Rating: 
Summary: Requires a little bit too much suspension of disbelief
Review: I thought Thomas Harris's third in the Lecter series was a big dissapointment. The first two books drew heavily from real life case studies on serial killers and drew you in to the point that it was hard to put them down.In this, his third, I felt hes lost it a little bit. It features the confusing return of characters that only played a minor role in the other books such as Barney, the hospital orderly which was badly thought-out. Its like its become a serial killer soap opera with all your favourites coming back to play out increasingly cliched and cringe-worthy roles. Giving Lecter a motive and making his killings seem like just deserts for his victims was a cowardly & I feel a little reactionary way to end this trilogy. What are we supposed to think, that if you abuse children then you should meet a grisly death at the hands of a serial killer? I don't regard this as my view point & I was appalled at Harris trying to present this character as some kind of hero. It broke with the whole theme that he had carefully built up throughout the other books. The ending is so far-fetched (in terms of the world that Harris has created, even) that it seems like a dream sequence. I almost expected a white rabbit clutching a pocket-watch to pop up and inform them that they were late for the party. I enjoyed the book but it most definitely didn't satisfy the way the others did and I feel that maybe Harris wants to make some more hard-cash following the major success that was Silence of the Lambs. Who can blame him - but I, for one, won't be getting the next sequal.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: After reading the glowing King review in the Times, I was expecting a harrowing and wonderful ride. Instead I was bored. Most of the characters were 2 dimensional caricatures -- cartoon villains. Lecter and Starling had a bit more depth, but the story around them was so weak that I felt sorry they were trapped in it.
Rating: 
Summary: Got my money's worth despite the ending.
Review: The story line and detail kept me reading past my bedtime more than once. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. However, I had to backtrack several times to be sure that "last meal" was not some sort of hallucination or dream sequence. I can't say that I "believed" or agreed with much of the last chapters. However it WAS a different and gutsy ending, and I'm NOT sorry I bought the book.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, but not worth the wait.
Review: Although Hannibal is an interesting book, it seems Harris made a conscious effort to put forth a book that will be next to impossible to make into a movie. Harris should have used an editor on this one as his ramblings about Lecter's shopping are just too monotonous. Starling grows from the assertive, strong female lead to a weak doll, easily manipulated by Lecter. Women should be furious that Harris has turned her into a sap! I dare someone to make this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Harris once again delivers a breathtaking thriller.
Review: Harris, THE true master of psychological suspense, once again delivers the impossible--a breathtaking page-turner filled with descriptions so intricate that one truly sees the locations and feels each emotion the author intends to elicit. As a longtime suspense reader often bored with trite, predictable endings, I was truly blown away. Even avid Harris readers will be haunted by the finale of this impeccably researched tome. Five stars does not begin to do this work credit.
Rating:
Summary: Another Masterpiece
Review: OK, first the problems. The story is too cinematic. You see Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster enacting this; you see the eventual movies' cuts and edits, you hear the music. At times it seems a treatment for a screenplay. Also, the tempo is off. Some sections are not adequately developed while others (in Italy, for example) go on far too long. The cultural references are just plain tedious. That said, this book contains sections of masterly and memorable writing. The kind you want to highlight with yellow marker so you can easily refer to them later. Some chapters are nothing short of brilliant. And the authorial asides--and you never forget there's an author--are not intrustive, but trenchant. It is a literary thriller, more so than the earlier books, which might have been structurally sounder but less well written. The psychological war between Starling and Lecter remains as fascinating as always, and is taken in new directions, to deeper levels of obsession and malevolence. What is the attraction between these people? That's the question being probed. As well as their vulnerabilities. I'm not sure Harris pulls off his attempt to lodge a psychological explanation of Lecter. But it doesn't matter. Mason Verger, by the way, is a terrific addition: his character is repugnant and shocking but totally compelling, a malicous Elephant man. Sometimes you don't know who to root for. Unsettling to say the least. And not politically correct or predictable. Good.
Rating:
Summary: The images stayed with me for days.
Review: Either you love it or you hate it. I loved it! Harris brings you into a macabre world that can only be imagined. The writing is suggestive with out being gory and I ate up(no pun intended ) every chapter. Yes, I was also disappointed at the ending- but only for a momemt. After much thought (I told you the book stays with you), it makes sense. Sense for a sequel. For those that have read the book, can't you just see them in action?
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment...
Review: ... and what an illiterate piece over-hyped trash. To fans of Harris' previous novels (as I am), you'd be wise to skip this one. It's dull, inexplicably gruesome, poorly edited (there's a mistake on practically every page), and betrays us (and our beloved heroine) with a scene so outlandish and out-of-place at the very end that the book borders on the unforgivable. Eleven years for this? For shame, Mr. Harris... for shame.
Rating:
Summary: Well written but disappointing overall.
Review: The quality of the writing is excellent but I have to agree with some of the other reviewers -- this is not a fit sequel to "The Silence of The Lambs". The clumsy inclusion of a previous victim was difficult for me to swallow and the ending was almost impossible to accept. The final chapters read like one of Philip K. Dick's novels where he had run out of amphetamine and needed to finish it quickly. I wish I'd waited for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious twisted fun, Harris thoroughly enjoyed himself.
Review: This is the perfect beach read, or read-aloud book for that long vacation drive. Thomas Harris had a mischievous delight in the interplay of these characters. The book is not "brain food" but an example of an expert linguist stretching his imagination in a literary playground - and it is a love story.
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