Dr. Hannibal Lecter is the legendary antihero of our time, a genius and a villain at the same time. What made it so? The answer lies in the hero's past. How could a mute frightened boy with a chain around his neck, frozen in the snow of the Eastern Front, carry so many demons in him? And despite the new-found family, these demons continued to visit and torment Hannibal. Until he grew up - and turned to them himself. The Ascent of Hannibal is a novel about Lecter growing up and his rise to the heights of evil. This is the phenomenal backstory of the events set forth by Thomas Harris in Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, filmed with great success in Hollywood.