Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't continue reading
Review: As soon as a I got to the part of Hannibel's horrifying experience as a youth, I thought something was up and flipped to the last three pages to find out that Harris lacked real imagination on this sequel. I won't go back and read the rest--I'm too disappointed. Honestly, trying to justify Hannibel and denigrate Starling so the two end up together seems like Harris just wanted this over with. Re-read Hannibel's own thoughts on evil in Silence of the Lambs and realize the character was betrayed in this sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Harris turns things upside down.
Review: I just finished reading the book late last night, and I have been reading the reviews on this site with great interest. The beginning was fairly riveting, with some dragging spots in the Italian sections. But, the ending, and the lead-up to it! My, my, my. . . In the reviews on this site, there seems to be a great deal of outrage about the ending, and that the events there are "out of character" for Starling. I would suggest that what Harris has done is to show the *similarities* between Lecter and Starling -- after all she *does* kill 5 people in the opening chapter! And his suggestion that there *are* similarities is what is unnerving to many readers, I suspect. I thought the ending was a brillant and unsettling twist, and I think that to characterize it a "fluff" as several of the reviewers on this site have done is to miss what I see as Harris' main point -- good and evil exist in all of us, but both circumstances and choice enter into which one prevails. P.S. The surgical activity at the dinner party near the end of the book *is* possible and very accurately described.
Rating:
Summary: See if I sound like Oliver Twist when I ask for MORE!
Review: What can I say, this book totally suprised me and that takes some doing. How can the readers who rate this 1 star read lines like the one above and not see the genius in Thomas Harris' book? I read a lot of fiction and here is one author who demands some intelligence from his audience. Truly a twisted work, I loved it! And as for all this garbage about how this book is somehow responsible for the horrible crime in Columbine, that is truly ludicrous. It is so easy to point to whatever, video games, movies, books to place blame rather than look in the mirror isn't it? What about the parents of the killers and the school system for not seeing the apparently many warning signs that those 2 psychos left behind? But I digress. "Hannibal" is an exciting and interesting book but I do think it's time for Mr. Harris to move on from his Dr. Lector period.
Rating: 
Summary: waste of time and money
Review: I bought this purely on the strength of Mr. Harris' previous books. I should have saved my money(and my Sunday). Totally unbelieveable, especially the end. I never cared about any of the characters, too much stuff that just kind of piddled away. I'll bet Harris is laughing all the way to the bank. I wouldn't even recommend this book to BORROW.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT PURCHASE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!
Review: As much as I liked Silence and Red Dragon, this 2nd rate novel is one you shouldn't waste your time with. The story never goes anywhere until the end, and when it does the result is horrible. Don't expect this to become a good movie unless they rewrite the story. Harris made a big mistake with this!!
Rating:
Summary: I could have waited another 10 years for this one!
Review: Like the rest of the fans of Silence of the Lambs, I eagerly awaited Hannibal. The wait wasn't long enough. The first half of the book was enjoyable; a good read. But once Hannibal was kidnapped I wanted to throw the book across the room. Maybe it would have been too easy for Starling to come out on top, with Hannibal captured and everyone else dead. But at this point I'll take easy over completely unbelievable. I hope Jodie Foster doesn't agree to do this movie. There's no way her Clarice Starling would sell herself out that way.
Rating:
Summary: Solid reading with a twisted ending
Review: Intense, provocative. I find myself reading and enjoying this book and wondering if perhaps, I, myself am somewhat sick, deranged. Harris finds a way for us to empathize with Hannibal and endure our disgust for such a man at the same time. Hannibal's love of the fine arts and instinct of knowing what a woman likes, paints a romantic picture of the cannibal. The depiction of Hannibal's fate by Mason Verger, if he were captured alive, is brutally gruesome and strangely justified that my heart beats with anticipation wanting and not wanting it to happen. I beg to know where Clarice will stand when the showdown begins and ultimately am dissapointed in the ending. Harris shows his ability as a skilled writer by making readers want to cheer for the bad guy and despise the ones who are seeking justice. I think 7 years was worth the wait for this fabulous book, but the last few chapters leave much to be desired. Harris could have done so much more, but perhaps he is holding out for a 4th book??? =)
Rating: 
Summary: Please
Review: Come on, how can anyone give this book a one-star rating. This is a fantastic novel. True, this book has a different style from the Red Dragon and the Silence of the Lamb, but i think the readers should be glad about the differences because how can you expect anyone in the novel to be able to anaylse Hannibal Lector, like he did to the previous two killers. If any charactor was able to do this, surely it will destroy the legend of Dr Lector. Beside, this book offered an unprecedent double climaxes. p.s. i like the 'Dinner' scence at the end, it's make my skin crawls but at the same time, it's kind of funny as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Thomas Harris and Stephen King both have my sympathy
Review: I am not surprised to find that Stephen King wrote a favorable review of HANNIBAL. It is likely that King, more than any other living writer, understands the position Thomas Harris found himself in after SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. When you have written a book (or in King's case, more than one book) which has become a cultural icon, how do you follow it up? What do you offer as an encore? How do you avoid the Son of Tarzan, Daughter of Frankenstein plight? Fans who adored your previous effort will resist any attempt to mess with "their" characters. Both Harris and King chose to take the same approach. Over the top. Tongue in cheek. Throw the kitchen sink at the adoring masses and then giggle at their outrage. I gave Stephen King up over a decade ago because I got tired of arrogant self-indulgence drawn out over 700 pages. I found myself praying for an editor with the nerve to really edit the icon down to a tight 350 pages. And found myself irritated as well because, when King writes from the heart, no one does it better. In HANNIBAL, Harris even gives a clue as to what is going on when he writes about the floral arrangements. Too much becomes not enough. The only way to improve upon "too much" is to add more. That is precisely what he has done here. He created a villain so hideous that Hannibal pales in comparison. Harris slyly reverses the good and evil roles until readers find themselves uncomfortable and itchy. And -- like King -- when he is good, Harris is very, very good. Tom, why not try writing under another name? Get away from being "Thomas Harris" and just concentrate on being a good writer. Because you are one when you are not acting out. Thanks for the passages that I read and then re-read with delight. Thanks for describing the Florence that I love. Thanks for making me twitchy and uneasy. Thanks for a rich chocolate dessert with so much gooey icing that my teeth hurt afterward and I found myself wishing the baker had cut down on the sugar content. Have a good decade.
Rating:
Summary: so much waiting for what?
Review: The thrill of the anticipation did not make up for lost time. this is the worst Hannibal series I have ever read. The characters are not themselves. It reads like the sunday paper. what a disappointment!
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