Rating: 
Summary: CREEPY AS HELL
Review: I read this book over summer vacation when it was nice and hot, but the book left me with chills! It was by far the best "horror" novel I have read (If you wanna call it that). I would recommend this book to fans of Harris' eariler books, but I would not recommend this for the faint of heart, or those who are squimish. This is the most violent, graphic, and disturbing book I have ever read. I loved it. If you have a spare weekend, I would recommend getting in bed, turning down the lights, pulling up the covers and reading. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down, I couldn't. At least give it a shot, what harm could it do?
Rating: 
Summary: Hannibal best thriller ever NOT
Review: This book is dull and boring i mean what sort of book has 103 chapters i got up to 60 something and then quit, it was so repeditive it kept on going over the same issues it probably would have been a lot better if he would have ripped out about 50 chapters. No thank you sorry
Rating:
Summary: An Underrated and Challenging Gem of a Horror Novel
Review: I can't say I'm surprised at the mixed reviews here. I first read Hannibal the week it came out in hardcover. I finished it in three or four days, and found it one of the ugliest, most depressing stories I have ever read. As others have suggested here, the ending was entirely unbelievable, and near ruined the entire book for me. But...With the release of the movie version this February (2001), I decided to go back and re-read all of Harris' "Lecter" books, in order: Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal. I thought maybe I'd find a progression of character and relationship that would make the end of Hannibal more palatable, if not believable. For any reader who still has copies of all three books, I encourage you to read them, back-to-back. I can't promise that the ending of Hannibal will make total sense, but I found the exercise totally enjoyable. The first two books still hold up as classics of the genre, and Hannibal emerges as a daring, more experimental extension of the Starling/Lecter relationship that emerged in the second book. One disappointing thing about reading all three in quick succession: I realized that TSOTL is really just a retelling of Red Dragon -- they both involve the FBI's hunt for a serial killer, and in both books, the Bureau turns to Dr. Lecter for help. Lecter's cat-and-mouse games with the FBI make both books shine, but Harris outdoes himself with the Starling/Lecter relationship in TSOTL, making it, at least for me, the better book. It's this relationship that Harris tackles in Hannibal, and if you found it (the relationship) to be the most interesting and frightening thing about TSOTL, you really can't miss Hannibal. On rereading it, I appreciated Harris' refusal to simply tell another FBI v. serial killer tale -- this book has psychological depth that few horror/thriller books ever come close to. It's fascinating and subtle, exciting and well-written. If the end stretches things a bit too far, so what? The ride was exhilarating and challenging, and the ending will leave you thinking about it for days, refusing to accept it. And perhaps that's the point . . .
Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: This was one of the most boring books I have ever read. I wonder how much they paid Stephen King to comment on the cover about how great this book was. I hope Thomas Harris' other books aren't this bad. I enjoyed the "Silence of the Lambs" movie, but after reading this book, I won't be seeing the sequel. If the book is this bad, the movie will be horrible. Sorry, Thomas Harris, but this was about as exciting as watching paint dry.
Rating: 
Summary: Resolves cool, but getting there is rough
Review: As an admirer of "Silence of the Lambs" and especially "Red Dragon," I looked forward to anything Harris had up his sleeve. I might've read his grocery lists. Lots of time passed. "Hannibal," therefore, disappoints. It certainly has inspired moments and, as he has done before, Harris' ability to elicit sympathy for Lecter is remarkable. The bulk of the novel, however, just doesn't transport the reader (not this one anyway) the way Harris has done before with seeming ease. "Hannibal" is terribly overwritten at points -- almost as though Harris feels the need to demonstrate that he's as intelligent and cultured as his trademark character. Well, duh! What is, at its heart, three compelling stories which meet two-thirds of the way into the book is done in by Harris' fooling around. While his destruction of the fourth wall works wonderfully the last time he does it in "Hannibal", its impact is lessened by the many times he switches narrative voices (to no gain) over the course of the novel. Lord knows it must be difficult to write under the kind of attention and pressure Harris has labored under since "Lambs," but it hardly called for the kind of showboating which sinks an otherwise promising novel. A shame, because the ending is really pretty suave -- it's just not entirely earned.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: After eagerly awaiting this sequel to a fabulous book I was incredibly disappointed. The author was not true to his characters. Their behaviour was not remotely believable and after enjoying both Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs I was amazed to find this written by the same person. The plots were sloppy, the characters unreal and the pace boring. I would definitely NOT reccommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: NOT HAPPY
Review: After reading the excellent Silence Of the Lambs i found this a good book that should have ended 20 pages before it did. I was not happy at all with the way thomas Harris wrapped up this elegant thriller but hes a good writer and will rebound in the future i believe. Not worth reading unless your a diehard Harris fan.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Stack Up to "Silence of the Lambs"
Review: Extremely graphic and hard-hitting, this is a disjointed story, that has a choppy, uneven feel to it. Harris is a brilliant writer, and his talent is evident in most chapters. Not sure if more editing could have polished it, but it didn't stack up to "Lambs." Contains explicit depictions of some sickening situations.
Rating: 
Summary: It'll scare your socks off!
Review: The book Hannibal by Thomas Harris is a terrifying horror story. It is about a cannibal named Dr. Hannibal Lecter who loved taste, like expensive wine, exotic foods and truffles. He was obsessed with it. Hannibal especially loved the taste of human flesh. Hannibal Lecter was from a bad background. His foster parents were also cannibals that had eaten his sister, Malcha. Seven years prior to the story, Hannibal had escaped from a mental hospital in the U.S. He moved to Italy and was discovered by an Italian police officer. Meanwhile in the U.S., the story tells of Clarice Starling, an officer who has tracked Hannibal her whole life, and as a result her career is going down the drain. In a shootout with a drug dealer, many police officers were killed and Clarice was shot. Clarice killed the drug dealer and saved a baby but was criticized because of the lost officers. The story mostly takes place in the US in 1998. When Hannibal was uncovered in Italy he was forced to kill to escape and moves to America. Clarice Starling does everything she can to find him. Similarly Mason Verger, a man who earlier had been crippled by Lecter, spent lots of money to find Hannibal Lecter and is ultimately successful. The book shows how there could be crazy people like this out there in the world and to be careful. I don't believe the author has a purpose in writing the book, but only wanted to show his feelings towards the world we live in. I would definitely recommend this book to people who like a good thrill. I think it is not good for the younger reader, but only for a more mature thrill seeker.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully crafted portrait of madmen and women
Review: This book is unlike anything anyone could have expected, and that is a wonderful thing. Instead of getting the continuing adventures of Clarice, we get a superbly written tale that exposes the horrors and demons of every main character. Plot does take a back seat to description and metaphysic discussion, but the plot is also the jumping point for all of that, so it ends up carrying the story along. I really loved the way this book was written; I could feel the things Harris was writing about, and could imagine myself in these places. This book is not for the weak at heart, or for those who like everything tied up in a neat package at the end. But, for readers willing to view popular characters in a strange new light, and willing to take a satisfying yet strange journey through Mr. Harris' world, the rewards are great, and this will stick with you long after completion.
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