Rating: 
Summary: Harris has his chance....And blows it.
Review: Thomas Harris, in his last attempt, gave us not one, but two monsers to contend with: Hannibal Lecter and Jame Gumb. They were monsters because of their minds and their personalities, not their physical appearance. Harris, in both Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, does not rely on the visceral, slovenly horror found in Hannibal. It feels as though Harris got lazy with his character. Dr. Hannibal Lecter has become like every generic brand bogeyman out there on the market today. Lecter was not scary in SOtL because of what he did - he was scary because of what he could do. Potential can be scarier than actualization, and in this case it holds true. Harris had the chance to deliver a bombshell of a book. Instead this book just bombs. Thankfully I had Deaver's The Bone Collector to wash the taste of Hannibal out of my literary mouth.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: Hannibal is a major disappointment. I should have known better than to buy and read it especially after perusing the plotline revelations online, but when I read Silence of the Lambs curiosity got the better of me so I went into Hannibal with low expectations and it was even worse than what I had expected. First problem, the entire plotline involving Mason Verger is insipid and uninspired. I refuse to believe it took Thomas Harris 10 years to come up with it. It transcends willing suspension of disbelief and lands squarely in the c'mon-get-real-this-is-just-way-too-dumb category of fiction. It borders on insulting the reader's intelligence. Second, the conclusion involving Clarice and Hannibal is jaw-dropping only in the sense that it too is completely unbelievable and contrary to everything that Clarice said, did and stood for in Silence of the Lambs. Third, the supposedly chilling scenes were comical rather than scary. While Lambs was full of scenes containing genuine suspense and horror, Hannibal lacks all of that. Some examples include the dinner scene with Krendler, the final scene with Mason and his sister, and anything involving the Sardinians. Hannibal fails in too many ways to enumerate here. It's unworthy as a novel let alone a sequel to a brilliant book and movie. I pray this never gets turned into a screenplay with Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins signing on. Thomas Harris can surely do better than this it's just a shame that this is how it all turned out.
Rating:
Summary: Harris prostituted his talent in his latest book
Review: Rarely have I been so disappointed in a book. While Harris has considerable writing skill, this book seemed to be more about his ego than the characters he had developed earlier. It was a "hey, I can speak Italian," and "hey, I know about fine wines" name-dropping kind of book. The finale was unlikely, unbelievable, and entirely unsatisfactory. Harris rode his reputation to the bank and delivered a shallow effort to his readers.
Rating:
Summary: Forget this one!
Review: Disregard the reviews of this book being a must read. It is more of a must pass. The book began well, but then it seemed like Harris just lost his train of thought and started to make things up. The plot was poorly developed and the descriptions of the gory murders, wasn't even disgusting at all. This book was too long and dull. The ending was absolutely horrible. No wonder Jodi Foster refused the part. The characters were lost from the original series to become lovers! This cannot be! It ruins the entire mystique of the relationship between Starling and Lecter! C'mon! Harris, you must've been offered a HUGE advancement to write this shoddy novel. I can't believe you rushed to write this awful book. Warning to others, do not buy unless you want to waste money and time and energy in a dull, predictable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Hannibal
Review: This is a superb book. Thomas Harris excells himself in getting into Dr Lectors mind, not only in the story, but actually taking you there. Im generally not an avid reader, however, I liked The silence of the lambs, that I went and bought the Red Dragon, and Hannibal doesnt let you down. If you have seen the film of the silence of the lambs, read the book, as the film does it no justice. Though it does help to paint a picture in your mind of what the characters look like and the way they behave. A fantastic read, which I strongly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A Big Disappointment
Review: I was a huge fan of Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs and waited 11 years for this sequel. I can't remember the last time I was so disappoited by a book. The story is for the most part boring and the characters dull. The plotlines (all of them) are unbelievable and just plain gross or dumb. The worst part is that Mr. Harris in unfair to both Lector and Starling. In the pervious novels I was compelled and spellbound by both characters, here they are almost lifeless. I am sure that the ending was supposed to shock me in some way..I just thought it was stupid and a waste of time. I was looking for thought provoking conversation and got mumbo jumble instead. In a word: DULL
Rating:
Summary: Michael Batzel
Review: For someone who puts out a book every 5 years or so, you would think he'd have enough time to perfect it. However, this book was horrible. The end made me feel like licking sandpaper. Hannibal - an utterly brutal and morbid serial killer - is seen as the poor hunted and misunderstood hero in parts. Whereas Clarice - a no nonsense logical symbol of justice - is reduced to a sick and twisted lost soul. What vile perverseness!I can see Hopkins doing the movie...but they'll have to pay Foster a pile of millions (and they probably will) to portray that witch Clarice.
Rating:
Summary: An Elegant Thriller
Review: I can't recall a more elegant thriller than "Hannibal"-- in its careful, restrained use of language, its well-drawn characters, and especially in its commanding use of painstaking research. The book is replete with interesting facts about medicine, history, forensics, zoology, animal husbandry, medieval literature, art, cooking, the city of Florence, the Italian language, classical music, and wine-- all presented with Thomas' sure, confident touch. This is not a conventional sequel, and many fans of "The Silence of the Lambs" will surely be horrified by this book's extremely shocking conclusion. Those in particular who regarded Clarice Starling as a feminist icon (including, perhaps, Jody Foster) may feel betrayed. However, I think Harris should be commended for his courage. The easiest (and most profitable) thing for him to do would have been to give us a "Silence of the Lambs" rehash, tailor-made for another blockbuster film adaptation. Most of the plot concerns Mason Verger, a meat-packing tycoon and an early victim of Hannibal Lecter. A child molester whose victims include his own sister, Verger is as diabolical in his way as the doctor himself. Paralyzed and disfigured by his brush with Lecter, he is planning an elaborate and ghastly revenge-- which Harris describes with a morbid lyricism worthy of Edgar Allen Poe. The conflict here is between two monsters: one attractive (Lecter), one unattractive (Verger). Harris subtly encourages us to root for Lecter, giving "Hannibal" a moral landscape far more ambiguous, more disturbing, and more ironic than most thrillers. Although I'm saving my pennies for the hardcover version, the 6-hour audio abridgement that I was lucky enough to find at my local library features a nicely understated reading by Thomas Harris himself-- speaking in a craggy, Mississippi-inflected voice that made me think of Mark Twain.
Rating: 
Summary: Ridiculous ending
Review: I have not read the previous two Hannibal books but my sympathies go out to fans of the series, who have had to witness the carefully crafted characters of Starling and Lecter destroyed in the space of 30 pages by a completely ridiculous and unsatisfying ending. However, despite the ending it is still an entertaining read - one for the airport or journey to work.
Rating:
Summary: Harris has done it again!
Review: From the beginning to the end, Hannibal was thrilling and mysterious. He did an excellent job of introducing Starling, Lecter, and all of the other characters, so if you hadn't read the Silence of The Lambs, you could pick up the story easily. I recommend it to everybody
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