2226 replies to this topic

[chris-o]

The answer to Qwerty's question:


The authors of James Bond: The Legend of 007 are John Cork and Bruce Scivally!

[Jericho_One]

Just finished Simon Scarrow's Under the Eagle. Looking eagerly forward to the other books in this series. I think I'm getting seriously addicted to Roman fiction.
Now going through Alice Walker's The Colour Purple.

[DaveBond21]

Just finished Velocity by Dean Koontz. My first Koontz book. It was OK, the story was good, but the characters were just stereotypes.

Does he get out much and meet real people?

[*Gala*]

Well, considerin that my last exams are tomorrow I decided to be kiddish for a while... no proper readin for a while just to get my sanity back. Am reading the first few of the Uncanny X-Men comics back from the 60's.

[sharpshooter]

The Subtle Knife.

[bond_girl_double07]

A great Chaim Potok novel called "In the Beginning".. it's kind of an existential Jewish novel.. great so far

[Skudor]

Just finished The Quest, by Wilbur Smith. I always enjoy Smith's novels on ancient Egypt. This one wasn't quite as good as the others, though. Perhaps because it's verging on being a Fantasy novel. There is also a very disturbingb fascination with pubescent girls...

Currently reading The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. A suprisingly good book. Can barely put it down.

[Qwerty]

The answer to Qwerty's question:


The authors of James Bond: The Legend of 007 are John Cork and Bruce Scivally!

Ah...you're referring to James Bond: The Legacy then, I take it. Wasn't sure I'd heard of this 'Legend' Bond book before!

[DaveBond21]

At the moment "The City" by Douglas Caven.

[00Twelve]

The last one I read was DAF. It makes me hope that maybe we'll get to see the relationship that Bond and Tiffany had (though obviously with another girl) onscreen one day. I just hate that that particular relationship has never really been given it's due treatment. It's one of the best relationships Fleming wrote.

[bond_girl_double07]

Just started a graphic novel called "The Walking Dead" and I'm also rereading "The Zombie Survival Guide"..

Can't be too careful

[Qwerty]

Hannibal by Thomas Harris. They definitely had to cut a lot out when writing the script for the film!

[DaveBond21]

"The Taking" by Dean Koontz.

[Double-0-7]

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill. I figure it can't hurt.

[Harmsway]

Hannibal by Thomas Harris. They definitely had to cut a lot out when writing the script for the film!

Indeed. And some of my favorite moments didn't even make it to the film... like Dr. Lecter at the torture exhibit, standing beneath the caged skeleton. It's a really whimsical moment, and I love it.

What's interesting about Harris' HANNIBAL is that it moves beyond the "crime thriller" genre and goes out for full-out gothic horror. This is Harris capitalizing on Lecter's state as the "Dracula of the cell phone and computer age" (to quote Stephen King), and so it's a really interesting combination. It's the kind of material the Edgar Allan Poe would write if he was writing in the contemporary age.

[Qwerty]

What's interesting about Harris' HANNIBAL is that it moves beyond the "crime thriller" genre and goes out for full-out gothic horror. This is Harris capitalizing on Lecter's state as the "Dracula of the cell phone and computer age" (to quote Stephen King), and so it's a really interesting combination. It's the kind of material the Edgar Allan Poe would write if he was writing in the contemporary age.

Noticed that as well (and the book is definitely better because of it in my opinion). My favourite (judging by what I've read of it so far) from his first three Lecter books.

[Harmsway]

Noticed that as well (and the book is definitely better because of it in my opinion).

Yeah. RED DRAGON and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS are good crime thrillers, but HANNIBAL is something much more unique.

My favourite (judging by what I've read of it so far) from his first three Lecter books.

It's my favorite, hands-down. I think it's the best thing Harris wrote (believe me, you won't find HANNIBAL RISING to be any competition in quality).

[Loomis]

HANNIBAL is a beautiful, brilliant novel, and by some distance Harris' best (I confess I don't particularly care for his others, but I do love HANNIBAL - I wouldn't be too surprised to see it widely cited one day as one of the best novels of the "noughties"*, if it isn't already).

*Or did it come out in 1999? I think it did. In any case, great book.

[Harmsway]

HANNIBAL is a beautiful, brilliant novel, and by some distance Harris' best (I confess I don't particularly care for his others, but I do love HANNIBAL - I wouldn't be too surprised to see it widely cited one day as one of the best novels of the "noughties"*, if it isn't already).

Well, I'm not that big on RED DRAGON or SILENCE, either (the most memorable moments in either feature Lecter), but they're quite good for what they are. I do believe that HANNIBAL is something of an underrated masterpiece, and I hope it's rediscovered. It's truly magnificent.

*Or did it come out in 1999? I think it did. In any case, great book.

Yeah, it was released in June 1999.

[Qwerty]

Noticed that as well (and the book is definitely better because of it in my opinion).

Yeah. RED DRAGON and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS are good crime thrillers, but HANNIBAL is something much more unique.

Exactly (thankfully this corresponds to the films as well).

While the reviews have tended to be middle-of-the-road for Hannibal Rising, I'm still really looking forward to it and whatever future Lecter books Harris may write. I believe he is contracted for at least one more.

[Harmsway]

I believe he is contracted for at least one more.

He is contracted for one more book, but not necessarily another Lecter novel. We'll see what his next book will be. I hope it's better than HANNIBAL RISING.

[Qwerty]

I believe he is contracted for at least one more.

He is contracted for one more book, but not necessarily another Lecter novel. We'll see what his next book will be. I hope it's better than HANNIBAL RISING.

I do hope it will be another Lecter one though. Seems likely considering the strong majority of his novels are. From what I've heard, it kind of seems* like he just ended up writing Hannibal Rising partly because of Dino De Laurentiis' strong wishes for the opening chapter of the Lecter series.

*Note that I am basing this off of reports and articles I've read online. Couldn't say for sure if they're 100% accurate.

[Harmsway]

I do hope it will be another Lecter one though. Seems likely considering the strong majority of his novels are.

Personally, I'd like it to be a short story collection of various vignettes throughout Lecter's career. In that way, you could have short stories that deal with some of the smaller characters and the impact Lecter had on them, and also cover the whole gamut of Lecter's career. You could to a post-HANNIBAL RISING, pre-RED DRAGON story, a post-SILENCE, pre-HANNIBAL story, a post-HANNIBAL story, etc. and so forth. And it could even use the lovely title of THE LECTER VARIATIONS (the original title for HANNIBAL RISING).

From what I've heard, it kind of seems* like he just ended up writing Hannibal Rising partly because of Dino De Laurentiis' strong wishes for the opening chapter of the Lecter series.

*Note that I am basing this off of reports and articles I've read online. Couldn't say for sure if they're 100% accurate.

No, that's absolutely true. All accounts, including the official ones, state that Harris was initially very reluctant to do HANNIBAL RISING (he apparently had another project in the works). But here's the suggested scenarios for HANNIBAL RISING's genesis, and there are grounds for each of them:

1) Harris is approached by Dino, who suggests to him that they work on a Lecter prequel. Harris is initially reluctant, but eventually decides the idea is compelling.

2) Harris is approached by Dino and is reluctant to write HANNIBAL RISING. Dino throws enough money at him until he relents.

3) Harris is approached by Dino and doesn't want to do with Lecter prequel. Dino tells him that he will make a Lecter prequel film whether he's involved or not, and so Harris reluctantly agrees to be involved just to make sure things don't go wrong.

It may be a combination of the above... who knows?

If Harris writes another Lecter book, it will either bridge the HANNIBAL RISING-RED DRAGON gap, or a sequel to HANNIBAL (which is the far more interesting option, even though Harris had said that he wouldn't write one... but he may have changed his mind). There are rumors and rumblings for both of 'em, so who knows what it will be?

[The Dove]

Re-reading Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix to refresh my memory for when the film comes out this summer.

[Qwerty]

I do hope it will be another Lecter one though. Seems likely considering the strong majority of his novels are.

Personally, I'd like it to be a short story collection of various vignettes throughout Lecter's career. In that way, you could have short stories that deal with some of the smaller characters and the impact Lecter had on them, and also cover the whole gamut of Lecter's career. You could to a post-HANNIBAL RISING, pre-RED DRAGON story, a post-SILENCE, pre-HANNIBAL story, a post-HANNIBAL story, etc. and so forth. And it could even use the lovely title of THE LECTER VARIATIONS (the original title for HANNIBAL RISING).

Interesting idea. I wonder if Harris would be able to make them all flow together though (as stated before, Red Dragon and Hannibal are two very different novels with different styles).

From what I've heard, it kind of seems* like he just ended up writing Hannibal Rising partly because of Dino De Laurentiis' strong wishes for the opening chapter of the Lecter series.

*Note that I am basing this off of reports and articles I've read online. Couldn't say for sure if they're 100% accurate.

No, that's absolutely true...

If Harris writes another Lecter book, it will either bridge the HANNIBAL RISING-RED DRAGON gap, or a sequel to HANNIBAL (which is the far more interesting option, even though Harris had said that he wouldn't write one... but he may have changed his mind). There are rumors and rumblings for both of 'em, so who knows what it will be?

Completely agreed about the sequel to Hannibal being the more intriguing idea (and the one I prefer), but in my opinion, I think a new novel set after the events of Hannibal Rising is probably the more likely option then.

Wonder how long the wait will be for it.

[Loomis]

I do hope it will be another Lecter one though. Seems likely considering the strong majority of his novels are.

Personally, I'd like it to be a short story collection of various vignettes throughout Lecter's career. In that way, you could have short stories that deal with some of the smaller characters and the impact Lecter had on them, and also cover the whole gamut of Lecter's career. You could to a post-HANNIBAL RISING, pre-RED DRAGON story, a post-SILENCE, pre-HANNIBAL story, a post-HANNIBAL story, etc. and so forth. And it could even use the lovely title of THE LECTER VARIATIONS (the original title for HANNIBAL RISING).

From what I've heard, it kind of seems* like he just ended up writing Hannibal Rising partly because of Dino De Laurentiis' strong wishes for the opening chapter of the Lecter series.

*Note that I am basing this off of reports and articles I've read online. Couldn't say for sure if they're 100% accurate.

No, that's absolutely true. All accounts, including the official ones, state that Harris was initially very reluctant to do HANNIBAL RISING (he apparently had another project in the works). But here's the suggested scenarios for HANNIBAL RISING's genesis, and there are grounds for each of them:

1) Harris is approached by Dino, who suggests to him that they work on a Lecter prequel. Harris is initially reluctant, but eventually decides the idea is compelling.

2) Harris is approached by Dino and is reluctant to write HANNIBAL RISING. Dino throws enough money at him until he relents.

3) Harris is approached by Dino and doesn't want to do with Lecter prequel. Dino tells him that he will make a Lecter prequel film whether he's involved or not, and so Harris reluctantly agrees to be involved just to make sure things don't go wrong.

It may be a combination of the above... who knows?

If Harris writes another Lecter book, it will either bridge the HANNIBAL RISING-RED DRAGON gap, or a sequel to HANNIBAL (which is the far more interesting option, even though Harris had said that he wouldn't write one... but he may have changed his mind). There are rumors and rumblings for both of 'em, so who knows what it will be?

But would Harris write another Lecter novel if it couldn't be filmed? Would people sink money into such a project?*

A sequel to his HANNIBAL couldn't be filmed. (Well, it could, but it'd require a heck of a lot of contrivance to get it to chime with Scott's film, which I guess is hardly something that's beyond Hollywood. It'd also require another turn by Hopkins, although I imagine that's hardly out of the question either [I'm sure the old boy could use one last gazillion-dollar paycheque]. Nevertheless, it'd be a daunting and enormously expensive challenge to bring this project to the screen and would probably end up being more trouble than it was worth.)

A sequel to HANNIBAL RISING couldn't be filmed, on the assumption (I may be wrong) that HANNIBAL RISING was a bomb that doesn't justify a followup.

*Maybe they would. Maybe another Lecter novel would be a bestseller even without a movie attached to it, and thus a viable commercial prospect for the moneymen of the literary world. I don't know. But you know what I think Hollywood will end up doing? It'll reboot the whole enterprise in a few years, with a remake of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS a la Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN, which will be followed by some "original" sequels. You read it here first.

[Harmsway]

But would Harris write another Lecter novel if it couldn't be filmed? Would people sink money into such a project?*

You bet. He's a best-selling "name" author with or without a film. Even if the book wasn't as big of a smash as the previous entries in the series, it would still sell more copies than most books, and therefore be well worth the publisher's time and money.

But you know what I think Hollywood will end up doing? It'll reboot the whole enterprise in a few years, with a remake of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS a la Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN, which will be followed by some "original" sequels. You read it here first.

[Loomis]

But would Harris write another Lecter novel if it couldn't be filmed? Would people sink money into such a project?*

You bet. He's a best-selling "name" author with or without a film. Even if the book wasn't as big of a smash as the previous entries in the series, it would still sell more copies than most books, and therefore be well worth the publisher's time and money.

In that case, I hope he gives us a HANNIBAL sequel. If I had the choice, I'd definitely pick that over another Lecter prequel. Could be a bit Bourne-ish, with Starling overcoming her brainwashing and trying to pick up the threads of her past life with the Feds in order to bring Lecter down once and for all ('course, she could just wait till he was asleep and then kill him, but maybe she needs crucial information on various crimes that Hannibal carries in his head). Work in a great big War On Terror subplot, throw in, say, a Darth Vader-style twist (okay, maybe not), and perhaps an ending similar to Fleming's YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

The title? CLARICE, of course.

[Harmsway]

Completely agreed about the sequel to Hannibal being the more intriguing idea (and the one I prefer), but in my opinion, I think a new novel set after the events of Hannibal Rising is probably the more likely option then.

Wonder how long the wait will be for it.

Potentially a decade. He takes a very long time to write his novels.

Personally, given the real option, I would prefer no more Lecter novels (unless it was the short story collection). HANNIBAL has the perfect ending and is the perfect way to leave the Lecter and Clarice characters, and any more Lecter novels will feel excessive (just as HANNIBAL RISING did).

[Harmsway]

In that case, I hope he gives us a HANNIBAL sequel. If I had the choice, I'd definitely pick that over another Lecter prequel. Could be a bit Bourne-ish, with Starling overcoming her brainwashing and trying to pick up the threads of her past life with the Feds in order to bring Lecter down once and for all ('course, she could just wait till he was asleep and then kill him, but maybe she needs crucial information on various crimes that Hannibal carries in his head). Work in a great big War On Terror subplot, throw in, say, a Darth Vader-style twist (okay, maybe not), and perhaps an ending similar to Fleming's YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

The title? CLARICE, of course.

Fascinating story idea (I like the title).

But I don't think Harris would do it. Ridley Scott, who spent a great deal of time with Harris throughout all of HANNIBAL (with a lot of in-depth analysis and explanation) said that if Harris wrote a sequel to HANNIBAL, it probably would have to do with Clarice and Lecter's continuing intimacy and relationship. The rumors of a HANNIBAL sequel have actually claimed that Harris is writing a novel about Hannibal and Clarice raising a son. We'll see.