Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Letdown of the decade written for major movie bucks
Review: Aside from the gramatical and punctuation errors for which there can be NO excuse in a major release like this, the story and the characters were a caricature of the people we remember from the first two novels in this sereis. To begin, I counted a minimum of three incomplete quotes, a minimum of three missing periods, myriad fragmented sentences and rampant changes of tense. These fragments and chages in tense may have been poor attempts at stylistic prose, but let us not forget we're not discussing Joyce here. This is mass market American fiction for crying out loud! Must be nice to have a deal that disallows for editing changes. The worst, though, is the insult to the characters. Not only will it be impossible for the actors to reprise their roles with any dignity in a faithfully adapted screenplay (albeit something Harris need not consider necessarily), but their actions, emotions and motivations deviate so dramatically from those in earlier appearances that we're looking at different people altogether. Darned shame, this, especially after waiting nearly a DECADE for this book. Gone, too, is some of the usual cleverness of plot as this book goes mainly for the gross-out in instances and spirals down into banal predictability.

Rating:
Summary: Harris lets go a Hannibal ham
Review: This book is so bad it makes me never want to read anything ever again. The writing is at the level of an only mildly witty third grader, the plot is clunky, to say the least, the jokes unfunny, the horror un-horrendous, and the end feeling is one of distance, complacency. If Harris's taste for olla podria really had kicked in, we might have a cultural curio on our hands. Instead what we have is a mean, insulting, biggoted, racist, homophobic book that might as well have been written by a computer. Word is that Harris has been writing HANNIBAL for the last ten years. Hey, come on, Tommy, more like TEN DAYS! The best thing about this book is the acknowledgements page, which reads like Nancy Drew on acid. Next time, Tommy Harris, maybe you can write your own book, do your own research, your own cooking. Oh, and the second best thing about this book is that, at least for now, it won't be made into a movie. But then again, if it is, the movie will be infinitely better.

Rating:
Summary: Wasn't worth the decade long wait!
Review: I was very disappointed. The writing, plot development, and especially the charater development, is inferior to Harris's other work. I am glad that I got it at 50% off.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as "Silence of the Lambs"
Review: Harris did as good a job as anyone could do in following up "Silence of the Lambs". But I wish he had done what I did in preparation for this book. I reread "Silence of the Lambs", just to update myself on Dr. Lector and to be able to move smoothly into the sequel. Harris apparently failed to take another look at his previous novel. There are several discrepancies in details which detract from the sequel's credibility.

Rating:
Summary: Gruesome elegance
Review: It's hard to imagine a more artistic and refined treatment of thoroughly gruesome events than the one Harris gives them here. Despite what some may say, the primary effect is not to glamorize Hannibal Lecter, but to stun and chill the reader with his utter inhumanity. The elegant prose has the second very welcome effect of keeping the book from becoming brutal and revolting, always maintaining a cool distance from its gore. The astonishing climactic setpiece, which centers on a formal dinner party unique in the history of prose (trust me! this is Dr. Lecter we're talking about!) would have been stomach-turning, if not set up with such fine concern for detail and performed with such exquisite finesse. One is left not repulsed, but awestruck at this aristocratic monster and at Harris' skill in creating and presenting him. Not a pretty read by any means, but a tour-de-force performance all around.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written, But What a Disappointment
Review: The two stars for this book are for the opening scenario of the story and for Harris' writing abilities. The quality of the rest of the book degenerates and would deserve a negative rating. I was very pleased with the opening sequence of the book and found the current state of Starling's career to be in a believable condition. However, the pace of the story lags for a point; Harris seems too enamored of his ability to turn elegantly grotesque phrases and situations to develop a plot that moves along. His ability to describe details is beautiful. There are, however, far too many monsters in this story. In Silence of the Lambs, the central theme was Starling and how she used a monster to catch a monster. In Hannibal, however, there are far too many monsters inhabiting the pages and the tension that drove Silence of the Lambs is woefully absent. The corruption of Starling is the worst part of the entire mess, and I feel that the ending is a betrayal of the character who is at the core a good and decent woman. It isn't believable, and is an insult to the reader. If Harris' intent was to show that anyone can be corrupted, that anyone has these seeds within, he didn't make his point very well. More of the time between his books should have been spent strengthening the central theme and less time enhancing the elaboration of his images. I really hope that when a movie of the novel is made that they change the ending.

Rating:
Summary: I don't want this book in my house anymore
Review: It is my habit to read the end of a book as soon as I'm interested enough in the story to see how it turns out. Having read "Silence of the Lambs" (and having seen the movie), I didn't even have to read the beginning of "Hannibal" to be very curious about the end. I had to go back 6 chapters to get the gist of it ... and it is AWFUL. Just horrendously violent!

Will Graham, Harris' "Red Dragon" FBI agent, once said that he didn't want Lecter's thoughts in his head because they are the worst thoughts in the world. (I'm paraphrasing.) I don't want "Hannibal" in my head and I don't want this book in my house.

I only wish there was an option for zero stars.

Rating:
Summary: Thomas Harris meets Anne Rice... results farcical at best
Review: Don't be bothered. This 'book' is horrible. The story has all the charisma of an extended descriptive paragraph of Italy coupled with the warmth of a French gourmet-cooking guide. Stay away. (Or you get the hose.) You've been warned

Rating:
Summary: Not another Silence of the Lambs
Review: Like many of the other readers, I've waited almost a decade to read this book. I am not sure it was worth the wait. The brilliant deviousness of the characters that impressed us so much in "The Silence of the Lambs" is only present here in flashes.

The plot is straightforward and dare I say it, somewhat predictable. Those rumored brilliant plot twists must have completely passed me over.

But this is not a suspense novel. Anyone who bills it or raves over it as such hasn't read it or didn't understand it. It is a character study. So are the characters up to snuff?

The main villian, Mason, has potential, but when the character gets going, he gets no more development. His planned fate for Lecter is not novel but it still would have been both an ironic and symbolic fate for a cannibal.

Clarice is Clarice, and except for the ending, Harris handles her well. She's still sharp as a tack.

Of the other characters from "Silence", only Barney avoids short shrift. I was really dissatisfied with the gloss-over of Jack Crawford. Fredrick Chilton? Who's he? I wanted to know more about what happened to him than that!

Hannibal does not top his previous outing. His "longing" if you can call it that, for his great loss seems out of character. I only enjoyed one aspect of that character revelation. His character background was welcome, and the comment by Barney about Lecter's belief system was great. We get a servicable rehash of the events of "Silence" in a conference involving a psychiatrist with no love lost for Lecter; which is also worth reading because it does offer an important alternative view of Lecter's interest in Clarice.

This book comes up a little short on the rich symbolism in the first book, Hannibal as Apollo was a really neat metaphor in "Silence" which I didn't find matched in richness or depth in this book.

Overall, I would read the book, but do not expect to be amazed. I can respect the opinion that this book is not a pleasing sequel. The worst thing about this book is the last few chapters, I have to admit the complaints about the ending being hard to swallow are not frivolous.

Rating:
Summary: Still the Best! I LOVE this book.
Review: Thomas Harris is absolutely, without doubt The Greatest Living Writer alive today.

I have waited for over 10 years for him to finish this book. I read it in one sitting, staying up all night -- and I was never disappointed. He's a wonderful writer and Hannibal is a joy to read. It does differ from his other books and explores interesting new territory.

I recommend this book to anyone. You may find the subject matter at times grotesque, however, his writing is superlative and his creativity so great -- you will find yourself enamoured. Plus he obviously loves food! What more can you ask for?