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Red Dragon By Thomas Harris Visit Thomas Harris' Website Red Dragon is the novel that introduces the character Hannibal Lecter. I had been wanting to read it for quite some time, and when I finally got around to doing so I was surprised to discover that the famous Dr Lecter is not a constant part of the storyline but, instead, just someone that appears every now and again in the background. Background or not, he is still a great character. The main storyline concerns a serial killer called The Red Dragon. In their efforts to catch The Dragon, the police turn to a forensic specialist called Will Graham. Will Graham has taken an early retirement tracking down, and being injured by, a particularly nasty serial killer. That serial killer is now languishing in a mental hospital thanks to Mr Graham's efforts and is of course Hannibal Lecter. Will Graham agrees to help track down The Red Dragon. He leaves the tranquil life that he has made for himself behind, visits Lector, and asks his help in trying to get inside the Dragon's head. The Red Dragon is a particularly nasty and heartless killer. As is Dr Lecter, but Dr Lecter is a more subtle monster. Both killers are equally original and memorable characters though. As I progressed through the book and learnt more about The Dragon's background I began to gain an understanding of the factors that perhaps made The Dragon into such a monster. I couldn't say the same thing about Will Graham, but I got the impression that he was a character that didn't really know himself as well as he might, and perhaps didn't want to. Red Dragon has a good storyline that is populated by some very memorable characters, and while reading it I got the impression that its writer Thomas Harris really knows his stuff when it comes to forensic science. I found it very interesting indeed when the forensic evidence was gathered and tested and it all sounded very believable. I bought a double volume and Red Dragon is bound with its sequel The Silence of the Lambs with each story being about 420 pages long. HOME