Iwould highly recommend this book it is a thriller in every sense i watched the film before reading red dragon as good as the movie is the book is much better and gives a much more detailed and indepth look into the story
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A prequel to Silence of the Lambs, this thriller is undoubtedly from the same stable: a retired FBI man (who caught Lecter in the first place) visits him in his cell to get insight into the pathological serial killer who murders whole families, and finds his own psyche being probed...
The beginning of this book is excellent: Will Graham is an attractive lead character, and the murders themselves are suitably chilling.
However the plot then goes rather rapidly downhill as we get close to and even sympathise with the perpetrator, rather comically named the Tooth Fairy. Not just do we have his childhood flashbacks with all the usual themes (bed-wetting, abusive grandmother, killing of pets etc.) but then he actually has a romance!
After all the rave reviews I expected something tauter and less familiar than this, but I ended up finding the book really rather comic (in a lurid way) rather than frightening. Even now a couple of scenes recalled make me giggle (e.g. the fate of the dragon painting in the museum). I'm not at all a hard-boiled reader when it comes to gore and anything scary but this just retracts into the comic - disappointing.
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There isn only one word for it"AWESOME". This is the ultimate page turner that will leave you shocked after every chapter. The plot is very believable and the charectures especially the killer are as real as they come.
I wont ruin it for anybody but all i will say is, if you want a book that will leave you wanting more after every chapter than this is it. Read with the light on just incase the Tooth Fairy comes!!
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Having seen both of the previous Hannibal movies and read the books I decided to read this one after seeing the film adaptation of Red Dragon. This is the first book in the series from Thomas Harris that continues with Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. It all takes place before the events of those two books and acts as a brief introduction to the character whilst focussing on the actions and victims of the Red Dragon.
Originally this wasn't a hit in the same vein as Silence of the Lambs and its first adaptation, Manhunter, passed by largely unnoticed before the more recent version in 2002. I've read a few of Thomas Harris's books and I have to admit that this one is probably my favourite one of them all. He hooks you from the start and by mixing in the interesting character of not only the villain in this book The Red Dragon, but also the personality of Lector it really draws you into the story.
In fact Harris has done such a good job with the characterisation that you really feel a part of this story and you can actually imagine the characters he's describing. This gives you the feeling whilst you read that you are actually in the Leeds family home while Graham is looking around for any clues or motives. I think that's the best thing about Harris in that he really sparks your imagination and gets you involved in the storyline. His descriptive ability is second to none and he really can set a scene with what seems to be relative ease.
I found that the insight into the characters and the flow of the plot keeps you hooked for the entire 480 pages. In fact it's one of those books that once you start reading you have to just read a little more and then a little more as he engages you in the story making you want to find out if Graham can solve the case. He also gives you a unique view of both Lector and this books choice of bad guy and that too holds your interest.
It's a decent start to the Hannibal series and rather than focussing totally on Hannibal it introduces him gradually into the series. I found it to be a fascinating read that I just simply couldn't put down and had to keep on reading. Like most books it is far better than the film version and I would recommend reading this if you haven't already. There are a few disturbing parts with the gruesome killings but I think Harris does this incredibly well. If you're a fan of crime thrillers then
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I didn't think I was going to like this, but it turned out to be a good book. What powered it along was the study of the murderer and his background. It made for compulsive reading. It isn't the most smoothly written of books, but it is good!
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