Book Review
Title: Red Dragon (Hannibal Lecter #1)
Author: Thomas Harris
Genre: Psychological/Horror
Rating: *****
Review: I have read Red Dragon a few times but never continued with the series despite how much I love the movies and this year that is going to change since I am using this for a Reading Rush challenge. We are introduced to Will Graham, a forensic specialist as he is being asked to return to work by his old boss, Jack Crawford, despite not working for the F.B.I. since the notorious cannibal, Hannibal Lecter attempted to kill Will before his arrest. Anyone familiar with Will Graham knows he has a particular skill linked with empathy which allows him to get completely inside the mind of the killers and find them. Will doesn’t want to return but his mind is already made up and he visits the home of the Leeds family who were all killed. He inspects the house and gets a feel for the scene but that night he has his first breakthrough as he realises the killer did take his glove off to touch Mrs. Leeds and he also solve the riddle of the bloodstains as he realises he wanted the rest of the family to witness his actions even though he had already killed them, although he doesn’t know why yet. The Leeds aren’t the only family that has been murdered as the Jacobi family was killed before, while Will has stumbled on minor details like the posing of the bodies and the missing pets, he doesn’t know much about this killer yet other than he won’t stop until he is caught but he knows the killer is smart and won’t slip up easily.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, the time to the next full moon which is the time the killer chooses to kill is fast approaching and Will has been procrastinating but he knows he has to see someone who can help him, someone whose mind works in a similar way to his. After canvasing for days and nothing of use turning up, Will finally decides to go and see Hannibal Lecter, in the hopes of gaining some special information about the killer he is hunting. So far, Will is a great character to follow as he is heavily invested in the case already but does try to emotional detach himself from the murders but his relationship with Hannibal Lecter is something I want to see unfold again but I do wish it was explored a little more. Meeting Hannibal Lecter for the first time behind bars was a little disappointing as we only get some second hand knowledge on how he was caught by he does offer up some interesting insights as to how the killer is choosing the victims but we do get the feeling that Doctor Lecter knows a lot more than he tells Will. Hannibal’s personality is further shone as he tracks Will down very easily to intimidate him later on and this duality makes Hannibal an incredibly unique character. We are also introduced to a new character, Francis Dolarhyde, who we learn is the family killer but he seems very normal apart from his murderous habits, however, it is interested to note his cleft lip which fits with the possibly disfigurement Hannibal and others mentioned the killer having. By the time Will visits the Jacobi house a month has passed since their murder so the house doesn’t hold much for it but the yard and the woods behind it holds many clues, giving Will more insight into what the killer did after he killed the cat and before he murdered the family and watching these small clues mount up really gets your heart racing.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we get to see briefly inside Francis’ head and we realise that he believes Lecter is much like himself, as he believes their murders are a way to become something more than they are and he constantly makes reference to the Red Dragon inside him. In the clues Will found at the Jacobi home, there was a Chinese character used on a mah-jong tile known as the Red Dragon which is the first connection but the F.B.I. completely miss it. However, Francis decides this is the perfect time to write a letter to the good Doctor, but it is seemingly intercepted by Chilton, but we know because of the missing parts that Doctor Lecter has already read the note and issued a response. By the time Will and Jack track down the response, they only have minutes to break the code used and understand Lecter’s response but they can’t so they let the ad in the Tattler run uninterrupted in the hopes that the communication will continue, but everyone is hoping that this action doesn’t lead to another murder. Francis making this move implies that he feels safe enough to do it and right now he is as the F.B.I. have very little to go on but Will knowing Lecter the way he does, will break the code eventually and uncover the true meaning behind the words. However, I was a little frustrated, Lecter beginning a learned man and the reference to the Red Dragon should lead anyone who reads classic literature easily to Blake which if I remember correctly is the key to breaking the code.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, the F.B.I. receives a phone call from someone claiming to be Mr. Pilgrim but they can’t hold him on the line, but he says he will ring back the following afternoon. By the time the call comes through Jack, Will and the others are ready to trace it but just when it seems like they have the right guy, it turns out to be Freddy Lounds, the reporter, looking for information on the case. However, to get out of the F.B.I. pressing charges he offers to work with them as he basically runs the Tattler and his opinion is highly regarded by his bosses, he also lets slip that 6 other messages have been scheduled between their killer and Doctor Lecter. I do feel a little bad as I know the price Freddy pays later for his ambition and greed, but it is worth it because he deserves it really. Due to Hannibal Lecter, giving Francis Will’s home address, Molly and Willy are now staying at Jack’s brother’s home until the killer is caught and with Freddy Lounds they decide to set up a trap to enrage the killer but make Will the target of that rage. They also set up another trap at a mail drop supposedly by Hannibal Lecter to draw the killer in if that fails but knowing the way this book pans out I know that doesn’t happen because Francis isn’t a stupid man, not in the slightest. Watching Francis kidnap, interrogate, terrorize, and finally almost kill Freddy Lounds was disturbing as it was intriguing. While you don’t want to sympathise with Francis, you sort of understand his motivations and later on when we learn of Francis’ past, we do sympathise with him despite what he has done. When you compare Francis and Freddy, I personally find Francis to be someone I would be more comfortable with, quiet, shy and a little withdrawn in contrast to Freddy’s loud, boisterous and slimy personality which is why you root for him even when you shouldn’t. Seeing the violence enacted upon Freddy does bring Francis’ natural into full light as he bites off his lips and sets him ablaze, but this doesn’t kill the reporter and he entirely blames Will Graham for this turn of events.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, after the death of Freddy Lounds, the press has turned on the F.B.I. and the whole investigation since he wasn’t guarded the same way Will was. This mess is also made worse for Will when Molly decides to head to Willy’s grandparents away from everything until it is over, meaning now Will is all alone and he is trying his hardest to get inside the mind of the Red Dragon and is failing because to truly understand Francis’ motives he would have to travel back in time. Most of this part of the novel focuses on Francis’ childhood and how he became what he is at the present and it isn’t pleasant. Francis was abandoned by his mother because of the way he was born and spent much of his early years in an orphanage until his grandmother became aware of his existence. His grandmother used him to get some silly act of revenge of her daughter by tanking her new husband’s career, but he has a happy childhood despite the emotional abuse from his grandmother, although he doesn’t see it this way. She never physically hurt him although more than once she threatened to cut off his private parts terrifying young Francis and this torrent of abuse eventually leads him into torturing and killing animals although he sees it as learning how to protect his grandmother. BY the time she begins showing early signs of dementia, Francis is returned to the care of his mother, her husband and their children but this doesn’t go well and by the time he was nine he was living in a boarding house after hanging his stepsister’s cat. As a young man Francis enlisted in the army twice and spent a lot of time in Hong Kong where anything could be bought at the right price and he cultivates his “uniqueness” until he comes home to care for his grandmother who had spent time in a hospital. He never had a real relationship with his mother at all despite her attempts at trying later in his life, his time in the army also allowed him to get surgery for his face although he doesn’t look at it at all if he can help it. When he comes across the Red Dragon for the first time, he finds something in the art that reflects the way he feels inside leading to him getting his tattoo of the Red Dragon. Returning to the present Francis selects a new family, the Sherman’s, who are the next family he is going to be targeting and the F.B.I. are currently no closer to catching him than they were when Jack brought Will Graham in the opening pages of the novel.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, despite this being the first book in the Hannibal Lecter series we haven’t seen much of him but Francis is utterly fascinating to follow and he is one of my favourite character in the entire series coming a close second to the Doctor himself and followed closely by Clarice Sterling. We also finally are introduced to Reba McClane who is the catalyst for everything that happens in the final two section of this novel. Reba is blind and works for the same company as Francis, for the first time he is able to be more open with himself because she can’t see him and very quickly, they develop a relationship. Having a sexual relationship with Reba does something to Francis as before Reba he and the dragon were one being but now, they are two. Francis becomes terrified that the Dragon wants Reba and it does but rather than handing her over he begins searching for a way to rid himself of the Dragon so that he can keep Reba alive. This proves Francis’ actions aren’t by choice, the neglect and abuse of his childhood has manifested in the Dragon that take control of his body and voice, the real Francis is still that frightened child desperately wanting to be loved and when he now has the opportunity he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect that love from Reba. Meanwhile, Will is getting closer to putting the pieces of the puzzle together but has to deal with some small annoyances like Niles Jacobi but we can see his mind working ever harder to put the final pieces together and gives him the identity of the Dragon.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, the pace is dramatically ramped up as everything starts speeding towards the climax of the novel. Francis decides in order to rid himself of the Dragon, he needs to get rid of the original painting the Dragon was born from and what he does inside the museum is so absurd it almost makes you laugh but we know that Francis genuinely believes this but it isn’t the end yet. With less than 50 pages to go in the novel, Will finally works out how the Dragon is choosing his victims and heads to Gateway but they give Francis the heads up as he was there waiting for Reba, although she has already gone home but he knows that the police have latched onto the company and it won’t be long before they attach his name to the Dragon and he knows he has to run but the Dragon has other ideas as it still wants Reba since it won’t have the Sherman’s now. Francis heads straight for Reba’s but when he sees her kissing another man he loses it, killing the man and kidnapping Reba and while he confesses that he is the murderer he does say he hasn’t made up his mind about whether he is killing her, until she tries to run. The ending of Red Dragon was the epic rollercoaster that the book had been building to and I can definitely see the elements that were taken from this book in order to create the Hannibal TV show. I highly recommend this book and series to all, the only negative with this book is we don’t see nearly enough of Hannibal Lecter himself but I can’t wait to see him again in Silence of the Lambs.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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