Hannibal : Movie Tie In

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Summary: The ending is impausible
Review: I looked forward to this book with great anticipation. There is much of it that I immensely enjoyed, especially the unraveling of new facets of Dr. Lector, and the inclusion of some wonderful old (Barney, Aurelia), and new (Margot) characters. However, I cannot fathom how Mr. Harris justifies the complete reversal of Clarice's personality. The fact the Clarice must be 'drugged' before she can make this total transformation, is proof enough for me that even Mr. Harris had his doubts about this cheap trick and sadly disappointing ending.

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Summary: The Gruesome Gourmet Returns
Review: Newsweek magazine said that Jonathan Demme is not interested in doing the film version of "Hannibal". I read the review before the book and thought, "Come on, how nasty can it be?" Could it be that bad that Demme would think it's too violent. Short answer: Yes. Carnivorous and quite hungry pigs and creative dinner time surgery are just some of the fun awaiting you. If you've got a strong stomach and can believe a rather preposterous relationship succeeds, GO FOR IT. Otherwise, pick again.

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Summary: Great Ending to a Legendary Trilogy!
Review: I read Hannibal in two days and couldn't set it down! Dr. Lecter keeps us intrigued and awesrtuck! He is one of the greatest characters in modern fiction and he leads this suspenseful thriller that definitely did not dissapoint!

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Summary: Outstanding sequel to Silence.......
Review: This book is an excellent sequel to Silence of the Lambs. The location in Europe is the perfect place to enhance Dr Lector's senses of the supernatural. Quite a surprise ending.

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Summary: Controversial !!
Review: Why write a thousand word essay when a few simple words will suffice ? This book is self-indulgent drooling hardly worthy of a writer of Robert Harris' stature. Do yourself a BIG favor and avoid Hannibal. Read something just as riveting but not as stupid, like one of the fine new Stephen King books, or that towering Second World War novel, THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY. Or if you absolutely insist upon reading Harris, read SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, not this sewage called Hannibal.

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Summary: It's not THAT bad
Review: I completely agree that the ending is ridiculous. It seems that Harris painted himself into a corner with the plot, and was forced to walk all over the place to get to an ending. However the first 400+ pages are well written and kept me reading. Could have been better, but all is not lost. I am skeptical that a film version COULD be made from the book.

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Summary: Boring, Slow and Predictable
Review: Unfortunately, Mr. Harris has elected to demystify Hannibal Lecter by completely changing his behavior and offering a childhood trauma to explain his psyche. It's quite disappointing and removes the fantastical horror of his previous books. However, it seems to be the fashionable thing to do because Starling also completely changes character, enabling a most predictable and entirely uncompelling ending. Other characters are poorly developed and make obviously foolish decisions which only serve the purpose of positioning them to be dispatched in a gory fashion. Darwinism, I suppose, but it makes for a tedious and uninteresting read.

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Summary: Bummer of a sequel!
Review: Definitely interesting and engrossing at times, but the ending was totally disappointing and unbelievable. Very grotesque and graphic, and trips down memory lane for Dr. Lechter seemed silly to me. Hope the screenplay adaptation is much improved!

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the biggest book disappointment ever
Review: When I put the book down, my first thought was that the publisher must have really forced this one out of the author. Big print, lots of chapter breaks, it read like a short story. BS forensics, crappy plot, makeshift (at best)ending and even the voice is different in certain parts. This book should not be grouped with the others. Marketing, book schlock at its worst!

Rating:
Summary: Can't Be Written by the Same Thomas Harris
Review: This book was horrifying, and not in the way in which it was supposed to be. Hannibal is so poorly written that, for the first few chapters, I thought I'd been sent the unedited galleys of the novel by mistake. Harris moves back and forth through tenses more fluidly than Dr. Lecter's knife through one of his victim's gut. It's like the author couldn't decide if he was writing a schlocky screenplay or a novel. What's missing here is a serial killer, and the thrill of the chase - the most interesting thing in "Dragon" and "Lambs" was the suspense, the not-knowing what the hell was going to happen next. Even if you can overlook Harris's amateur prose, the plot is nearly non-existent. I'm going to have to reevaluate my respect for Stephen King (accident notwithstanding) after his praise for this novel in the NYTimes. By the time this book was over, I felt I'd been worked over by Mason Verger's swine. This book sucks.