The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter Series #2)

If there was a six-stars' rating, I'd give it to this book!

This tale set the standard, and made Thomas Harris the standard-bearer of a new type of 'genre', if we must catagorize it, the edge-of-your-seat excitement novel which was at once a thriller, horror story, suspense novel, psychological drama, police/crime story, being none and all of these at the same time. Mr. Harris has created for us two of the most memorable characters in all of fiction of any description or from any country. It is this trilogy, and this tale in particular, that makes me sad for the people who have only seen the films, even as good as they are, and as brilliant as the performances of Sir Anthony, Jodie Foster, and Julianne Moore are. What I mean is the incredible three-dimensionality of both characters. They are not just the two-dimensional boogieman and the (generically used term) pure-blooded hero with spotless life and thoughts, and nothing but aye-jay-squared-away in thoughts, words, and deeds. These are two people, both suffering from the mental pain of their past tragedies, who have gone in opposite directions in their lives. Strangely enough (and this is, admittedly, pure opinion on my part) they are both on the same mission. S/A Starling hunts a killer who operates under his own private code; a vigilante hunting down ghosts because those he truly would delight in killing are, in all probability, long gone. Starling is a green but gifted investigator whose talents her senior, SAC Jack Crawford, eagerly makes use of, mostly because he has seen them before. Then there is Starling herself, who seems at first to be determined to feel what society says she should feel - dread, fear, loathing. The Doctor appears to follow his own established path of grab 'em, make applesauce of their minds, and drop them in a convenient gutter. Both of them are taken by surprise; their collaboration works so very well in tracking down the perp of a terrible series of crimes, but their minds also meet on a higher plane neither has experienced before. The doctor learns great respect for this 'kid' and her rapier that is quite capable of meeting his stroke for stroke. The investigator finds an admitted killer, but also what she didn't expect, and which is so perfectly portrayed in that first glimpse of Anthony Hopkins in the film. A soft-spoken, cultured gentleman who can cut you with a word, he is honorable when he realizes that here is another mind sharp enough to parry his most personal slashes at her self-esteem, and her ethics are strong enough to fend off the less-honorable who tempt her to betray a trust because that trust comes from 'the monster.' Ultimately, Starling's greatest sin is to walk away from this encounter intact, memtally and physically, and (horror of horrors!) is actually stronger and more confident for having done so. I will wager any amount or item in one soundly confident prediction: this tale, and these characters will stand the test of time alongside the characters of Jane Ayre, Treasure Island, In Cold Blood and Poe's 'Murders of the Rue Morgue' in the storied history of fictional crime. Paul Krendler's real-life portrayer in 'Hannibal' said in an interview around the tenth anniversary of 'Silence' on the movie screen that he was so amazed that people were doing doctoral dissertations on SOTL and the whole Starling-Lecter phenomenon. I'm not. Not one bit. Hi from Texas and happy reading!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I recommend this book to all mystery-lovers.

This novel is about a young FBI trainee, Clarice Starling, ¿teaming up¿ with a man in complete isolation who is known best for his psychiatric career, as well as his habit of murdering and ingesting his victims. With advice from this observant criminal, Starling is able to catch a dangerous serial murderer and rescue a young woman from what was sure to be her awful demise. This novel was a great and somewhat challenging read. I give it 5 stars for the outstanding vocabulary that filled my mind with pictures as I read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fantastic

How could I give this any less than five stars? Read it in just one day because I simply couldn't put it down. Now, I want to read it a second time to savor it. I read this before I read Red Dragon, but it didn't make Red Dragon any less great when I then read it. I don't give five stars to many books, but this one rates it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The dark dive into the criminal mind is both radiantly crimson and stunningly beautiful.

The Silence of the Lambs is as well written as it is grisly and macabre. Harris describes Lecter's character and persona with diligence and madness. Starling's learned but inexperienced character is the equal to Hannibal's cultured and intellectual vanity. A handbook for many for examples of the mind of a true sociopath. His use of symbolism with the Death's Head Moth is also a common example of how many 'complicated' killers use to represent themselves or as their calling card.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Must Read

This book was absolutely amazing. The details are unbelievable, the characters are realistic, and it's a good thriller. I enjoyed it immensly and recomend to any one! This is a must read classic!

So good says with you long after your done reading it

Intense scary well developed to this day i still think of this book when recalling books i enjoyd i hold this up there with girl with the dragan tatto an jarassic park

Best book ever

Gripping til the end!

Way better than the movie

Read this years ago..excellent

Loved it

Worth your time. Well written

BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN

Well I am Hannibal Lecter fan 100% so...

WTF

Good book

GREAT read!

The Silence of the Lambs is very well written and hard to put down. I read it in two days. This book comes highly recommended, it's even better than the movie!

The excellent crime novel classic!

Great language & thrilling atmosphere, graphic characters makes this book the classic crime story. I know that the author spent a long time with the famous FBI criminal behaviour psychology team and based on this information while creating the plot.

Decent!

Moved fast enough without getting bogged down with rhetoric... better ending than expected.

Creepy & thrilling!

The second book in the Hannibal Lecter series is the most famous. After reading it its easy to see why. Thomas Harris crafts a creepy tale where there are so many different incarnations of evil at work. The introduction of FBI trainee Clarice Starling is done wonderfully. Her character is equal parts intelligence, ambition, doubt, and courage. There was good deal of time dealing with her boss, Jack Crawford, who is a good foil for Lecter. This was a real horror classic! A+

An instant favorite!

if you like the movie you will love the novel!

Chilling

This is the most chilling, thrilling, and most of all well-written books I have ever read, Nothing compares!

Thrilling Characters, and a Thrilling Book

Silence of the Lambs brings out the genius of Thomas Harris. He superbly creates his characters. The genius cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who is a master at deduction ans seduction, the FBI legend Jack Crawford, who is also a master at deduction, and Clarice Starling the up and coming FBI trainee. Harris then puts these amazing characters into a thirller that is shocking through to the very last page.

Your mind gets to fill in the blanks.

What an excellent book! Thomas Harris is good at making you feel for characters that are frightening--a feeling that puts your morality on edge. You don't have to, but read "Red Dragon" before this one if you can; the story line will lead into this book.

Brilliantly Insane

I'm in no way new to this story. I've seen the movie too many times to count, one of my favorites. I decided to read the book because of a great fondness I have for Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Enjoyed every second of it.

I knew what was around every corner, and still my heart started pounding out of my chest during the climax, and I gasped repeatedly when the escape scene came along. I loved the absolutely delicious intereactions between Clarice Starling and Dr. Lecter; they were so enthralled by one another, and it was amazing to watch Lecter wrap her up in his web, although he accidently got caught in her's in the process. Also, Lecter was everything I had hoped for; polite, classy, tasteful, chivalrous, insightful, malicious, brilliant, terrifying, sadistic, mercilous, and gloriously insane! I fell on love with the man, what can I say?

The other villain was also very interesting, though not in the same way. I very much enjoyed reading about his exploits and methods. He was a wonderful creation to study. Also, Clarice Starling had my support throughout the entire book; I wanted so badly for her to succeed, and watching her overcome all of the obsticals that came to block her way, even Dr. Lecter (although not completely, as it turns out), was incredible.

The story itself was at times slow, but it always had thrilling surprises and unexpected twists. It held my interest and kept me reading late into the night (which I don't advise, it gets a little frightening in the dark). Wonderful characters, extraordinary writing, and an excellent place to escape into on a rainy day. A complete joy to read.