2226 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

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.

Sounds like a thoroughly interesting idea, Loomis. Speaking of this as an eventual movie adaption, it sounds like it could be an absolute blockbuster if Anthony Hopkins returned for one final go and the script was done right (the return of Ridley Scott would also be welcomed--by me at least).

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.

So I've noticed. Plenty of time to discuss all the possiblities then!

[Harmsway]

Speaking of this as an eventual movie adaption, it sounds like it could be an absolute blockbuster if Anthony Hopkins returned for one final go and the script was done right (the return of Ridley Scott would also be welcomed--by me at least).

Well, I believe Anthony Hopkins actually wrote a script for a sequel to HANNIBAL as an exercise to prepare for the part - it was "what happens to Lecter after HANNIBAL?" And apparently, it had Clarice being paranoid after being discharged entirely from the FBI... seeing Lecter around corners all the time, missing him, all that stuff. One day, she wakes up handcuffed to her bed, and there's Lecter, and he tells her she has to kill him. That's all we know about the script Hopkins wrote, but it sounds interesting enough.

The thing is, I don't know that any more Lecter films, even with Hopkins, will be huge blockbusters. I think people have had their fill of Lecter as a cinematic icon. But hey... if Scott and Hopkins came back and were really excited about the material, I'd definitely be looking forward to it.

[Johnboy007]

The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie

[The Dove]

Finished up with Order of The Phoenix now I'm half way through (for the 2nd time as well,) Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.. I am SO looking forward to Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows this July!!!

[Qwerty]

Speaking of this as an eventual movie adaption, it sounds like it could be an absolute blockbuster if Anthony Hopkins returned for one final go and the script was done right (the return of Ridley Scott would also be welcomed--by me at least).

Well, I believe Anthony Hopkins actually wrote a script for a sequel to HANNIBAL as an exercise to prepare for the part - it was "what happens to Lecter after HANNIBAL?" And apparently, it had Clarice being paranoid after being discharged entirely from the FBI... seeing Lecter around corners all the time, missing him, all that stuff. One day, she wakes up handcuffed to her bed, and there's Lecter, and he tells her she has to kill him. That's all we know about the script Hopkins wrote, but it sounds interesting enough.

Pretty cool (again this was something I hadn't previously heard of).

[Roebuck]

The Wild Life of Sailor & Lula - a collection of Barry Gifford's six novellas about his characters featured in the film Wild at Heart. It's pulp fiction with a light touch. I'd love to see Quentin Tarantino take a crack at this material; a mix of brief, brutal gunplay and snappy pop-culture conversations held in roadside diners or in classic Cadillac's.

[Kilroy6644]

Tai-Pan - James Clavell

I just love the whole Asian Saga. I finished Shōgun yesterday and breezed through the latest issue of National Geographic so I could get right to Tai-Pan. I guess it's a good thing Clavell died when he did. So many great books, and then he finished off with Gai-Jin, and it just doesn't compare. It's not too bad, but it's no Tai-Pan or Noble House, and I doubt that he could've returned to his earlier glory.

[Santa]

I've been going through a Colin Forbes phase. Having read about 14 of his now, I am flabbergasted that he is so successful - his books are repetitive, wholly unrealistic and full of huge, gaping plotholes and unforgiveable continuity errors. Still, it's a bad habit I have to binge on any one particular author at a time. I think the thing I like about Forbes is that his villains are most Bondian in that they often have an odd look or distinguishing physical characteristic, such as an extra-large head (!) and they are usually megalomaniacs with evil plans to take over the world - one of them actually did use bombs to cause an earthquake and flood Silicon Valley. He has a never ending supply of Draxes, Strombergs and Scaramangas. Really, he's a terrible writer but I've somehow enjoyed reading him quite a lot.

[Qwerty]

About halfway through Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris.

[Harmsway]

About halfway through Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris.

What do ya think about it so far?

[Double-0-7]

Zap the Gaps, a Ken Blanchard book on identifying the areas that need changed and how to best change them. Which is part of my new job...

[Qwerty]

About halfway through Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris.

What do ya think about it so far?

It's really hard to say. In a way, it reminds me (in terms of style and the overall mood) of Hannibal. These later two books are somewhat bizarre and not straightforward, but (in the case of Hannibal) all the better for it. Red Dragon and Silence, while both very, very enjoyable in their own way, remind me of more straightforward police thrillers.

Seems like Harris is trying to take the Hannibal route for this one, but I'm not sure if it is working as well. While the description and settings are handled nicely, the characterization is not quite up to par. Popil is no where near as interesting as Pazzi was. Lady Murasaki (who I LOVE in the film played by Gong Li) just doesn't seem to have a sense of importance around her that is more evident in the film.

It's difficult to give a completely accurate review as I'm only halfway through, but so far, it is definitely (and disappointingly) on a level below Hannibal, which is his masterpiece in my opinion. It's certainly not bad, but not (yet) as good as I wanted it to be.

[DaveBond21]

Stephen King - The Body

[chris-o]

I'm reading The Bourne Identity. It's a very good and quite well written book!

[Thunderfinger]

Utsikt til Paradiset(A View to Paradise) by Ingvar Ambj

[Harmsway]

While the description and settings are handled nicely, the characterization is not quite up to par. Popil is no where near as interesting as Pazzi was.

The characterization is really where the book falls flat, IMO. Nobody seems fleshed out enough, including Lecter (the best Lecter material, IMO, is the stuff with his tutor at the beginning the book -material that I feel was necessary in the film).

Lady Murasaki (who I LOVE in the film played by Gong Li) just doesn't seem to have a sense of importance around her that is more evident in the film.

Honestly, I prefer the novel's Murasaki. Largely because I think she has better moments (the moment where Hannibal sees her in the bath is sorely missed in the film), and I can't stand Gong Li's delivery (chopped and flat, making clunky lines sound even clunkier). I will grant, though, that Gong Li's Murasaki did seem more important to the story.

It's certainly not bad, but not (yet) as good as I wanted it to be.

IMO, it gets worse as it goes along rather than better.

[Qwerty]

The characterization is really where the book falls flat, IMO. Nobody seems fleshed out enough, including Lecter...

It probably is the the biggest fault of the book. If only, if only...

IMO, it gets worse as it goes along rather than better.

I'll still hold out some hope. I'm not really disliking it, but the bar was set so high previously.

[Harmsway]

The characterization is really where the book falls flat, IMO. Nobody seems fleshed out enough, including Lecter...

It probably is the the biggest fault of the book.

Well, that, and the story just isn't all that interesting. After HANNIBAL, I was hoping for a bizarre, twisted, and whimsical origin... and it all boils down to a simple revenge story.

IMO, it gets worse as it goes along rather than better.

I'll still hold out some hope. I'm not really disliking it, but the bar was set so high previously.

Well, you won't dislike it, and there are some nice moments to come, but all the book's interesting material is in the first half. After that, it just descends into standard revenge story mode, and there isn't really any more character development. It's not a bad book, and there are brief moments of Harris-ian greatness, but it's far from a great one.

[Qwerty]

The characterization is really where the book falls flat, IMO. Nobody seems fleshed out enough, including Lecter...

It probably is the the biggest fault of the book.

After HANNIBAL, I was hoping for a bizarre, twisted, and whimsical origin... and it all boils down to a simple revenge story.

Completely agreed. I kept wanting Hannibal to go on for another 500 pages because there was rarely a moment in that novel that was interesting or at least intriguing.

[Joyce Carrington]

Triptych by Karin Slaughter. She's one of my favourite authors.

[mrsbonds_ppk]

The Rockford Files: Devil On My Doorstep by Stuart Kaminsky really good book if you like the TV show and even if you don't and like mystery/drama.

[Roebuck]

''Paris: The Secret History'' by Andrew Hussey. It's the same idea as Peter Ackroyd's book ''London: The Biography'', charting the city's development from it's earliest recorded settlement to the present day. However well you know Paris, I'm betting you'll find something in here you weren't previously aware of.

[Bon-san]

In my limited free time of late, I'm back on a major Ruth Rendell kick. Recently breezed through a few of her early books (Wolf To The Slaughter, Vanity Dies Hard, To Fear a Painted Devil), and enjoyed them all. Wolf was particularly good. Just finished A Dark-Adapted Eye (written under her Barbara Vine psuedonym) and found it brilliant. Brilliant.

In my opinion, Rendell is vastly underrated. I find her to be one of the best writers around. Not merely one of the best mystery writers, but one of the best writers, period.

I'm now plowing into Simisola and digging it.

[0024]

I was reading 'Plot Against America' by Philip Roth, but I couldn't get through it. He puts so much mundane detail in the chapters that I just got fatigued from the sentences. So now I am reading 'Moonraker.' I have just finished 'Casino Royale' and 'Live and Let Die' for the first time, and it is a great pleasure to be discovering the novels for the first time.

[Qwerty]

After that, it just descends into standard revenge story mode, and there isn't really any more character development.

Upon finishing the novel, I (unfortunately) have to agree. There's nothing really bad with the second half, but there is little that is really noteworthy as well.

Not a bad book in my opinion, but a disappointment after Hannibal.

[Harmsway]

After that, it just descends into standard revenge story mode, and there isn't really any more character development.

Upon finishing the novel, I (unfortunately) have to agree. There's nothing really bad with the second half, but there is little that is really noteworthy as well.

Yeah. It's just lackluster.

Not a bad book in my opinion, but a disappointment after Hannibal.

Yeah. It isn't bad, per se, but it can't compare to Harris' prior work. His rich sense of character just wasn't there.

[Tiin007]

I was reading 'Plot Against America' by Philip Roth, but I couldn't get through it. He puts so much mundane detail in the chapters that I just got fatigued from the sentences.

I had the same problem with parts of that book, but I somehow managed to finish it. Upon its completion I realized it wasn't as difficult as I thought it had been.

Right now, I'm reading Assassin by Ted Bell (one of my favorite authors). Great book.

[Roebuck]

''The Protector'' by David Morrell. Most of Morrell's post-80's output have been slick, ready for Hollywood running man thrillers with lots of well researched tradecraft and weapons detail. Personally I miss the early David Morrell; the guy who wrote paired down, nasty little books like Testament and The Totem, but ''The Protector'' is perfect company for a long wait at the airport.

Main character Cavanaugh is an elite bodyguard who finds himself in the crossfire between his last client (a bio-weapons genius who's gone on the lam) and a government agency trying to hush up the deaths of fifteen soldiers in a botched weapons test. There's a nice ''build your own Bond car'' chapter where Cavanaugh customises a Ford Taurus after his grenade launching company issue ride is totaled. Probably the most action driven book Morrell has written to date.

BTW - Much looking forward to the Captain America in Afghanistan mini-series DM has penned for Marvel. Due out September

[Qwerty]

Giving In Secret Service by Mitch Silver a try.

[Jericho_One]

Just started Planet of the Apes, by Pierre Boulle.