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Hannibal Rising
Hannibal Rising (book)

A book by Thomas Harris

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"Yum."

  • Feb 8, 2009
  • by
Rating:
+3
The story of Hannibal Lecter begins as his family is rushing around, packing their valuables, preparing to flee the oncoming German soldiers.  They escape to the forest, and 8-year old Hannibal witnesses such horror that he is unable to speak for years afterward. He later moves to Paris, intent on revenge.

Hannibal's experiences during the war are so traumatic that it was difficult to read at times, but the gory pay-back had me silently cheering for this unlikely hero. The narrative is written in pitiless prose; the most unspeakable atrocities described indifferently, the way Hannibal sees them. The story is very good and it's a quick read. If you don't mind abject cruelty, this explanation of Hannibal's madness can be quite satisfying.
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February 10, 2009
No, I haven't read "Black Sunday," but I did see the movie.
 
February 09, 2009
I've been meaning to read this one. Enjoyed all the other books in the Lecter series, Harris certainly has a knack for unsettling material. Ever read Black Sunday?
 
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More Hannibal Rising (book) reviews
review by . March 31, 2007
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More
Pros: Chilling, intriguing, will keep you occupied for hours on end     Cons: Only if you don't like the lowest, most horrid points of human action     The Bottom Line: Only read it if it's your cup of tea...     A few months ago I ran out of books to read and found myself stuck at the library. I’d wanted to read Hannibal because I’d been so intrigued by the relationship of Clarice and Hannibal Lecter, and to see if there was any …
review by . February 20, 2007
For the record, I greatly enjoyed the first two Hannibal Lecter novels (Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs). I read them both twice. I even liked the third novel, Hannibal, self-indulgent though it was. ("A fairy tale in reverse," I called it, where the monster wins and as reward gets to live happily ever after.) But Hannibal Rising is just plain stupid, dull and implausible.     Come to think of it, maybe this book will help us. After all, you never know when we will need …
review by . February 20, 2007
For the record, I greatly enjoyed the first two Hannibal Lecter novels (Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs). I read them both twice. I even liked the third novel, Hannibal, self-indulgent though it was. ("A fairy tale in reverse," I called it, where the monster wins and as reward gets to live happily ever after.) But Hannibal Rising is just plain stupid, dull and implausible.     Come to think of it, maybe this book will help us. After all, you never know when we will need …
review by . February 07, 2007
As a longtime fan of Thomas Harris' novels featuring Hannibal Lecter, I was very excited to read HANNIBAL RISING. The premise intrigued me: I'm one of those people who loves the recent slew of prequels, and the idea of learning the ghastly origins of Hannibal Lecter sounded simply delectable to me. [...] HANNIBAL RISING is not the equivalent of RED DRAGON or THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - perhaps not even of HANNIBAL, for that matter. But I disagree with those many who have simply dismissed HANNIBAL …
review by . January 27, 2007
In this, the fourth appearance of Hannibal Lecter, author Thomas Harris takes us to the origins of evil . . . or is it evil?     With some rather interesting twists, Hannibal is the child of privileged aristocrats as World War II and the Germans overrun the Baltic states. The wealthy Lecters, Mother, Father, young Hannibal and his younger sister Mischa and family retainers, take refuge in an isolated hunting lodge.     German soldiers and particularly their …
review by . January 23, 2007
The forest primeval represents one of the most familiar Jungian archetypes---that of the dark unknowable territory that contains difficult rites of passage for the untried and unbloodied hero. In "Hannibal Risng," author Thomas Harris presents his legendary serial killer, Hannibal Lector in the more flattering filter of the forest's shadows, newly emerging from the specific hero's test that set him on his well-known and feared course of destruction.     Like George Lucas, Harris …
review by . January 14, 2007
I don't think I've ever seen a book bagged as savagely on Amazon as this - so much so that, despite having pre-ordered and received my copy, I almost didn't bother to read it.    what a pleasant surprise, then to find a beautifully crafted, clever, literary novel, developing ever further one of the most complex characters of modern fiction, packed full of the same metaphor and figure as was Hannibal - a further stage in Thomas Harris' development from author of intelligent thrillers …
review by . December 22, 2006
What was the author thinking when he wrote this book? Is he trying to use the defense criminal lawyers use in murder cases: "Your honor, my client had a traumatic childhood". We see Hannibal's early years, and are supposed to feel some sympathy for him because his entire family was killed during the war, and his sister was cooked and eaten by a group of war profiteers. Even with that, the book still doesn't come up with a sufficient reason to even attempt to justify Hannibal's later actions, and …
see all Hannibal Rising (book) reviews (9)
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About this book

Wiki

Discover the origins of one of the most feared villains of all time in Thomas Harris'sHannibal Rising, a novel that promises to reveal the "evolution of Hannibal Lecter's evil." Thomas Harris first introduced readers to Hannibal Lecter inRed Dragon, a tale wrapped around FBI agent Will Graham (the man who hunted Lecter down) and his ability to "get inside the mind of the killer." Graham consults Dr. Lecter (the man who nearly killed him) on the case, and the legend of the nefarious Dr. Lecter was born. Harris's masterful and mesmerizing follow up,The Silence of the Lambswowed fans, but it was Jonathan Demme's terrifying, Oscar-winning (Best Actor, Actress, Director, Picture and Adapted Screenplay)film, and Anthony Hopkins's extraordinary (and arguably over the top) performance that made "Hannibal the Cannibal" a household name.Hannibal, the third book in the Lecter saga made Lecter the prey and seemingly wrapped up the tale of the cannibalistic psychiatrist, but never revealed the source of the doctor's...gifts. Fans have been waiting decades to find out how the good doctor became "death's prodigy," makingHannibal Risingone of the most anticipated books of 2006 (andmovies of 2007).--Daphne Durham

Hannibal Rising: An Excerpt
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Books, Psychological Thrillers, Thomas Harris
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Details

ISBN-10: 0385339410
ISBN-13: 978-0385339414
Author: Thomas Harris
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Publisher: Delacorte Press
First to Review

"All the fine young cannibals"
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