Rating: 
Summary: Masterfully written....absurd ending.
Review: Thank goodness Thomas ended the story when he did. It had been years since I read TSOTL, and his writing style is so deliciously unique and HANNIBAL was so engaging that I fully enjoyed the first 90% of the novel. Needless to say, I, too, have a few bones to pick about the ending. Was he stumped? Was the deadline near? Editors breathing down his back? But there's no excuse for nearly ruining (yes, ruining) a good story with such a preposterous ending. To shame.
Rating: 
Summary: Damm best book I've ever read !
Review: Contrary to what others say, I found this book to be engrossing and re-readable. I also think that Harris has done a good job of potraying Krendler as a son of a bitch. My heart goes out to Hannibal. Tell u guys what, go borrow the book to judge for yourself.Those who gave this book a <4 stars rating sure has no literal taste .
Rating:
Summary: Hannibal the Cannibal? Hannibal the Avuncular? Who Knows?
Review: Thomas Harris could have spared us the misery of buying into this one by merely coming up with a screen adaptation for "Hannibal", because--let's face it--that's all this novel aspires to be. It simply anticipates the film version. In "The Red Dragon" and, in particular, "The Silence of the Lambs", we were presented with a killer (Lecter) who is compelling not so much as a primary player per se, but rather by virtue of his charismatic malevolence, even in absentia. Now, though, having been given the limelight and the opportunity to show the reader just what exactly he's made of, Lecter--and Harris--fails (miserably) to deliver the goods. He (the good doctor) comes off as something of a lovable rogue, a rather easygoing fellow who happens to have a penchant for human flesh. He is anything BUT monstrous (indeed, it seems that Harris anticipated this response going in, whereupon he created the bastard son of Freddie Krueger and Jason Voorhees [sic], Mason "Mr. Hackflesch" Verger). Special Agent Clarice Starling, formerly stalwart, unflinching in her discrimination between Right and Wrong, and vulnerable without being victimized, also undergoes a metamorphosis of being that is nothing if not incomprehensible, and by tale's end we find (much to our distaste--pun intended--though not surprise) that the Special Agent and her (former) Nemesis are really two sides of the same coin, a synthesis which both upsets and compromises the tension that made the first two "Lecter Tales" so compelling. In the end, then, the reader is left unfulfilled, (deeply) dissatisfied by the story's "surprise" (but is it, really?) ending, and wishing that Hannibal Lecter had lived up to his promise not to call on Special Agent Starling at the close of "Lambs"; unfortunately, though, Hollywood knows--if nothing else--how to milk a good story dry, and who could possibly find fault with Harris for doing little (very little) more than feeding the Machine?
Rating: 
Summary: THE PLOT SICKENS...
Review: If stars were awarded for grossness then "Hannibal" would be a five star winner. With the prominent role of pigs in the "story", the book would have been better titled "Silence of the Hams". No plot, cartoon characters and the only thrill in this "thriller" for me was getting to the end... and these are the good points. If you insist on reading this trash wait til it's out in paperback and pick it up at your neighborhood used book store for half price. Even then you'll still feel cheated. No question that we will be seeing a movie soon but I hope that Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster don't demean themselves by having anything to do with this nonsense. Note to Mr Harris: You could have mailed this one in. If this is the best that you can do then 15 years may not be long enough to wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece.
Review: it may not have been as elaborately constructed as Silence of the Lambs, but the trip into Hannibal's mind is fathomless, exquisite, and beautiful. i am grateful to the author for such a mirror into the extremes of myself and of any human being.
Rating:
Summary: Clarice finds a surrogate father and Lecter gains control
Review: You have to suspend your desire for what you want to happen to appreciate what actually does happen in Hannibal, and none of the latter should be a surprise. Harris foreshadows it all--in the book and especially in the movie. It's all there: Clarice's painful longing for a/her father; Hannibal's observation of her longing for respectability and taste; the demeaning glances that her male FBI colleagues cast towards her; Jack's love of his wife and the deep loneliness and sadness that he feels both before and after her death; and, of course, Hannibal's obsessive and even passionate determination to control people completely--not just their bodies but, as in Clarice's case, their souls. This book is about so many things that the reader who is hoping for a traditional or even traditional Harris-like conclusion, in which good and justice sort of triumph over evil, are definitely not going to be happy. I wanted Clarice to triumph; to resist the temptation to be absorbed into Hannibal's delusions. I wanted her to triumph over the chauvinistic FBI system that forced her alienation from the work she loved. However, Harris ignored my wishes and apparently those of many others. He concludes the book in a way that is absolutely logical and consistent with everything that has come before.
Rating:
Summary: Disgusting exploitation of an audience
Review: Whether you liked, or didn't like, Silence of Lambs (I liked it alot) .... DON'T Read this book. It is disgustingly exploitive of its audience with just barely enough plot to weave together the various episodes of insanity of the type we usually only read about in courtroom accounts (unfortunately). Unless you often immerse your mind in filth, skip this one entirely. The worse part of it all is that (1) this one is obviously soon to be on the silver screen- probably a big hit and (2) there is an audience for this filth (I'll have nightmares about that aspect for awhile).
Rating:
Summary: Rather disappointing...
Review: After reading this book, my immediate impression was that Mr. Harris wrote what he thought people wanted. I suspect he was under intense pressure to write a sequel and finally succumbed. While not a bad read, Hannibal is so over the top that it's impossible (for me) to replay the events of the book in my mind without laughing. Hannibal Lector is no longer compellingly crazy, now he is just whacked. The ending isn't plausible, and by then you've stopped caring about Clarice and especially Dr. Lector. To me it would be VERY difficult to top Silence, this book proves it.
Rating:
Summary: Was not as intense as his other books
Review: I was very disappointed in this book!! as it lacked "the edge of my seat" page turner, as his other books gave me.
Rating:
Summary: Pretentious as hell
Review: This was my first Thomas Harris book. I found no characters empathetic, most of the story completely lacking in believability and much of the copy devoted to the author's self-congratulatory knowledge of all things pretentious. I give credit for the occasional well-written phrase, but overall I couldn't wait for it to end. With so much to work with in this story, it was a complete disappointment and the ending was beyond ludicrous.
|
