Ranking Every Thomas Harris Book From Worst To Best

While Hannibal Lecter was a key player in the first two Harris books, be it subtly in the form of subtext or overtly in the form of a psychopathic devil's advocate, he wasn't given the role of main antagonist until his third outing.

Hannibal, published in 1999, was an exceptionally morbid affair, which is to be expected from the author. And, all things considered, it's objectively a fairly solid piece of literature. It's well written, it's tense, it grabs your attention and doesn't let it go, and it provides moments of genuine shock, even by Harris' standards. However, it's also arguable that that last point actually works against the book at certain points, at least to a degree.

Some are of the camp that the melodrama in Hannibal was too overplayed and that it favored shock value over characterization, which, in all honesty, is just a matter of taste more than anything else. One main source of valid criticism is the book's ending. Many believe that the Clarice Starling's decision to join Lecter in Hannibal's conclusion was very much out of character and was simply included for the sake of having a twist.

While this argument does have a fair amount of merit to it, the novel that preceded the ending is very much an exceptional work that anyone would find riveting. Its questionable ending aside, Hannibal is a solid entry to Harris' series.