Rating: 
Summary: The worst book I have ever had the misfortune to read.
Review: Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Harris's previous books I was eagerly anticipating Hannibal. What a mistake that turned out to be. This is by far the worst book I have ever read. The plot is laughable and the prose is downright pathetic. No matter what a particular chapter was about they all ended with something along the lines of 'the blood ran slowly down the wall...' or some other melodramatic drivel. Mr. Harris should have quit while he was so very far ahead with his earlier gems. I'm tempted to go see the movie version to find out if it could possibly be any worse than the book. Do yourself a favor, as Jodie Foster did, and stay as far away from Hannibal as you can.
Rating: 
Summary: MAGNIFICENTLY MACABRE
Review: It's seven years after Starling's success of tracking Buffalo Bill and the subsequent escape of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Clarice's career has stalled, ironically as a result of her early success. Clarice is under investigation after a high profile shooting when she gets some encouraging words from an admirer.....Hannibal Lecter. The manhunt for Lecter is in full swing with a little push from Lecter's only surviving victim, Mason Verger. Verger proves to be as menacing as Lecter and his obessesion with Hannibal puts Clarice in danger. The tale of Clarice and Hannibal reaches a feverish pace as the hunt goes on and Clarice's career starts to fall apart. The presence of Verger, a man so vile and evil, actually causes the reader to cheer for Hannibal Lecter. Only the quick pen of Thomas Harris can have you rooting for a cannibalistic serial killer. The book reaches uncharted territory with graphic violence. It touches every evil known to man and then some...... murder, cannibalism, torture, child molestation, incest, bribery, corruption, greed............. these and more keep the reader spellbound to this nightmarish novel. The book reads fast and holds interest right up until the shocking end. A magnificently macabre five star thriller!
Rating:
Summary: Brillant, yet uneven
Review: I read "silence of the lambs" just after the movie opened in 1991 as I was anxious to learn more extensive details concerning the character Hannibal Lector. While I can't remember everything about that novel, I'm sure I'll remember the majority of the elaborate details found in "hannibal" the long awaited third installment of the series. Frankly, I thought placing Hannibal in Florence amongst the world's greatest works of art was very clever; however, I would have enjoyed the book as much if it didn't justapose Lector's life in Florence with Starling's woes at the FBI. Portraying the world's most sinister killer as the victim curiously lessened the most interesting element of these three stories: that readers sympathize (and sometimes idolize) this monstorous character due to his elegance and intelligence. Perhaps authors will note that modern audiences strongly desire these qualities and create better protaganists with this in mind.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts like a killer but ends like a victim...
Review: I was excited to finally read this book, just a week before the film came out. Being a huge fan of the film 'Silence of the Lambs', I quickly ran out and bought all 3 Lector books, and even bought the film 'Manhunter'. Boy, did I set myself up for a fall. While 'Red Dragon' and 'SOTL' were suspenseful serial-killer hunts, 'Hannibal' is nothing more than a convoluted soap opera. The story opened up with great promise. I pretty much enjoyed all until the last half of the book, especially Lector's time in Italy (I truly loved the confrontation between him and Pazzi) but the over-indulged Verger family/italian mafia story began to bog the book down for me. 'Dragon' and 'Lambs' concentrated more on the brilliantly drawn main characters, with the secondary characters adding some dimension. 'Hannibal', on the other hand, expands pointlessly on characters that I felt didn't need to be there in the first place. I mean, c'mon, orderly Barney? He hung in there till the 'fricken epilogue! And the whole Verger sister side-story left me shaking my head. Sure, I can see why she was important for the story in the end. I also can see how she was important as filler, making a more larger, attractive book for the shelves. As for the ending, many may have found it "challenging" or "such a twist". I found it irritating and ridiculous. SPOILER, but I can't twist the character of Starling that I followed in 'Lambs' to the confusingly pathetic puppet we see in the endpages here. As a different actress replaces the original Clarice in the film, I find myself replacing the character in the book with another of the same name. All in all, great start but serious wobbling to the end.
Rating:
Summary: terrifying and beautiful
Review: I find myself drawn to read this book again. Was mesmerized by both its beauty and its terror. Where the beauty ends and terror begins isn't clear - making it that much the better. It was one of the most beautiful and the most frightening books I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Too Gory For Me
Review: I didn't read Silence Of The Lambs, but I enjoyed the movie very much. I was looking forward to reading Hannibal, but I was bitterly disappointed. For some reason, the gory details in movie form don't bother me as much as reading about them. This book is full of horrific scenes that got into my head and gave me terrible nightmares for all the days it took me to read it. Harris' sentence structure was, at times, awkward enough to interrupt the flow of the story. I agree with some of the other reviewers here that the ending was out of balance with the characters as we came to know them. All in all, not worth the time. Wait for the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, disappointing, but...
Review: Ok, there are more reviews for this book than I've noticed for any other before. You get the general idea. The ending was a shame, there were some implausible and silly moments that were not only out of character for the plot, but also for Thomas Harris as an author. But - you can still see the strength of the characters shine through - Hannibal Lechter is rightfully one of the most memorable antagonists in modern writing. For the benefit of many, I recently read an article stating that good portions of the book were heavily redone and rewritten for the screenplay, and it sounds like they were the portions I found most offensive (plot-wise - people who read a book involving serial killers and cannibalism who act aghast at crude descriptions need to rethink their life). Purportedly, Jodie Foster turned down the role based on the reading of the book, but the changes were enacted after her refusal -- so we can hope for the movie. Still, there were some interesting concepts -- the Memory Palace still strikes me. The touches of elegance that Harris either knows or researched heavily. It made the read bearable - but still glad I bought the softcover.
Rating: 
Summary: Looks like the third time isn't the charm
Review: Thomas Harris' "Hannibal"- the third novel in his "Hannibal Lector" saga is, in my opinion, not a worthy follow up to "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs". After finishing up the novel, it seems as though Harris wrote it to satisfy the public's hunger for more Lector, no for any other reason. Whereas "Red Dragon" focused on the split personality of Francis Dolarhyde, and "Silence" on the sexual dilemma plaguing Jame Gumb, "Hannibal" has no main focus. There really is no "bad guy" and no "good guy", mainly because (in my opinion again) the majority of Harris' readers enjoy Lector and view him as a hero, not the cold blooded monster that he is, and it looks like that view has influeced Harris' writing here. Clarice Starling is reduced to a rogue FBI agent, and the newcomer, Mason Verger, is hunting Lector more than the authorities are. Lector is basically the one the reader roots for; there is no Will Graham or Clarice Starling like we've seen before. In "Hannibal", we see Agent Starling (the first time Harris uses a main character twice, besides Jack Crawford, Frederic Chilton, Barney the Orderly, and, of course, Lector) return to pursue Hannibal Lector after being blackballed by the FBI following a drug bust gone horribly wrong. Another focus is on the Doctor himself, who is living comfortably as a curator and chief intellect of Italian Renaissance literature. The third and final focus is on Verger, a deranged millionaire who was a former patient of Lector's, and is confined to the life of a thinking vegetable, unable to physically move, but sound mentally (all courtesy of the good Doctor). Only in the final half of the book do we see all three focuses meet, albiet poorly. I don't want to give the ending away, but it is about as outlandish as one could possibly imagine, especially when considering the endings of the previous two novels, which left the reader spellbound. "Hannibal" just left me feeling empty. As I mentioned before, it seems as though Harris wrote it to give the masses more Lector to read. I've heard that the movie has an entirely different ending, and while I'll look forward to it, I just can't see how Hollywood will salvage the mess told on the final pages of the novel. If you enjoy Hannibal Lector, I recommend reading "Red Dragon" and "Silence", and for a sense of hollow completion, "Hannibal" will have to do.
Rating:
Summary: Harris seems to say......
Review: Harris seems to say another "Lecter book? No problem, I'll phone it in." If you're expecting a stellar end to a trilogy, then you'll be disappointed. Harris really takes what could have been great and just gets lost in the thought that no matter what he writes w/ Hannibal Lecter in it,that it will sell. Now I'm not slamming his ability because "Black Sunday", "Red Dragon", and "The Silence of the Lambs" are all great books and worth having in your collection. But this book left a lot to be desired and I'm surprised the publisher didn't at least say something about it. I would also like to add that I'm glad I borrowed this book because I would definitely have wanted my money back or an exchange. I only give this book one star because you have to enter at least one star.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange ending
Review: Harris shows us some of the most gruesome stuff we'll read for the rest of our lives. I see why Jodie Foster turned down the role. But I did like the book. I thought that the part with Pazzi was too long. I like the basic plot of the book even though it is twisted, vintage Harris. I have to disagree with those that are against giving Hannbal a reason for his madness. It had a big part, psychologically, with the reasons for the ending. I'm not sure I liked the ending but I did find it shocking, Which was Harris was trying to do.
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