Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: So-so
Review: Thomas Harris' Hannibal revists the characters of Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lector almost a decade after their first encounter. One would think with two of the more recognizable characters at his disposal Harris would easily be able to replicate the success he had with Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. Alas, this is not the case.

There's a certain spark that's missing from this novel and I have a feeling that it stems from Lector being on the prowl rather than in a cell. Somehow he was far more frightening when he was caged. He was far more mysterious. When free, however, Hannibal comes across as just another serial killer, one who can evade capture for the most part. He's reduced to really not much more than a Freddy or Jason type of character.

There's also a lack of intelligence to the writing this time around. This is not to suggest that Harris is not a brilliant man but rather that he seems to be writing out of his league here. Harris' earlier books worked best on a psychological level when Lector was forced to stalk his prey solely with his mind. Robbed of that convention here Harris opts to lay the gore on thick and the results are underwhelming.

I wasn't as appalled regarding the end of the book as some were. Rather, I thought it a logical conclusion given what Harris had written so far in Hannibal. That doesn't mean I liked it though.

Rating:
Summary: Book Better Than Movie
Review: I thought the book was awesome. It was hard to put the book down once I started reading it - and after that I couldn't wait to pick it back up. I saw the movie during opening weekend, and it's safe to say the book put the movie to shame. There was so much left out of the movie that really made the plot such a chilling thriller.

The book portrays much more insight into the characters like Hannibal, Clarice Starling, Krendler, and Mason Verger's ruthless sidekicks. If you liked the movie, you'll love the book.

The only disappointment with the book is the ending. Like another reviewer said, Harris changes the morality of the character Clarice Starling by not being true to her character. She is a solid, honest, FBI Agent who stays true to that until the last 3 chapters. It made the character loose credibility for what she was throughout the whole book.

The ending in the book is 100% better and different than the ending in the movie.

READ THE BOOK - IT'S BETTER THAN THE MOVIE!

Rating:
Summary: Worthy follow up to "Silence", don't go by the movie...
Review: A good piece of advice is "never judge a book by the movie" and _Hannibal_ is a perfect example of the maxim. The long-awaited follow up to _Silence of the Lambs_ has Thomas Harris exploring the character of Lecter in great detail, even more so than Starling and manages to do something the movie doesn't: allow the reader to develop sympathy for Lecter.

This is crucial to the development of the story (which the film follows only partially. A great deal of fairly important stuff didn't make it from the book to the screen). At the same time we develop sympathy for the killer, we see Starling get systematically used and degraded, watching her descend from idealism (in _Silence_) to fatalism here. The ending, while shocking, is not very surprising upon reflection and that is a testament to the skill of Harris as a writer.

This is an excellent, well-written, book. There isn't a lot of excess prose or description...every word has value and meaning. For fans of the first two books, it is a must read. If you are new to Harris or are buying the book after having seen the movie, my suggestion is to start with _Red Dragon_ and go forward from there. At the minimum, you should read _Silence_ before tackling Hannibal.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!!
Review: This book is hard to put down! Harris did a lot of research on this one. The invention of the mind of Hannibal Lector is a masterpeice of it own! A lot of twists and turns! Just when you think you know what direction Harris is taking...BAM! He gets ya!

Rating:
Summary: A fresh pair of eyes . . .
Review: I don't read many fiction books. I mostly stay with non-fiction. I saw the preview of the movie, and had to read the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, which I see as a very twisted love story--sort of a Belle meets Beast....

I've not read _Silence of the Lambs_, and therefore am unaware if Dr. Lector got such a humane treatment in the original. Regardless, I was mesmerized by the written treatment of the 4 main characters: Hannibal Lector, Clarice Starling, Rinaldo Pazzi and Mason Verger. They each seemed to personify various character flaws. It was fascinating to see Dr. Lector outside of prison cells.

Having heard about how gory the book was, I was surprised that it wasn't quite as bloody as I would have thought. As I read the final 25 pages, which constitutes the finale, I bursted out laughing. I will give this to Mr. Harris: He has a very sick sense of humor! I felt I had read the 80 previous pages just to arrive at a deliciously grotesque slap-shot routine.

My favorite line from the book:

"I don't expect you to change your attitude entirely, as the other Paul did, Mr. Krendler. You are not on the road to Damascus . . . All we ask is that you keep an open mind."

Rating:
Summary: Did I miss something here?
Review: This book took more than ten years to hit the shelves and reads like a novel that took ten weeks to write. I am a huge Harris fan, and was left wondering, 'What were you thinking?' For one, I was looking forward to seeing Hannibal as a killer, not an unbelievably boring, aloof, aristocrat with an eating disorder. And I'm sure many Harris fans were wondering why Will Graham, the FBI agent who originally caught Lector wasn't brought into it. Hannibal destroyed his life. I'm sure he would have definite feelings about hearing Lector was loose. Harris, who in my opinion, excels in this field, for some reason went for the overly gory and perverse. One could almost hear Harris saying, "This would sell in a movie," or, "This would work well on the big scree," as he was writing it. The ending made me cringe. I hear the ending was changed for the movie. I hope so. In all fairness, Harris is not a sequal-oriented writer and, although Lector appeared in all three of his crime novels, they could not really be considered sequals. Thomas "Black Sunday, The Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs," Harris, is a fantastic writer. I look forward to his next work with great anticipation. He is a credit to his craft. This one just got away somehow. Mr. Harris, there is only one man who can bring down the monster known as Hannibal the Cannibal, and you know who he is. As a matter of fact, it would have only stood to reason Hannibal would have contacted him by now. It's time to go to Florida and bring him out of retirement to do what he does best. Starling is an endearing character, but only Graham could engage Hannibal Lector in a mental game of chess and win.

Rating:
Summary: this is a magic!!!
Review: There must be a magic in this wonderfull book!!! believe it or not i had read it over the weekend (( i never did it before)) i even got so attached to the charachters that i had renamed my e-mail as DR.LECTER. this is pure,skillfull writer that i really advice getting the book A.S.A.P.

Rating:
Summary: Hannible
Review: This book takes us to the world of Hannible Lecter as we have never seen before. The two previous books in the Hannible trilogy, Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, dealt with Lecter and another criminal chase at the same time. Thomas Harris eliminates the "other" criminal and focuses specifically on Dr. Lecter. Harris repays the reader for this with the strange and extremely rich Verger family which keeps the reader with a weird feeling in their stomach. The book is amazingly written but leaves a tragic ending that comes as a true dissapointment for the readers of Thomas Harris' novels, and leaves a perfect series of sequels for Hollywood now that Harris has sold the rights to his signature character. Bottom Line: A great book but a weak finalle

Rating:
Summary: intrigued until the disappointing end
Review: I could not believe such an ingeniously intelligent writer such a Thomas Harris could sell out his integrity like this. Red Dragon gave me nightmares and in my opinion is still one of the best horror stories I have ever read. Selling out at the end is a sacrilege, to the characters, the reader and last of all to Thomas Harris. I will admit that it is a good read until the last 2 chapters. If you just want to read another Thomas Harris book this will do, but if you are an avid fan as I was this book will disapoint you.

Rating:
Summary: AN APPROPRIATELY CHILLING READING
Review: Just as we were recovering from the spine tingling yet fascinating reading of "Silence Of The Lambs," one of the most frightening villains imagined returns.

As we remember, evil incarnate in the form of the brilliant psychopath Dr. Hannibal Lecter has escaped his captors. As "Hannibal" opens it has been seven years of freedom for the killer, seven years of enjoying and employing his heinous plans. FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling is still haunted by him, and so are many of us.

Film and television veteran Daniel Gerroll gives an appropriately chilling reading to this terrifying tale. Do you remember Hannibal Lecter's oily, ingratiating, scary voice? Wait until you hear Daniel Gerroll!