Rating: 
Summary: Simply Great!
Review: This is my favorite Harris book followed by Red Dragon. The character development and great storyline makes this book an easy read. I read it in 3 days. Hannibal Lector is one of the best villians in any series of stories. Lector makes a brilliant escape at the end of this story. Go get this book now! Better than the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Adagio - a transitional piece
Review: Writers of "thinking people's horror" novels face an interesting challenge. Once a franchise viably captures the public's imagination, readers demand sophisticated, exciting innovations on a familiar theme. However, as the bar gets raised higher and higher, and as readers become de-sensitized, most series inevitably go stale or become far-fetched. A good example is the sagging work of Canadian author Michael Slade, who like Thomas Harris, launched a series based on brilliant serial killers with a flair for ingenious, over-the-top gorefests, replete with historical context and arcane erudition. The difference is, Thomas Harris takes a very long time between installments; and therefore, Harris fans are justified in believing they deserve better.The Hannibal Lecter series reached this "what next" juncture in the last decade, with The Silence Of The Lambs. At the end of that novel, readers were left with the impression that the series would follow a Hannibal Lecter let loose on the world, free to travel and kill in new and creative ways, in diverse and exotic locales, while staying one step ahead of the law - a cannibalistic version of Anne Rice's globetrotting vampire superstars. In writing Hannibal, Mr. Harris was clearly cognizant of the need to keep his series unpredictable. His choice of plot does accomplish that objective, but in ways that may leave fans feeling disappointed. Instead of a dashing Scarlet Pimpernel of cannibalism, Hannibal Lecter 3.0 is a stuffy, academic type, ensconced in a low-key arts curator job in Italy, indulging his appetite for fine arts and foods rather than for people. Indeed, one almost suspects that Lecter's violence is justified under a reluctant vigilante ethos, and that he'd gladly not bother a soul, as long as he's left alone under protective cover, free at last to pursue his arts research. Hannibal's charisma is dimmer here (as an offbeat analogy, compare Harrison Ford's roles today with his Han Solo character in Star Wars). This plot judo gives Mr. Harris license to turn many tables on us. First, he dials down Lecter's threat quotient to purely reactive mode, morphing Lecter into an almost sympathetic character motivated by a desire for anonymity and a need to heal the scars of his own childhood. Having put Lecter in neutral, Mr. Harris stokes the fires of dementia in a Class A nemesis, Mason Verger - an abominable child abuser and clever manipulator of political power, whom Lecter had horribly (justly?) victimized in times past. Driven insane by a need for revenge, and suitably well financed, Verger insists on bringing Lecter out of his shell; a laborious plot strand that is moderately entertaining but too obviously telegraphed to be particularly disturbing. Third, the author reduces the FBI to Mason Verger's tool -- a bunch of infighting, incompetent bureaucrats, venal and corrupt, concerned more with media politics than with apprehending criminals. Allegorically, the real monster in Hannibal is not Lecter, but "the system" - wealthy bad guys and the goverment that colludes with them. As if all this were not enough, Mr. Harris puts Clarice Starling on an emotional intersection course with Hannibal Lecter. The results of that strange alliance will strain the credulity of even the most flexible-minded readers. Even the author's elegant prose and stylized horror scenography backfire, lending an aura of John Cleese-like formal absurdity to a final dinner episode that was supposed to horrify. At the end of the day, this series' fans probably deserved an outrageously wild and energetic Hannibal Lecter novel at this point in the series. Instead, Thomas Harris decided to give us the literary equivalent of an Adagio. Therefore, Hannibal leaves open some questions that may be more interesting than the novel itself. Is Hannibal the beginning of the decline in the Cannibal series? Did Thomas Harris "go Hollywood"? Or is he transitioning into fresh, creative new territory? Let's hope we don't have to wait ten more years to find out.
Rating:
Summary: Best Harris Novel
Review: I haven't yet read "Hannibal", but I think I can alredy guess that Lambs will remain my first pick. Of course, I saw the movie first (how many of us can claim the opposite?) but reading the book revealed that the movie followed the book quite closely. Harris' details are all covered well, no 'loose ends'-- which really annoy me-- and the twists and turns of the plot are a thrill ride! No wonder they made a movie of it!
Rating:
Summary: No Surprises Here
Review: If you've seen the Silence of the Lambs movie already, you're not missing much as far as the novel is concerned. The movie was quite faithful to the book, so any plot differences between the two are small enough to take all the suspence away for the reader. The extra dialogue isn't nearly as good without Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster saying it. If you have never seen the movie before and are into serial killer/thriller novels, than this is one of the best, and you should read it before you watch the film. If you have seen the movie, than try the other Hannibal Lecter books, the Red Dragon or Hannibal.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best serial killer novel ever
Review: If you think you know everything about Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter after watching the movie... you're wrong. Not only is the plot different in some ways, but some of the best (and most intelligent) dialogue never made it into the movie. Speaking of intelligence, Thomas Harris isn't afraid to drop cultural references (such as Glenn Gould and Marcus Aurelius). That's refreshing at a time when many editors are forcing writers to "dumb down" their work. Yes, this is a novel about a serial killer who terrifies a nation. But it's also about Clarice Starling and her journey of self-discovery. And about the nature of evil. There are grisly scenes -- but this novel rises above being a mere gorefest. I've read lots of other serial killer novels. None came up to the level of this one. Many were but pale (but sleazy) imitations. P.S. Many thanks to Thomas Harris for introducing me to the music of Glenn Gould! Anne M. Marble Reviewer, All About Romance
Rating:
Summary: Silence of the Lambs
Review: If you enjoy a mystery and horror, then you will enjoy the book Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. Harris puts every growsome detail into this book. If you can handle it read it. The Book is mainly about the FBI trying to hunt down a killer named Buffalo Bill. The only way to hunt him down is if they are helped by another killer. I highly recommend this book, read on!
Rating:
Summary: The best of all Harris books
Review: I doubt that anyone would argue the fact that this is the best of Harris's books, though RED DRAGON and BLACK SUNDAY are excellent, too. Any would-be author should read any of these as textbook examples displaying how "brevity of description" --as opposed to long drawn-out descriptions of a person or place in a scene--can be so powerful. For instance, Clarice Starling is simply described in her own thougths as someone who "knew she could look allright without primping" and that left you with the image of a great-looking female protagonist. Harris, and lesser known but equally as talented fellow Mississippi author Charles Wilson are two of the best I've ever read at being able to pull this "brevity" off. In fact, the above mentioned books of Harris, along with Wilson's GAME PLAN, DONOR, and NIGHTWATCHER, are among the most visual books I've ever read, without boring you with "too-much" description to get that effect. By the way, for those who loved SILENCE in particular, and haven't read Wilson, they should try NIGHTWATCHER for a read very similar to SILENCE in its story line and fear factor, with possibly better laid-out character development in NIGHTWATCHER--but hey, all of them top notch reads.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: A splendid book.Very readable.By the master of suspense,Thomas Harris.You owe to yourself to read it;the book is one thousand times more satisfying,and chilling the oscar winning movie. It's as good,if not better than the master's earlier work,the Red Dragon,which was very good,though the movie,Manhunter(1986),didn't quite match up.
Rating:
Summary: Blood, yes, but tears, too.
Review: When I was in high school, I thought that the movie version was the greatest thing since sliced bread and was(may the gods forgive me) superior to the novel. Ten years later, the film doesn't hold up as well but the book is one of my favorites (up there with Harris's "Red Dragon"). Everyone talks about how gruesome and gripping "Silence" is, and heaven knows they're right. But what makes it powerful upon repeat readings is its surprising tenderness- the acute emotional sensitivity you rarely get in this kind of story. Everyone talks about Hannibal the Cannibal because he's the flashier character; but this is Clarice Starling's story and it is she who haunts me the most, years after my first reading. (Which is why the end of Harris's uneven followup "Hannibal" feels like such a cheap betrayal.) And she is the main reason this book deserves to be read and respected as a classic for many years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Some of Our Stars Are the Same
Review: I'm assuming that anyone interested in this book has already seen the movie and read Red Dragon. Comparisons between the novel and the movie are inevitable. I shall give in to my nature and make them ... The differences between the book and the movie stem from three sources: Continuity with Red Dragon, additional storylines, and modified scenes. The most visible modified scenes in the movie are the infamous Goodbye Horses sequence and the finale. Goodbye Horses was drawn from two things: Dolarhyde's home movie in Dragon, and Gumb's "Cash For Your Trash" sequence in this book. The change doesn't hurt the story, unless you really like Q. Lazarus. The change in the ending is the result of both rewriting and continuity of Lecter's character from the previous book. Don't worry ... the Funny Quip (TM) is gone, replaced with something else possessing incredible sexual charge. (Or maybe that was just me ;) There's other minor changes: Several species of moths instead of one, Precious is developed more (I'm not kidding), and the death of Mrs. Crawford, which appears to try to set a mood of malaise but fails. Instead of the tortured Francis Dolarhyde, we are given several people who are evil because they choose to be evil. That's certainly refreshing; while some serial killers were abused as children, some have simply gone flip-city. Moreover, there are several kinds of evil. Psychopathic, sociopathic, and some self-serving idiots who really need a come-uppance in the next book. There's not as much gruesomeness as Red Dragon. Always the possibility of something terrible happening, but it rarely does. On that note, I always wonder at people who complain about the film being too violent, or gruesome, for them to watch. People have been desensitized to the violence of the gun, or the bomb, but when violence is committed with teeth.... The storyline is quite cohesive, and the characters consistent. A previous reviewer complained that Clarice wouldn't have entered the basement without calling for backup. The reasons were given in the book: She hadn't been issued a cell phone, she didn't know where Gumb's phone was, and the profile had indicated that Gumb would immediately kill Catherine if confronted by officers.
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