Hannibal

Rating:
Summary: Most definately worth the read!
Review: Don't be dissuaded by the negative reviews! Everyone likes different things, and I most certainly liked this novel and found it a quite worthy ending to the Hannibal Lecter Saga. I rather liked the ending (which I won't give away), and did not find it out of character for either Clarice or Lecter. For the reviewer who claimed this novel explained Lecter, let me tell you, it did anything but! Maybe revealed some of his past, yes, and helped you understand his motivations, Hannibal is still not "explained".

Clarice is in a different place in her life then when we left her in Silence of the Lambs. Her promising career is left in shambles, (I've leave it to you to read the book and discover why) and she's got more years to her credit, now, and I think where she is at the end of the book is quite understandable, and where I always hoped she'd be. :) Hannibal knew, from the first moment he met her, that she was like him.

Not an uplifting read, (and, of course, not for the squeamish) but most certainly well worth the time. You thought The Silence of the Lambs was dark? SotL looks pink and fluffy next to Hannibal.

Rating:
Summary: The Story Concluded
Review: The ending of "The Silence of the Lambs" left Clarice Starling at her FBI Academy graduation. It seemed that her future, if not assured, was at least on the fast track. She was a protégé of Jack Crawford, legendary head of the FBI's elite Profiling Unit. She had been instrumental in locating the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill and in fact had fired the bullet that killed him. In so doing she had saved the daughter of a United States senator-a woman dedicated to protecting and defending the role of women in government. It wasn't hard for the reader to imagine Clarice thirty years hence as the first female FBI Director in history.

But the intervening seven years have changed much. The senator who might have become her advocate was defeated in the next election. Clarice's mentor, Jack Crawford, has become an old man, emotionally crippled by the death of his wife. He is sliding toward retirement and senility with what seems to be equal speed.

She has attracted the attention of Paul Krendler, a high-ranking Treasury Department official who believes the only function of women in government is to be bedpartners for men like himself. When she rejects him he decides to punish her by destroying her career.

If there's anything more vulnerable than a woman trying to make it in a man's world, it's a woman who is good enough to pose a real threat to the men. Clarice Starling has become a surplus agent, loaned out to the District of Columbia Police Department or anyone else who needs an extra warm body. It is a situation in which she has no way to win but many ways to lose.

Playing counterpoint to this melody is Mason Verger, one of the few of Lecter's victims to survive. Wealthy beyond measure, Verger lives on full-time life-support. He hangs onto the frail thread of life for only one reason-he wants to capture Hannibal Lecter and watch him die a slow and agonizing death.

As the new book opens, Verger and Krendler have joined forces because they share a common goal. Krendler doesn't want Clarice to capture Lecter because to do so would put her forever beyond the reach of his vengeance. Verger doesn't want Clarice to capture Lecter because the government would just return him to jail. Verger wouldn't have the pleasure of killing him, slowly and painfully.

Lecter, meanwhile, has taken up residence in a mid-sized Italian town. Masquerading as Dr. Fell, a retired professor of medieval literature, he is a model citizen. His neighbors think him a little aloof but that's considered normal for wealthy Americans.

Here is where we see the only real weakness in Harris's plot. By all accounts Lecter has been behaving himself. There have been no unexplained murders or disappearances in the area to attract the attention of either the local police or the FBI.

Despite that, Verger's agents manage to find Lecter. They set a plot to kidnap him and turn him over to Verger. Lecter, of course, anticipates the plot and foils it, killing several of the would-be kidnappers in the process. But his cover is blown; he has to go on the run again. Being, as always, smarter than the police who are trailing him, he decides to go to the one place they're sure he'd never try to go, and where they're sure they could capture him if he tried. Lecter returns to the United States.

It is at about this point that the careful reader can almost hear Harris's thoughts. Being a talented and experienced writer, he knows the story isn't working. The readers of "Silence" had demanded a story about Hannibal Lecter, but despite his best efforts this isn't Lecter's story. It is Clarice's. She has become both heroine and victim. Lecter merely plays a strong supporting role, as he did in "Silence."

Even worse, the story is going where Harris knows he cannot allow it to go. The only way for Clarice to salvage her career is to capture or kill Lecter-and that's the one outcome neither Harris nor his readers will tolerate. One can almost see him sitting at the keyboard muttering, "How can I salvage this thing without starting over?"

Then, as strongly as we sensed his dilemma, we sense that he has found a solution. The story moves forward with a speed and vigor characteristic of Harris's earlier works but not heretofore seen in "Hannibal." Crises are resolved and comeuppances gotten. In a grand finale reminiscent of the stunning conclusion of Harris's earlier "Red Dragon," Clarice saves Lecter's life then he saves hers.

But there are five chapters left, and the fundamental conflict of Clarice's career versus Lecter's freedom remains unresolved.

In these final chapters the reader is treated to a metamorphosis seldom seen in literature. They are not Thomas Harris but rather Anne Rice out of Thomas Harris, written with the otherworldly texture and subtle eroticism that Rice has made her trademark. The story ends in a way that some readers will find satisfying, others will refuse to believe, and more than a few will find vaguely disturbing.

Whatever the reader's reaction, Harris has accomplished what he wanted. The book is a bestseller, and it deserves to be. It may be made into a movie, and probably should be. But there will be no clamor for another book. The story of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling is finished.

Rating:
Summary: An inelegant story, elegantly told
Review: Yes, Hannibal Lecter is one sick puppy. Anyone who entered this book without understanding that single fact no doubt was appalled by the mind of the protagonist. There is more to this book than gore, however. Mr. Harris's writing is so elegant and so polished that it is easy to fall in love with the words on the page. Combine this talent with the author's marvelous sense of irony and you have a book that is gratifying on many levels. The characters, from the haunted Clarice Starling to the haunting Mason Verger, are complete and all too believable; the plot, while twisted, is not convoluted, and the narrative is compelling. It is the way the words are put together, though, that made this book so satisfying. It is at once gruesome, disturbing and extremely beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and misunderstood
Review: You can't expect a book like this to please everyone. Harris broke the conventions of the genre novel. Ambiguous in the best sense of the word and, at the core, viciously gripping.

Plus, this novel, to use the words of one critic, is not only about Hannibal, it IS Hannibal. The genius behind this novel is that its voice is Lecter himself. At the least it's the voice of insanity. It's the voice of murder. It's the voice of internal decay. It's the voice of perversity. Only on a few occasions, such as the last paragraph, does Harris appear to bring his own apocalyptic view.

Different from the author's previous works, but it stands on its own as a visionary masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: I Can't Believe I Read the Whole Thing
Review: Poor writing, disjointed scenes, and an unbelievable plot--I kept reading, hoping it would get better. Alas, the ending only cemented my earlier conclusion--this book was a waste of time. I'm sure Mr Harris must be a talented writer, but it was not evident here.

Rating:
Summary: Disastrous
Review: I'll start off by admitting that I haven't read any of Thomas Harris's previous novels, but common wisdom claims him to be a writer of merit. Something of which there is zero evidence of in this very average thriller. Why give an "average" thriller one star? Becuase it commits the unforgivable crime of explaining Hannibal Lector, in the procces destroying the character's enigma. This fatal error doesn't just make this book a failure, but to any of its unfortunate readers it also weakens The Silence of The Lambs and its excellent 1991 film adaptation. Bypassing this point, the book is still weak on its own merits, Harris seems to think that mixing tenses(past and present) is clever or stylish, but since he obviously has no idea or point, it seems to be an idea abandoned halfway through. The rest of the book , is a Nelson Demille class (airport) thriller, with random passages of gore that come off as a desperate attempt by an author to add something to a completely unremarkable novel. For some real horror, check out Irvine Welsh's brilliant horror/comedy/tragedy FILTH.

Rating:
Summary: A Huge Disappointment
Review: I just finished this book and must say it was a huge disappointment. I have read several serial killer works, both fiction and non-fiction. "The Silence of the Lambs" is the best fictional serial killer novel ever written. In "Hannibal", Mr. Harris abandons the sharp, crisp writing style of his two earlier serial killer books. I found myself reading along hoping the book would get better, but it did not. Hannibal Lecter is the scariest killer ever conceived because of his amazing attributes of strength and intelligence. Instead of writing a truly scary book, Mr. Harris sunk to a meandering story with a ludicrous ending. He totally missed the essence of Clarisse Starling and forgot completely about Jack Crawford. His plot 'twists' were so predictable throughout, that the ending seemed so contrived because the author realized the book was mundane at best. The convenience of Lecter's escape in Italy and then the parking lot scene combine to show how terrible the storywriting really was in this book. After 11 years, Mr. Harris could have really presented an outstanding book. Instead, he presents a book that should be on the 10 Worst List. It is no wonder no one wants to reprise their roles from the previous movie. He has turned the heroes into inconsequential human shells. The very thought of Clarisse Starling's development in the last few chapters is the truly disgusting aspect of the book. Not worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK EVERT!
Review: I cant believe you people who hate the ending! For one thing Hannibal did not really EAT people literally! He simply did not like rude people which it says again and again in teh book! REMEMBER? So him and Clarice who had both been treated very rudely by practicably EVERYONE in the book went away together. Wouldnt' YOU? Lecter as a character and as a person was HOT HOT HOT! I like when he gave the pigs the evil eye. GO LECTER! And they did not literally eat brains since that is what everyone is thinking, it was a SYMBOL of what they did not like in the world of rude people. There is more to this book than people understand! Now I cant' wait to read Silence of the Lambs!

Rating:
Summary: Did Harris forget his previous characters?
Review: At the audiobook store, the clerk convinced me to rent the unabridged version of "Hannibal" instead of the abridged. Boy, was I fooled! Harris has the disease of all researchers: I must write and publish every little thing I learned while researching and writing this book. Way too long in places but that's not the worst of it. The ending abandoned the characterizations of Starling and Hannibal set forth from "Silence." It's no wonder Jodie Foster does not want to play the part: I would not either and I don't blame her. If you still want to read this book, get the abridged tape. It'll save you some time.

Rating:
Summary: typical sequel
Review: I couldn't wait to dive into this book- the first "fun" novel I've read in a while. I had no fun reading it- the change in location after a decent start was disappointing (thought it had one or two good moments, and transitioned back well enough,if predictably) but the story line as it included Clarice was lame, and depicted her as a very one-dimensional character. I found Hannibal's background interesting,and I would have prefered to know a lot more about him. He doesn't have to do anything to be interesting, he just is. This book is not.