Product Description

Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the physician and monster who has
fascinated millions, returns in Hannibal Rising, the new novel by
Thomas Harris.

In Thomas Harris's previous novels, which include The
Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, readers learned that Dr.
Lecter saw his entire family killed during World War II in Eastern Europe.
Hannibal Rising chronicles the early life of Dr. Lecter, covers the
young Hannibal from age 6 to 20, and sheds more light on the circumstances
of those deaths, with a focus on Dr. Lecter's memories of his younger
sister, Mischa.

Thomas Harris has written the most compelling
psychological suspense of our time and each of his novels has been an
event. In Dr. Hannibal Lecter, he has gone beyond creating a master villain
to present one of the most irresistibly brilliant and disturbing characters
in all of literature. Now, in Hannibal Rising, readers will at last
learn of Lecter's beginnings and will see the evolution of his evil.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30915 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-05
• Released on: 2006-12-05
• 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

Independent on Sunday
`This novel is a sure-fire best seller and will be gobbled up by Harris's millions of fans world wide. No doubt the Hollywood studios are already queuing up to turn it into a film, and who can blame them with a work of this magnitude.'

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.