Rating: 
Summary: Beyond disappointing
Review: Why, Thomas Harris, why? Why, after seven years, did you unleash this mess on your waiting fans? I was so happy when I heard that there would be a conituation of The Silence of the Lambs, only to be horribly let down by the results. The ending is ridiculous. It doesn't make sense at all - and comes so quickly after hundreds of pages building "suspense" (which never really happens). And do we have to endure so many people mistaking Hannibal Lecter for Satan? We understand that he is a malevolent person, but that doesn't make him the ultimate evil. Spare yourself the money and time - please.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a thriller, but still wonderful
Review: I really loved this book because it focuses more the person behind the monster- you see Dr. Lecter as a human being, his regrets, the things that please him. The business with Mason Verger is simply a storyline, around a novel to better aquaint us with the good Doctor. The ending is sort of a surprise, but it does leave us with a sense of closure. While people who enjoyed "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon" for their fast-paced excitement might find it dull, I think that most anyone else who reads it will enjoy it. This book is not about Lecter the Madman and Cannibal, but about Hannibal. The title says it all. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: A big joke
Review: It's no wonder why everyone who was involved in the movie Silence of the Lambs is passing this on (Jonathan Demme, Ted Tally, Tak Fujimoto, and even Jodie Foster). Let's face it. This book stinks!
Rating:
Summary: The best of all! A page turner extraordinaire!
Review: The third book of the "Hannibal" trilogy is by far the best. We learn why Hannibal Lecter is what he is and, believe it or not, he is not the "villian" of this book! Even though I figured out the ending about half way through, I still was enthralled and tantalized as Harris took me through Hannibal's "mind palace" and the fall and rise of Clarice Starling. The ending is mind blowing, literally! The psychological twists in this book are so captivating that they stay with you long after you've finished. I think the reader will benefit from reading Harris' other novels, but this one can definately stand on its own. Definately one of my favorite books of all time!
Rating: 
Summary: Pathetic!
Review: This book was a sad excuse for a follow up novel. The characters were changed, overdramatic, and lacked any integrity! I so looked forward to reading this book; it turned out to be the biggest disappointment I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh no!
Review: I had anticipated the release of this book ever since I read Silence of the Lambs as a teenager. This book is right up there with Silence of the Lambs until the ending. I felt Harris lost track of who Clarice's character really was. He betrayed her in the worst way. The book was also a bit on the long side but all and all it was an okay read.
Rating:
Summary: Hannibal as hero just doesn't quite work
Review: Others have said it, but by golly I'm going to repeat it--this was a disappointment. What can you say when every single character (with the exception of the puppet Clarice Starling) is so incredibly venal and unpleasant that a psychotic cannibal is the hero?Possibly Harris meant this as an experiment in making the totally unsympathetic sympathetic, and he does toss us a few bones, so to speak, with some insight into Hannibal's motives--another mistake, in my opinion. Hannibal the Cannibal, as portrayed in the first two books, is larger than life--the Bogeyman--a creature to darken our dreams. He is a Monster. In this book, Harris has to *tell* us Hannibal's a monster, over and over. Hannibal the man, as portrayed in this book, is just a dirty old man with the hots for Clarice (and admit it--at the end, didn't it come down to sex? Didn't Harris even say it himself? And don't tell me his word choice--penetration--was psychologically illuminating.) And what's this with Clarice? Talk about a pawn. She's the one character to root for, and she's totally powerless throughout. Everything she does is stolen, twisted, and corrupted. Even her action at the end only serves to deliver her to -- well, best not to mention that, because I do not believe that ending, I do not. Not Clarice. These are the major problems. There are others--Krendler is so shallow and stupid he is unbelievable. Barney is dropped in the middle in a ridiculous twist that contradicts some very nice work almost immediately prior to it. The whole thing with the eel--tres melodramatic. Big sigh here. So why did I bother to read it all, you ask? What else was I supposed to do on the plane home from my Christmas vacation?
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Thomas Harris has made another masterpiece with Hannibal. What you think is going to happen in the end is incredibly off. After having read The Silence of the Lambs I wasn't sure if this could be anywhere near the suspenssfulness of it. But, it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Like Melville
Review: Superficially "Hannibal," by Thomas Harris,is tensely disappointing. Thomas obviously has been persuaded by too many choppingmall-and-movie-F/X enthusiasts--personal perhaps, but definitely professional. Ironically, publishers seldom know what the "reading public" wants. And it's always bad when a writer succumbs to outside, monetary encouragement. When we, the pubic, read, it's very personal, and I for one do not want to be a victum to someone's past, not even a fictional character's. "Hannibal" reminds me of "Alien 3." The anticipated point of the story is that after each encounter there are more survivors--for the eventual, ultamate extermination of the evil creature. I don't care about reality; I want to see what's best for me and mine. I want to read about hope, not resignation, chemically induced or otherwise. Like "Alien 3," "Hannibal" leaves me with the bitter taste of Murphe's world, a taste I am tired of. I only want to know that there is hope, not that hope is limited. I want survivors. In short, bad job, bad saleout, Tom. However, years from now, I'm sure that countless students will earn their doctorate degrees from lengthy dissertations on "Hannibal." For all its chopping mall and modern special effects leanings, it's purpose is obtuse at best. Good stuff for future scholars. Bad stuff for the extant author.
Rating:
Summary: Add me to the long line of Nay-Sayers
Review: Oh please, PLEASE, save us from authors tired of their characters and aiming only for that bonus check from Hollywood. Ponderous, confusing, stomach-churning (and that's just the prose, not the plot)...was I disappointed? You bet I was. As was my husband. We both agreed the end-game received short shrift. had Harris bothered to spend more time there and less time with Verger and his horrendous plot for revenge, I might have been able to accept the ending. Yes, yes...the bare bones of justification were there but I'm sorry Mr. Harris, it was not enough. You glossed over the details of Lecter's psychological seduction of Starling leaving most every reader bewildered at her abrupt personality change. Shame on you. For those of you who haven't yet wasted your time, don't bother. Go read something by John Sandford instead, or re-read SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
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