Rating: 
Summary: Sleepless Near Seattle
Review: I didn't think the hype could be true. I "discovered" Thomas Harris before "Silence of the Lambs" and found his books frighteningly real and incredibly readable. When I read in a magazine that he was finally coming out with a new book and that it featured "Hannibal the Cannibal," I was prepared to be completely, cynically disappointed.I read "Hannibal" in one sitting-- not sleeping until far, far into the night because I simply couldn't put the book down. I was mesmerized, horrified, fascinated, angry, sad, and, weirdly, sympathetic. Don't let anyone tell you what happens-- BUY IT!
Rating: 
Summary: What's For Dinner? Homophobia, Misogyny, and Nihilism
Review: This homophobic, racist, misogynous, nihilistic book is not writing. It's not even typing. I wouldn't be surprised if Harris used a dictaphone while he was drunk one night while vacationing in Italy, and had some poor sub-secretarial sod transcribe it and FedEx it to the publisher the next day. Worse than the bad writing is the hideously offensive plot. Like the worst excesses of capitalism, Harris tries to top himself, create something new, and in the process manages to do more than offend -- this book is a tract for hateful, sexist, bigoted straight white men. I wouldn't be surprised if some adopt it as a theory of living, a la THE TURNER DIARIES.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to get over
Review: First off, I'd like to say that I was a little disappointed by it, after reading the brilliant Silence of the Lambs, I expected another masterpiece, which Hannibal isn't, but instead we get this book that draws us into this world of Dr. Lector, and doesn't let us go. I cannot express in words how I felt about the ending, except that I found it incredibly scary for it to happen, and that it was meant to be.
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Summary: This is Not Your Average "Cop Drama"
Review: I was also skeptical about reading this book after reading the synopsis. Avoid any prejudgement, read this for what it is: a real horror novel like the ones Clive Barker used to write.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Think "Lambs"; Think Thomas Harris
Review: This is a terrific novel, provided you don't go into it thinking Son of Silence of the Lambs, etc. Best to view this on how well Harris can create an image and turn a tale. It's worth the ten year wait, though I hope I won't have to wait so long for the next one. Not only do you get Starling and Dr. Lecter, but the truly weird Mason Verger, who at times makes Lecter look like Ozzie Nelson on a bad day. It's one of those books that you sit down with at 8 or 9 in the evening (a big mistake) and when you look up, it's 2:30 in the morning. What an amazing read.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible, terrible stuff
Review: This is a completely unworthy sequel, and I can't imagine seeing it come to film. Which, in the end, is a good thing. Harris seems fixated on being as repulsive as possible, and frankly, there's very little value to a work of literature when all it can boast is SHOCK value. Terrible, and disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointing... but an ok ride...
Review: As a huge fan of Harris, I ran to the nearest bookstore last Tuesday morning... I could have walked... and had breakfast along the way... 1. The plot feels forced, like Harris was writing off other people's suggestions. 2. Characters such as Barney, Clarice, and Dr. Lecter seem to have changed in personality in ways that don't fit their character... but have to, to fit the book. 3. The ending is silly. 4. Parts of the major plot are silly. 5. Too much detail in areas that don't matter and not enough in places that would have been interesting. As a book on it's own it's OK. As a book by Thomas Harris and a follow-up to Silence of the Lambs -- Dissapointing. Read Red Dragon. With all of that I still read it in a few hours.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good book. Not great, not bad...
Review: I just finished reading "Hannibal" last night, and while I must admit I'm still a little foggy on the ending, over all it was an ok time. "Hannibal" and "Episode 1" (the film)both had 1 major road block: hype. Did Star Wars live up to ALL the hype? Not in my opinion. Was "Hannibal" the greatest book sequal of all time? Hardly. But you could certainly find worse out there this summer.
Rating:
Summary: A TREMENDOUS LETDOWN FROM BEGINNING TO END
Review: Those collective thuds must be fans of Thomas Harris' Red Dragon & The Silence Of The Lambs tossing this garbage in the trash upon completion of this mess. Where to begin, how about the ending. My first thoughts were that the role of Clarice in the movie version of Hannibal should be played by Lisa Kudrow (Pheobe) of Friends fame, as Thomas Harris has reduced her character into a joke. I genuinely cannot believe that anyone following this story from it's Red Dragon beginnings would be anything but disappointed with this story. Hopefully word of mouth will quickly overtake the hype of this novels release and save millions of people the time, energy and money used to trudge thru this embarassment.
Rating:
Summary: Pigs? Wait, let me read that again...Pigs?!
Review: People read (or saw) SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and came to associate Hannibal Lecter with the embodiemnt of evil. For Harris to turn him to the book's central focus and something of a sympathetic character is fine; a very interesting twist. However, the rest of the characters here are boring and one-dimensional. Mason Verger? Please! His huge revenge plot is almost laughable. The scenes in Italy read like a phone book. Overall, a waste of $25.00. James Ellroy once wrote that he wanted to be as good a writer as Harris. If this is Harris' new standard, Ellroy will have no problem.
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