Product Description

He is one of the most haunting characters in all of literature. At last, the evolution of his evil is revealed. Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck. He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him. Hannibal's uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle's beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki. Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal.With her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France. But Hannibal's demons visit him and torment him.When he is old enough, he visits them in turn. He discovers he has gifts beyond the academic, and in that epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death's prodigy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63266 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-05
• Released on: 2006-12-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 337 pages

Amazon.co.uk
Thomas Harris remains both the progenitor of the modern serial killer novel – and its greatest exponent. Red Dragon was the first appearance of the murderous Hannibal Lecter, and with its success, the Harris imitators burgeoned almost immediately. The Silence of the Lambs, however, moved Harris into really rarefied heights, its achievement boltered by the addition of a strongly drawn heroine, trainee FBI agent Clarice Starling. Hannibal, the last outing for Harris’ monstrous Lecter, drew a more controversial response, with Clarice Sterling locked into a bizarre relationship with her cultivated predator, and it looked as if the next book would develop that grim scenario.

However, Hannibal Rising goes in a totally unexpected direction – in effect, it’s a prequel to the earlier books, returning to Lecter’s childhood in World War’s Eastern Front. The youthful Hannibal sees his family murdered by the Nazis. But something else happens which alters (and deforms) Hannibal’s psyche forever. The boy moves to Paris with the beautiful Japanese widow of his last surviving relative. And soon, an orgy of grisly revenge is in train, wrought on some opponents almost as nasty as Lecter is to become himself.

We’ve seen this before: Hannibal murdering people quite as ruthless as he is – whether this makes the operatic bloodshed satisfying is a matter for every individual reader. Whatever your stance, the effect of Harris’ prose is, as ever, utterly irresistible.

Hannibal Rising is comparatively uncomplicated, when set against the complex, richly textured Harris novels that came before it.

Is there a danger that in showing us how Hannibal became a monster, something is lost of his terrifying mystery? As if to deal with this possibility, Harris keeps Lecter unknowable by removing his customary articulate examination of this own motives (he is still a boy, after all). But the tale of bloody vengeance has a forward trajectory that (whatever your reservations) will render this is a one (or two) sitting reading. And the next book will, surely, recapture that richer Harris texture. --Barry Forshaw

Review
"* Quite simply a compelling and brilliant thriller.' - Daily Mirror * 'The thrills, horror, sly erudition and sheer exquisite writing make this so much more than another serial killer novel... [It] reaches almost sublime levels of gothic grandeur at its conclusion. If only all bestsellers were so rewarding.' - Guardian * 'A masterpiece... Chillingly brilliant' - Observer * 'Quite simply this is the best-written thriller to dominate the market in years... A literary evocation of the diabolical to compare with Goethe and Gogol. Honestly.' - The Times * 'A gut-churning, nail-biting, skin-crawling, often lyrical triumph - addictive on every level' - Daily Express"

The Sunday Times
`...as Hannibal goes on his fiendishly imaginative rampage, the pace picks up, one turns the pages faster, time flies, and one is sorry that there aren't more pages to turn'.

Customer Reviews

enjoyable but not brilliant
Hannibal rising is Thomas Harris's latest installment in the life and times of Dr Hannibal Lecture. I'd read pretty bad reviews for this book, so while wanting to read it, my expectations were low. However, I actually found it to be an enjoyable read. certainly not a brilliant book, but all in all, not bad.

Hannibal rising is where it all begins for Hannibal. The story starts with his life in lithuania and having to flee the family home because of the second world war. horrid things befalls the family, especially hannibals beloved little sister Mischa, at the hands of some renegades. The whole family is wiped out and hannibal lives for several years in an orphange before being rescued by his aunt and uncle in paris. he subsequently becomes the youngest person admitted to medical school in france. however, he is tortured by his past and it becomes increasingly clear that he also deeply affected by it to the extent that he makes it his mission to seek revenge on those responsible for the death of his young sister.

in my opinion part of the problem with this book for many is the fact that they have devoured so much of Hannibal that they have built up a picture in their mind of what started the ball rolling. Perhaps even a sense of ownership of the character. Harris was therefore faced with an impossible task of writing a book that showed how it all started. he doesnt answer all the questions, and perhaps nor should he. this is just a particular stage in his life, we still dont know what happend after medical school and before his arrest (another book perhaps?).

the book isnt a masterpiece, but its enjoyable nonetheless. its an easy read and shows an insight into the incredibly complex mind of hannibal. if you expect the book to provide all the answers for you, you will be disappointed but if all you expect is some insight into what tipped hannibal over the edge then read it. we just cant seem to get enough of the good Dr, but I suspect enough is enough for harris and hannibal himself

Forgetfulness...
Thomas Harris must have had amnesia, or alzheimer's disorder when he wrote this. It is merely the screenplay to the film of the same name. The film is better than the book in that it only robs the audience of 125 minutes whereas the book takes longer. Hannibal Lecter has an extra finger on his left hand. Thomas Harris mentions this in "Hannibal" and then forgets about it completely in "Hannibal Rising". "Hannibal Rising" is supposed to pre-date "Silence of the Lambs", therefore Hannibal would have spent all his childhood and adolescence being taunted for this deformity. It isn't mentioned once. At the orphanage, his life would have been made a misery because of it. Never mentioned. All froth and no beer just about sums this up. It does not explain why Hannibal remains a cannibalistic killer after he has completed the task of hunting down, killing and partially devouring the monsters who murdered and ate his sister. Very disappointing. Very trite, but no doubt Mister Harris now has a healthy bank balance as a result of this hokum.

My Compliments to the Chef
In Hannibal Rising, it is difficult to shrug off the feeling that Mr Harris is so wrapped up framing 'perfect' sentences, he skates around the highbrow spirit and cognitive sophistication that litter his previous works in the series. Hannibal's childhood teacher could have survived a few more chapters perhaps...ah well. Beautifully written and I loved it.