Hannibal
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Is it as good as Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs? No . . . this one is better.”—Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review
You remember Hannibal Lecter: gentleman, genius, cannibal. Seven years have passed since Dr. Lecter escaped from custody. And for seven years he’s been at large, free to savor the scents, the essences, of an unguarded world.
But intruders have entered Dr. Lecter’s world, piercing his new identity, sensing the evil that surrounds him. For the multimillionaire Hannibal left maimed, for a corrupt Italian policeman, and for FBI agent Clarice Starling, who once stood before Lecter and who has never been the same, the final hunt for Hannibal Lecter has begun. All of them, in their separate ways, want to find Dr. Lecter. And all three will get their wish. But only one will live long enough to savor the reward. . . .
Praise for Hannibal
“Interested in getting the hell scared out of you? Buy this book on a Friday . . . lock all doors and windows. And by Monday , you might just be able to sleep without a night-light.”—Newsday
“Strap yourself in for one heck of a ride. . . . It’ll scare your socks off.”—Denver Post
“A stunner . . . writing in language as bright and precise as a surgeon’s scalpel, Harris has created a world as mysterious as Hannibal’s memory palace and as disturbing as a Goya painting. This is one book you don’t want to read alone at night.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Relentless . . . endlessly terrifying . . . 486 fast-paced pages, in which every respite is but a prelude to further furious action . . . Hannibal begins with a murderous paroxysm that leaves the reader breathless. . . . Hannibal speaks to the imagination, to the feelings, to the passions, to exalted senses and to debased ones. Harris’s voice will be heard for a while.”—Los Angeles Times
“A pleasurable sense of dread.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Enormously satisfying . . . a smashing good time, turning the pages for thrills, chills, horror and finally, a bracing, deliciously wicked slap in the face . . . perhaps the very best the thriller/horror genre is capable of producing.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
You remember Hannibal Lecter: gentleman, genius, cannibal. Seven years have passed since Dr. Lecter escaped from custody. And for seven years he’s been at large, free to savor the scents, the essences, of an unguarded world.
But intruders have entered Dr. Lecter’s world, piercing his new identity, sensing the evil that surrounds him. For the multimillionaire Hannibal left maimed, for a corrupt Italian policeman, and for FBI agent Clarice Starling, who once stood before Lecter and who has never been the same, the final hunt for Hannibal Lecter has begun. All of them, in their separate ways, want to find Dr. Lecter. And all three will get their wish. But only one will live long enough to savor the reward. . . .
Praise for Hannibal
“Interested in getting the hell scared out of you? Buy this book on a Friday . . . lock all doors and windows. And by Monday , you might just be able to sleep without a night-light.”—Newsday
“Strap yourself in for one heck of a ride. . . . It’ll scare your socks off.”—Denver Post
“A stunner . . . writing in language as bright and precise as a surgeon’s scalpel, Harris has created a world as mysterious as Hannibal’s memory palace and as disturbing as a Goya painting. This is one book you don’t want to read alone at night.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Relentless . . . endlessly terrifying . . . 486 fast-paced pages, in which every respite is but a prelude to further furious action . . . Hannibal begins with a murderous paroxysm that leaves the reader breathless. . . . Hannibal speaks to the imagination, to the feelings, to the passions, to exalted senses and to debased ones. Harris’s voice will be heard for a while.”—Los Angeles Times
“A pleasurable sense of dread.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Enormously satisfying . . . a smashing good time, turning the pages for thrills, chills, horror and finally, a bracing, deliciously wicked slap in the face . . . perhaps the very best the thriller/horror genre is capable of producing.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
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Community Reviews
Until now, the dearth of books that objectively discussed the history of Hannibal, Carthage, Scorpio, and Rome has been reflective of Western historians’ failings to capture all of history in the broadest contexts. Patrick Hunt took on this challenge and succeeded, for my part. Hunt’s professionalism and attention to detail is the perspective on Hannibal that we have sorely needed.
I was introduced to Hannibal in 9th grade by my World History teacher. Thankfully, our teacher did not whitewash history and gave us intriguing insights into the conflict between Rome and Carthage. He taught us about the animosity running so deep that Rome had tried to erase the idea of Carthage from history. Myself, being African, I had to know who was the champion of Carthage that drove the Romans mad with seething enmity.
Hunt maintains the same candidness in his year-by-year accounting of Hannibal’s exploits. This is not a flat and simple retelling of events. Hunt dispels the negative accounts of Hannibal, including the inaccuracy of his infamous moniker. More importantly, Hunt teases out important themes and lessons from the great general’s journey. The most important thread being how Hannibal changed Rome forever with his ingenuity, strategy, and resilience.
Other coverage on the impact of religion on military campaigns. The complexities of forming armies under weak and fragile alliances. The duplicitous and crippling demands of navigating internal politics. Along with the bitter realities of war on the ground for the troops during this time. All of these themes Hunt teases out to show how history has treated Hannibal and Carthage unfairly while glorifying Scorpio and Rome for many of the same reasons.
Ultimately, Hunt asks us to consider what could have been for Carthage, Hannibal, and the arc of world history if a few events had panned out differently. A compelling read that I wish would replace the silly, if limited portrayals Hannibal and Carthage receive in most media and history textbooks today. Very hard to put down once you start. Hunt’s style and pacing make this one of the fastest page-turners that fall under the history genre.
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