This is Books and Nachos, a podcast for those of us who find excitement in the pages of a good book.

Fiction and nonfiction, graphic novels, and more.

We are here to help you find something great to read.

Hello, and welcome to books and nachos, the Van Gonsa Media podcast about all things in print.

I am your host, Stuart in L.A., and I am here to talk to you very excited all month long about Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter.

Over at our sister podcast, now playingpodcast.com, Jacob Arnie and I will be looking at the five films that have featured this iconic movie villain. But although over there I'm the big expert, because I've seen all the movies. I realized I haven't read any of the

source novels that inspired these movies. So I decided, much like I did last time with Philip

K. Dick, I would read the source material concurrently with us screening and talking about the

films and share my thoughts with you on the original work right here,

the books and nachos.

And word up, I am definitely going to be spoiling the hell out of everything.

There are tons of plot spoilers and character details.

You may not want to know if you haven't seen the films or would just like to approach them fresh.

So just be aware that I have

no qualms about talking about every detail that strikes me in these books. So I really

relish the ability to share with you now my thoughts and impressions of Red Dragon. It was

written in 1981. It was Thomas Harris' second novel after Black Sunday, a terrorist thriller.

It involved police and was police procedural, but not forensic.

It had a different bent to it entirely.

And, of course, it didn't have lector.

Red Dragon is the source material to inspire Manhunter, our first episode in the now-playing series.

So if you're wondering where that book connects to,

...