Reviews tagging 'Death'

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

53 reviews

karlin0336's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I've got mixed feelings about this book.

The whole crime solving aspect of the book was REALLY interesting and kept me invested in the story the whole time.  As someone who loves The Naturals (which is a YA series where a group of teens are trying to help the FBI solve cold cases), that was perfect (and it also put me in a mood for a Naturals reread).  The characters were also pretty well-developed in my opinion.


 At the same time, though, there were many disgusting/disturbing parts of the book that I didn't like.  There was quite a bit of graphic violence in particular.  (See the content warnings section for a more comprehensive list.)

One other thing: I thought Dr. Lecter would play a more prominent role in the story, but he only made an appearance a handful of times (he was giving major evil mastermind vibes, so I was rather disappointed he didn't play a more prominent role).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, and Cannibalism

The chapters/sections that followed the killer were particularly disturbing. He really had problems.

ehhmly's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Cannibalism

bbk8's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Cannibalism

wipeout's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia and Medical content

Minor: Cannibalism and Pregnancy

fawnalone's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

bwoo's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol

borrelvissie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow. What a great book, delving into the darkest places of the human psychology.
It took me quite a while to read this— it's heavy, in a way, you can tell that Harris thought everything through carefully. Knowing who the killer was since (nearly) the beginning made it better, seeing things from his twisted mind.. Then suddenly, you get thrown years into the past,

seeing Dolarhyde's childhood.

It left me conflicted.

The entire book I hated Dolarhyde, was disgusted by him, then I find out there's more to him than first meets the eye. It's sad, really, how trapped Dolarhyde was in the end. Not wanting to hurt Reba, but being forced to anyway by the Dragon. He must have felt powerless.

I did not see that last plottwist coming, at all.

I thought Graham was hallucinating at first, perhaps as a reaction to trauma. Then I realised, he's not hallucinating, Dolarhyde's really there, and he's alive.

Very pleasantly surprised by this book. Hats off to you, Mr Harris!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

flooooo's review against another edition

dark 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

3.5

The second half is way more interesting and tense than the first wich is a real slog to get through. Also Hannibal Lecter is advertised as a major character on the front and back of the book but he only appears on like 10 pages. Overall I'd save the time and watch the 2002 movie with Anthony Hopkins instead.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

greenan26's review against another edition

challenging dark lighthearted tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug use