I must agree that I hoped _Hannibal_ would be a prequel as well. I would like to see the story of what he did and how he was caught. I also liked Will Graham as a character (from Red Dragon) and hoped to see him "at work" as a main character instead of a background one.

Wwhile I agree that the ending was not in line with the characters, it wasn't unexpected. I credited Starling (too much, apparently) for having great strength. She shows none of this at the conclusion of the book. I did enjoy the beginning chapters that were set in Italy, and the insights into what events went into the making of Hannibal's personality. While Hannibal doesn't rank up there with other books written by Harris, I'm not ready to shop around for other authors just yet. Maggie

The beginning and middle of Harris' "Hannibal" are strong. The ending simply fades and fails and, so, the book fades and fails also. I cannot recommend it to anyone. If the novel is simply a set up for a sequel, it is not only poorly conceived but, in fact, simply an undertaking of cynical materialism, i.e., he sold out for the bucks. Understandable, yes, but hardly admirable. You fooled me once, Mr. Harris, but I'll not be buying your next book.

I agree with Steve, I had great expectations when reading Hannibal, however the ending was very poor and I found the middle of the book quite bland, I simply couldn't read it quick enough to see if it was going to get any better towards the end. I read Silence Of The Lambs and Red Dragon both of which were excellent and which I couldn't put down.

Eujin and Amanda - thank goodness the world is not completely bereft of discerning readers. To prefer a "banal and trite" ending over a supreme - and unlike Grisham - justifiable ending is like a can of Coke over a bottle of Batard-Montrachet with dinner.

If you see this ending as a cynical sell out, you weren't paying attention and you neglect to see that a capture and escape scenario would have been far more cynical. The other story possibilite mentioned above have merit and ca still be easily exploited. But I am most interested in what Starling does when she does fianlly hear the note of the bowstring.

I just heard that Jodie Foster won't be doing the film version of Hannibal. She didn't envision Starling travelling this path either.

Did I read it differently from everyone else? I think when Clarice next hears the crossbow string, she will die as a result of a crossbow bolt. As to the capture of Hannibal being a "trite" or predictable ending, I would think it all depends on how it was done. This farcical ending was telegraphed 2/3 of the way through when it was stated that Clarice would never see the inside of Quantico again. As it stands now, Lector has become a comic-book super-criminal (a role he was prepared for by the ludicrous device of having him force his fellow inmate to wilfully, consciously swallow his tongue in SOTL). I find Dr. Doom more believable than Dr. Lector.

If you enjoyed "Silence of the Lambs," I highly recommend reading, "Company Confidential," by Tom McCrory. This graphic, hard-boiled suspense-thriller was awarded the 2000 Gold Medal Award for best Mystery/Thriller by the Southern Writers Guild.

I think that this book was just genius. It had many surprises and I particularly enjoyed hearing about Florence, Italy as Thomas Harris paints the scene so well and with such description. I found it amazing and touching to find that Hannibal was so intrigued in Clarice that instead of making her his next meal, she became his companion and love. The ending surprised me and i hope that there will be another book following Clarice's and Hannibal's life together, or at least a prequel as to what made Hannibal so refined, and how he was discovered.

Tarryn

I agree with you Tarryn. I thought Hannibal was brillant. A little too gruesome at times, but brillant.