Hannibal (Thomas Harris)

Title: Hannibal

Series: Hannibal

Author: Thomas Harris

Released: 1999

Rating: 5/6

Basic Plot: Seven years after the events of The Silence of the Lambs a former victim of Hannibal Lecter seeks revenge.
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The Ending
The ending of this book is considered controversial. I can very much see why it would be, but I wasn't bothered by it. It was only after I finished the novel that I felt like I should find problems with it. It does involve manipulating a strong character with drugs but, at the end of the day, both characters stay strong and choose the path they would've anyways. In my opinion, at least.

The Character of Hannibal
Hannibal, in this book, is a more sympathetic character. The narrative has you rooting for Hannibal to succeed and Mason Verger to fail. While, I admit, Hannibal kills and eats people which is a bad thing, he is a complicated character. Even the worst things he does can be looked at as happening due to a warped sense of good intentions. This doesn't make them 100% right, of course. Another point that helps Hannibal appear to be good is that Mason is shown to be a top grade asshole.

Clarice
Clarice is shown to have created new enemies for herself after she had killed the killer from The Silence of the Lambs. Her struggle to remain part of the FBI is a big part of the novel as she not only has to deal with Lecter but others that want to take her down. When Jack Crawford leaves the picture it makes everything with her plot line even more intense.

Final Thoughts
This is a good end to Hannibal's story (chronologically speaking as Hannibal Rising was published after this). I do wish that we got a better handle on what happened to both Clarice and Hannibal after this, but what we did get was good enough. I like how Mason Verger was built up as a villain and the end of his story. I don't think I will forget the brainy dinner scene near the very end of the book anytime soon.

The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris)

Title: The Silence of the Lambs

Series: Hannibal

Author: Thomas Harris

Released: 1988

Rating: 5/6

Basic Plot: A serial murderer known only by a grotesquely apt nickname--Buffalo Bill--is stalking women. He has a purpose, but no one can fathom it, for the bodies are discovered in different states. Clarice Starling, a young trainee at the FBI Academy, is surprised to be summoned by Jack Crawford, chief of the Bureau's Behavioral Science section. Her assignment: to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter--Hannibal the Cannibal--who is kept under close watch in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history, unusual tastes, and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs--and ingenious, masterfully written book and an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.
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Will Graham's Life
At the end of Red Dragon you're left wondering if Molly is going to leave Will or not. That and Will's drug trip. In this book don't expect answers to his love life. But that's not to say you don't get any answers about how he's doing. You find out he's a drunk in Florida with a messed up face. Oh the joy!

Clarice and Hannibal
I had prepared myself to start to ship these two and now I can't wait to read Hannibal to watch it evolve. Upon seeing the movie I could see how people could want these two together. For every time Hannibal teases Clarice, he tries to help her. It's complicated in this book, mainly because Hannibal being in a normal relationship isn't going to happen anytime soon. I mean...Hannibal isn't the guy to do dinner and the movies. Well, without the dinner being people.

Hannibal the Cannibal
I was first brought into the folds of the Hannibal fandom through the NBC show Hannibal. So there are many a joke made about almost no one realizing Hannibal is the one they're after. So when the line 'Hannibal the Cannibal' came up I was just wondering why no one has put the two together. I know that it's because the FBI doesn't work that way but...I can think whatever I want no matter how illogical!

Final Thoughts
So far, this is my favorite of the Hannibal books. Maybe it's because of the fact that Hannibal really gets his big chance to shine. You get Clarice Starling who, not only dealing with struggling to become an actual FBI agent, deals with sexism time and again. Instead of losing her cool, she stands up to it. She is great, never mind the other characters. And poor Bella!

Red Dragon (Thomas Harris)

Title: Red Dragon

Series: Hannibal

Author: Thomas Harris

Released: 1981

Rating: 5/6

Basic Plot: A killer called the Tooth Fairy is on the loose and Will Graham is called in to stop him. Graham ends up having to seek the help of the cannibal who tried to kill him. Hannibal Lecter.
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The Tooth Fairy
The villain for this book is complex. He isn't a killer that kills for the sake of killing, he has a reason. He is humanized and I pitied him, but knew he had to be caught. What causes him to kill can be traced back to him being abused in his childhood. So his vision of the world got seriously fucked up. I like when a villain is more than pure evil and you can see why they react like they do. It's not merely that they do bad to do bad, but that they believe they are doing right.

Revealing the Villain
While I don't like Manhunter (the first movie adaptation of this book), the fact is I like that reveal of the Tooth Fairy. I feel that the novel revealed the identity of the Tooth Fairy too early. I get that now that we know who he is we can see the chase from both sides. However, I'd really like the buildup to his reveal to have been longer.

Will's Resolve
Will Graham has been retired but in the beginning of the novel he is brought back in. He doesn't like his work at all. He doesn't like feeling like a killer. Oh, forgot to mention that Will has a sort of superhuman ability to get into the mind of a killer so that he feels what the killer feels. So when he's on a case it can be very disturbing for him. Will mentions at least once in the novel that he goes through Hell so that people will be alive in the future.

Final Thoughts
I bet some of you are wondering why I haven't mentioned Hannibal Lecter in this review. These written reviews are meant to be short and Hannibal doesn't play one of the biggest roles in the novel. Don't get me wrong, he is the one to help Will solve the case and he is also the one to give the Tooth Fairy the ability to find Will's home. But I was trying to keep to the basics here. This is a good novel and it soars over Hannibal Rising (the first book in the Hannibal series I read). If you are looking for a good scare with good characters, I recommend this book for you.

Hannibal Rising (Thomas Harris)

Title: Hannibal Rising

Series: Hannibal

Author: Thomas Harris

Released: 2006

Rating: 3.5/5

Basic Plot: Hannibal Lecter goes through a terrible experience as a young boy and then seeks revenge on the men responsible.
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Why The Book Was Written
I always read up a little on whatever I am reviewing. This helps me find interesting things to talk about as well as making sure I don't make many mistakes. While I was reading this book someone, on Facebook, stated that this book was written merely to have a movie made from it. From Wikipedia (and one or two other sources that I could find), it seems that Harris might've been afraid of someone else writing about Hannibal Lecter. To make a prequel before someone else could, he wrote the novel version and the screenplay around the same time. I don't see that as a reason to hate the book, but a reason to pity the author who was afraid of losing his hold on a series he created.

Revenge Makes Us Less Human
For lack of a real slow and subtle arc that leads us to the Hannibal we know and love from Red Dragon, we must become content with this revenge storyline. I didn't mind this storyline, but there wasn't a real clear descent into the monster that Hannibal became. As he got his revenge on more of the men that harmed him and his sister, it seemed he took more and more pleasure from killing them. Even remarking on the death of one that he liked killing the man, but hated allowing him even a second longer to live. And by the end he kills a guy because he had nothing better to do, basically. But there was no clear descent. He just started off innocent and then it seems he's a monster all of a sudden.

A Cannibal to His Core
Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter is shown to be a cannibal at a very early age. Some of his killings in this book are shown to involve him eating his victims. One theme of his cannibalism, at least in this book, is his eating the cheeks of his victims. This happens the first time after a cook talks about eating fish and that cheeks are special. Of course Hannibal's earliest human meal is a big trigger for him.

Final Thoughts
I had heard, before reading this book, that Hannibal Rising is not liked by the majority of the Hannibal fandom. I enjoy this book and I feel I fell into my usual liking of things that a lot of the fandom doesn't like. However, one complaint I do have of this book is that Hannibal becoming a monster should've been shown better. Hell, him being born as a monster would be great too. I am of the opinion that labeling Hannibal as a villain is simplifying him. He isn't good, but he does good at times. And, even when he does bad, sometimes he is trying to make a person fulfill their potential. So hearing "monster" and "villain" describing the infamous doctor annoys me as it defines him in simple terms. So a descent into what he is in Red Dragon is preferable to me. The book, overall, wasn't the worst I have ever read.