Rating: 
Summary: The horror souffle sinks - but not without style
Review: Hannibal is the third and presumably final title in the trilogy which began with Red Dragon and continued with The Silence of the Lambs. In it, the homicidal genius Dr. Lecter has made his home in Florence, using his gracious charm to establish himself in the community. Back in D.C., Clarice Starling is fending off a barrage of unwanted media attention after a bungled drugs operation in which five people died, when she receives a letter on familiar stationery, in a familiar hand. This unleashes the power of Mason Verger, Lecter's only surviving victim, a skinless monstrosity with a pen of man-eating swine, whose only desire is to see Lecter eaten alive. These are the players: the scene is set. But Thomas Harris has, unfortunately, let this book down somewhat. Starling gets only cursory notice in this volume, and Jack Crawford, her "safe" mentor and Will Graham's colleague, is absently disposed of halfway through, for no apparent reason other than his impending retirement. Characters from Silence are dredged up and take fairly minimal roles, seemingly superfluous to the main plot. Mason Verger somehow seems to have switched roles with a James Bond villan, and there is a bungling Italian police officer in his employ who is an obvious candiate for Lecter's dinner table. In fact, Hannibal Lecter's superb performance is the only thing that keeps the whole book together, and you find yourself rooting for him because no one else seems worth the trouble. Then you come to the end, where the narrative lapses into a thoroughly odd description of Starling's own descent into cultured madness. Hannibal is a book worth reading, especially if you like Hannibal Lecter, but unfortunately it lets itself down with the rather weak and unsupported end. Enjoy the beginning and middle, but skim over the ending and just read the last chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: Creepy, intense, worldly, astonishing, hard to put down...
Review: I had to read the end three times before I believed what I was reading! I could not believe what Thomas Harris had in store for Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling and yet it was a strangely satisfying ending. I welcomed back characters from The Silence of the Lambs and of course, imagined them as they were protrayed in the movie. Doctor Lecter is a character written by a person who must share some of his characters' darker thoughts and visions, or perhaps it was me who shares them. I could visualize some of the action as sequences and scenes in a movie (the sequel) which was the only slight disappointment I had in the book. A very good book, and in keeping with history, I look forward to the year 2010 for the next Harris book, even if it does not contain Lecter or Starling.
Rating:
Summary: A bit different from the first two but a great read, anyway.
Review: Harris has done his homework, especially in the area of Italian history and art. These help make the book more than a simple scary story. Those parts, however, were a bit cumbersome for me because I read the book aloud to a friend and fumbled with Italian pronunciation. But the book is both smart and entertaining. I'm still wondering about the significance of some events and items. I'm a Harris fan, and I wonder how this tome can work in a movie unless Hopkins, Foster, and Scott are cast.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the squeamish, but poetic and intelligent
Review: This book is way above any other thriller on the market, for one simple reason: it dares to break out of the sterotypes that have ruined the genre. There is no formula here: everything is unpredictable. Hannibal Lecter's transformation into an antihero is the logical follow up to Silence of the Lambs. The people who have trashed this novel all suffer from the Disney "Bad Guys Should be 100% Evil" mentality.There's a little Hannibal in all of us; that is the point of the book. And the ending is perfectly appropriate, and easily filmable.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst sequel since "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"
Review: Harris is a "One-trick pony". Harris wrote the same book twice, in "Silence" and "Red Dragon". Now we know why. I will sell my copy of Hannibal for 25 cents. NO REFUNDS! The characters are completely without consistency, the plot far-fetched. Harris should have named this book, "Take the Money and Run."
Rating: 
Summary: Taken on its own merits a fine beach read!
Review: It seems many readers hyped the book as a sequel to the movie. This is not literature and it is not Jody foster-straight and vulnerable. As a stand alone popular novel it is a quick summer read. Give reading a chance-let the author write it his way! I enjoyed the characters for what they are and the plot is well-medium well.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Saw the first movie and read the book. Bought this as soon as it came out and read it. It started out well but the ending was ABSOLUTELY unbelievable. Any woman reading this book will probably be very disappointed as it turns out to be written like a man's fantasy. Doubt that Jodie Foster will sign up to do the sequel unless they modify the ending significantly. Too bad - had the potential to be a great book.
Rating:
Summary: I just finished - what a disappointing ending!
Review: OK.. The book was good - the detail was incredible, but the plot was weak, at best. It was a page turner & it did make me queazy, and it did make me root for Lechter to get away from his own villian. But, I had always given Harris credit for creating a truely strong, brilliant female lead character -whoops!! What happened to that. And as far as plot development, I think he needs to go back and read Red Dragon and remember what it's all about.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the wait for another Thomas Harris book...
Review: I have bought and read the other books by Thomas Harris and looked forward to this not just for the continuation of the Hannibal Lecter mythos, but for a chance to see how Thomas Harris would handle a book based on this complex character. This character was created by Harris' mind, and comes out of his psyche, and for me, it was fascinating to see how he represented Lecter's mind and motivation. I don't know if you'd call it believeable, but it was very absorbing. I agree with the others who gave it five stars. It's the best read I've had in a long time. If I was wearing a hat, I'd tip it off to Mr. Harris...
Rating:
Summary: One word......superb
Review: "How do you hurt a man who has lost everything? Give him back something broken." This is the theme of "Hannibal"; the taking and breaking and returning and mending of things. This is not a book for those readers wanting a replay of "Silence" and the haughty competition between Starling and Lecter. And although the relationship between Starling and Lecter is crucial to the story, the story is not about relationships. In many ways "Hannibal" takes the concept of becoming that was exemplified by Jame Gumb in "Silence" and applies it liberally amongst the current characters. Aspects of people that were only seeds in the second book have begun to grow and bud. But it is a solitary process, carefully tended alone. And as each character becomes, she or he follows his or her own personal destiny. Paths may cross or even be shared, but they do not intertwine. Even love is only a projection and not to be reciprocated. This is a fine book, but must be read in its own right. Readers looking only for more of the same will walk away with expectations unmet. They will also have denied themselves the enjoyment of reading the work of a gifted author. Open your mind, forget the movie and enjoy. By the way....it is as exciting and nasty and dank as Lecter's old cell in the basement.
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