Reviews

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

kipreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

theaubreyplazaofohio's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Definitely horrifying and unsettling.  

cedrisc's review against another edition

3.0

I read silence of the lambs and Hannibal years ago but I missed this book. There were some exciting parts and other bits I found boring and wanted to skim. I didn't like how it changed tense and it spent too much time in the killer's head. I didn't like how the author made me feel sorry for him. The ending was boring until it wasn't lol.
It made me uncomfortable so it is probably a successful thriller, but I wouldn't read it again.

cameronbcook's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

rebeccaiross's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ag_marion's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

blowp0p's review against another edition

3.0

Content warnings: death, sex, murder, blood, gore, alcohol mention

penguin_emperor_of_the_north's review

4.0

That was pretty good and definitely unnerving. Like how the book gives just enough information about the murder scenes to let you draw you own conclusions and horrify yourself. Or the slow grind of the investigation, with the reader having a wider view of the plot than the detectives really drives the tension.

It was also cool how it subverted my expectations. Harris plays up Graham's connection to and ability to get in the serial killer's heads

Spoiler

but at the end of the day, while the profiling is pretty spot on, the killer is finally found with good hard detective work not some brilliant insight

.

And, finally, somewhere I heard the line 'As a child I weep for him but as a man he's unredeemable.' Which really applies here, because Dolahyde's backstory was just brutal. I think hearing that was the hardest part of the book to listen to. But as an adult he really needed to be put down. On that note,

Spoiler

Dolahyde's internal struggle was really compelling. And the man had done terrible things but it's hard not to root for a man struggling for his soul. Damn shame how it ended though.

xalwaysequalsx's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

matiemouse's review against another edition

5.0

Glad I finally read this. Deeply disturbing