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Book Reviews Title Hannibal Fiction-Net
Rating Buy It
From Amazon.co.uk - BUY
NOW! Cover
Story Seven years have
passed since Dr Hannibal Lecter escaped from
custody, seven years since FBI Special Agent
Clarice Starling interviewed him in a
maximum-security hospital for the criminally
insane. The doctor is still at large, but Starling
has never forgotten her encounters with Dr Lecter,
and the metallic rasp of his seldom-used voice
still sounds in her dreams… We
Say Hannibal is a big
book. Big in every sense; we have waited over ten
years for it and consequently it is big news, the
film of its predecessor was a massive success and
therefore it is big bucks and its also pretty long
and so it's a big read. I approached it with
relish; the thought of being reunited with the
enigmatic FBI Agent Clarice Starling and the most
frighteningly intellectual monster ever created was
an intriguing prospect. The success of
these two characters lies in the fact that Thomas
Harris explores their psyches and motivations so
well. In the case of Clarice, who was the main
focus in "The Silence of the Lambs", this is an
interesting case study of her orphaned childhood
and resulting resilience in adulthood. However, in
the case of Hannibal Lecter, who is the more fully
explored character in this book, it is a terrifying
journey into the mind of a complicated and cold
lunatic. The imagery is
dark and sinister and this is not a thriller based
on violence and dramatic plot development alone.
The fact that Harris does not use gratuitous gory
language but a quiet conviction when voicing the
thoughts and deeds of Lecter, however grim, results
in a very scary character indeed. As we know from
previous form, Lecter seems to have total
invincibility and as a reader, you are just waiting
for the inevitable fate of those that stand in his
way. The consequence of this is that the pace of
the book is fast and makes for an entirely
compelling read. As ever, there is
a strong cast of characters, from the corrupt and
vengeful to the good but misguided. Overall,
"Hannibal" is a completely satisfying thriller not
to be read late at night unless you have a
particularly strong disposition. Review by: Rachel
Taylor |
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