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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
There's definitely a reason why Silence of the Lambs is the only Hannibal novel people actually recommend. And that's because the rest of these books are terrible: Hannibal Rising the worst of all. You would think the story of Hannibal Lector's origins would be fascinating, but the result is just sort of 'meh'. Oh, what a snooze fest. At least the series is over and Thomas Harris never decided to add on even more of these. Now that would be a nightmare.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While not quite as bad as people say, it's definitely the weakest of the Hannibal novels, and I definitely believe it was written under duress in order to maintain some control over the character, since a movie was going to be made regardless.
My biggest complaint is that Harris's usual attention to detail and the vivid internal monologues of his cast are completely absent. I read Silence of the Lambs over the course of about 7 hours, over two nights. I read this novel in about 6 hours, in one go. Not because it was thrilling, or especially compelling, but some of the because it was very plainly written and was easy to consume, like a porridge.
Not necessarily bad, but unnecessary and bland. Stick with the first three novels.
My biggest complaint is that Harris's usual attention to detail and the vivid internal monologues of his cast are completely absent. I read Silence of the Lambs over the course of about 7 hours, over two nights. I read this novel in about 6 hours, in one go. Not because it was thrilling, or especially compelling, but some of the because it was very plainly written and was easy to consume, like a porridge.
Not necessarily bad, but unnecessary and bland. Stick with the first three novels.
My friend and I could have come up with a better story line. The whole "Free Hannibal" thing....seriously. Don't you think that would be something that would have come up when people were digging in the Lecter's past?!
“My heart hops at the sight of you, who taught my heart to sing.”
Risen from the ruins of the frontier of World War II in Lithuania, this tale of how Hannibal Lecter became himself began as a child lost his little sister amidst the chaos of Hitler’s quest in search of ‘Lebensraum’. As the first son of the wealthy Count Lecter, Hannibal grew up in Lecter Castle which his family had been inhabiting for generations. There are many privileges that he grew up singing German song ‘Das Mannlein’ almost in every occasion together with his little sister, Mischa.
“Ein Mannlein steht im Walde ganz still und stumm,
Es hat von lauter Purpur ein Mannlein um,
Sagt, wer mag das Mannlein sein
Das da steht im Walde allein
Mit dem purporroten Mantelein—“
This song about the mysterious little man in the woods will, in turn, bring poetic elements to the story as it signifies the character of Hannibal Lecter as he began to fulfil his prophecy to bring justice to the people who have murdered her sister during the chaos caused by World War II.
“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.”
I’ll have to say that this book has a different flavour from the previous three books about Hannibal Lecter. It still has the thrilling experience that Thomas Harris has been presenting in his previous works, but this book added one more element to enrich the background: history. Taking into account the chaos of Eastern Europe after the Nazis’ dismissal of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the invasion of the Nazis to the Soviet Union put up a considerable factor in the development of Dr Lecter’s character as a child who grew up without the comfort of parental guidance from a war-torn Eastern Europe.
Readers who have read the first three books of Hannibal Lecter series will be able to notice how Dr Lecter started to develop some of his habits in this wonderful book. Starting from his super calm demeanour during times of crisis as shown by his first murder of a butcher who insulted his uncle’s wife, Lady Murasaki, into the way he developed his artistic expression in drawings. It is interesting to see his character development from a bullied orphan into someone who’s considered as a genius.
This prequel lives up to its promise to tell the story of how Hannibal Lecter happens to become the death’s messenger. It helps to show the humane sides of Dr Lecter which were heavily overlooked in the previous books, as in this book he’s positioned more as a protagonist whose sole task is to avenge the death of his sister.
Risen from the ruins of the frontier of World War II in Lithuania, this tale of how Hannibal Lecter became himself began as a child lost his little sister amidst the chaos of Hitler’s quest in search of ‘Lebensraum’. As the first son of the wealthy Count Lecter, Hannibal grew up in Lecter Castle which his family had been inhabiting for generations. There are many privileges that he grew up singing German song ‘Das Mannlein’ almost in every occasion together with his little sister, Mischa.
“Ein Mannlein steht im Walde ganz still und stumm,
Es hat von lauter Purpur ein Mannlein um,
Sagt, wer mag das Mannlein sein
Das da steht im Walde allein
Mit dem purporroten Mantelein—“
This song about the mysterious little man in the woods will, in turn, bring poetic elements to the story as it signifies the character of Hannibal Lecter as he began to fulfil his prophecy to bring justice to the people who have murdered her sister during the chaos caused by World War II.
“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.”
I’ll have to say that this book has a different flavour from the previous three books about Hannibal Lecter. It still has the thrilling experience that Thomas Harris has been presenting in his previous works, but this book added one more element to enrich the background: history. Taking into account the chaos of Eastern Europe after the Nazis’ dismissal of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the invasion of the Nazis to the Soviet Union put up a considerable factor in the development of Dr Lecter’s character as a child who grew up without the comfort of parental guidance from a war-torn Eastern Europe.
Readers who have read the first three books of Hannibal Lecter series will be able to notice how Dr Lecter started to develop some of his habits in this wonderful book. Starting from his super calm demeanour during times of crisis as shown by his first murder of a butcher who insulted his uncle’s wife, Lady Murasaki, into the way he developed his artistic expression in drawings. It is interesting to see his character development from a bullied orphan into someone who’s considered as a genius.
This prequel lives up to its promise to tell the story of how Hannibal Lecter happens to become the death’s messenger. It helps to show the humane sides of Dr Lecter which were heavily overlooked in the previous books, as in this book he’s positioned more as a protagonist whose sole task is to avenge the death of his sister.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
In all honesty, this novel is what I thought the majority of the series was going to be like - from Hannibal's perspective. And in all honesty... I kinda wish this was set as book 1 or a prequel as all the events happen before book 1 in the series, essentially this is Hannibal's background story which explains so much about what he does and why. I feel like if I had read this first I would've had a way better understanding of Hannibal as a character and I would've found them that bit more interesting.
Anyway though, this book had me hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed how it made you almost sympathise for Hannibal as he went through hell as a child (won't spoil what happens but triggers for WWII violence and anti-semitism). In no way does it excuse his actions and murders, but it does make him more human in a way? Look, it made me conflicted and in a weird way I liked that Harris was able to make me feel that way from a fictional character.
triggers: cannibalism, general violence, murder, hate crimes
Anyway though, this book had me hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed how it made you almost sympathise for Hannibal as he went through hell as a child (won't spoil what happens but triggers for WWII violence and anti-semitism). In no way does it excuse his actions and murders, but it does make him more human in a way? Look, it made me conflicted and in a weird way I liked that Harris was able to make me feel that way from a fictional character.
triggers: cannibalism, general violence, murder, hate crimes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No