Review: Red Dragon (Hannibal Lector #1)
/5 stars. Wow - blown away. This is a classic for a reason. I could not put it down. Punchy, graphic, vivid - full of... not just great crime writing, but great writing period. I had no idea that the exceptional TV show adaptation was so faithful (within reason) to the books, but it makes sense that it had such a great foundation on which to build its world. And this is truly a special world. We are thrown into a well-established solar system with bright stars and dark planets that already orbit one another in interesting ways.
It's all the familiar faces: Jack Crawford, Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter, and the hunt to catch a disturbed serial killer named the Tooth Fairy, or, per the killer's preference, the Red Dragon. It's not exactly a familiar procedural, though: Thomas Harris meanders, taking the scenic route through the forest of Francis Dolarhyde's past and present - the cat-and-mouse game thrown seriously off the course you expect. I haven't decided if I liked that or not. It isn't the tidiest narrative arc in the world, but Harris doesn’t let it wander too, too far.
Originally published in, what, the early 80s? Red Dragon isn't perfect. Definitely a bit dated, and the female characters are... interesting. Other representations would not likely hold up under a magnifying glass. Hannibal the TV series improves on this. But I really cannot say enough good things about Harris' actual writing. He is a master at showing, not telling - the guy does more in 2 sentences than other authors dream about doing in 10 pages. The painting of Will Graham's psyche and his special skills, communicated to us not just through his investigative habits but through minor exchanges of dialogue, barely-detected side glances, subtle references to the past... absolutely genius.
Everyone is so obsessed with Hannibal the Cannibal, and they should be. The movies, the rip-offs, the spin-offs, the money grabs. It’s a great character. But there is so much more right here at ground level, where it all started. So many wonderful heroes and villains, and the infinite shades in-between. I'm obsessed, and I hope the rest of the series lives up to this standard. 5 stars, from the emotions invoked, down to the sentence-level word choices. Can't recommend this enough.
Red Dragon on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads