Product Description

Sexual hunger; demonic violence; sinister logic - the lethal components of a deadly formula driving a psychopath in the grip of an unimaginable delusion; a boastful killer who sends the police tormenting notes; a tortured, torturing monster who finds ultimate pleasure in viciously murdering happy families, and calls himself...The Red Dragon.Special agent Will Graham had been assigned to similar cases before, cases where he was able to see and feel with the madmen, anticipate their moves and, most terrifying of all, be vulnerable to their horrifying brutality. Now Graham is reluctantly lured out of retirement, to find an opening to the evil mind of the Red Dragon.Red Dragon is quite probably the most suspenseful, utterly compelling thriller ever written.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17922 in Books
• Published on: 1993-03-04
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
Sexual hunger; demonic violence; sinister logic - the lethal components of a deadly formula driving a psychopath in the grip of an unimaginable delusion; a boastful killer who sends the police tormenting notes; a tortured, torturing monster who finds ultimate pleasure in viciously murdering happy families, and calls himself...The Red Dragon. Special agent Will Graham has been assigned to similar cases before, cases where he was able to see and feel WITH the madmen, anticipate their moves and, most terrifying of all, be vulnerable to their horrifying brutality. Now Graham is reluctantly lured out of retirement, to find an opening to the evil mind of the Red Dragon. "Red Dragon" is quite probably the most suspenseful, utterly compelling thriller ever written.

From the Publisher
The first in the Hannibal Lecter trilogy, now a major new film. The film, Red Dragon, will be released later this year with an all-star cast including: Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter), Edward Norton (FBI Agent Will Graham), Ralph Fiennes (Francis Dolarhyde) and Harvey Keitel (Agent Crawford).

About the Author
A native of Mississippi, Thomas Harris began his career covering crime in the United States and Mexico, and was a reporter and editor for the Associated press in New York City. His first novel, Black Sunday, was published in 1975, followed by Red Dragon in 1981, Silence of the Lambs in 1988 and Hannibal in 1999. Chris Sarandon's feature film credits include Princess Bride directed by Rob Reiner in which he plays the King, Slaves of New York directed by Sidney Lumet, Fright Night, Protocol, the terrifying Child's Play and Dog Day Afternoon starring Al Pacino. He has also appeared in numerous television movies such as Mayflower Madam with Candace Bergen, Liberty and A Tale of Two Cities. On stage, Chris Sarandon has appeared both on and off-Broadway in such productions as Two Gentlemen fromVerona, Marco Polo Sings a Solo and The Devil's Disciple. He lives in upstate New York.

Customer Reviews

Astounding thriller, a chilling and inspired novel
This is a great piece of writing and contains some genuinely unsettling moments. It is written to grip you and it will - I strongly recommend this, but try to read it when you can put other things to one side!

An excellent, well told, frightening book.

Best thriller ever , in fact the best work of fiction i have ever read.
Originally published in 1981Red Dragon is the first novel published ( Though chronologically it's the second book in the sequence to feature the liver muncher) to feature brilliant psychiatrist and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. An entire industry, or so it seems has sprung up around this mesmerising character yet he features sparingly in this novel. However he is a pivotal character .Not only are his cameo appearances absolutely riveting his machinations while incarcerated in a maximum security facility are pivotal to the eventual fate of the other two main protagonists. Thomas Harris does a quite exquisite job of fleshing out Lecter,s persona but the most astonishing thing about Red Dragon is that Lecter is not the only unforgettable character in it.
Will Graham, a man with an instinctive grasp of the psychology of serial killers, is called out of retirement by Jack Crawford of the FBI to help track down a serial killer known to law enforcement agencies and the press only as "The Tooth Fairy". This killer has murdered two families and is working on a lunar cycle. Time is rapidly ticking down to the night where he will kill again. Graham retired after being nearly killed by the serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who was subsequently captured in the process. Graham struggling in his task, turns to Lecter for help in tracking down The Tooth Fairy. However, Graham discovers that Lecter is manipulating not only him but also the man he is hunting.
Harris does a masterful job , with a ingenious exciting plot while simultaneously exploring the psyche of Francis Dollarhyde a man who feels he is "becoming "(Killing is part of his ritual) and feels a link to William Blake's painting "The Great Red Dragon And The Women Clothed With The Sun" .Even the minor characters are beautifully drawn , Crawford, Freddy Lounds the "Tatler" reporter , Grahams wife Molly .The only character slightly underwritten , considering what we find out about him in "Silence Of The Lambs" is Dr Chilton.
The exchanges between Graham and Lecter are absolutely enthralling, Lecter realises that Will Graham's struggle with his own nature: specifically, his ability to think and feel like a serial killer is his weakness. Grahams greatest fear is that he differs from the likes of Lecter and Dollarhyde by only the slender barrier erected by individual choice.As Lecter taunts him when he realises that Graham has come to visit him to get the scent of his prey :"Smell yourself". Is he is really a disturbed entity who chooses to block off his darker impulses? Lecter views Graham as (almost) his equal while his long distance affiliation with "The Tooth Fairy" is far less profound , relying on banal and florid compliments ."Avid Fan...you honour me".
The ending is impressively downbeat , indeed the first time I read the book I was absolutely stunned by the conclusion and the gradual denouement is brilliantly paced and never feels contrived or implausible. Red Dragon is the finest thriller I have ever read , and I have read a lot .
The ideas formulated for Red Dragon were expanded on for it's sequel "Silence Of The Lambs" -another brilliant book that further expands the sinister mystique and infamy around Lecter while superbly subverting the image of serial killers as de-humanised lunatics by concentrating on Lecter,s urbane and sophisticated persona (Something he gets carried away with in the faintly ludicrous and disappointing "Hannibal)
If , lord forbid, my house were to burn down and I had time to save one fiction book(I,ll allow myself the luxury of one fiction and one non-fiction) before the flames consumed everything I would save "Red Dragon" , not only is it the best thriller I have ever read it is the best work of fiction I have ever read.

Great Read
I hadn't read any Thomas Harris books before but I had seen the Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal films. I didn't really know what to expect with the book as I didn't know the previous Hannibal life but I was gripped. The write is very well done and the story was terrific. It was terrifying at times and the characters were al believable. The plot involves an FBI agent who is asked to help catch one more killer before he retires. The killer in question is The Tooth Fairy, he butchers entire families. I now plan to read Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.