Ranking Every Thomas Harris Book From Worst To Best

5. Hannibal Rising

Despite how much of a legend he is, even Thomas Harris isn't immune to one hiccup on his résumé. However, it wasn't even his fault. He didn't even want to write the novel that would go on to become the aforementioned black sheep of his bibliography, but was practically held over a barrel until he did so.

The story goes that film producer Dino De Laurentiis flat out told Harris that if he didn't write an origin story for Hannibal Lecter, he would get someone else to do it instead. Harris, understandably, resented the idea of his greatest brainchild being given a backstory without his involvement and reluctantly agreed to write the book.

The ultimate result of this was Hannibal Rising, the disappointing novel that turned the long-speculated provenance of the enigmatic Dr. Lecter into a by the numbers revenge story. The book lacks a distinct identity and is a rather uninspired affair throughout. In one go, Hannibal Rising tarnished a good amount of the mystique that surrounded the iconic character.

All of that said, Harris should definitely be forgiven for this. From a technical standpoint, it's a still a very well-written piece of literature. Moreover, the reason it's so uninspired is because it was forced upon him. There's a big difference between inspiration for a story coming naturally to a writer and it being order. Still, it probably would have been better for everyone involved if this book never came to be.