Hannibal Rising - BookWyrm

Hardcover

Japanese language

Published July 29, 2007 by Shinchōsha.

ISBN:: 978-4-10-216707-6
OCLC Number:: 676313151

(1 review)

Hannibal Rising is a psychological horror novel by American author Thomas Harris, published in 2006. It is a prequel to his three previous books featuring his most famous character, the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The novel was released with an initial printing of at least 1.5 million copies and met with a mixed critical response. Audiobook versions have also been released, with Harris reading the text. The novel was adapted (by Harris himself) into a film of the same name in 2007, directed by Peter Webber. Producer Dino De Laurentiis implied around the time of the novel's release that he had coerced Harris into writing it under threat of losing control over the Hannibal Lecter character, accounting for the perceived diminished quality from Harris' previous books.

2 editions

A. Rivera reviewed Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris

Review of 'Hannibal Rising' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I picked this up at the second hand store. Overall, I have liked Harris's Hannibal Lecter novels, so I figured I would read this one as well. I will admit I was a bit apprehensive given a lot of bad reviews. Most of the reviews I saw were along the lines of "now that we know how Hannibal became what he is, the mystery/mystique is gone." Others griped that revenge did not seem to be that much of a reason to shape the man.

Well, I say that revenge can be a great reason to become a killer. And I think if anyone went through what Hannibal Lecter went through as a child at the end of World War II, they might end up a little "unstable" as well. Having said that, the book is not Harris's finest. The prose is ok, and once Hannibal gets settled, and his enemies …

I picked this up at the second hand store. Overall, I have liked Harris's Hannibal Lecter novels, so I figured I would read this one as well. I will admit I was a bit apprehensive given a lot of bad reviews. Most of the reviews I saw were along the lines of "now that we know how Hannibal became what he is, the mystery/mystique is gone." Others griped that revenge did not seem to be that much of a reason to shape the man.

Well, I say that revenge can be a great reason to become a killer. And I think if anyone went through what Hannibal Lecter went through as a child at the end of World War II, they might end up a little "unstable" as well. Having said that, the book is not Harris's finest. The prose is ok, and once Hannibal gets settled, and his enemies reemerge, it is a matter of time before he starts getting rid of them. So,in that sense, it is predictable. But we also get a bit of a glimpse where the sophisticated character gets his high tastes and sense. For me, I found interesting how the memory palace begins to take shape. Makes me wish I could build my own memory palace sometimes. So, not the greatest novel of this series, but it is readable.