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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
"What do you think he is?"
"The little boy Hannibal died in 1945 out there in the snow trying to save his sister. His heart died with Mischa. What is he now? There's not a word for it yet. For lack of a better word, we'll call him a monster." Page 335
"The little boy Hannibal died in 1945 out there in the snow trying to save his sister. His heart died with Mischa. What is he now? There's not a word for it yet. For lack of a better word, we'll call him a monster." Page 335
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think the first half of this book I would almost give a 2. It lags incredibly and seems to lack the familiar voice of Thomas Harris that is so consistent in the original trilogy. I had previously attempted to pick this book up years ago, but couldn't get past the first few chapters mostly because it wasn't what I was expecting out of Hannibal's origin. I knew of his trauma relating to the war and his sister's plotline, but some of the early childhood material felt extraneous.
The original trilogy is my favorite series, and in my opinion we begin to hear Harris' unmistakable narrative when Hannibal begins his revenge. Back to a place of comfort, learning to know Hannibal as a young man getting a feel for why he kills and how he shines as a villain against a background of markedly more heinous villains in his upbringing bumps the quality of this book up substantially and lends itself to a significantly more interesting book by its end. Additionally, knowing that Harris received pressure to write the book from the future movie producer under threat of losing control over his character also makes me softer in this review. However, I don't believe I would've ever read this book had it not been for the audiobook narrated by Harris. The voice he gives to the moderately flat-on-page characters elevates this book to something I might read again like the original trilogy, rather than a bookend on a shelf simply to complete the series. There are large portions I would've trimmed down, but I am grateful for the experience Harris gave me as a reader/listener toward the end.
I suggest giving the audiobook a shot if that appeals to you. There are many embellishments off page by Harris' narration that make the book, unfortunately a failing of the original material, but beneficial to an avid fan of Hannibal as a character.
The original trilogy is my favorite series, and in my opinion we begin to hear Harris' unmistakable narrative when Hannibal begins his revenge. Back to a place of comfort, learning to know Hannibal as a young man getting a feel for why he kills and how he shines as a villain against a background of markedly more heinous villains in his upbringing bumps the quality of this book up substantially and lends itself to a significantly more interesting book by its end. Additionally, knowing that Harris received pressure to write the book from the future movie producer under threat of losing control over his character also makes me softer in this review. However, I don't believe I would've ever read this book had it not been for the audiobook narrated by Harris. The voice he gives to the moderately flat-on-page characters elevates this book to something I might read again like the original trilogy, rather than a bookend on a shelf simply to complete the series. There are large portions I would've trimmed down, but I am grateful for the experience Harris gave me as a reader/listener toward the end.
I suggest giving the audiobook a shot if that appeals to you. There are many embellishments off page by Harris' narration that make the book, unfortunately a failing of the original material, but beneficial to an avid fan of Hannibal as a character.
This book is written for people who are huge fans of Hannibal as a character. It reads like a historical horror rather than a straight up horror novel. I loved it, but it was a little bit slower of a read. As a Hannibal fan girl, I’m glad I read it and have the backstory to go with the character.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's been a while since I read Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs and I never read Hannibal as I recall Steve King hated it. But I got this from a 1 pound box, so gave it a shot. The story was OK, easy to read and had some OK bits, although I agree Hannibal was a much more interesting character without all the justification given here. And there was some serious purple prose among otherwise sparse writing. It wasn't as bad as some of the reviews say, but definitely not in the same league with the first two. Worst of all, it really felt like it was written with a screenplay in mind.
Mediocre at best, and nowhere near as insightful about the characters as I remember from other Harris works. The Hannibal collection is complete, but it goes out with a whimper here.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hannibal Rising is a prequel novel to the Lecter series that details the youth and young adult life of Hannibal Lecter as he grows from a child to a monster. The book isn't entirely bad, but it is slow and feels unnecessary. This backstory gives a perfectly sane and simple reason Hannibal became a cannibal (and not just because it rhymes) which makes his character less interesting. Harris seems to be obsessed with humanizing Hannibal and giving him reasons for why he became the person he became. To an extent that's fine, but it makes his character far less interesting. Hannibal was much better as a mysterious psychopath.