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Summary: Hannibal: Good Ending to the Trilogy?
Review: Hannibal picks the reader up where "The Silence of the Lambs" drops them off. The novel starts out with Clarice in Wahington D.C. and Hanibal in Florence. Clarice is still on the hunt for Lecter after years of no contact or communication. She finds herself back on his case however and this time she isn't alone. A former friend/victim of Lecters', Mason Verger is also looking for Lecter in order to make him suffer as he once did. An Italian cop by the name of Ranaldo Potsi is also on the look out for Lecter for the hefty reward for his capture. As the story continues Clarice talks to both Potsi and Verger about their reasons for wanting Lecter and tries to stear them away. Their are many conflicts between Hannibal and the other three and different portions of the book that can send the readers heart accelerating. At the point somewhere in the middle of the story Potsi gets to Lecter first. Hannibal makes sure that Potsi has little to say about what kind of a man Lecter is as he silences him forever. At this point Clarice and Hannibal make contact for the first time over the cell phone of Inspector Potsi. This is when Lecter decides to come out of retierment and back to the states. When Lecter moves back to the states, Mason makes sure to find him before Clarice does in order to fulfill his ultimate revenge. While Lecter is toying with Clarice Masons henchmen capture Lecter and place him in a death pit surronded by flesh eating hogs. Clarice then tries to come to the rescue of Hannibal, but Hannibal ends up saving Clarice. Mason is then the meal for the hogs as Hannibal exists stage left. In the end of the book to what any reader will say is the most unexpected ending to this story the two fall in love together. They then go on to live a long, happy, and somewhat strange life together. The End? I hope this isn't the best Harris could do to end this trilogy.
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Summary: The worst book ever?
Review: I think this 'book' can be considered the worst ever written. How does one explain this? Thomas Harris' previous novels are as good as the genre has to offer (particularly 'Silence of the Lambs'). But I am convinced that Harris was kidnapped while writing 'Hannibal'. Those who read the first two books cannot recognize the same author here. 'Hanibal' is vulgar and not just because of the content. Whereas 'Silence' had layers of suspense, there is none here. 'Silence' had some psychological and philosophical things to offer but 'Hannibal' doesn't pretend to do anything of the kind. The book is creepy instead of scary, nauseating instead of thrilling. No wonder most of the cast and crew of 'Silence' didn't want to be a part of 'Hannibal' as a movie. Just an awful, awful book.
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Summary: Harris Does It Again
Review: I just finished this book last night and I must say that I completely enjoyed it. This book becomes even more interesting as, we are allowed into the mind and past of the infamous Dr. Lecter himself. Harris does a wonderful job of creating people and enviorments that are extremely deatlied and filled with emotion. Some have called this novel, the worst book in the series, but I'd have to disagree with them because, as far as I'm concerned, there isn't a band book in the series. I do hope that Harris might consider writing a new addition to the series, but if this is the last time we hear from the doctor, then it was truly a "tasty" experiance.
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Summary: You'll Eat It Up
Review: What can be said of Hannibal that's already been said? One thing: a truly grueling novel. Harris rejects all public advice and places Dr. Lecter in a realm all to his own. Despite his previous novels involving Lecter, Harris invites us to view Lecter as a main character. And, in my opionion makes for a more entertaining read. Lecter is and will always be the source of entertainment in Harris' novels. In Hannibal, "The Cannibal" gets his just deserts. The novel is one of the best I've ever read, period. I'm just hoping that Harris will write sooner than later, and maybe, just maybe invite Lecter for one more course. If you have doubts about this novel, reject all of tham and find out for yourself. Do not base you're decision on the film, just lock your doors, turn off the lights, and enjoy of one of the most disturbing novels of recent time. Trust me, it's worth it. Lecter is out and better than ever. Bon appetite.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I had expected it to be
Review: Before the disappointing movie came out, I read Hannibal over the course of three days and for the most part was satisfied. Say whatever you will about the story, but none can deny Harris' compelling and suspenseful storytelling, it is literally a page turner. Here we get to see Lecter living in the free world according to his tastes. We also get a peek inside Lecter's mind to see the genius behind the cannibal, but there are a number of things which stop Hannibal from being as great a story as Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. The characterization of Clarice makes her seem more weak willed and not so much the strong, compotent heroine that we knew so well in Silence. Also the climax, as another reviewer had stated, seems like an outline for a screenplay for a big budget Hollywood action film, but is nonetheless compelling and has its' share of twists. The ending seems to be everyone's biggest complaint, and I admit I was shocked when I first read it, but come on now, can you think of any other better way that it could have ended? All in all, I didn't like Hannibal as much as Harris' other great novels in the Lecter trilogy, but Hannibal is compelling and suspenseful, and is light years beyond the supremely disappointing big budget film.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible Hannibal
Review: Hannibal was one of the most disappointing books I have read in the past couple years. It includes some of the most well drawn characters in the history of thriller novels--Hannibal Lecter, Clarice Starling, and Jack Crawford--but Thomas Harris does nothing with them. Hannibal enjoys the good life on the outside, but jumps around trying to evade capture from either the police or Mason Verger. It is interesting for a while, but it never seems that anyone else is really on his tail or that there is enough action to keep everything moving along. Clarice is also in trouble constantly within the Bureau, but it isn't interesting and the political undertones in the story take away from the excitement it should have. This would have been bad enough, but the ending to this story is so inplausible and stupid that it would have ruined the book completely if it hadn't already been pretty much destroyed by the previous 400 pages. The only thing that makes this book worth reading is that Harris does include some good suspense and violence that keeps it interesting and making the reader want more, expecting that it will get good, even though when you reach the end, it never lives up to the high hopes. I would not recommend this book (though I would recommend Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon very highly) to anyone.
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Summary: A note on the ending.
Review: Anyone who is familiar with the works of Thomas Harris should expect out of the ordinary elements. Wasn't the point of the ending to show that two people who have suffered from a corrupt and unjust society have finally found comfort far away from it as possible? Had Clarice and Hannibal not been tortured by certain constraints? I believe Harris could not have ended this delicious novel better. Anyone who cannot see the beauty of this conclusion should go back and read the last 5 chapters again. I do not believe Clarice was necessarily brainwashed--she was just lifted from the cave to see the light (Plato).
Rating:
Summary: Just Horrible
Review: This was one of the worst books I've ever read. Dissapointing doesn't do it justice. I agree with the reader who said it was as if Harris just wrote this because they wanted a sequel. He shouldn't have bothered. Should have left well enough alone. This story just didn't work. From the beginning where the FBI brass abandon Starling, a bona fide hero, after the fatal shooting of a female drug dealer to the idiotic revenge plotted by one of Hannibal's victims, to the unbearably ridiculous ending, this was a book that should never have been written. Harris should of left us with the ending of "Silence" and our imaginations. I never even bothered to see the movie since the film adaptation is usually inferior to the novel (however it's hard to see how in this case ). This book was so bad that I wanted a refund even though I had gotten a free copy.
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Summary: A INCREDIBLE conclusion to an incredible trillogy.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is unlike the two Lecter novels before it. The writing is a bit different, and the Harris goes much more into the lives of the characters than in his earlier books.
In "Hannibal", there are three main characters. We find Dr. Lecter living in Italy, leading a life he always dreamed of. A teacher and Art Director, studying, teaching and hiding, going on with his life as if he was never locked away. Then we have FBI special agent Clarice Starling. Starling knows Lecter from the book "The Silence of the Lambs" where she intervies him for his insight on catching a serial killer. Never giving up on Lector, Starling knows she will find him, but she doesnt know why she wants to find him so bad. She fights herself, knowing that she wants him locked away again, but at the same time, she also hides more reasons for the search. And the third main character is a severly dissabled man named Mason Verger, a middle aged billionaire, who's life was ruined by Lecter when he was a young experimenting homosexual, and now he wants revenge and will do anything to get it.
Harris takes on a ride around the world following these characters, and learing about how they all connect to Hannibal in some way, even Hannibal himself. This book is VERY different then the movie, so if you want to learn more about the lives of these people and an ending very very different then the movie, then you will want to read this incredible thriller. We get driven deep into all of their minds, and learn the true reasons for Lectors behavior.
Harris did not miss his mark with this book. The ten years in the making was worth the wait.
This is an Incredible conclusion to an incredible trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Good storytelling, bad story
Review: Thomas Harris lured me into this book with his reputation ("Silence of the Lambs") and kept me there, albeit reluctantly, with his skills as a writer. Unfortunately, in the case of "Hannibal," the plot leaves a lot to be desired. The whole thing was so bizarre that I had to finish it just to see how it turned out, but did I like what I was reading? Not so much. I'm referring specifically to the ending, which I thought was absolutely ridiculous. I can't accept that the Clarice Starling readers have come to know, admire, and even love, would ever run off with Lecter.As far as the other characters are concerned, the new ones are so far over the top as to be completely unrealistic (Mason and Margot), and most of those we remember from "Silence" behave in ways that are just too outrageous to be credible. I finished this book and just sat with my mouth open, unable to believe what I had just read. "Sex is a splendid structure they add to every day," is not a sentence I ever wanted to read about Starling and Lecter. It's just...wrong. Granted, these are Harris' characters and he can do with them what he likes, but I think he dropped the ball on this one. My last complaint: Harris' clumsy attempts to explain the origin of Hannibal's evil. He should have left well enough alone. To me, it is much scarier *not* to know why Hannibal Lecter is the way he is; it leaves open the possibility that it anyone could become such a monster. I imagine people had their own theories, and when something like that is left to the reader's imagination, it can assume many shapes. When Harris gives us Lecter's backstory, as unusual as it may be, he forever closes the door on our possibilities, and thereby reduces Lecter as a villain, although he does perhaps become somewhat more sympathetic a character. I don't think we needed to know *why* Lecter is evil; it is enough to simply know that he is.
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