Joseph Westfall

I didn't expect to be blown away by this book, but I was hoping it would be slightly better than it is. So many of the essays are shallow or don't really prove their thesis that most of the time I felt like I would have been better off reading fan metas--at least the fans wouldn't have gotten characters' names wrong, unlike some of the contributors to this book!

There were a couple of standout essays: Andrew Pavelich's "The Light from Friendship," about Hannibal's and Will Graham's relationship in the TV series; Joseph Westfall's essay on Hannibal's sense of humor, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Dinner Party"; and "Doctor, Heal Thyself," Richard McClelland's explication/defense of the way Thomas Harris ended Hannibal, were all worthwhile reads, but there is little in this volume that anyone interested enough in Hannibal Lecter to pick up a book about him wouldn't have already thought of themselves.… (meer)