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Feb 15, 2009

Brad rated it:

Is it heresy to say that I liked both film versions better than I liked the book? Probably, but it's true.

Thomas Harris isn't the finest writer in the world, and I think even he'd acknowledge that, but he is full of great ideas, and Red Dragon is absolutely one of his best.

I think the mark of how great his ideas are is that they almost always make a compelling transfer to the screen, and Red Dragon has made that transition twice: once as Michael Mann's Manhunter and once More...

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Sep 13, 2007

Robotribble rated it:

Okay, to start off, Hannibal is in the book twice. There are only two times that you actually see him, and it upsets me greatly.

Anyway, huzzah for the dollar-rack paperback. I went to the thrift store Tuesday, came out with this and a few others, and finished it Wednesday afternoon. I read the version with a newer intro, but it doesn't have my version on Goodreads.

Why Goodreads, why have you forsaken me? :/

This book is fascinating. You actually start to feel b More...

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Jan 06, 2009

Susan rated it:

Glad I re-read this one. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

RED DRAGON was the first (published) installment in the series of four books surrounding Hannibal Lecter. We don't see much of the good doctor in this book, though he's obviously never far from the thoughts of Will Graham and, therefore, the reader. Like the second installment of the series, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Lecter is merely a secondary character, a serial killer on the loose leads us to him. It takes a killer to know More...

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Jan 03, 2009

Amy rated it:

Our darkest fears come to life in this riveting novel as we follow the case of the "Tooth Fairy," a serial killer on the loose who targets suburbian families as his victims. Will Graham, an FBI agent assigned to the case because of his unique ability to break inside the head of the killer, enlists the help of Hannibal Lecter, the criminally insane and exceptionally brilliant killer we met in Silence of the Lambs (incidently, this novel precedes that novel and film).

If you More...

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Jan 23, 2012

Phillip added it

RED DRAGON was the first in the series of four books surrounding Hannibal Lecter. We don't see much of the doctor in this book, though he's obviously never far from the thoughts of Will Graham and, therefore, the reader. Like the second installment of the series, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Lecter is merely a secondary character, a serial killer on the loose leads us to him. It takes a killer to know one, and especially one as intelligent as Lecter obviously is. We first meet the main character of the More...

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Aug 01, 2011

Andrea added it

I love the movie Silence of the Lambs, so it's odd that it took me this long to start reading this series. I wasn't even aware that this book existed till the lovely librarian at my local branch saw me looking at Silence of the Lambs, asked if I'd read Red Dragon and told me to read it first.

Warning - spoilers ahead!

The oddest thing happened when I read this book. I don't know when or how it happened, but I started out cheering for the Good Guys - Will Graham and Jack Crawford, the FBI agent More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Joshua rated it:

In as much as a growing bibliophile can, I watched the original Manhunter then the Red Dragon movies. I have to say that the book was not much better, or, rather both movies almost totally encapsulated the book. Of course both movies being some fifteen years apart there are bound to have stylistic differences as are the actors performances, but the source material is very good as well.

Harris has bound us to Will Grahm as well as Mr. D in the Red Dragon. We feel for Grahm in that h More...

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Jun 20, 2011

Julie rated it:

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what FBI agent Jack Crawford wants of Will Graham—especially with the headlines blaring about the two murders; one in Atlanta, the other in Birmingham. More than enough reason for Crawford to come down to Florida, to get the consultant’s take on the killer. The choice of locale is deliberate—when he shows Will the photos of the deceased families, children included, he can’t help but contrast that with his own wife and stepson. How can he refuse to More...

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Jun 15, 2011

Manugw rated it:

A DRAGON WITH A WEAK FLAME

Writing an inside story about the delusions that help shape an evil psyche, Harris set himself inside the murderer mind. Pure psychological stuff, I dont see neither a thriller nor a true crime, kind of plot .The action progresses slowly, far from the pulse of a rollercoaster ride, It would have been more dynamic and entertaining if the author had included rich action packed suspense, with some turns and provived better forensic elements with scientific explan More...

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Nov 27, 2010

Ensiform rated it:

When a deranged killer nicknamed the “Tooth Fairy” (because of his penchant for biting) savages two families, retired FBI profiler Will Graham is lured back into the hunt. Having been seriously injured in his last case – in which he captured the infamous Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Graham is reluctant, but it drawn ineluctably to putting himself in the killer’s head, despite his unraveling love life. Harris switches the reader occasionally into the experience of the killer, Francis Dolarhyde, who pre More...

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Jun 23, 2010

Tim rated it:

Before CSI and the current vogue of cops vs. serial killers books and movies, this Harris book set the template for what was to come. No less an authority than James Ellroy praised is as the best suspense novel he had ever read in the preface to one of his books. It still holds up pretty well after nearly twenty years and two film adaptations. Ex-FBI agent Will Graham has left the bureau and is living a quiet life in Florida when his former boss comes calling. Two entire families in the southern More...

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Apr 05, 2010

Hydra M. rated it:

I got a free with purchase dog-eared paperback copy of Thomas Harris’ “Red Dragon” awhile back down at the local used bookstore. I’d read “Silence of the Lambs”, which is the sequel to “Red Dragon”, years ago. I think I was around twelve or thirteen at the time. As best I can remember I liked it a lot. I was a bit of a morbid one even then.

So, I decided to round out my light summer reading list with “Red Dragon”, figuring the book that first brought the character Hannibal Lecter, or More...

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Jan 26, 2009

Kathleen rated it:

The Hannibal Lecter saga begins. The first movie version of this book was made by Michael Mann, whose vivid 1980s style suited it. In contrast to the now iconic portrayal by Anthony Hopkins in his dark dungeon of a cell, we meet Lecter dressed in white, in an antiseptically white cell - a vision of the operating room in his head that awaits the first slash and splash of crimson blood. Okay, you can tell Mann's movie version made an impression on me, but the way Harris portrays the tormented F More...

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Jan 22, 2012

Andrew rated it:

I chose Red Dragon, but not because something else influenced me to. I first read this book several years ago from a used-book give-away at my school. This book ignited my love for physiological-horror and instigated my fascination for Dr. Hannibal Lector. The plot surrounds the investigation of a brutal serial killer dubbed the Tooth Fairy (but later called the Red Dragon). In order to catch the killer, FBI detective Will Graham must think like a killer with the help of Hannibal Lector. In the More...

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Apr 10, 2011

Mari rated it:

As far as suspense goes, I was certainly surprised. Pleasantly so, actually. I figured there'd be some tying up at the end, but did not expect the end to be more dramatic than it already was. Yay for the unpredictability of it!

I enjoyed Silence of the Lambs enough, though it was mostly out of the sheer mind-playing Hannibal Lecter did with Clarice that I remembered most. Red Dragon was completely different, and there was so much invested in the killer's character. The storyline with th More...

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Feb 01, 2012

" rated it:

I watched the movie so this book wasn't really a surprise. It even looks as if it was written to be adapted by Hollywood, the chapters are really short and each resemble a scene. Main two differences, the book explains in detail the life of Dolarhyde from when he was born and why he became a psychopath, while the movie hints that he was abused by his grandmother it's not clear why he bites people, etc. The reason is that his grandmother started biting people and went into an asylum too. Also the More...

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Sep 07, 2010

Sonia rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Dec 16, 2009

La Petite Américaine rated it:

Read this in college for relief when I could no longer stand The Canterbury Tales and the other horrors that were revealed to me after I declared my English major.

This book scared the living crap out of me, to the point that I couldn't read it unless my boyfriend was in my dorm room.

The best part? Unlike most thrillers, this one's not all's well that end's well. CHRIST it was scary. Loved it.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 05, 2010

Michelle rated it:

I loved this book, I really did. I enjoy how Thomas Harris writes, I love his sense of humour. You know that dark type of humour? Here's a sample:

"Lecter felt much better. He thought he might surprise Graham with a call sometime or, if the man couldn't be civil, he might have a hospital supply-house mail Graham a colostomy bag for old time's sake." - PG 83, Lecter's thoughts.

The characters were nicely molded throughout the book. There was no 2D characters. Even More...

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Mar 14, 2011

Natalie rated it:

By far the best out of the series of Hannibal Lecter, one of the sexiest men whoever didn't live.

While Silence of the Lambs was wonderful, Hannibal was romantic and Hannibal Rising fascinating (though don't get me even started on that weeaboo crap) -- Red Dragon was the most captivating.

Twisting and turning through the corridors with the agent who captured the nefarious Hannibal the Cannibal, we get something that may genuinely strike a little to close to home for people. More...

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Feb 08, 2011

Matt rated it:

The best thing about this book is the introduction of the character known as Hannibal Lecter. Unfortunately he is not in the book very much. This is a real shame because I think he is one of the most fascinating literary characters ever created. I really liked this book and would have given it 4 stars if it were not for the last 20 to 30 pages or so. I did not like the ending at all. Maybe Silence of the Lambs will be better. I am looking forward to reading more Lecter.

I though More...

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Jul 07, 2010

Virtuosanina rated it:

I didn't hate this book but I didn't love it. I felt like all of the characters except for the Red Dragon were missing something, or incompletely characterized. The main character tried to get across how he felt uncomfortable in his own head sometimes, but I wasn't feeling it. I only felt the Red Dragon due to a few of his offhand but abnormal thoughts and comments, which were glossed over in a way that contrasted what he thought was okay and what readers know to be normal. He seemed realistical More...

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Apr 03, 2008

Simone rated it:

This is an excellent novel, part police procedural, part criminal psychology. It was the basis for the superb Michael Mann motion picture, Manhunter (a much better picture than the recent re-telling, Red Dragon).

I love Thomas Harris's style, and the sequel, The Silence of the Lambs was very good as well.

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Jan 22, 2012

Luis rated it:

Well what can I say about this? For one thing I recommend this to anyone who really likes thinking in depth of what gets to happen next because of it's consistent urge to give you enough information to keep you hooked and little enough to not make anything obvious. The book does the cliched story telling of hopping back and forth between the investigators and murderer, but the beauty behind Red Dragon is that it's done just enough to give exposition, and tries not to give away more than it has t More...

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Jun 06, 2009

Lindsay rated it:

In this debut novel by Thomas Harris, the infamous Hannibal Lecter is introduced. Already imprisoned by the perceptive ex-cop Graham, he enters the story when Graham is embroiled in yet another serial killer case, and is desperate for extra insight. Graham's new villain kills entire families at once, leaving the mothers alive long enough to torture them. Graham is trying to find the link between his victims in time to stop the next killing.

This intelligent and morbidly fascinating More...

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Sep 20, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

Thomas Harris has an incredible, simplistic writing style that I immediately fell in love with. Being someone who can't stand pages and pages of pointless background description, Harris' style was a breath of fresh air for me. His descriptions are simple without losing their vivaciousness and his punctuation of dialogue portrays the tone of the speaker better than any dialogue tag could.

In Red Dragon, Francis Dolarhyde is such a complex character that the reader never knows if they're More...

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Jun 10, 2009

Yonatan rated it:

This has been the only book I've read from Harris. I read it while on high school, on a summer vacation away from home, and even now I can't really understand why my aunt had it on her library, next to the illustrated bible for kids, and some token encyclopedias. I enjoyed the depiction of Dolarhyde, and Will Graham's interaction with that reporter, whatever his name was. Hannibal Lecter I found (and still find), to be a lot of hype, a psychotic killer that was suave and sophisticated, and reall More...

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Jun 06, 2011

Ithlilian rated it:

The opinion of the masses seems to be that Thomas Harris is amazing. I decided to start the series with this book, and found myself almost immediately bored with the investigative technicalities. Something was being analyzed or examined on every single page. The detective solves crimes by some sort of extrasensory ability, which I'm not a fan of, and the killer is a bit creepy, but I wasn't too interested in him. I just didn't care one way or the other. If presented differently with say the disc More...

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Aug 24, 2011

Patrice rated it:

It's a great way to pass time with this quick read. Would've finished it sooner but I have a ton of distractions here at work where I do 90% of my reading. I wish it was written just a little better. It seemed like I was missing huge chunks of things. But... I already knew what was coming so I don't feel too let down by the book. It's a really great concept though. I wish the author would have been a little more descriptive in how the Grandmother screwed him up as a child. Although I knew the o More...

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Jan 04, 2009

Michael rated it:

Red Dragon is Thomas Harris' 2nd book and first book to introduce the character of Hannibal Lecter (which led to Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising). The characters are developed reasonably well, the plot moves along steadily for the most part, and the action/suspense is paced well. One of my only real complaints is that Thomas Harris suffers from awkward prose in some parts -- much less than Hannibal Rising for example -- and unnatural dialog in others. However, these instances More...

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