The Silence of the Lambs discussion

I love Thomas Harris, i certainly do, and he created some of the most memorable characters ever, but as the legend Stephen King says, why on earth doesn't he please his readers by writing one more Lecter book? Or much more? Why when you do have the talent you don't share it with others? Only 4 books in so many years are not enough....

Having read all of the Lecter novels, I can say wholeheartedly that I do not wish for another. Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal are all great, but Hannibal Rising is awful. I know that he wrote it because of the film some idiots decided to make, but that doesn't excuse how terrible it was. As far as I (and, apparently, Harris) am concerned, Dr Lecter's story has been told, and he can now be put to rest.

However, if Harris decides to write another Lecter book, I would probably read it. I haven't read his first novel (Black Sunday), so maybe I'll give that a go.

As I said, Dr Lecter's story has been told. We should probably leave him in peace - and that goes for Harris, too. If he wants to write any more books, then great. If he doesn't, then that's fine too. Sometimes, even my favourite author (who is, funny enough, Stephen King) has written a few books that probably shouldn't have been published, so I say that, if Harris is working on a book, then we should give him as much time as he needs.

Not only that, he's made an awful lot of money from those books that, if he doesn't want to write, he can survive without writing another.

To give an example, take a look at George Dawes Green. He wrote two books (The Caveman's Valentine and The Juror) within a year of each other, and then he waited for about fourteen years before publishing another, the great Ravens. Perhaps that's what Harris is doing, just waiting for a good idea, or maybe working on one.

Either way, we should probably leave him alone; it's his life.

I totally agree with you, and yes Dr Lecter's story has been told and maybe a reason that he was so successful is that Harris didn't write too much about him and he still leaves readers with an eerie feeling. Well King can afford to criticize whoever he wants :)... and i didn't enjoy Hannibal rising too... so you have a good point here, but it would be nice to have another silence of the lambs to read now.. it was perfect... but as you said he got millions so he is free to do as he wish ...
King is my favourite too

I'm also of the opinion that Thomas Harris should do something new, if he does anything at all. I haven't read Black Sunday yet, but Mr. Harris definitely has a penchant for amazing, vivid characterization, and I'd love to see him use that talent on some new, interesting characters.
And I don't know that I disliked any of the Hannibal books. Like everyone else, I know Hannibal Rising was my least favorite, but I still thought that it was a well-written book based on a character that will always be one of my favorite literary characters of all time. Now, the movies on the other hand, were all God-awful besides Silence of the Lambs. The movies ruined everything.

I love true crime so this is a very good book to recommend thanks, i will read it...

Craig wrote: "I'm also of the opinion that Thomas Harris should do something new, if he does anything at all. I haven't read Black Sunday yet, but Mr. Harris definitely has a penchant for amazing, vivid characte..."

You know, i have read one of his few interviews and he said that he likes slow writing along with good food and wine and that he wouldn't enjoy it otherwise, but one book every ten years?.. :)

I have read Black Sunday and I liked it, then saw the movie mostly because of Robert Shaw and did enjoy the movie a lot too.
Read Red Dragon and enjoyed the book a lot, in those days there were not many serial killer novels.
Saw a movie called Silence of the Lambs and the name Lecter rang a bell after reading the book I found out that I had already read most of Harris novels.
Looked forward to Hannibal which turned out to be a pretty great novel.
With Hannibal Rising I threw the book in disgust in a corner and while I tried I never got any further in the novel. I could not even sell it 2nd hand as so many people were dumping their copy, and I found the novel too awefull to give it away to anybody who likes to read. While I understand Harris writing for the big money I wish his last effort was better.

This is one of those rare books that I threw out with the rubbish.

All my life I wanted a prequel that told the story of Hannible before he was caught and Will Gram learning from him, then catching him. I'm finally getting it on a tV show, BUT I don't think Harris approves of it. That Bothers me.

Manhunter and the Silence were the best adaptations yes.. i haven't seen the Hannibal series yet except the pilot but the actor who plays Hannibal it's not what i expected. You know i see Anthony Hopkins and that's it. I'm not sure i want to watch the whole thing. Do you recommend it?

Oh... i love beef :) So i have to be content with the books

Wow I'm so surprised that Hannibal Rising ,the book, isn't liked. I loved it, and I have to say ,I liked the film too. In fact I thought all four books were absolutely fantastic. What I thought was a tragedy was the film Hannibal. They totally ripped the guts out of the story and left it so it was hardly recognisable. I have also read Black Sunday and thought that was a great book, and terrorism is not a topic that I would normally choose to read. If a final book was written about Hannibal Lecter, I guess it would be about his happiness with Clarice, possible family and his past catching up with him. Films and books have been based on far less! There's no doubt that I would read it, but after hearing what's been said about Hannibal Rising not sure if it would sell.

Silence and Dragon were good, Hannibal was shakey and Hannibal Rising I ignored. I read Silence when it first came out, before the movie was in production, and gasped out loud when Jame Gum answered the door to Clarice.

Black Sunday wasn't bad but it is dated now

Harris reportedly hates writing so it's not surprising that nothing new is forthcoming. If he released something that was not Hannibal focussed I'd give it a go




http://atheistdad74.blogspot.com.au/ - Indiana Jones & The Intelligent Design

Yes, it is easy to find the other titles by putting the author's name in the Goodreads search bar at the top of the page. I have tried using both Goodreads and the famous internet book seller's site, and Goodreads puts things in a far more logical order, though either one would work.

While we're on the subject, though, I will pass something along that may entertain you:

I don't generally believe in censoring what my teenagers read, assuming they don't bring something in that is so vile it can't be in the house at all (I'm thinking of certain types of magazines; you get my drift.) But Silence of the Lambs came out when my precious elder daughter was thirteen years old, and I told her that just this one time, I would prefer she not read it, at least not yet. She was so young, and the content so brutal, I just wanted to protect her a little while longer.

She quickly disabused me by saying it was too late; she had read it. I gasped; I had hid my own copy quite well. "Where did you find it?" I asked.

"I walked down to the public library and checked it out," she replied. "I finished it, and I returned it."

Ah ha ha ha!

I had the same with Christine, the stephen king novel. I was 12 and had borrowed it and my mum was adamanat that stephen king was not suitable. she tried to take the book away and i hid it in my room, reading it it bite sized chunks before breakfast and at night.

She finally twigged i was reading it and went slightly nuts, pursuing me around the house and demanding i hand it over. i locked myself in the bathroom and read the last 45 pages while she pounded on the door

i think i was likely the only pre-teen to lock himself in the bathroom to read a book



http://atheistdad74.blogspot.com.au/ - Indiana Jones & The Intelligent Design

"i think i was likely the only pre-teen to lock himself in the bathroom to read a book"
Dear Richard, i did the same thing with every book i read. I love horror/mystery and i remember my self every Friday watching Friday the 13th(the series- secretly of course-) along with a good Stephen King book while on my bed. And all that at the age of 12.
Soulmates here :)

Slim wrote: "All my life I wanted a prequel that told the story of Hannible before he was caught and Will Gram learning from him, then catching him. I'm finally getting it on a tV show, BUT I don't think Harris..."

Actually, in an Afterbuzz interview/podcast with Martha De Laurentiis, she said that in the early days of development they'd contacted Thomas Harris and he gave them their blessing. The man knows quality work when he sees it, he was never proud of Hannibal Rising anyway.

Diamonds take time to create.

wayyyyyyy back in 1988 i watched manhunter. it got me big time into thomas harris. i have read red dragon at least 4 or 5 times. i loved silence of the lambs. hannibal was ok at best. i have not read hannibal rising. i got the impression that Harris wrote it as a contractual obligation. usually those books are CRAP. i would love to see more of the analytical type of books that Red Dragon is. i love the analysis in it.

I think his mindset was like "fuck it, no one can do this book justice, might as well ruin it on my own terms."

I don't understand WHAT IS SO BAD ABOUT HANNIBAL RISING? It may not be the best book in the Hannibal series, but is wasn't that bad! Why is it so disliked? I've read bad books like we all have ,and that wasn't close to the worse! What made that a bad book in everybody else's eyes? .