Rating:  Summary: Disconcerting but Fabulous... Review: I am always surprised when an author can make you root for the bad guy. Let's face it... Hannibal Lector has to be one of fiction's most heinous characters. BUT, somehow, we want Lector to survive another day. Imagine, if you will, the same attitude toward the late Jeffrey Dahmer. I don't think so! This book features one of Hannibal's surviving victims as a major character. The physically and mentally mutilated, Mason Verger. Even though he is a victim, Harris allows us to feel little pity for him. My only complaint was that Clarice seems to have been a little on the weak side. I would have liked a bit more of a power struggle for her. She seems too accepting of her fate in this book. I do recommend reading the book, even with it's few flaws. I'm curious as to whether Hollywood will have the guts to use Harris' ending or if they will have to change it totally, ala "The Firm."
Rating:  Summary: Never have I been so thoroughly disappointed !! Review: I have waited for this book by what I thought was an amazingly thrilling but subtle writer for years. When I first read that there may be a sequel on the horizon, I would check with the various book stores on a continual basis as to its arrival. I almost did not order this book through Amazon.Com because I didn't think I could stand the wait for shipping. I have never been so utterly disappointed in my life!!! I have read all of Thomas Harris's prior literary efforts and I was always very impressed with the methods he would use to nail you to your seat, but never (even though the subject matter was inhumane at best) was it with child like discriptions of brutality. In a nut shell, I really think the author "SOLD OUT"
Rating:  Summary: Slow mover. Review: While the two books leading up to this one moved quickly and were page turners, I found that I had no problem putting this book down. The storyline seems scattered--as though the author felt it was "time" to write the sequel instead of writing it from his passion of needing to tell a story. Disappointing.
Rating:  Summary: One-Hit Wonder Review: Thomas Harris definately had a "one hit wonder" with Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal has no suspense, is completely lacking in characters, and is basically a really bad story. If this actually does hit the big screen it will only be good if it is an entirely different story. I am amazed I actually finished the book, it was a complete disappointment!
Rating:  Summary: 10 for artistic impression; 6 for technical merit Review: This book definitely had a "first-draft" quality. However, I really liked the ending. Honestly, what was he to do with her once they left the barn? Drop her off at home and say "keep in touch"? I read the "Salon" synopsis before starting the book and predicted that Harris would take what sounded like a ludicrous plot and manage to pull it off--because he can write. I wasn't disappointed. Harris enjoyed writing this; it shows.
Rating:  Summary: Haunting and surreal conclusion to the Lechter trilogy Review: Harris' exploration of Hannibal in this third sequel answers alot of questions about Lechter's past and his childhood, confirming that the monsters roaming this earth are made, not born. He masterfully creates a character more despicable than Dr. Lechter, and leaves you routing for Hannibal in the end. Clarice Starling, however, is not as fully developed as she was in The Silence of the Lambs, and the conclusion was disturbing, to say the least. Harris left himself the option of another book in the series, but I don't know if I'd want to read it. I thought the ending a bit of a rip-off.However, to the reader who is looking for all the gore and violent deaths of the first two novels, he will not be disappointed by this one. Not Harris' best work, but certainly not his worst, either.
Rating:  Summary: terribly unreal ending Review: Looked forward so much to this book, and was so disgusted by the ending. Clarise would never have done these things. I wish I had never read it!!
Rating:  Summary: Good, but could have been better Review: Like many people, I bought this book the same day it was released and dove right in, thinking I could finish it in a couple of days. However it just did not maintain that kind of intensity. There was too much detail paid to Lector's likes/dislikes. The continuity of the story was difficult to follow at times. No one reading a thriller could be that interested in Italian history. On the plus side, it was horrifying in places, reminiscient of "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon". But it does not compare to Mr. Harris's two previous works. Perhaps another "sequel" is in the works to atone for the ending of "Hannibal". Let's hope it is not eight years away.
Rating:  Summary: Absolute Brilliance!! Yum Yum! Review: I can't say enough good things about this book. I've read criticisms about the ending's bizarre twist, but in the context of the novel, it fits. In the context of the characters, it fits -- and it's a brave move. Can't wait to see how they handle this in the upcoming film. ... fava beans anyone?
Rating:  Summary: Sorry I read it. Review: I read both "Red Dragon" and "Silence of the Lambs" and very much enjoyed them. This book I thought about putting down half-way through and once I finished it, I wished I had. The writing isn't bad, it is the story line. I found nothing redeeming about it. It wasn't enjoyable, didn't end well, and just left me with a sick feeling in my stomach.
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