Rating: 
Summary: IT ROCKED!
Review: I just finished Hannibal; although some of the diction gave me some difficulty (especially the Italian names)this novel was one intense horror machine that sent my mind on a 1-way trip to Thrillvill. What can I say? Hannibal RUUUUUULLLEESS!
Rating: 
Summary: 10 yrs in the making and needs another 10
Review: Harris takes his time in a novel to get it write. Deep, dark, strange, his previous novels were "all nighters", difficult to put down. On Hannibal, the money got to him. Pressure from editors and big money from movie producers. He has his price. The 1st half is absorbing. The 2nd half was a quick write. Logically not connected. Characters manipulated for a screen play versus a good novel. The money got impatient and Harris got sloppy and pleasing. The result, a unbelievable, illogical mess that could use a good rewrite before the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Hannible
Review: I could not put this book down. Its characters, new and old, relinquished believability To the reader. They played on this penned stage to create a mental picture. Like memories fresh, Lector maneuvers sinisterly like fine Italian marble eased in, But only to construct at its end, some horrific palace. Starling waltz's along with confidence and Independence that is easily wiped away, with five fingers of a magicians hand. Thomas Harris Has written what is classic of the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: How unoriginal can one get?
Review: I was astounded at how awful this novel was. Despite the few redeeming qualities it possesses, such as lovely little tidbits of information about history, literature, music, and art, the book is a total failure. None of the characters are well-developed at all; they are mere caricatures. Harris' attempts at giving Hannibal a psychological motive for being a cannibal make no sense whatsoever and leave Hannibal devoid of the respect the reader has cultivated for him on account of his calculated acts of "whimsy." Even the cultural references and tidbits information grow tiresome afer a while. The language is dull and repetitive, with entire sentences being repeated, as if they were so delightfully profound the first time around that Harris could not bear not to use them again. Cliche follows cliche, from the FBI shootout to the man whose only goal in life is to sabotage Starling's career to the impossibly evil Mason Verger to the cheesy boy gets girl ending. No elements of the story come as a shock because the course of events are all too predictable. The only frightening aspect of the story is that some people liked it well enough to give it rave reviews.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read!
Review: Written beautifully, this novel was so engrossing, I couldn't put it down. The rich descriptions of the characters' thoughts and the beautiful tapestry of locales was incredible! Violent and disturbing, yet beautiful and romantic, this book is my all-time favorite!
Rating:
Summary: Depressing follow-up to Silence of the Lambs
Review: Some books are so well-written, the characters and storyline so compelling, that follow-ups should never be written. Sadly, Hannibal falls into this category. I'm puzzled why the book is called Hannibal, as Lecter is in this story so infrequently (until the climax). Even Starling is relegated to a minor supporting role for most of the book. Other monsters take the stage, and while the premise of one psychotic plotting to destroy another is interesting in theory, on the printed page, at least in this case, it doesn't work. And the too-obvious digs at federal bureaucracy are weakly reminiscent of a Grisham novel.The biggest distraction for me was the constant shift in tense (nearly as distracting as the over-use of description throughout). Practically every chapter that involved Hannibal shifted from the past to the present tense. In fact, this book throughout read more like a screenplay (complete with stage direction) than a novel. Highly irritating. There is also a huge discrepancy involving Clarice's mother that I can't understand an editor not catching. In this book we also get some insight into why Hannibal is the way he is. Personally, I preferred the mystery of not knowing why Hannibal is such an abomination to mankind. But the worst offense is what Harris does to the Starling character. For me it was completely unbelievable. There were parts that I enjoyed. I liked that once again I found myself feeling empathy for Hannibal (due, I'm sure, in no small part to remembering Anthony Hopkins' phenomenal performance in the movie of Silence of the Lambs), that the line between good and evil is often smudged, and that I had again this perverse wish for Hannibal and Starling to somehow be friends. But overall? I don't think this was a book even Hannibal Lecter could sink his teeth into!
Rating:
Summary: HARRIS, SPARE US
Review: I'm not going to waste a lot of time writing my review... I've already wasted enough time reading this pathetic book. As a follow-up to "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon", this book arrived with so much hype that it almost was doomed to fall short of people's expectations... but who would have thought it would (or COULD) be THIS bad? Ok, here goes my review... 10 years have passed since Hannibal was last seen tracking down his next meal, and as we are re-introduced to Clarice and the other sordid cast of primary characters, it's as if their lives have been completely on hold since 1990. By the time I made it to the end of this book, I was hoping one of the hideous villains would eat ME, and put me out of my misery. Or, better yet, maybe Hannibal could have eaten Thomas Harris, and saved our future by sparing us from any further literary assaults. Summary: don't buy this book. If you feel you MUST throw your money away on something, buy a ball-peen hammer and hit yourself in the head with it. The ensuing headache will make you feel the same way I felt after reading this horrible book.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: I am a huge fan of Silence of the Lambs and fell in love with the book. However, I was very let down when I began Hannibal. All of the mystery and detail that made Silence of the Lambs what it is was completely abandoned when writing Hannibal. The only shock factor that this book contains is the goriness which does, I have to say, make Silence of the Lambs look like Dr. Seuss. The book was intersting and if you loved Silence of the Lambs it is a must read. However, don't set your standards too high when reading this book if you plan on enjoying it.
Rating:
Summary: A Harrowing Experience
Review: I can't remember a book that so repelled me, and yet was soabsorbing. I couldn't stop reading it. Thomas Harris' elegantnarrative, rather in its fashion like Bach's Goldberg variations themselves, which Hannibal listens to with such pleasure, often describes the most revolting occurrences in almost poetic language. Hannibal's role as Major Monster is challenged by some who rise (or descend) to his lonely level-- Mason Verger, his Sardinian henchmen, and indeed, Clarice Starling's superior all are accomplished monsters themselves. One of these receives the most awful and mind-blowing (really!) of comeuppances at the shocking climax of the book, that makes spending time with Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs like taking tea with the Church guild. The glimpses of Hannibal's childhood, and the horror that twisted him irretrievably, while they may make us understand him a bit more, do not, as some reviewers have suggested, make him a whit more attractive. He is still as chilling as ever, as cold and dispassionate -- and as quick -- as a king cobra, who callously despatches humans with as little concern as one would take squashing an ant. The story arc of the book, and the intersecting paths of Hannibal and Clarice, are often surprising and exceedingly unpleasant, yet make more narrative sense than a psychologically unlikely "happy ending" would have. The development of Clarice's character is terrifying in many ways, largely because we have hitherto identified with her, and that someone we identify with can change so horribly is a truly frightening realization. A great book, that was both intensely unpleasant and riveting at the same time (sort of like the experience of watching Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"). Not for the squeamish!
Rating: 
Summary: A gripping, yet in the end, disappointing, read
Review: Caught up in the hype of last year's low-budget, independent horror film, The Blair Witch Project, I built unachievable expectations for the film--nothing short of nearly scaring me to death would have sufficed. Such is the case with Harris' Hannibal. While I found much of the novel to be quite gripping, in the end, it disappointed-- perhaps due to my high expectations. I admire three basic aspects of the book. First, the characterizations--contained in this novel, not necessarily compared to the others in the series--remained quite consistent. In the context of unbelievable acts, the characters seemed remarkably believable, with one major exception noted below. Second, the novel, for the most part, built to a climax. Instead of meandering toward a predictable ending, the novel introduced several elements that built on the ones before--enticing the reader to continue, hoping for a resolution. And in providing a resolution, Harris did not disappoint. Finally, I also admired the supporting roles developed in the novel, with one exception noted below. Instead of distracting, the supporting characters brought out sides to the main characters one might not see otherwise. However, there were many other elements of the book that I did not admire. First, the middle of the novel went off on a rather long tangent, abandoning the heroine. While I often admire this technique when the author weaves sub-plots into main plot-lines, this one was not woven tightly into the text. As mentioned earlier, this element introduced a supporting character that did nothing to further the reader's understanding of the other characterizations. Second, I found the author's writing style--often using fragments and a 2nd person point of view by addressing the reader--to be distracting and pedantic. Instead of forcing the reader to rush down the page, building intensity and speed, the style often forced me to slow down, grasping at the intended meanings. Finally, while many praise the conclusion of the novel, I found it rather disappointing. (Since I deplore reviews that give away the ending, I will be rather abstract). When a major character undergoes a life-altering transformation, I believe the reader needs to see clear motivation and justification and a slow progression of change, in most instances. In this case, the change is so abrupt it borders on disbelief. Thus, while I commend that fact that the author resolved the plot-lines (a feature missing from many novels today), I was not satisfied by the resolution. Certainly, Harris has created an intriguing cast of characters. In fact, because of the complexities of the Hannibal character, the book is inherently intriguing. However, upon completing the novel after several straight hours of reading, I felt let down--either the victim of my own unrealistic high expectations or the victim of the novel's faults.
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