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May 25, 2007

Joe rated it:

Ok, this is another book I had to read before I saw the movie. I cannot believe I wasted money on it. I even bought it in hardcover! Sometimes I can be such a dunce.
This has to be the worst pre-quel-sequel ever! There is no reason to read this book, or see the movie! But if you are a fan, like I am, don't feel guilty, do what you want.
This is my least favorite of Harris's "Hannibal Saga." His reasoning for Lecter's particular "taste" is, get this, REVENGE. More...

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Jan 06, 2008

Mike rated it:

This book is so fucking abysmal that I can’t finish it. It’s a very rare thing for me not to get through a book even if it’s a struggle. I’ll torture myself to get to the end because I get this feeling like I’m cheating myself and the author if I don’t. If someone else gets through the 323 pages of wasted paper god bless you. Every word reads like an exercise in how to bilk the public out of a couple of more dollars with a character that accidentally became famous.
Hannibal Lechter is More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 28, 2007

Shani rated it:

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

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 19, 2007

Chick_Flick rated it:

I'm glad to be done with the series. What a let down. Although better written than "Hannibal," it was still a disappointment. Too short and didn't seem to follow the canon. Where was it ever mentioned that Hannibal went to med school in all the other books? I thought he was a brilliant psychologist and that was all. Also, where did his love and understanding of Asian culture come from? It just seemed so out of the blue. Did he just lose all of that as an adult? And Lady Murasaki, could More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

After the runaway success of Red Dragon (1981) and The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal profoundly disappointed both literary and film critics, not to mention fans of the series. Harris returns with Hannibal Rising, to mixed acclaim. A sense of bafflement pervades the negative reviews, with critics puzzled by how a talent like Thomas Harris could turn out what they perceive to be a glorified screenplay (the film version of Hannibal Rising was released in early 2007) written purely to cannibalize t

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Feb 05, 2009

Jamieson rated it:

Right off, I have to say that I love this book.

I have been waiting, along with many others, for years to find out how Hannibal Lecter became what he became. I wanted to know what caused his transformation into one of the most frightening killers in literature (and the movies) known to man.

I was thrilled beyond words to hear that Harris was writing a new book and that a new movie based on the book was in production. I knew that Harris was writing the screenplay. Aside from More...

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Jan 18, 2009

trishtrash rated it:

Hannibal Rising begins sketchily, but the sketches are beautiful, terrifying things. There is something both enchanting and awful in knowing that Hannibal the doting older brother to the adorable Mischa will one day – in a sense, has already – become Agent Starling’s Dr. Lector.

Then Harris begins writing the story in a more prosaic form, and his flashes of literary genius, the sleek writing that made Hannibal Lector one of the most compelling creations in psychological thrillers, are More...

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Jan 12, 2009

Susan rated it:

Continuing my Hannibal Lecter craze I moved onto the prequel to the contemporary story involving Hannibal Lecter, published fourth in the series. Hannibal Rising spans the 1940s and 1950s, starting with Hannibal Lecter's childhood (age 8 in the beginning) and taking us through young adulthood.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book to be honest. I'd heard some good things from fellow fans of the books and movies. I'd also read some truly awful reviews, equating it to little more More...

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Jan 04, 2009

Michael rated it:

Hannibal Rising is the origin story of Hannibal Lecter, a character introduced by Thomas Harris in Red Dragon (1981). I had already seen all of the major motion picture adaptations of Thomas Harris' novels and decided to start reading the novels in developmental order (Hannibal Rising, Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal). As with most novels, Hannibal Rising was better than the movie, although that doesn't say much. I was actually quite turned off by this novel and from Thomas Harris and More...

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Feb 01, 2012

Stefan rated it:

A must-read for the fans of Hannibal Lecter.

I almost felt ready to give up on this one until I was about a quarter of the way through. Harris is telling the story of Hannibal's childhood/formative years through the veil of Hannibal's actual memories. Earlier memories are fragmented and as a result, the earlier part of the book is also very fragmented. It rambles a bit here and there, but once the memories become more fleshed out, the book does as well and greatly grows in app More...

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Oct 20, 2011

Elliott rated it:

It was interesting to see a fleshed-out version of Hannibal’s past, but I have to say that I don’t think this book was as interesting or as gripping as Harris’s previous novels, and it seemed a little rushed. The writing was easy to follow and the paragraphs were often brief and to the point, but sometimes it was as if the writing did not flow or that the structure was somehow incomplete. Harris's way of building suspense was good and his description of rooms and of Hannibal’s inner psychologica More...

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Jun 20, 2011

Lois rated it:

The first Thomas Harris novel I read was THE RED DRAGON, which I thought was one of the best written and scariest stories I'd ever read. Then I read SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, which was almost equally good. The third book in the series was a let-down. I couldn't believe the heroine would do what she does at the end of that story -- (see, this isn't a spoiler -- I'm not saying what it was she did.)

I've deliberately not read HANNIBAL RISING until now, when I was out of reading matter and t More...

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Dec 05, 2010

Arun rated it:

Except for a very few well written oddities, a prequel/sequel at times serves to trample underfoot the well written work that gave birth to it. Hannibal Rising probably made a bit of mockery at Hannibal Lecter, the genius of a cannibalistic serial killer. For all the finesse displayed by Anthony Hopkins in the movie version, the novel reads like a half hearted attempt to probe into the past of this amazing character.

To state it bluntly, this reads like a screenplay disguised as a nov More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2010

Joshua rated it:

When Dino De Laurentiis threatened to go ahead and make a Lecter prequel without Thomas Harris, Mr. Harris responded the best way he knew how. He pulled a remarkable con on Dino, and the public, by destroying Dr. Hannibal Lecter as effectively as possible.

Really, how else to explain <Hannibal Rising/>? By introducing a nonsensical, ham-fisted backstory, rife with deliberate continuity errors and an implausible denouement at odds with the previous Lecter tales, Harris demyth More...

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Jul 13, 2009

Gary rated it:

“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 is not a word for it yet. For lack of a better word, we’ll call him a monster.”
- Hannibal Rising, p. 243

Well, dear readers, modern “pop fiction’s” most famous killer, “Hannibal, the Cannibal,” has quietly returned. For those of you who thought that you had seen the last of Thomas Harris’ deadly (but cultured) gourmet murderer, brace More...

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Mar 02, 2010

Kirsten rated it:

As a big fan of the previous three Hannibal Lecter books, I was very much looking forward to reading this, the "origin story" of Lecter's serial killing and cannibalism.

Unfortunately, Hannibal Rising read to me as a story churned out to satisfy a publisher who was hounding Harris for a prequel. Though Harris will be a good writer no matter what he puts his hand to and there are some haunting turns of phrase and wickedly humourous quips from Hannibal of the kind we know and More...

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Aug 03, 2011

Danielle rated it:

I liked this book, I really did. For me, it made the series more complete. This book is basically the backstory to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who was a recurring and rather important in the first three books of the series. I've always wondered what it was that made Lecter who he was, and more importantly, what made him the monster that he was throughout the books. This book did just that, and for that, I'm glad. It was a little hard to follow, but that's just because I'm one of those people who doesn' More...

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Sep 28, 2011

Elaine rated it:

I just re-read this novel and ended up adding a star. The best way to approach this novel is as a stand-alone. Pretend you never read any of the other books or saw the movies. You never heard of Clarice Starling. Now, start all over and read this for the delicately crafted characterizations and storyline. Hannibal Lecter is no longer an overworked, over-the-top villain that fans love to hate. He's now a three-dimensional and very human young man who must find his way in post-war Europe. He survi More...

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Aug 03, 2010

Diane rated it:

Our first glimpses of Hannibal Lecter were in Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. Now, Harris' latest addition to the saga is this book. What went wrong? It feels like everything.
At a very literary level I see nothing but the original stories in wolf's clothing. One person, the main character, is chasing after and finding criminals. Only the young Hannibal, a killer in child form, is not part of the Federal Bureau of Investigations or any other government run division.
Honestly, I felt More...

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Jul 25, 2009

Anna rated it:

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

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Feb 08, 2011

John rated it:

Not a great book by any means, but good enough to get rid of the awful aftertaste that Harris' previous novel, "Hannibal," left me with. Too bad Harris didn't learn from George Lucas's unfortunate Star Wars prequel trilogy that iconic villains are more interesting the less we know about their histories, and that they should be brought out somewhat sparingly in order to make their presence in the story more dramatic. Lecter was more interesting in the early Harris books, before he bec More...

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May 04, 2011

Kimberly rated it:

I'm so sorry I can't give this book more than 5 stars. This book gets 100 from me! OMG, Thomas has done it again. He has shown us how Hannibal came to be in this book, and I'm so proud that I sort of figured that I had Hannibal pegged all along. Like I mentioned in the review of Hannibal, I never hated the character, I always respected him and what he does. Because if you think about it, Hannibal kills those that need to be killed. Whether that's right or wrong, that's not for me to decide More...

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May 30, 2010

novia rated it:

High expectation will bring you down!!

That sentence summarizes all what I have to say on Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris. When I received this kindly give from my lovely student, Wulan, I was so happy because I can read another book by the same author that wrote one of the greatest psychological thriller books, Silence of The Lambs. Reading the first 30 pages of this book bored me to death, so I put it down and decided to read it later.

3 months after my 1st read, I picke More...

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Aug 11, 2011

Ravin rated it:

Hands down one of the best books I've ever read.
I was amazed when I read that Harris had originally only written this as a screenplay and it was not intended to be a book - because the movie stinks, frankly, and this book is so brilliant in so many ways it would have been heartbreaking if it never existed.
Recounting the events of Hannibal Lecter's life, including his childhood, you learn how the man became who he was, and frankly after I read some of the things that happened to him I More...

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Aug 07, 2011

Dale rated it:

This is a sad book. This reads as if it should be the first of the Hannibal Lector series, but it is the most recent. I particularly liked it because I have this need to know what makes people tick. What makes a serial killer or a monster? Hannibal did not start out as a bad seed as most must suspect. On the contrary, he is a good child and just turned to the dark side by circumstance and a need for vengence. At times, parts in this book will break your heart. At one instance I even though More...

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Aug 02, 2011

Aaron added it

i have always been a fan of the Hannibal movies , however i never really read the book so i had thought that i would start at Hannibal's start. And i have to say it was one hell of a trip, i loved the darkness of the book and it was ten times better then the movies, i mean it was Hannibal uncut. That is what i loved about it, i am going to take a break from reading the whole serious, cause i wanna savoy this but this was an amazing book. Sad to think that it was the last Hannibal book. But i th More...

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Sep 03, 2009

Arthur rated it:

A semi final conclusion to the Silence of the Lambs suspense character Hannibal Lecter. A sort of introduction, short and sweet, to the clock working of Hannibal’s mind and the way he survives earlier on during one of the wars. He had practically been a prisoner of felons in this book. Which brings out points in a lot of detail about how Lecter as a young man becomes twisted into his modern day killer persona to survive. His thoughts change of society, are changed once he realizes certain pain. More...

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Jan 17, 2009

Rufusgermanicus rated it:

It's well written, as are all of Thomas Harris' books. The imagery and the haunting beauty of both Paris and the wilderness of Eastern Europe are both fully on display. It's a shame that this book was written as a prequil, and that Harris didn't have the balls to just create a new character to fit into the Hannibal role. Mainly, because it seems thats what he was going to do, but at the last minute, the publisher said "if you want to sell this idea, make it about Hannibal." The plot, p More...

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Jan 22, 2009

Cat885 rated it:

Not as good as the other hannibal books. Plus I dont think (in the movie) (oh and he wrote the book because they forced him to do another movie) but they didnt choose the right actor. Anthony Hopkins has a round face and so the other guy who played Dr. Lecter (in the first version of Red Dragon named Manhunter) but trhe actor they chose had a differnt shaped had, compleatly differnt voice and he had black hair. Anthony hopkins has (or had) blonde hair. Of course I know that Dr. Lecter was sup More...

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Sep 15, 2010

Laura rated it:

I'm giving this four stars rather than three stars because I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I started this book with some hesitation because I'd heard some negative comments on the book and even worse comments about the movie version. Granted I haven't read the remaining books on Dr. Lector but they are on my list to read...probably start Red Dragon tonight. This book proved to be a decent read. It wasn't overly violent--or at least not as violent as I expected--and the examination of a More...

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