able to portray her character in Hannibal.

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Summary: A Fitting End To The Lecter Trilogy
Review: Being one of Thomas Harris' most dedicated fans, I purchasedthis novel upon the day of its release and eagerly gobbled up everysinewy morsel. After finishing, completely in awe of Harris' work (asalways), I was astonished that so many had been disappointed, evenappalled, by this offering. Speaking as one who has gone as far as toseek out and purchase first editions of all four Harris novels, I cansay this..."Hannibal" was NOT as good as "The Silenceof the Lambs"...this much is true. Then again, "The Silenceof the Lambs" wasn't as good as "Red Dragon" was. But"The Silence of the Lambs" was still a fine novel and afitting sequel to "Red Dragon"...just as"Hannibal" is a fitting final entry in the series. WhatHarris has given us here is almost a parody, a caricature of Lecter ashe appeared in the first two novels...and why not? Now that Lecter isfree, is it not plausible that he would be behaving quite differentlythan he did while confined? As for one reviewer's note that Lecterhas been transformed into a"psychopath-wizard-pharmacist-scholar-surgeon"...well, apartfrom being a wizard, Hannibal has always been skilled in anatomy (see"Red Dragon" for further elaboration on this point) and histraining as a psychiatrist would certainly explain his knowledge ofpharmacuticals...and who can deny that the good doctor has ALWAYS beena scholar? So, why is it that the same readers who believed Lectercapable of accurately depicting the Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo (asseen from the Belvedere, mind you) solely from memory find his actionsand capabilities in this novel so far-fetched? Lecter's intelligence,let us remember, has never been successfully measured by anystandardized testing. As for Starling's actions in the book's closingchapters, she WAS under the influence of heavy drugs when she firstbonded, shall we say, with Lecter...and, after learning the reasoningbehind Lecter's cannibalism, she felt a certain kinship with him, andeven an empathy for this man who was initially described to her as amonster. And what this novel does so brilliantly is to bring to lightthe root source of Lecter's psychosis...something which had alwaysbeen the subject of fierce doubt. After all, people don't becomeserial killers (much less CANNIBALISTIC serial killers) withoutreason. And the childhood trauma experienced by Lecter as a child inWWII Europe certainly explains well enough why the doctor has such ataste for human flesh. And let's not forget that Thomas Harris didn'tHAVE to write this novel. He was at the peak of his popularity with"The Silence of the Lambs" after the film version promptedmany to pick up the novel at their local bookstores...he had writtenthree #1 best-selling novels, all of which were adapted for thescreen, and he was living the good life in Italy, feeling no financialor career-oriented pressure. He never had to write another word aslong as he lived. He had earned his living, and he'd certainly madehis mark. This novel was a GIFT from Mr. Harris to us, his loyal fansworldwide. It's a gift which I, personally, had been waiting YEARSfor...and I loved every word of it...

Rating:
Summary: I feel cheated out and here is why!
Review: Dear readers of this review,

Just so you realize how cheated out I feel, I have not finished this book yet. I am hanging on by sheer determination (or stubbornness) to see if it gets any better, any more credible.

Reasons why I believe this book should not have been written:

-The Silence of the Lambs grabs you by the scruff of the neck and doesn't let go until you're finished. Hannibal Lecter is the genius, the mastermind, and to me- the central character in that novel. -The confrontations between Clarice and Hannibal are devoured readily and eagerly and you want more. -When Lecter orchestrates spectacularly his escape from the jail, I cheered him on. As he says in his letter to Clarice..."the world is more interesting with you in it." I thought so too. Not much was known about Lecter's past, his background. Virtually nothing, actually. When he ran away at the end of "Silence" I felt oddly satisfied. It was the appropriate conclusion for the book.

Where Harris really goofed up for me, was in writing this book. An unnecessary sequel that devalues Hannibal Lecter. He's no longer the caged creature. The mind games are pretty much over.

Silence of the Lambs was a "mess with your mind" novel. Hannibal is a "mess with your stomach" novel, going for excessive gore and shock value to get its point across. In doing that, in my mind it makes a mockery of the character of Hannibal Lecter.

He has never looked so "bad guy from the bad B movies" like before! You can almost expect to hear him cackling shrilly after committing an evil deed. Like the character of Brad Pitt said to that of Kevin Spacey in "Seven", and I quote:

"You're a movie of the week! A T-shirt, at best!"

I believe Lecter is heading for the same unwelcome status headed by the likes of Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger. These guys used to scare us in the past, as did Lecter. Now they're just comical.

Rating:
Summary: A complete waste of time
Review: I heard raving reviews about this book from family and friends. Having enjoyed both The Red Dragon and especially The Silence of the lambs , I was ready for a disturbing thrill ride. Instead ,I got a dose of reality in that I wasted several hours of my life reading this book. It started out promising , but quickly went down hill. The shootout in the beginning up to the time Clarice recieved Hannibal's 1st letter proved to be a nice beginning to what looked like a great story line. this is where it started falling apart. There was to many references to Lecter being something imortal instead of just being a brilliant degenerate.

It would have served the story line better if there was more...or NO references to his or his sisters young life. It was touched on just enough to make you wonder why it was mentioned at all. There was no major revelation on why he became who he is.

If it wasnt for the completely moronic ending I would have given this 2 stars. With the ending ,Thomas Harris cheated his readers. It seemed like the transcript must have sat on a shelf while he thought of an ending. Not able to , he just slapped together what he thought would be shocking. Instead it was just plain stupid.

Do yourself a favor , read The Silence of the lambs again instead.

Rating:
Summary: Great novel
Review: I loved the book all the way. Admittingly i had to read quickly through some of the book to avoid getting sick, but the ending was something i was secretly rooting for all the way. Hannibal and Starling are like the Mulder and Skully, a mismatch of male and female that seem to be on opposite poles but ultimately get together. In Starling's all consuming chase for the killer, she fell in love with him. Also, note that Jodie Foster passed on the role for her own personal reasons...not because the ending "upset" her. This is the actress who starred in Anna and the King for heavens sake.