A thrilling read and meditation on evil, with among the most chilling villains (Dr. Hannibal Lector) and strong heroines (FBI Agent-Trainee Clarice Starling) around. In fact, Hannibal Lector is more than a villain, he's a monster--a much scarier predator than a Great White Shark. Before we ever meet him he's built up in two ways--examples given both of his extraordinary intellect and his incredible viciousness. This serial killer Hannibal "the Cannibal" doesn't just kill, he devours--and we know he's incredibly dangerous just by all the precautions taken where he's incarcerated.
Small details when he's first introduced stroke up the menace. He has a sixth finger on his left hand. His eyes are described as reflecting "the light in pinpoints of red" and those "points of light seem to fly like sparks to his center." He's built up as bestial, demonic--but then in his conversation with Starling shows the insight and sharpness of a Sherlock Holmes.
Now, there's a lot more to this novel. It's a murder mystery and an incredibly suspenseful, nail-biting, unputdownable thriller and Lector's not the main focus here. This really is more police procedural as the FBI seeks to find another serial killer. But it's Lector who freezes you at the bone and makes this book unforgettable. What I've heard of the sequel, Hannibal, and how the relationship between Starling and Lector develops there means I'll never read that book. But this one I certainly highly recommend. (And some tell me the prequel, Red Dragon, is even better, so that one I might try some time.)
