Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: A terrible and demented disappointment
Review: Mr. Harris excelled in his first two stories of Hannibal Lecter ("Red Dragon", "Silence Of The Lambs"). This latest installment is a horrific disappointment.

When the book debuted in hardcover, much was made about some of the dark turns in this novel. Much of it I brushed off as critics overblowing a couple of small passages - especially since many of the same reviews praised it as being a terrific read. I did, however, wait until "Hannibal" hit paperback before I decided to read it. By then, there had been the mini-controversy over Jodie Foster refusing to star in the movie adaptation, and some other continued "warnings" of this book's dark plot. I am thoroughly convinced now that I should have paid more heed to the warning signals.

There is the old expression that a book was so good, you couldn't put it down. Well, in the case of this book, it was so bad I couldn't wait to put it down. The entire book seemed geared to be less of a taut psychological thriller and more of a 500 page "contest" to see which character is the most perverted, demented, sickening, and twisted. The "conversion" of Clarice Starling from protagonist to willing accomplice seemed to be overly contrived and a lame path for Mr. Harris to take in the continuing saga of Starling and Lecter. The story and plot was so weighed down with the perverse and sick - that seemed to only escalate as the pages rolled on - that it moved at a snail's pace.

By the story's merciful end, I was severely disappointed and disgusted. I know that the theme of my review makes me out to sound like a prude of sorts, but I have read my fair share of disturbing/scary books, both fiction and nonfiction, of this genre. It wasn't the theme that turned me off as much as it was that it was so over-the-top as to be an unwelcome turn-off. Moreover, my disappointment lies in the fact that Mr. Harris is obviously capable of finer, more frightening, and more satisfying work - as evidenced by "Red Dragon" and "Silence Of The Lambs".

Personally, I hope that Mr. Harris ends his saga of Lecter here. To take it any further would be an even bigger waste of time, as he has done enough damage with "Hannibal" to render it unsalvagable. People who haven't already paid their money to make this a (unfortunate) bestseller should heed this warning: look elsewhere for a good read for your dollar...it's not to be found here. To echo the sentiment of a previous reviewer, kudos to Jodie Foster for passing on the movie adaptation. I wish I would have known then (when she passed) what I know now. I wouldn't have squandered my money on this distasteful clunker.

Rating:
Summary: Scary?
Review: I must admit that when I picked up this novel, I was expecting to be scared silly. I hate to disappoint everyone, but a cross-dressing midget is a scarier image than the ones this book creates. Albeit, the writing in this novel is above average, Harris leaves the reader wanting more. I must admit, that plot line was intriguing, but suffered from the "Hollywood Effect", that is, the author felt as though he was running out of room and tried to tie up everything quickly, leaving his reader out in the cold. The ending (not to give it away) is a considerable cop out, typical of this type of genre. The flushing out of Lecter's character was a welcome addition to the novel, but overall I felt as though the flushing out of his new persona was all for not. I just realized how negative this review turned out, if you are a fan of Stephen King, and the rest of "those" authors, feel free to pick up this one, you won't be let down. Typical of the genre, not adding anything new, Hannibal will take its place in the canon of the "modern horror fiction" novel.

Rating:
Summary: Hungry for more
Review: A delicious novel! It kept me reading into the night. Seeing how the Dcotor became who and what he is was the most satisfying (if shocking) part. Certainly disturbing, it's not for everyone... but if you crave an intelligent horror novel, this ones a keeper!

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your energy
Review: After the thrill of Red Dragon and the suspense of Silence of th Lambs, one cannot blame Thomas Harris for a last attempt at cashing in on the craze. This book is poorly written, untrue to the characters, and uneventful. If you haven't read it, I suggest you don't, and just simply reread Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. It will be time well spent.

Rating:
Summary: This book had so much potential!
Review: Because I enjoyed The Silence of the Lambs, I really looked forward to Hannibal. And given the amount of time the author put into the tale, I truly expected something magnificent. In some ways, it is. Mr. Harris writes with clarity, with an eye for the minute detail and also beautiful imagery. However there is no consistency in the behavior of main character, Clarice Starling. Some of the things he had Clarice doing I would never have imagined her doing in a million years. Don't let me get started on the amount of gratuitous violence...I'd be here all day. Just suffice it to say this book is possibly the most gross piece of literature I've ever had the displeasure of reading. It seems the author wanted us to feel sympathy for the monster, Hannibal Lecter. I have no compassion for a man who eats his fellow man. I'm truly sorry I couldn't give this five stars. If I were grading it solely on the writer's ability to compose wonderful sentences, paragraphs, I'd indeed give it five stars. But a writer has a responsibility do much more than entertain. There is no human feeling in this book. If you like suspense and horror, I suggest you read a Dean Koontz book. He's an excellent writer of this sort of story, and he manages to write with compassion. The end of this tale is a travesty! I do not write spoilers. But see if you don't agree with me. I felt totally cheated with this sophomoric effort at riding off into the sunset and ,frankly, thought both the writer and Clarice Starling had lost their minds! No, I definitely don't recommend this read. And I'm not putting my name on this review because I don't want my close friends to know I read Hannibal!

Rating:
Summary: Terrible Waste of Time
Review: Ugh! This book was awful. I read Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs and thought they were great. This was simply "let's have fun with canibalism". Until the last 100 pages or so, it was boring. Those pages were more gripping, but the ending was horrible. Until I got to it, I thought there was a chance that the majority of the book was going to be redeemed by the ending. Not so. I can't say enough how much I hated this book!

Rating:
Summary: 3 1/2, Actually.
Review: This was an interesting read, primarily becasue Harris is (certainly in this instance) a master teller of story, and can set a scene and describe minutae and description in a great way. The book is great fun to read, if somewhat lacking in not only believability, but plausability. The fashion in which Harris writes is quite compelling. Unfortunately, the book seems to get bogged down in scenes which become way over-the-top, and ultimately an ending which, while believable in the context of fiction, not in keeping with the integrity of the characters. It will indeed be interesting to see how the film version will be adapted, and even if it is untrue to the book (posibly a plus), it would have to be amazing to be even half as good as The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal the book is not). I can see why jodie Foster turned down the role, but it may not have been for the level of gore or violence, but rather the almost inane ending. But, given all that, I still enjoyed reading the book, and give it a marginal recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Read, but not as good as the Others
Review: I thought the book read very well, and maintained a god pace. However, it did not have the psychological impact that the other two books (Red Dragon, and Silence of the Lambs)had. It did have some enjoyable and vivid moments and I recommend this book to any suspense fans.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful, Horrible, Suspenseful, Funny Book
Review: Thomas Harris is such a joy to read. This book provided me with many wonderful hours of reading. Hannible is horrible, but some of the characters Harris presents in this novel are so bad that Hannible is a (anti) hero, righting the wrongs that society cannot seem to avenge. There is also one of the funniest scenes I have ever read, as Harris describes Dr Lecter flying back from Europe in coach on a crowded aircraft. Read this book and enjoy it. Harris is far better than many of his fellow top-notch writers, including James Patterson (Cat and Mouse, etc.), John Sandford (Easy Prey, etc.) and Rory Smith (Devil In The Metal). I can't wait for the next book to find out how our lunatic (anti) hero is doing!

Rating:
Summary: A Monsterous Disappointment
Review: I can't believe that I wasted 500 pages worth of time on this atrocity of fiction. The characters are loathesome and uninteresting, not to mention laughable and absurd. I kept on reading only to the belief that it has to get better. I never read the Silence of the Lambs, but if it was anything like this, they must have done a lot of rewrites pre-production for the film version. News that Jodi Foster doesn't want to be a part of this film adaptation is no surprise, in fact I hope they scrap the whole idea. This book, with no other better way to say it, is so stupid. The only reason that a book of this caliber could ever make the NY Times best-seller list has got to be the herd instinct of readers. I am only sorry that I went along with them. Don't be a part of the herd.