Rating: 
Summary: Caveat Emptor!
Review: This book intends to be a sequel to Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, and it does continue the same character names, and in the text refers back often to these predecessors. However, the continuity is purely formal: the characters of all persons and even institutions, are completely different from the earlier ones of the same name. And the style, technique, and approach of writing are also startlingly altered. To begin, the protagonist Lector is no longer the sadist that we knew and hated. He has transmuted to a sort of superman, dealing out rough justice to evil enemies. His historical learning and esthetic appreciation win him a coveted position over the competition of Italian scholars. His physical prowess enables him, with no assistance, to hang the corrupt chief of police of Florence from the balcony of his palace. And escape, of course. Lector's place in our disaffection is taken by one of his two surviving victims, Mason, a one-eyed, partial-faced monstrosity living on a respirator, and devoting his life, such as it is, to the capture and painful extinction of Lector. Kremler, of the Justice Department, promoted from his role of ambitious bureaucrat of Silence, now is second-villain, a cold, mercenary collaborator with Mason. Clarice begins as a devoted FBI agent, but quickly runs afoul of the bureaucracy, and with her career in ruins, loses faith, and with some psychiatric help (from Lector himself!) frees herself from the sense of purpose, integrity, and discipline that she had learned from her parents. She ends as an amoral hedonist, living a felonious existence. The FBI itself is no longer recognizable. The dedicated agents and technicians of the earlier books have disappeared (her two closest colleagues and role models both die in Hannibal), and the Bureau is a faceless bureaucracy with no loyalty to its employees, ready to sacrifice any of them for minor public relations gain. This new Bureau is unable to arouse itself to its proper function, even when the Most Wanted is under its nose. Any thriller requires of the reader some forbearance of the reader at certain weaknesses in the plotting. In the earlier books, weak spots were carefully concealed and attention was directed from them by good writing and interesting characters. Hannibal is more in the tradition of the James Bond series, with no attempt at credibility. One can conclude only that Harris, in the third book, lost interest in his characters and his former style. He apparently forgets that the new style requires a sympathetic protagonist, and he now has none.
Rating: 
Summary: Unsettling, Disturbing - - A Good Read
Review: Just finished Hannibal. I'd passed over it a few times at the airport book store, not wanting to make the psychic commitment to what I knew was coming. I've always been intrigued by the world of the sociopath, and the almost infallible Hannibal Lecter takes the persona to an even higher level. I feel that perhaps Harris was trying to pull all the stops out on this one, which is not totally in keeping with the things I admire most in the main characters. The final 100 or so pages of the book were very rewarding - yet delightfully disturbing. ...After the many allusions to high speed cars I was very glad that it did not end in a "chase scene". J
Rating: 
Summary: Will the movie be better?
Review: Gross, not particularly frightening, and way too long. The character of Hannibal, however, is developed with consistency and verocity -- I can hear Anthony Hopkins saying the words and can see him moving about using the gestures and mannerisms so expertly described. On the other hand, the behavior of Starling is completely inconsistent with the personality developed in Silence of the Lambs. Additionally, the sub-plot of vengeance by Mason didn't hang together for me, and seemed contrived. Merely an excuse to have Starling meet up with Lecter again. Overall, I'd have to give this one a thumbs down. This is one of those rare stories where the movie will surely surpass the book in terms of its entertainment value.
Rating:
Summary: politically correct serial killer...
Review: wins vacuous blond in the end. The good news is that hannible's victims all deserved what they got... except for the old curator of some Italian museum, but what the hey, how else could Harris bore us with his impressive knowledge of Italian history and culture for 200 pages? I'll give the thing 2 stars because I was able to finish it, but I really am getting tired shock 'art' and rednecks getting harpooned simply for being out of favor with the mass reading public.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Reading, exciting and beautiful.
Review: I've read several of these reviews and am sitting here in shock at some of the comments. Rather than moralizing, sit back and enjoy the ride!
Rating:
Summary: Great writing and characters wasted on a weak ending
Review: Let me say at the outset: I love Thomas Harris's work. I have read and listened on audio to Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs multiple times. I did not care as much for the movie Silence of the Lambs, because I thought they got elements of the Lecter/Starling relationship wrong. Well, the movie didn't get it nearly as wrong as Mr. Harris himself in this novel. Although the novel is completely engrossing (and will gross you out), I simply didn't believe the ending. I could very well have accepted it if I could have seen the logical development of Clarice's character moving in that direction. I was left thinking "Why?" I was sorry to see Clarice come to such a sorry end. I genuinely liked her. And, I would have continued to like her if I could have seen her character developing in that direction. But it was almost like I was moving along the road South, then all of the sudden - OOPS! I'm going East! It was awkward and poorly developed. It was not that it was a surprise ending - it was a poorly contrived surprise ending. I was very intrigued by the development of Dr. Lecter, and recognized that I was "rooting" for him. I wanted to know more about Dr. Lecter after reading the two earlier works, especially about how he developed his predeliction for cannibalism and torture. The background on the Tooth Fairy and Buffalo Bill were some of the best parts of their respective books, and part of what I felt was missing in the move adaptation of "Lambs." Harris does almost as well here, though I wanted more. Mason Verger was a revolting and fascinating villain. I easily was more sympathetic toward Dr Lecter. There was lots of Harris's trademark detail and atmosphere. I did not resent the time spent on Florentine history and art, but I wish he had spent equal time developing Dr Lecter's past, and also on developing the Clarice plot so that the ending made sense.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the faint at heart
Review: I have read this book through and through without ever feeling the need to say "Why so much cruelty?". I felt that the cruelty and horror of this book was somewhat needed because it just wouldn't have worked without it. I think that Thomas Harris just made the logical step after Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. The story is well built. Thanks to the short chapters there is no straining, but always a sort of "edge of the seat" eagerness to turn to the next page to see what's going to happen. I am eager to see how they will do the movie on that.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Terrifying
Review: I picked up Silence of the Lambs [...] and rushed through it sothat I could get to Hannibal. It was worth it. Hannibal stands beside Dean Koontz's Intensity as the scariest novel I have ever read (and I read a lot in the horror genre). From start to finish it is a page turner, and today, my third day, I have finished it in a 220 page read-fest. I agree with Larry King, of the USA Today, in saying that the final 100 pages are the "best I've ever read in the thriller genre." Clarice Starling does not hold as dominant a role as she did in "Silence" (don't worry, she gets her share of the plot), and we are instead intoduced to other main characters, including the vile Mason Verger. Visions of Hannibal Lecter will haunt me for years to come, I am sure, as they will haunt all other readers of this amazing piece of literature. I believe that I most enjoyed the 120 or so pages we spend in Florence, which Harris describes so well (without actually describing anything) that we feel that we are there beside Lecter, as well as the Italian policemen (a Pazzi of the Pazzi).[...] All writers have one book that stands out as being their best and most ingenious works. For King it was The Stand. For Puzo it was The Godfather. For Koontz it was Intensity. For Harris it was Hannibal, a book so superior to it's predecesor that it is laughable. While "Silence" seemed to be made for the silver screen, Hannibal was made for the written word, a feat that is rare now in the days where 9/10 authors imagine their works as becoming Hollywood blockbusters. Although Hannibal is soon to be released in movie form, I do not look forward to it, as no movie I've seen has EVER captured the true greatness of the book it is based upon. In closing, I reccomend this novel to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of a "sick and twisted" plot. I have found in reading some of the 2000 reviews for this book that people either love it or hate it. Most of the reviews are either 1 or 5 stars. I give it five, and I consider it to be among the best novels I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: What kind of Ending was that!
Review: This book is amazing until the end. No woder why Jodi Foster didnt want to do the movie. She should have stuck it out though because they changed the ending for the movie!
Rating:
Summary: Revenge and a nice Chianti
Review: Much as I loved the previous novels, particularly the intriguing relationship of twisted genius and student of crime, I was disappointed with Harris' latest venture. I simply do not follow this new twist in Hannibal and Agent Starling's relationship. Federal agent or pen pal to the psycologically disturbed? I long for the restrained respect the main characters maintained in the first novel. That Hannibal could not help but ghost in and out of his favorite pupil's life was hoped for, but I fail to see where such camraderie would develop. Or are we readers to believe that dear Clarice has suddenly developed amnesia? He dines on everyone else, surely, he would never dine on her? No, I don't agree...I much prefer the edge of the previous novel. Clarice, as well as Barney, remembered the rules of Lecter. Come close, but not too close, lest you'll be dinner. That said, I did thoroughly enjoy the revenge served sauteed. A vintage Harris moment just the way I thought I couldn't stomach, but can't wait to read. The latest twisted soul to the line-up is a good one...As intended, Mason is so revolting he makes Lecter the hero even a mother could love. But again, that's where I say enough. While Harris by no means depicts Hannibal as the latest Clark Kent, I felt he went a bit far. I fail to see the Hannibal I've come to fear from previous novels in the nurse maid / hero presented here. I fear the author is too much in love with his own characters in this latest edition, bringing a touch of Romance I can well do without.
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