Rating: 
Summary: Weakest of the trilogy...
Review: ...but still good of its kind. Thomas Harris is very good at what he does, but I was a bit surprised that he so obviously wrote this novel as a screenplay in so many parts. There are lazy, lazy descriptions that could have been taken straight from a film script, and of course Hannibal was snatched up and is being made. In this third entry we get more of Hannibal Lecter. We even get a background on him, which I don't mind but which has caused some major disappointment from fans. I think that Harris fudged the timeline a bit though. Silence of the Lambs appeared in 1988, the film in 1991. In Hannibal, we learn that Lecter has been free for 7 years, yet everything points to the film taking palce in 1999 or 2000. He has also made Lecter almost superhuman in terms of intelligence and other ability. And Clarice Starling, who disappears for long periods in this overlong novel, seems like a tired creation, as if Harris became sick of her personality, which was never well developed to begin with. And no mention of Will Graham of Red Dragon, he being perhaps the authority on Lecter? Well, it will be interesting to see how the film presents the ending, which is really a bit far out. Hopefully though, this is the last of the Hannibal Lecter books. Until Harris is offered another 75 billions dollars for a novel and the rights.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written book is a mirror of humanity.
Review: Thomas Harris' book Hannibal is incredibly well-written and interesting! Nobody I know who read it was able to put it down! Absolutely the best of Harris' four novels! It's interesting to me that many reviewers didn't like the book! Was this perhaps that it hit too close to home? Aww...perhaps they were brought up to believe that a murderer or any deviant is a monster. How safe to feel that since Hannibal and other serial killers are monsters, I can't possibly be anything like them. They were "disappointed" in the fact that the reasons were given for Dr. Lecter's insanity. "We want him to be an inhuman monster! We don't want him to be a human being! We don't to understand, to feel compassion! We don't want him to be able to feel! " The society that we currently live in doesn't want to hear the "psycho-babble" or psychiatic "rubbish" because they are more comfy thinking that they are on a higher moral plane. That they are regular human people and murderers and serial killers are evil monsters not even resembling the humans that they kill. Oh well, they can believe whatever they want to believe, the facts are: Serial killers and murderers and other criminals are normal people just like you and me, they've had good experiences in life, just like you and me, and they've oftentimes had awful things happen in their life just like you and me. The difference is that the awful things in their life affect them in an involuntary way that make killing ok. People don't want to face the truth: Most serial killers and murderers become serial killers and murderers because of society's negligence. We don't take care of, or protect our children properly, we fight wars, we allow horrific atrocities. Some children when exposed to awful evil, become awfully evil, others don't. Why? Who knows? In the United States, we'd rather kill the grown-up children in jail for commiting crimes, than prevent these crimes by protecting the children who will grow up to be the criminals of the next generation. What a backward society! The book Hannibal shows Western "civilization" and the way they handle crime to be complete absolute bunk! This is a novel of humanity, not cannibalism! It doesn't display all that's wrong with Western Culture by glorifying cannibalism, murder, and lawlessness, it simply shows that as long as we won't practice justice and mercy there will be criminals who will commit crimes in the name of justice. If Jodie Foster and all the other Girl Scouts out there want Clarice Starling to remain a Girl Scout then they should read Pollyanna and the like, this is the real world, glass ceiling, response to injustice and all.
Rating: 
Summary: Movie Script
Review: I am willing to bet that Thomas Harris had Hollywood in mind when he wrote this book. Why else would he so completely alter the personalities of EVERY character in his book. Mr. Harris you created some excellent characters in "The Silence of the Lambs." They were engaging, flawed and, in the case of Hannibal, truly frightning. In this book you have made them cardboard cutouts that will look good on a movie screen. I have never been so disappointed in a writer before (and I read often!). I hope that if you choose to write a new novel you will not consider it's marketability and stick to what you do best.
Rating:
Summary: Don't eat before you read!
Review: One of the most psychologically disturbing books I've ever read. This was one of only two books that kept me under the covers at night, sleeping with the lights on.In the first few pages I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book at all, but within minutes I was overjoyed that I continued with it. Harris captures the darkest side of humanity with this book and it's not all from the person you would suspect. This book goes a long way towards showing that there is too much evil in the world to let it set itself down on the shoulders of just one man. I know I'll read this one again, something I don't often do. Don't purchase this if you're weak of heart or stomach. But if you want to be tuned in and tuned up until the very last page it's a must buy!
Rating:
Summary: You've got to be kidding me
Review: I waded through the revenge plot and was left with a handful of air at the end. What a jaw-droppingly bad ending. Mr. Harris, what were you thinking?
Rating: 
Summary: Good Lead Up - to a Big Dissapointment
Review: This book was great -- up until the last 15 pages. I just finished reading Hannibal yesterday. 90% of the book was great - very exciting, and very well written. Unfortunately, the ending left much to be desired. After reading the book, I definately plan to skip the movie when it comes out, if it ever comes out.
Rating:
Summary: Amusingly horrible!
Review: A bizarre attempt to portray Hannibal as a kinder, gentlerpsychopath: sure, he still savagely kills folks just for the hell of it, but he has a good excuse: during WWII, his beloved baby sister was eaten by deserters. ...................................................... This was just a gawd-awful book. No wonder Jodie Foster wouldn't touch the movie version with a ten-foot-pole. Save your money, folks.
Rating:
Summary: Can I give it Less than One Star!
Review: ...I read Hannibal on an airplane. After finishing it, I wanted to be off that plane, and I knew full well we were at 30,000 feet. This book is TERRIBLE. WAIT, LEMME REPHRASE THAT......The first 400 pages are great. Creepy, gory and everything you'd expect of Dr. Lecter and Agent Starling. The final few chapters grind their way into one of the least believable, most idiotic plot twists in recent memory. Reading how the story resolves itself (what happens to Dr. Krendler, then Starling) is the literary equivalent of the sound Jim Carrey made in "Dumb and Dumber" I am a fan of both the books and the movies. Red Dragon (Manhunter) was fantastic, Silence of the Lambs, even better...This is dreck. I can only hope, pray and light candles to the moot hope that they change the end of this god-forsaken thing and make it into something good. Save your money...for that matter....BURN YOUR MONEY! Don't waste it on this crap!
Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Harris's Talent
Review: To echo the sentiments of many previous reviewers, Hannibal was one of the most disappointing books I have ever read, given Harris's previous masterpieces, Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. The book fails in three unforgivable ways: (1) Harris makes Clarisse Starling (Jodie Foster for those who have seen but not read Silence of the Lambs) act totally out of character; (2) Harris inexplicably gives us the reasons why Hannibal Lechter became insane; and (3) the plot is boring. Since many other reviewers have also expressed the same disgust for Starling and since a detailed description would involve ruining the book's conclusion, I will not go into that failure further, but refer readers to previous reviews. The second failure of this book, Harris's explanation of Hannibal's insanity is terrible because it takes the scariness away from the series. The Hannibal Lechter series worked in the first few books in large part because of the incredibly frightening thought that an extraordinarily intelligent, witty, well-educated professional is also, inexplicably, a monster of unspeakable proportions. In this book, Harris is turned into a run-of-the-mill maniac whose past explains his present actions. Instead of the psychological fear we had of Lechter, the only scary things in this book is the violence wrought by Hannibal. This is even more unforgivable because Harris shows us how wonderful a writer he can be when he describes Hannibal's intelligence, as opposed to his insanity. The description of Hannibal's intelligence is beautiful, imaginative and intriguing, while the description of how Hannibal became insane is dull. Which brings us to my last criticism: the book as a whole is boring. Although the violence scenes are well-written, the main plot, having to do with the search for Hannibal by the Clarisse and the authorities and by a former victim of Hannibal bent on revenge is uninteresting and shows off none of Harris's considerable abilities as a writer. Finally, because of Harris's decision to devote so much time to the horrible ending involving Clarisse's startling metamorphosis, Harris gives short shrift to the plot, having it come to a climax before the plot even has a chance to become interesting. Therefore, I suggest you skip this book and hope that Harris's next book is better.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book...couldn't put it down!
Review: Excellant book! I won't give away the details, but I think the scariest part isn't about Dr. Lecter being a cannibal on the run (from monsters worse than him!), it's the fact that by the end of the book you find yourself rooting for him! I thought the ending was superb, even if it was abit unbelieveable. I can't wait for the movie next year!
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