As I said in my review of Red Dragon, I’m one of the only people on Goodreads who, until now, hadn’t read Thomas Harris’s novels about that infamous cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. I’ve never seen the movie adaptations, either. Seriously.

So I don’t think it’s prudent I rehash this book’s plot; you know it. I will say I’ve been totally blindsided by how much I’ve fallen in love with Hannibal as a character. I’m obsessed. This dude oozes swagger. He sends ice through my veins. This novel featured him more than Red Dragon, and for that I am thankful. The other characters found here are good, too (who couldn’t love Clarice?), but I found myself always a little anxious for Hannibal Lecter to come back onscreen.

Part police procedural, part thriller, part horror, Silence of the Lambs is a more than worthy followup to its predecessor. While the murder case in these pages didn’t grab me quite as much as the one found in Harris’s precious release, that was made up for with more Hannibal. So, to me, the two books are equal. As I said on Twitter the other night, I am kicking myself for not reading this series sooner.

And now I must check out the movie...

I didn't realize this was an abridged copy.

I was so excited by how amazing Kathy Bates' voice sounded narrating the sample clip that I streamed the entire book over the course of two days. It's just over 3 hours long but I honestly could not tell it was abridged. Is it abridged because parts were cut out or because Bates talks so fast? Hmmm... For reference, this version, at least, is like a text version of the movie. I didn't realize how closely the movie followed the original source material. As usual, however, I feel the text is superior, if only because the imagery (or lack thereof, which is freaking terrifying when it's used) is amazing. Not a single wasted word. The only reason it took me so long to listen to the whole thing is because I kept falling asleep while listening, so I had to go back and try to find my spot again to pick up from.

Another plus: Bates's accents are ah-mazing~~! I don't know if it's her pitch or tone, but she manages the same inflections used by both Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in the movie that made their characters so memorable. Got chills when she did the humming and sighs as the characters. Spectacular performance.

I read this quite a few years ago. The Silence of the Lambs is one of my all time favourite films. However, I still loved the book, despite having already seen the film.