Hannibal : Movie Tie In

Rating:
Summary: not as good as the prequel
Review: If you really sunk your teeth into "Silence of the Lambs" you have no choice but to read this sequel. Parts of it did have bite. However, it did drag in spots. The ending was ridiculous.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't have wished for a better sequel from Harris!
Review: After reading a few early luke warm reviews I was prepared for an anticlimactic sequel to Silence of the Lambs. With each page I became more and more engrossed with Harris's superbly crfated writing and his engaging tale of Hannibal Lector and Clarice Starling. This is without question the best book that Thomas Harris has written. A great summer read.

Rating:
Summary: Tom Harris Serves Up a Delicious Read
Review: I almost didn't buy this book when I read some of the on-line reviews. I don't know what all the hoopla is about the "goriness", "violence" and "horror" of this book. If anyone has read "Red Dragon" or "Silence of the Lambs" they are ready for "Hannibal". As for being disappointed in the story, let me just say, I stayed up 'till 11:30 p.m. on a work night so I could read the last 120 pages. But, in all fairness, I can see why some are disheartened by the ending. Four words come to mind: "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle", when Sir Arthur killed off his much beloved character, there was a huge outcry (by the way, I am not revealing any secrets here), but remember, Hannibal and Clarice belong to Harris. The reason I only gave it four stars is because of the ending. Like a long anticipated meal at my favorite restaurant, Harris left me feeling just a little unsatisfied, as if I had savored the memory so long, that when the real thing was in front of me, it wasn't as good as I remembered. But Mr. Harris, thanks for once again delivering the goods, and now how about resurrecting Will Graham?

Rating:
Summary: Totally ruins the great characters created in Silence...
Review: I was very excited to read this book, since I enjoyed Silence of the Lambs so much. The book starts out well, has some luls, but ultimately kept my attention in what would happen next. However, Harris must have given up at the end, writers block maybe? It was sick, twisted, and demented so much so it made me sick to my stomach. In Silence, the dementia was at least believable. In Hannibal, it went off the deep end and instantly turned all the books to garbage. I truly don't believe Foster and Hopkins will sink to the level Harris has given what was a fascinating story by making the movie. There's something to be said for "quitting while you are ahead".

Rating:
Summary: What a disapointment!
Review: Like so many of Thomas Harris' fans I eagerly awaited word of when his next book would be published. When I read that it would be a follow-up to "The Silence of the Lambs" I was excited. Finally it was published and I was able to read this long awaited tome, "Hannibal". What a disappointment! The writing is not on a par with Harris' previous books, there is no flow, as there was in "Red Dragon" and "Lambs". There are too many divergences into secondary characters, such as Pazzi and his family and so little regarding Lecter. Mason Verger's character and history is nicely done. The lives of Francis Dolarhyde and Jame Gumb, in his previous books, gave insight into why they were as they were and how society has a hand in creating its own monsters but Lecter's childhood trauma is treated as and afterthought. An "Oh, by the way, this is why he eats parts of his victims". The ending is the most disappointing thing I have ever read. I don't understand Harris' reasoning unless the word "screenplay" was in the back of his mind. It seems as if the book was written to fulfill a contract, with someone looking over his shoulder. I do hope Mr. Harris writes another book, sooner than ten years from now, and that it has nothing to do with Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling. This book is a mistake.

Rating:
Summary: THE "GODFATHER 3" OF THE SERIES
Review: I'm really tired of reading reviews defending this middle-finger of a novel. Sure, some scenes are well-crafted, Lecter's memory place is interesting, and the characters belong to Harris. But why does HANNIBAL seem to openly hate every reader/viewer who invested empathy in that most unlikely heroine, Clarice Starling? Reading this Grand Guinol cookbook, I felt that Harris sees us all as Annie Wilkes in MISERY. He went out of his way to ignore the realistic settings and motivations of his past novels out of, who knows, some private or perverse desire to not give us the "obvious" rematch of Clarice and Hannibal. Given how well-written and empathetic the first two novels were, of course we want some resolution! I could have taken something as improbable as Will Graham coming back (or perhaps more interesting, being in the Mason Verger vengeance role) than what we've been given. Thomas, couldn't you have given us a consistent trilogy and then run off to write your hallucinogenic art novel? I usually hate when filmmakers ignore a novelist's intentions, but I'm really hoping on this one occasion that, if this dreadful thing gets made, Demme and Co. gut all but the first chapter and start all over again...JODIE, ANTHONY, YOU'RE RICH ENOUGH!! DON'T DO IT!!

Rating:
Summary: Loved it, hope it isn't the end of Dr. Lector....
Review: Read this book in one sitting. Loved the ending and hope that this isn't the last we'll hear from Mr. Harris on Dr. Lector and Agent Starling... surely they will do more in their fictional lifetime. Well, Mr. Harris, share it with us please. Can't wait to see the movie..

Rating:
Summary: The most vile book I've ever read.
Review: I had been eagerly awaiting the sequel to Harris' Silence of the Lambs. Unfortunately, magic doesn't strike twice. Hannibal is a vile, disturbing sequel with gruesome plots of revenge at the heart of the plot. I also had trouble with the depiction of several characters, who were extremely over the top in their characterizations. Finally, without revealing the ending, it simply did not ring true in any way, shape or form. Clarice becomes unrecognizable, and thus unbelievable. Boo hiss to the author for letting us down.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth reading.
Review: Harris should have quit with Silence Of The Lambs. Hannibal is very poorly done, the writing of substandard quality, the characters just not credible. Starling comes off as an incompetent nitwit, Lecter is not credible in any sense of the word, the plodding quality of the book is unbearable. The ending is just juvenile, in fact, the whole book seems like one that would cater to a juvenile audience. After reading 100 pages I skipped to the last chapter to end the agony, but it didn't.

Rating:
Summary: Hey, I really liked it!
Review: Okay, I'll jump in and be the first Thomas Harris fan to really enjoy his latest work. I do believe that the fact that there was such a lull between projects and the film version of "silence of the Lambs" contributed to the overall lukewarm critical response of Hannibal. His books have taken on almost mythic perportions in the eyes of readers and for those who's only exposure to Lector is the silver voiced Anthony Hopkins in the the movie, it's completely understandable that the new book has a certain "gross out factor". Not to give any plots away, but does anyone remember the Garage scene in Red Dragon? Personally, I think that ranks right up there with some of the stuff in Hannibal. I for one aplaud Mr. Harris for not mellowing out his character for mass market movie adeptations; He even goes back to the old roots of Dr. lector when he referrs to him looking like a ferrett or an animal, even bringing back those freaky physical attributes that were lost in Lambs. As for Clarice, I was happy with the direction her character took insofar as it was *realistic* and all the more unerving. She didn't ride off into the sunset after the last book, but had to endure some heavy ordeals in this one. Finally, as for the ending of Hannibal, having read both the other books way too many times, I can honestly see the final chapter in a saga that started in the second chapter of Silence of the Lambs; the book I mean. Of course, this is all opinion. I for one was delighfully grossed out and happier for it. Thomas Harris definately hasn't lost that writing style that not only grabbs you out of your seat by your shirt collar, but shakes you around a bit as well.