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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Blood
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
im gonna be real i read this because im a huge hannibal (tv) fan. i would probably enjoy this more if i hadnt read it during work time, as it seems more like a 'read in one sitting' book. i very much enjoyed will graham, though. probably will re-read this at some point.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very compelling book, my favorite in the series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Gore, Pedophilia, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment
“How seldom we recognize the sound when the bolt of our fate slides home.”
“There is no mercy; we make mercy…There is no murder. We make murder, and it matters only to us.”
“He wondered if, in the great body of humankind, in the minds of men set on civilization, the vicious urges we control in ourselves and the dark instinctive knowledge of those urges function like the crippled virus the body arms against.”
“There is no mercy; we make mercy…There is no murder. We make murder, and it matters only to us.”
“He wondered if, in the great body of humankind, in the minds of men set on civilization, the vicious urges we control in ourselves and the dark instinctive knowledge of those urges function like the crippled virus the body arms against.”
I've been a fan of the character Hannibal Lecter for years. I adore the film Silence of the Lambs and devoured the TV series, so naturally, I had to eventually pick up the book that started it all.
Red Dragon is an extremely hyped up novel because it pretty much launched the pop culture phenomenon that is Hannibal, the most famous fictional serial killer ever. And I have to say, this book is entirely worth all of the hype. I couldn't put it down.
I went into this novel knowing very little about Will Graham and Jack Crawford, even though I thought I knew a lot. Harris has a way of writing characters with what I like to call implied depth. Their actions and reactions tell you far more about the character than any descriptive paragraph could. And luckily, Will Graham and Jack Crawford are far more likable characters in Red Dragon than they are on screen.
I have to say I was shocked at how little Hannibal Lecter is featured in this tale. Though his moments are filled with nothing but absolute horror as he continues to torture and torment Will Graham from behind bars. However, Francis Dolarhyde is the real iconic villain in this story. First off, his back story is so upsetting. You can tell that Dolarhyde was made to be a monster. His childhood was awful and his deformity only worsened his self-esteem. But then you get these small glimmers of hope that maybe Dolarhyde can become rehabilitated. You see that he has his own personal demons, but he tries to escape them the second he finds someone who cares about him in a way he's never experienced before. (The tiger scene was easily the best scene in this book.)
I love Harris for creating likable villains. The reader is drawn to Lecter and Dolarhyde the same way they are drawn to Graham and Crawford. Everyone is flawed and everyone has become what they are through a series of circumstances prolonged by those who surround them. It's an amazing snapshot of the dynamic anti-hero told through a variety of perspectives that just keeps this story going. And I loved every single second of it.
Red Dragon is an extremely hyped up novel because it pretty much launched the pop culture phenomenon that is Hannibal, the most famous fictional serial killer ever. And I have to say, this book is entirely worth all of the hype. I couldn't put it down.
I went into this novel knowing very little about Will Graham and Jack Crawford, even though I thought I knew a lot. Harris has a way of writing characters with what I like to call implied depth. Their actions and reactions tell you far more about the character than any descriptive paragraph could. And luckily, Will Graham and Jack Crawford are far more likable characters in Red Dragon than they are on screen.
I have to say I was shocked at how little Hannibal Lecter is featured in this tale. Though his moments are filled with nothing but absolute horror as he continues to torture and torment Will Graham from behind bars. However, Francis Dolarhyde is the real iconic villain in this story. First off, his back story is so upsetting. You can tell that Dolarhyde was made to be a monster. His childhood was awful and his deformity only worsened his self-esteem. But then you get these small glimmers of hope that maybe Dolarhyde can become rehabilitated. You see that he has his own personal demons, but he tries to escape them the second he finds someone who cares about him in a way he's never experienced before. (The tiger scene was easily the best scene in this book.)
I love Harris for creating likable villains. The reader is drawn to Lecter and Dolarhyde the same way they are drawn to Graham and Crawford. Everyone is flawed and everyone has become what they are through a series of circumstances prolonged by those who surround them. It's an amazing snapshot of the dynamic anti-hero told through a variety of perspectives that just keeps this story going. And I loved every single second of it.
I’m extremely biased bc I’m obsessed with the Hannibal TV show and recognizing all the little parallels was enough for me to give this 3 stars at least. Also this is my first crime novel so I’m easily impressed.
Despite being 11 hours on audiobook (which is long for me) this story never dragged. The pace was excellent - not too frantic but never dull. Characterization was explicit, but details were spread out enough that it never felt like a lore dump (except for Dolarhyde’s backstory chapter, I think that information could’ve definitely been dispersed more).
The ending was definitely a tropey plot twist, but I was getting so disillusioned with how anticlimactic the ending was seeming to be that I loved it lol. I’m definitely gonna read this again, bookmarking my favorite passages and quotes.
P.S: I was weary going into the book that I’d see a lot of uncritical racism, sexism, homophobia, and/or transphobia, considering the themes in the SOTL movie and the general age of the book, but was pleasantly surprised by how Harris writes women. He writes them as CHARACTERS, can you believe it?? Lol for real, Reba was an amazing character, I loved her to death, and the narration is never gawking at her sexuality or her disability, it was so refreshing to read. Unfortunately, there are no major characters of color, and Dolarhyde is taunted with the idea that he could be repressing homosexual desire or some BS, but that’s not payed too much attention. The book does have many raw depictions of ableism and abuse, which were almost too grotesque for me in Dolarhyde’s backstory chapter, but I thought the depiction was effective and regrettably accurate.
Also, I hope nobody went into it only for Hannibal Lecter, cause he’s barely in it lol. Didn’t bother me, but I can see how that’d be disappointing to some people.
Despite being 11 hours on audiobook (which is long for me) this story never dragged. The pace was excellent - not too frantic but never dull. Characterization was explicit, but details were spread out enough that it never felt like a lore dump (except for Dolarhyde’s backstory chapter, I think that information could’ve definitely been dispersed more).
The ending was definitely a tropey plot twist, but I was getting so disillusioned with how anticlimactic the ending was seeming to be that I loved it lol. I’m definitely gonna read this again, bookmarking my favorite passages and quotes.
P.S: I was weary going into the book that I’d see a lot of uncritical racism, sexism, homophobia, and/or transphobia, considering the themes in the SOTL movie and the general age of the book, but was pleasantly surprised by how Harris writes women. He writes them as CHARACTERS, can you believe it?? Lol for real, Reba was an amazing character, I loved her to death, and the narration is never gawking at her sexuality or her disability, it was so refreshing to read. Unfortunately, there are no major characters of color, and Dolarhyde is taunted with the idea that he could be repressing homosexual desire or some BS, but that’s not payed too much attention. The book does have many raw depictions of ableism and abuse, which were almost too grotesque for me in Dolarhyde’s backstory chapter, but I thought the depiction was effective and regrettably accurate.
Also, I hope nobody went into it only for Hannibal Lecter, cause he’s barely in it lol. Didn’t bother me, but I can see how that’d be disappointing to some people.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the twist really got me but i thought there would be more of dr. lector